Thomas Greely Stevenson (February 3, 1836 – May 10, 1864) was a general in the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. He was killed in action during the
battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 1864 ...
.
Biography
Stevenson was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
. He was 25 years old when the Civil War began and had risen from
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
to
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
in the Massachusetts Militia at that time.
[Eicher p.511] On December 3, 1861 Stevenson was appointed
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
of the 24th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He led his regiment in the battles of
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, North Carolina, Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke (tribe), Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the ar ...
and
New Bern
New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...
. Following the capture of New Bern significant Union reinforcements arrived in North Carolina and Stevenson assumed command of a brigade under
John G. Foster
John Gray Foster (May 27, 1823 – September 2, 1874) was an American soldier. A career military officer in the United States Army and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, he served in North Carolina, North and South Caroli ...
.
When much of the Union forces in North Carolina were recalled to Virginia, Foster's command, including Stevenson's brigade, were left behind. He participated in Foster's
Goldsborough Expedition and afterward was promoted to brigadier general on December 24, 1862. He then held a series of quiet commands along the Atlantic coast in North and South Carolina.
During the
siege of Charleston Harbor
The Second Battle of Charleston Harbor, also known as the siege of Charleston Harbor, siege of Fort Wagner, or Battle of Morris Island, took place during the American Civil War in the late summer of 1863 between a combined U.S. Army/ Navy force ...
Stevenson commanded the 3rd Brigade in
Alfred H. Terry
Alfred Howe Terry (November 10, 1827 – December 16, 1890) was a Union army, Union Major general (United States), general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869, and again from 1872 to 18 ...
's division. He remained in brigade command around Charleston until January 1864. On April 19, 1864 he was placed in command of the 1st Division,
IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to:
France
* 9th Army Corps (France)
* IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial Germ ...
.
Stevenson had previously fought alongside many of the men from IX Corps in North Carolina. Now, he was one of Burnside's ablest division commanders.
[Rhea p.182] He led his new division into action at the battles of
the Wilderness and
Spotsylvania. On May 10, 1864 while resting beneath a tree, Stevenson was shot through the head by a sniper's bullet.
His body was returned to Massachusetts where he was buried at
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...
in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
.
Fort Stevenson Fort Stevenson was a frontier military fort in the 19th century in what was then Dakota Territory and what is now North Dakota. The fort was named for Thomas G. Stevenson, a Civil War general who was killed in the Battle of Spotsylvania. It was buil ...
in
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
was named in Thomas Stevenson's honor. His brother,
Robert Hooper Stevenson, was a colonel and
brevet
Brevet may refer to:
Military
* Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay
* Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college
* Aircre ...
brigadier general in the Union Army. Battery Stevenson, located on Fort Warren, George's Island, Suffolk County, Massachusetts was named after General Stevenson on 14 February, 1902.
[U.S.Army]
References
* Eicher, John H., and
Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, .
* Rhea, Gordon C., ''The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7–12, 1864'', Louisiana State University Press, 1997, .
* U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Boston, Massachusetts, (HDB-AN-45), 31 Jan 1945, CDSG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Thomas G.
Union Army generals
People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War
1836 births
1864 deaths
Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery
Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War