Charles Russell Lowell III (January 2, 1835 – October 20, 1864) was a railroad executive, foundryman, and 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 Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. He was mortally wounded at the

Battle of Cedar Creek The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. D ...

and was mourned by a number of leading generals.

Early life

Charles Russell Lowell III 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 ...

, Massachusetts on January 2, 1835. His mother, Anna Cabot Jackson, a daughter of Patrick Tracy Jackson, married Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., brother of

Robert Traill Spence Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell (October 8, 1816 – September 12, 1891) was an Episcopal clergyman and educator. Biography Lowell was born in Boston, Massachusetts, a son of Charles Russell Lowell, Sr. and Harriet Traill Spence. He studied at ...

and

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that r ...

. Charles Jr., Robert, and James were sons of Unitarian Minister Charles Lowell. Anna wrote verse and books on education. Lowell III graduated as the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1854, and worked in an iron mill in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Burlington and Missouri River Railroad. In 1860, he took charge of the Mount Savage Iron Works in

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...

Civil War

Lowell entered the Union Army in June 1861, and was commissioned 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 ...

in the 3rd U.S. Cavalry, transferring to the 6th U.S. Cavalry in August. He served as an aide-de-camp to General

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

during the formation of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

in the summer and fall of 1861 and continued at McClellan's side during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign and the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union ...

. In 1863 Lowell recruited and organized the

2nd Massachusetts Cavalry The 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a regiment of cavalry troops in the Union army during the American Civil War. It consisted primarily of men from the states of California and Massachusetts, and served in the Eastern Theate ...

, and on May 10 was appointed its

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 ...

. During the winter of 1863–1864, he was in charge of the outer defenses of Washington, D.C., and was engaged in repelling the raid by Confederate

Lt. Gen. Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate States of America, Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early r ...

that reached the outskirts of the capital. During the Valley Campaigns of 1864, Lowell commanded a brigade of cavalry in Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt's division of the Cavalry Corps of Maj. Gen.

Philip Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close a ...

's army. He distinguished himself at Third Winchester and took a leading role in the Confederate rout at Tom's Brook. He was mortally wounded during the Union counterattack at the

on October 19, 1864. General Sheridan interceded to ensure that he was promoted to

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 appointe ...

on that day. He died on the next day at

Middletown, Virginia Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Virginia, United States, in the northern Shenandoah Valley. The population was 1,265 at the 2010 census, up from 1,015 at the 2000 census. History Middletown was chartered on May 4, 1796. Some of the ...

, at the age of 29. He is buried in the

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge and Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, west of Boston. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brah ...

, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lowell was nominated as a brigadier general two days after his death. Since he was unable to sign his new commission after his death,

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Edwin M. Stanton authorized an exception allowing the posthumous promotion to become official. Upon hearing of his death, General

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

wept and Sheridan remarked "I do not think there was a quality which I could have added to Lowell. He was the perfection of a man and a soldier." Josephine Shaw and Colonel Lowell 1863

In October 1863, Lowell married businesswoman Josephine Shaw (1843—1905), a sister of his close friend and fellow Union Army casualty Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (1837—1863). Her home when she was married was on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

, and she became deeply interested in the social problems of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She was a member of the State Charities Aid Society, and from 1876 to 1889 was a member of the New York State Board of Charities, being the first woman appointed to that board. She founded the Charity Organization Society of New York City in 1882, and wrote ''Public Relief and Private Charity'' (1884) and ''Industrial Arbitration and Conciliation'' (1893). They had one daughter, Carlotta Russell Lowell (November 30, 1864 — September 19, 1924). Lowell's first biography was written in 1907 by Edward Waldo Emerson, son of

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowell, Charles Russell 1835 births 1864 deaths Harvard College alumni People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Businesspeople from Boston Union Army generals Foundrymen Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery 19th-century American businesspeople

Early life

Civil War

See also

References

Further reading

External links