William Montrose Graham (September 28, 1834 – January 16, 1916) was a
career soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
in the
United States Army, reaching the rank of
major general. He was a veteran of both the
American Civil War and the
Spanish–American War.
Biography
Graham was born in
Washington, D.C., the son of
Colonel James Duncan Graham (1799–1865) and Charlotte Meade (sister of
George Gordon Meade
George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. He ...
).
His uncle and namesake, William Montrose Graham (1798–1847), was killed during the
Mexican–American War while commanding the
11th U.S. Infantry
The 11th Infantry Regiment is a regiment in the United States Army. In 2007, the 11th Infantry was reflagged as the 199th Infantry Brigade, as part of the "Transformation of the US Army" effort. Today, the 11th Infantry Regiment is part of the ...
at
Molino del Rey
Los Pinos (English: ''The Pines'') was the official residence and office of the President of Mexico from 1934 to 2018. Located in the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest) in central Mexico City, it became the presidential seat in 1934, wh ...
.
Graham was commissioned into the
1st Regiment of Artillery
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...
in 1855, and earned two rapid promotions to
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 ...
with the outbreak of the Civil War.
During the war, he was cited for gallantry during the
Peninsula Campaign, for actions at
Antietam, and for his actions at
Gettysburg. Graham earned multiple
brevet (honorary) promotions for these actions, including
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 ...
(July 1, 1862,
Malvern Hill
Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, USA, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond. On 1 July 1862, it was the scene of the Battle of Malvern Hill, one of the Seven Days Battles of the American ...
),
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 ...
(September 17, 1862, Antietam), and
colonel (July 3, 1863, Gettysburg). His unit,
1st U.S. Light Artillery, Battery K, was, from 1863, part of the famed
U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade
The Horse Artillery Brigade of the Army of the Potomac was a brigade of various batteries of horse artillery during the American Civil War.
Made up almost entirely of individual, company-strength batteries from the Regular Army's five artillery ...
.
Graham served with the
Regular Army until April 1865, when he accepted a commission as colonel of the
2nd District of Columbia Infantry Regiment. Awarded his final brevet of the war, to
brigadier general in the Regular Army, he mustered out of the volunteers in September and returned to the regular service.
He remained in the Army after the war, serving with the 4th and 5th Artillery, rising to the rank of brigadier general in the Regular Army (May 26, 1897). At the start of the
Spanish–American War in May 1898, he was promoted to major general of
U.S. Volunteers
United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army and the ...
. After brief service in command of the
Second Army Corps at
Camp Alger and
Camp Meade
Camp George G. Meade near Middletown, Pennsylvania, was a camp established and subsequently abandoned by the U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish–American War.
History
Camp Meade was established August 24, 1898, and soon thereafter was occupi ...
, he retired from the Regular Army on his 64th birthday, and was honorably mustered out of the volunteers on November 30, 1898.
In 1898 he became a companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the
Military Order of Foreign Wars.
He died in
Wardour, Maryland, on January 16, 1916, and was buried at
Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Personal
Graham married Mary Brewerton Ricketts, daughter of
Major General James Brewerton Ricketts, in 1860 at Fortress Monroe, VA. Mary was born Aroostine in honor of her Native American heritage and Aroostook County birth. Her family had her name legally changed to Mary due to her father's service in the Indian Wars. Graham and Mary AKA Aroostine had six children. They included Mary Ricketts Graham, who married Vice Admiral Guy Hamilton Burrage; Meeta Campbell Graham, who married Carroll Storrs Alden, head of the English, History and Government Departments at the
US Naval Academy and author of several books about US naval history; Harriet Pierce Graham, who married
Rear Admiral Archibald Henderson Scales, Superintendent of the
US Naval Academy;
and Lieutenant William Montrose Graham Jr.
[
]
See also
References
* Heitman, Francis B., ''Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, From its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903''. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903.
* U.S. War Department, ''The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies''. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1894.
External links
''Camp Mead in Middletown Borough, Pennsylvania''
Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division. Washington, D.C.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, William Montrose
United States Army generals
Union Army officers
People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War
American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
Burials at the Congressional Cemetery
1834 births
1916 deaths