Alfred Gibbs

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This article is about the U.S. Army officer. For the Pennsylvania Railroad mechanical engineer, see
Alfred W. Gibbs
.
Alfred Gibbs
1st New York Dragoons
Battles/warsMexican–American War
Apache Wars
American Civil War

Alfred Gibbs (April 22, 1823 – December 26, 1868) was a career officer in the

Mexican-American War and Apache Wars. He served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War
.

Career summary

Gibbs graduated from the

Apaches
during frontier service in 1857. His pre-Civil War career was in cavalry service. During the Civil War, Gibbs commanded the only Union army volunteer regiment which was converted from an infantry regiment entirely to a cavalry regiment: The
1st Regiment New York Dragoons.[1]

After the conversion of Gibbs's regiment to cavalry service in August 1863, he was frequently assigned to command a cavalry brigade and briefly to command a cavalry division. He only was appointed to brigadier general of volunteers to rank from the date of the

Opequon or Third Winchester and Five Forks.[citation needed
]

As commander of an infantry regiment, Gibbs participated in the successful defense of

General Robert E. Lee from Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia.[citation needed
]

His brigade and division, under the command of Brig. Gen.

Battle of Sayler's Creek (sometimes shown as "Sailor's Creek"). Gibbs was present at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.[citation needed
]

Gibbs remained in the Regular Army as a major in the

7th U.S. Cavalry after the war. He served as Post Commander of Fort Harker, Kansas, on four different occasions from January 1867 to December 1868. His previous service apparently had taken a toll on him because he died of "congestion of the brain" on December 26, 1868, aged 45.[citation needed
]

Early life

Gibbs was born on his father's estate, now within

Secretary of the Treasury in the administrations of Presidents George Washington and John Adams[2] His older brothers were George Gibbs and Oliver Wolcott Gibbs.[3]

Gibbs attended school in

West Point, New York.[2] He graduated from West Point forty-second of fifty-nine in the class of 1846.[2] Only one reference cited below was found to mention Gibbs marrying or having children.[4] A Gibbs genealogy privately published in 1933 shows Gibbs was married and had two sons. He married Peggy Forshee Blair of Richmond, Virginia December 27, 1855.[5] They had two sons: Alfred Wolcott Gibbs (1856–1922), a railway mechanical engineer and Dr. John Blair Gibbs (1858–1898), an assistant surgeon, U.S. Navy.[6]

Mexican–American War, Apache Wars, & frontier service

After Gibbs graduated from the U. S. Military Academy in 1846, he was assigned to the Regiment of

Mounted Rifles[7] and served in the Mexican–American War in which he was wounded.[2] He was awarded the ranks of brevet first lieutenant and brevet captain for gallantry.[2] In 1847 he served with the Army of Occupation in Mexico City and became an original member of the Aztec Club of 1847
.

After the war ended, he served as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General

Persifor F. Smith until 1856.[2]

From 1856 through the beginning of the

Apaches at Cooke's Spring, New Mexico, in March 1857.[2]

American Civil War

Mesilla, San Agustin Springs

At the start of the Civil War, Gibbs was first lieutenant of the Regiment of Mounted Rifles of the U.S. Army (Regular Army).[8] Gibbs was taken prisoner after leading ten men (all that remained of his I Company R.M.R.)driving a herd of one hundred cattle from Fort Craig. Stopped to water the herd at San Agustin Springs, New Mexico[9] He and his soldiers were included with the Union forces surrendered by Major Isaac Lynde (7th U.S. Infantry) to Confederate forces from Texas under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor during the retreat of United States Army forces loyal to the Union from Fort Fillmore, New Mexico.[2] Gibbs was paroled but not exchanged until August 7, 1862.[8] In the meantime, on August 3, 1861, he was promoted to captain of the 3rd United States Cavalry Regiment.[8] Gibbs was in command at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan, between December 1861 and August 1862 while serving his parole.[10] Soon after his exchange, on September 6, 1862, Gibbs was commissioned as colonel of the 130th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment.[2] The regiment had been organized at Portage, New York, in August 1862.[11]

Suffolk, Peninsula, Bristoe, Mine Run

Gibbs's regiment was sent from Portage to Suffolk, Virginia and arrived on September 13, 1862.[12] Their position at Suffolk was located 18 miles southwest of Norfolk, Virginia, recently recaptured by Union forces, at the junction of two railroads.[13] The location covered the land access to Norfolk and access to the seaboard by water.[13] Gibbs joined the regiment soon after their arrival at Suffolk.[14] The department was commanded by Maj. Gen. John A. Dix from Fort Monroe and the forces in the Suffolk area were commanded by Maj. Gen. John J. Peck.[15]

After building fortifications, training and marching out from Suffolk on several expeditions, the regiment engaged in the

Roger Pryor driven from the field.[20]

The Confederates under Lt. Gen. James Longstreet attempted to recapture

Gettysburg Campaign.[10]

On August 11, 1863,

Bristoe Campaign in September 1863 through November 1863.[8] The Official Records of the Union Army[26] show an order of battle for August 31, 1863, in which the 19th New York Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was assigned to the Headquarters of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, commanding. Later the regiment was part of the Cavalry Reserve Brigade, Army of the Potomac ("Reserve Brigade") commanded by Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt when it was not under Gibbs's command.[27] The 19th New York Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment and the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiments comprised the brigade, which was occasionally called the "Regular Brigade."[28][29]

On and after August 12, 1863, Gibbs was intermittently assigned to temporary brigade, and briefly to division, command in the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac and the

Mine Run Campaign in December 1863.[10] After much picket duty, scouting and guarding trains, the regiment went into winter quarters at Mitchell's Station, Virginia, on December 27, 1863.[32]

Overland Campaign; Trevilian Station

As preparations began for the

Alfred T. A. Torbert needed an emergency operation to remove a painful abscess from his spine.[36] Gibbs again assumed command of the Reserve Brigade, which saw much hard duty at the Battle of Todd's Tavern.[28][30] At these battles, Merritt led the First Division of the Cavalry Corps and Gibbs was in command of the Reserve Brigade (which was the third brigade of three in the division).[28]

As the Battle of the Wilderness wound down, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, General Robert E. Lee, anticipated Union Army

John Gregg to the south across the Po River (Virginia) and the forces of Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee back to Todd's Tavern.[38] In the afternoon, Sheridan committed the Reserve Brigade, then under Gibbs, to the battle.[38] Gibbs ordered the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry to probe Fitzhugh Lee's line and to dismount and the other regiments to dismount and drive the Confederates back.[38] By dark, Lee's men had been pushed so far south that the Brock Road was open to immediate use by Grant and Meade.[38] Gibbs's brigade lost the majority of the 154 Union casualties.[38] Most of them were in his own regiment, which suffered more than 80 casualties, the most casualties of any mounted Union regiment in a single engagement.[38][39]

After the Confederate infantry beat the Union infantry to Spotsylvania Court House, Sheridan was permitted to conduct a raid in the direction of Richmond in order to draw off the Confederate cavalry and to proceed against them.

Thomas C. Devin's brigade, assisted by Gibbs's brigade, held the Brook Turnpike while other units, including George Armstrong Custer's brigade fought with Stuart's forces.[42] Stuart was mortally wounded by one of Custer's men, according to Longacre, and died the next day.[43]

On May 24, 1864, Sheridan's force returned to the Army of the Potomac and just before the Battle of Cold Harbor, May 26–June 3, 1864, Torbert returned to command of the division, Merritt to command of the Reserve Brigade and Gibbs to command of the 19th New York Volunteer Cavalry Regiment.[44] They engaged in bloody preliminary battles at the Battle of Haw's Shop and the Battle of Old Church or the Battle of Matadequin Creek.[45] Then, they took Confederate positions at Cold Harbor, held them against a counterattack and turned them over to the infantry on June 1, 1964.[46]

Gibbs and his regiment fought with distinction under Maj. Gen. Sheridan at the Battle of Trevilian Station, June 11–12, 1864,[30] part of a diversionary operation by Sheridan against the Virginia Central Railroad during Union Lt. Gen. Grant's stealthy transfer of his forces from the lines after the Battle of Cold Harbor to the south side of the James River in an effort to take Petersburg and Richmond while they were only lightly defended.[47] Torbert and Merritt remained in command of the 1st Division and the Reserve Brigade, respectively, during Sheridan's Trevilian Raid.[48] The Battle of Trevilian Station was the largest all-cavalry battle of the Civil War and it resulted in a victory by Confederate cavalry under the command of Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton.[49] Confederate forces counterattacked the Reserve Brigade early on June 11, 1864, after elements of that brigade attacked advance Confederate pickets.[50] Gibbs quickly mounted his men who left their breakfast unfinished and sent them into battle.[51] The Confederates killed and wounded several Union troopers and took several others prisoner, including Lieutenant Colonel Thorp of the 19th New York Cavalry (1st New York Dragoons).[51] Later, Merritt's brigade had to cut their way through Confederate resistance to free Custer's brigade, which had become surrounded.[52] Although the Reserve Brigade cut through to Custer, Custer lost 22 per cent of his men on that day, most of them missing or captured.[53] After eight hours of fighting on a hot day without food or drink, Gibbs was overcome by sunstroke and had to leave the field.[54] The Union forces sustained heavy losses again on June 12, 1864, and were turned back without achieving their objectives of doing significant damage to the Virginia Central Railroad and linking up with Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter and returning with his force to the Army of the Potomac.[55]

After a period of rest, the brigade took part in the Battle of Darbytown Road on July 27–28, 1864 when it was attacked while dismounted by three brigades of Confederate infantry.[56] Then they marched to the Petersburg lines in time to witness the Battle of the Crater.[56]

Shenandoah Valley

Gibbs's brigade was transferred to the

U.S. Volunteers as of the date of the 1864 Valley Campaign's decisive Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864, but this promotion did not take effect until December 8, 1864, after it had been confirmed and communicated.[2][30] Gibbs resigned as colonel of the 19th New York Cavalry on December 8, 1864, when his promotion to brigadier general came through.[58]

On August 11, 1864, the 19th New York Cavalry met an entire division of Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's force under Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon at the Battle of Newtown.[59] The depleted regiment, armed with 7-shot Spencer repeating rifles, held off the Confederates until they could be reinforced by the rest of the brigade.[60] They suffered 29 killed and seriously wounded and several felled by sunstroke.[60] On August 13, 1864, Confederate guerrilla forces under Col. John S. Mosby destroyed 75 of the brigade's wagons and captured 200 prisoners, including a few of the men of the 19th New York Cavalry.[61] At the Battle of Shepherdstown, near Leetown and Kearneysville, on August 24, 1864,[62] Custer came to the rescue of the surprised and nearly surrounded 19th New York Cavalry (1st New York Dragoons) much as he had been aided by their brigade at Trevilian Station.[61] The brigade and Custer's brigade fought two more sharp engagements at Smithtown on August 28–29, 1864.[63]

On September 9, 1864, the 19th New York Cavalry was transfer to the second brigade of Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Devin.

Battle of Opequon or Third Battle of Winchester.[65] The 19th New York Cavalry struck the Confederate outposts on the Opequon Creek at Sewer's Ford, about seven miles northeast of Winchester, Virginia.[66] Captain Alexander K. Thorp, brother of the regiment's Lt. Col. Thomas Thorp, who had been taken prisoner at Trevilian Station, was killed near the beginning of this battle.[66] At a key point in the battle, Devin sent his entire division charging into the Confederate infantry's line of battle inflicting a great number of casualties, including the taking of many prisoners.[67] Devin wrote that Gibbs led his regiment in gallant style.[67] The cavalry charges sent the remaining Confederate infantry fleeing from the field.[68]

After his promotion to brigadier general in December 1864, Gibbs took command of the Reserve Brigade, which became the Third Brigade of the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Shenandoah, under Brig. Gen.

James River Canal between February 27, 1865, and March 20, 1865, including the actions against the North Anna and South Anna bridges on March 14–15, 1865.[10]

Petersburg; Appomattox

Gibbs commanded the brigade after the division's reassignment to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac between March 25, 1865, and May 25, 1865.[8] Gibbs's brigade returned to the Siege of Petersburg with Sheridan on March 26, 1865.[30][70] The brigade included the First, Fifth and Sixth United States Cavalry Regiments, the Second Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and the 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (6 companies).[71]

On March 31, 1865, Lt. Gen. Grant placed General Sheridan in command of Gouverneur Warren's V Corps of Army of the Potomac infantry and of all cavalry.[72] The two divisions of cavalry from the Army of the Shenandoah in the cavalry corps were under the command of Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt.[73] Gibbs headed the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division under the command of Brig. Gen. Thomas Devin.[73] The 3rd Division of this corps was under the command of Brig. Gen. George Custer.[73] The 2nd Division, from the Army of the Potomac, was under the command of Maj. Gen. George Crook.[73] Two cavalry brigades from the cavalry division of the Army of the James under the command of Brig. Gen. Ranald S. Mackenzie also were under Sheridan's overall command.[73]

Merritt's cavalry, including Devin's division which included Gibbs's brigade, played a significant part in the Union Army's near surrounding of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and stretching their lines to the breaking point in the last days of the Siege of Petersburg.

George E. Pickett's advance toward Dinwiddie Court House.[74] They then rallied with Custer's brigade about three-quarters of a mile from Dinwiddie.[74] Pickett could not achieve a breakthrough before nightfall halted the battle.[74] Both armies concentrated on defenses on March 31. Early on April 1, Pickett learned that Union infantry reinforcements were coming up, so he withdrew his forces northward to Five Forks, which Lee had ordered him to hold at all costs.[75] Devin's cavalry, including Gibbs's brigade, hit the front of Pickett's defense on April 1, 1864, while Brig. Gen. Romeyn B. Ayres infantry division of V Corps hit the left flank and Brig. Gen. Custer's cavalry brigade attacked the right flank.[76] The attack led to the collapse of Pickett's position and required the Confederates to abandon Petersburg and Richmond.[76]

Additional infantry corps and accompanying cavalry were placed under Sheridan's command during the

Battle of Sayler's Creek, Virginia, on April 6, 1865, three days before the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, where Gibbs was present.[2][8][10][30]

Devin's 1st Cavalry Division was the third division after Maj. Gen. Meade and his headquarters staff and General Merritt and his headquarters staff to march in the grand review in Washington on May 23, 1865. Gibbs's brigade marched first in the division.[78] Only the volunteer regiments marched in the review with Gibbs.[78] The 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment marched as Maj. Gen. Merritt's headquarters escort.[79] Gibb's old regiment, the 19th New York Cavalry (1st New York Dragoons) marched with the next brigade under their final brigade commander, Col. C. L. Fitzhugh.[78]

Brevet awards; Post-war service; Death

Gibbs commanded the 1st Brigade Cavalry Forces, Military Division of the Gulf, between August 20, 1865, and October 17, 1865, and the 1st Division between October 17, 1865, and December 15, 1865.

7th United States Cavalry Regiment.[10]

On January 13, 1866, President

U.S. Senate confirmed the award on March 12, 1866.[80] On July 17, 1866, President Johnson nominated Gibbs for the award of the honorary rank of brevet major general, United States Army (Regular Army), to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on July 23, 1866.[81] Gibbs received his brevet awards for service at the Battle of Trevilian Station, the Third Battle of Winchester and the Battle of Five Forks.[8]

Gibbs remained in the regular army following the war. After a leave of absence between January 15, 1866, and April 30, 1866, and recruiting service between April 30, 1866, and September 30, 1866, he served in various forts around Kansas, being transferred 9 times in 14 months.[10]

General Gibbs died while on active duty as a

7th U.S. Cavalry at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, of "congestion of the brain" on December 26, 1868.[2][8] Alfred Gibbs is buried in Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
.

Family

Gibbs' son, Acting Assistant Surgeon John Blair Gibbs, USN (b. 1858), was killed in action at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on June 12, 1898. He graduated from

Alfred W. Gibbs
was a noted mechanical engineer.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "1st Dragoons Regiment :: New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center". museum.dmna.ny.gov.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Warner 1964, pp. 172–173
  3. ^ Stevens, John Austin (1873). A Memorial of George Gibbs ...: Read Before the New-York Historical Society, Oct. 7, 1873. Society. pp. 5–6.
  4. ^ His obituary in the New York Times for December 28, 1868, does not mention any family. Retrieved December 22, 2010
  5. ^ NY Herald Tribune, January 2, 1856
  6. OCLC 6079052
  7. ^ Morton, Charles. "The Third Regiment of Cavalry". US Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-8160-1055-2
    . p. 246
  9. ^ Sometimes this location is spelled San Augustin.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cullum 1891, p. 289
  11. ^ Bowen, 1900. p. 8
  12. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 14
  13. ^ a b Bowen, 1900, p. 15
  14. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 21
  15. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 27
  16. ^ Bowen, 1900, pp. 58–68
  17. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 59
  18. ^ a b c d e Bowen, 1900, p. 62
  19. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 63
  20. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 64
  21. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 69–78
  22. ^ Bowen, 1900, pp. 72-75
  23. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 75
  24. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 78
  25. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 89 says the order to convert the regiment to cavalry was dated July 28, 1863, and Maj. Gen. George Meade ordered the regiment to report to Manassas on August 2, 1863. Bowen also states that the 130th New York Infantry was the only Union regiment completely converted to cavalry.
  26. ^ U.S. War Dept. The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XXIX, Part 2, 1890, p. 128
  27. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 104
  28. ^ a b c Rhea 2005, p. 338
  29. ^ Hatcher 1891, pp. 359, 363
  30. ^
    ISBN 0-8129-1726-X
    . First published 1959 by McKay, p. 341
  31. ^ a b Bowen, 1900, p. 102
  32. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 105
  33. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 136
  34. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 139 gives the date as April 13, 1864.
  35. ^ Sifakis, 1988, p. 446
  36. ISBN 0-8071-3021-4
    (pbk.). Hardcover ed., 1994
  37. ^
    ISBN 0-8117-1049-1
    . p. 259
  38. ^ a b c d e f Longacre, 2000. p. 260
  39. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 143
  40. ^ Longacre, 2000, p. 263
  41. ^ Longacre, 2000, p. 264
  42. ^ a b Longacre, 2000, p. 266
  43. ^ Longacre, 2000, p. 267; Bowen, 1900, pp. 161–162 says that Shedrick L. Pealer of the 19th New York Cavalry, who was killed at Cold Harbor on May 31, 1864, fired the shot that killed Maj. Gen. Stuart.
  44. ISBN 978-0-8071-3244-9
    (pbk.) Hardcover edition, 2002.
  45. ^ Bowen, 1900, pp. 169–180
  46. ^ Bowen, 1900, pp. 172–180
  47. ^ Boatner, 1988 ed., p. 848
  48. ISBN 978-0-8032-5967-6
    (pbk.) p. 332. Hardcover edition 2001
  49. ^ Wittenberg, 2007, p. xvii
  50. ^ Wittenberg, 2007, pp. 71–76
  51. ^ a b Wittenberg, 2007, p. 77
  52. ^ Wittenberg, 2007, p. 136
  53. ^ Wittenberg, 2007, p. 303
  54. ^ Wittenberg, 2007, p. 138
  55. ^ Wittenberg, 2007, pp. 304–305
  56. ^ a b Bowen, 1900, pp. 202–203
  57. ^ Cullum gives the information about the first division command and the leave of absence. Other sources do not specifically account for these periods of time.
  58. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 371
  59. ^ Bowen, 1900, pp. 210–211
  60. ^ a b c Bowen, 1900, p. 211
  61. ^ a b Bowen, 1900, p. 213
  62. ^ This should not be confused with the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown.
  63. ^ Bowen, 1900, pp. 219–223
  64. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 212
  65. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 227
  66. ^ a b Bowen, 1900, p. 229
  67. ^ a b Bowen, 1900, p. 232
  68. ^ Bowen, 1900, p. 233
  69. ^ a b Burr & Hinton 1890, pp. 272–273
  70. ^ Burr, 1890, p. 263
  71. ^ Marvel 2006, p. 237
  72. ^ Burr, 1890, p. 273
  73. ^ a b c d e Burr, 1890, p. 283.
  74. ^ a b c Greene 2008, p. 178
  75. ^ Greene 2008, p. 182
  76. ^ a b Wilson, 2008, pp. 182–188
  77. ^ Burr, 1890, pp. 283–284
  78. ^ a b c Tremain 1904, pp. 500, 502
  79. ^ Tremain 1904, p. 500
  80. ^ Eicher & Eicher 2001, p. 712
  81. ^ Eicher & Eicher 2001, p. 707
  82. ^ "Marine Monument at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba | My Blog".

References

External links
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