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Edmund Brooke Alexander

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For the transport ship see USAT Edmund B. Alexander.
Edmund Brooke Alexander
Edmund Brooke Alexander
Born(1802-10-06)October 6, 1802
DiedJanuary 3, 1888(1888-01-03) (aged 85)
Washington, D.C.
AllegianceUnited States of America
Years of service1823–1868
Rank Colonel
Bvt. Brigadier General
Unit3rd U.S. Infantry
Commands10th U.S. Infantry
Battles / warsMexican-American War Utah War
American Civil War

Edmund Brooke Alexander (October 6, 1802 – January 3, 1888) was an officer in the United States Army in the Mexican-American War through the American Civil War who rose to the rank of brevet Brigadier General in 1865.

Early career

Alexander was born in Haymarket, Virginia[1] and an 1823 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York – along with Lorenzo Thomas, Alfred Mordecai and George S. Greene.[2]

He was a cadet at the Military Academy, Oct. 6, 1818, to July 1, 1823, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to Brevet Second Lieutenant in the 6th Infantry. He was shortly after promoted to Second Lieutenant in the 3d Infantry with the same date of rank.

He served on frontier duty at Fort Atkinson, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1824; in garrison at Detroit, Mich., 1824‑25, — Green Bay, Wis., 1825‑26; Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1826‑27; and Ft. Armstrong, Ill., 1828‑29; on Recruiting service, 1829‑30; on frontier duty at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1830; and at Natchitoches, Louisiana, 1830‑31.

He served at Fort Towson, in the Indian Territory from 1831 to 1835; on Quartermaster duty at Fort Towson, I. T., 1833‑34, Fort Jesup, Louisiana, 1834‑35, Ft. Towson, I. T., 1835, Ft. Jesup, La., 1835‑38, Fort Smith, Ark., 1839, Ft. Towson, I. T., 1840, Ft. Jesup, La., 1840, Ft. Towson, I. T., 1840.

He served at Fort Smith, Arkansas from 1840 to 1846, during which he was briefly assigned to Washington, D. C. in 1844.

Mexican War

Alexander was brevetted Major at the Battle of Cerro Gordo on April 18, 1847, and Lieutenant Colonel at the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco on August 20 during the Mexican-American War.[3]

During the War with Mexico, from 1846 to 1848, he was involved in the following battles -

After the War with Mexico was concluded he was in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1848‑49; on frontier duty, on march to New Mexico, 1849, Santa Fé, N. M., 1849‑50, Las Vegas, N. M., 1850‑51, Ft. Union, N. M., 1851‑52, Ft. M'Kavett, Tex., 1853 and the march to El Paso in late 1853.

Alexander, as a brevet Lieutenant Colonel, led the 8th Infantry, when it became the first garrison stationed at Fort Bliss in the El Paso, Texas, area, from January 1854 through March 1855.[4]

In March 1855, promoted to Colonel, Alexander was appointed as commander of the new 10th Infantry.[5] He later led his regiment in the Utah War.

He served in garrison at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., 1855; on frontier duty at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from 1855 to 1856; Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, 1856‑57, and the Utah Expedition, 1857 to 1858. He was on a leave of absence from 1858 to 1860.

Civil War

Alexander was on frontier duty at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory from 1860 to 1862. He then transferred to Fort Kearny, Nebraska, where he served until 1863.

Alexander served during the American Civil War as Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General, Superintendent of Volunteer Recruiting Service, and Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer for the State of Missouri, with headquarters at St. Louis from May 1, 1863, to Apr. 25, 1866.

Post war

After the war, he was in command of 10th Infantry at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from May, 1866 until he retired from active service on February 22, 1868, under the Law of July 17, 1862, as he was over "the Age of 62 Years."

General Alexander died on January 3, 1888, at Washington, D. C. at the age of 85. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota.[2]

Promotions

  • Second Lieutenant, 3d Infantry – July 1, 1823
  • First Lieutenant, 3d Infantry – December 29, 1827
  • Assistant Quartermaster – December 6, 1833, to July 7, 1838
  • Captain, Staff, Assistant Quartermaster – July 7, 1838 to June 18, 1846
  • Captain, 3d Infantry – July 7, 1838
  • Brevet Major – Apr. 18, 1847 (For Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Cerro Gordo, Mexico.)
  • Brevet Lieut.‑Colonel - Aug. 20, 1847 (For Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco, Mexico.)
  • Major, 8th Infantry – November 10, 1851
  • Colonel, 10th Infantry – March 3, 1855
  • Brevet Brigadier General – October 18, 1865 (For Meritorious Services in the Recruitment of the Armies of the United States.)

Namesake

In World War II, a United States Army transport ship, Edmund B. Alexander, was named in his honor.

See also

Cullum's Register of Graduates of the United States Military Academy

Notes

  1. ^ The New Werner Twentieth Century Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature, Science, History, Geography, Commerce, Biography, Discovery and Invention... with New American Supplement, Complete in Thirty Volumes, Volume 25. Werner Company. 1906. p. 127 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b Dodge.
  3. ^ DANFS, America
  4. ^ "Commanding Officers United States Regular Army Garrisons at or Near El Paso, Texas, 1848-Present". United States Army. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  5. ^ Seyburn, p. 531.

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
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