Thomas Orville Seaver (December 23, 1833 – July 11, 1912) rose to the rank of

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 ...

in the U.S. Army 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 ...

and received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

, America's highest military decoration, for his actions at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. After the war Seaver was admitted to the

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

bar and practiced law, serving as a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

for many years, until his death.

Biography

Seaver was born in Cavendish, Vermont, but after his first year of school his parents moved to Pomfret seeking better educational opportunities for their son. He ultimately attended Green Mountain Academy in

South Woodstock South Woodstock is a villagePrincipal Communities in Connecticut
Dept. of Economic and Comm ...

, graduating in 1855. He matriculated at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

later that year, where he was admitted to the

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...

fraternity, but left Tufts in 1856 to attend

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

, a Vermont

military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. He left Norwich without a degree in 1858, completing his studies at

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

and receiving a B.A. in 1859. On June 30, 1861, he wed Nancy Taylor Johnson Spaulding. On the outbreak of the Civil War, Seaver mustered on July 16, 1861, in Newbury, where he was given command of a company in the

3rd Vermont Infantry The 3rd Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three-years infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, from July 1861 to July 1865. It was a memb ...

as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, serving until July 1864. He eventually commanded the regiment, and was promoted 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 ...

on August 13, 1861; to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on September 17, 1862; and to full colonel on January 13, 1863. He served in the Battles at Antietam and Gettysburg, among many others. he was mustered out of the service on May 10, 1864. After the Confederate

St. Albans Raid The St. Albans Raid was the northernmost land action of the American Civil War. It was a raid from the Province of Canada by 21 Confederate soldiers. They had recently failed in engagements with the Union Army and evaded subsequent capture in th ...

in October 1864, Vermont's state government reorganized its militia and deployed it to defend against future incursions from Canada. The 1st Division was created, with William Y. W. Ripley in command as a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

; his subordinate brigade commanders, with the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, included: John L. Barstow (1st Brigade);

William W. Grout William Wallace Grout (May 24, 1836October 7, 1902) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont. Biography Grout was born in Compton in Lower Canada (now Quebec), the son of Josiah and Sophronia (Ayer) ...

(2nd Brigade); and Seaver (3rd Brigade). After the war, Seaver settled in Cavendish once more and began work as an attorney, serving at different times as a

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

and

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

; he also held other posts, including state railroad commissioner, county jail commissioner, and town selectman. He was made a judge of the probate court in 1886. He received the Medal of Honor on April 8, 1892, for valor in the

Battle of Spotsylvania 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 ...

. In 1897, Seaver was shot by the party in a divorce case who was upset that he had not received custody of his daughter; the protracted case included the father being found guilty of kidnapping. After being served with a restraining order preventing him from interfering with a temporary guardian's custody of the girl, the father approached Seaver and demanded her return. When Seaver ordered him from the Seaver home, the father shot him. One bullet pierced Seaver's coat sleeve; the other went through his right lung and lodged in his back. He was hospitalized for an extended period, but recovered. The father was convicted of attempted murder in February 1898. In 1910, Norwich University conferred the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

on Seaver in recognition of his accomplishments as a soldier and a judge. He died in Woodstock in 1912 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and was buried at River Street Cemetery in Windsor County, Vermont. He was survived by his wife Nancy and two children, a girl and a boy (two daughters had predeceased him).

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization: :Colonel, 3d Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Spotsylvania Courthouse, Va., May 10, 1864. Entered service at: Pomfret, Vt. Born: December 23, 1833, Cavendish, Vt. Date of issue: April 8, 1892. Citation: :At the head of 3 regiments and under a most galling fire attacked and occupied the enemy's works.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seaver, Thomas O. Union Army officers 1833 births 1912 deaths Norwich University alumni United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People of Vermont in the American Civil War Vermont Brigade People from Pomfret, Vermont People from Woodstock, Vermont People from Cavendish, Vermont American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Burials in Vermont 19th-century American lawyers

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

Notes

References