George Lewis Gillespie Jr. (October 7, 1841 – September 27, 1913) was an American soldier who received the highest military decoration that the United States bestows to members of the military, 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 valo ...

, for his actions 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 ...

Biography

George Lewis Gillespie Jr. was born October 7, 1841, in

Kingston, Tennessee Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, Tennessee, United States. This city is thirty-six miles southwest of Knoxville. It had a population of 5,934 at the 2010 United States census, and is included in the Harriman Micropolit ...

. He graduated second in the Class of 1862 at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers on June 17, 1862. A Southerner who remained loyal to the Union, Gillespie joined 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 September 1862. He commanded two companies of the engineer battalion which built fortifications and pontoon bridges throughout the Virginia campaigns until General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox in April 1865. On October 27, 1897, Gillespie received the

for carrying dispatches through enemy lines under withering fire to Major General

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 as ...

at the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses ...

, Virginia, on May 31, 1864. He was later Sheridan's Chief Engineer in the Army of the Shenandoah and the Military Division of the Gulf. At the end of the war, Gillespie held the Regular Army rank of captain and a brevet (temporary promotion) to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the Civil War, Gillespie successively supervised the improvement of harbors at Cleveland, Ohio,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He initiated construction of the canal at the Cascades of the Columbia River and built the famous

Tillamook Rock Light Tillamook Rock Light (known locally as Terrible Tilly or just Tilly) is a deactivated lighthouse on the northern Oregon Coast of the United States. It is located approximately offshore from Tillamook Head, and south of the mouth of the Columb ...

house off the

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

coast. Gillespie also served on the Board of Engineers and for six years as president of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

Commission. He was promoted to major on September 5, 1871, lieutenant colonel on October 12, 1886, and colonel on October 2, 1895. With the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, Gillespie was promoted to brigadier general of Volunteers on May 27, 1898. He commanded the Army's

Department of the East The Department of the East was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army several times in its history. The first was from 1853 to 1861, the second Department of the East, from 1863 to 1873, and the last from 1877 to 1913. H ...

until October 31, 1898, when he was discharged from the Volunteers and reverted to his Regular Army rank of colonel. Gillespie was appointed as

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

on May 3, 1901, and promoted to brigadier general the same day. He was acting

U.S. 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 th ...

in August 1901. He had charge of ceremonies at President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

's funeral and at the laying of the cornerstone of the Army War College building in 1903. About 1904 he redesigned the United States Army's version of the

. The new design replaced the original design dating from 1862 which was often erroneously mistaken for the membership badge of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

—an organization for Union veterans of the

. General Gillespie's design entirely changed the planchet to feature the head of

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...

in the center of a star surrounded by a wreath. The ribbon was changed from red, white and blue stripes to a light blue ribbon with thirteen white stars. Gillespie's final assignment was as Assistant Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1904 to 1905 with the rank of

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 ...

. Gillespie was a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

(MOLLUS) and was assigned MOLLUS insignia number 4061. He was also a member of the

Society of the Army of the Potomac The Society of the Army of the Potomac was a military society founded in 1869 which was composed of officers and enlisted men who served with the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. History After the conclusion of the Civil War, a ...

. Major General Gillespie retired from the Army on June 15, 1905, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64. He died on September 27, 1913, in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

. He was buried at

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the eastern United States, on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers and ear ...

Family

General Gillespie married Rhobie Frances McMaster (1844-1921). By her he had two sons - Robert McMaster Gillespie (1871-1947) and Laurence Lewis Gillespie (1876-1940).

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army. Place and date: Near Bethesda Church, Va., 31 May 1864. Entered service at: Chattanooga, Tenn. Birth: Kingston, Tenn. Date of issue: 27 October 1897. Citation:

Exposed himself to great danger by voluntarily making his way through the enemy's lines to communicate with Gen. Sheridan. While rendering this service he was captured, but escaped; again came in contact with the enemy, was again ordered to surrender, but escaped by dashing away under fire.

References

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text from''

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, George Lewis Junior 1841 births 1913 deaths United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Military Academy alumni Union Army officers United States Army generals Burials at West Point Cemetery People from Kingston, Tennessee American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Military personnel from Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War

Biography

Family

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links