Christopher C. Augur
Christopher C. Augur | |
---|---|
12th U.S. Infantry | |
Battles/wars | Yakima War Rogue River Wars Mexican–American War American Civil War |
Christopher Columbus Augur (July 10, 1821 – January 16, 1898) was an American military officer, most noted for his role in the American Civil War. Although less well known than many other army contemporaries, he was considered an able battlefield commander.
Early life
Augur was born in
Civil War
Augur was promoted to the rank of Major in the 13th Infantry on May 14, 1861.[4] The American Civil War was just over four months old when Augur was made Commandant of Cadets at West Point on August 26, 1861, replacing John F. Reynolds who, newly promoted to Brigadier General, had left that position on June 25, 1861, to perform other military duties.[5] Augur served as Commandant of Cadets and West Point's infantry tactics instructor until December 5, 1861.[6]
In November 1861, Augur was appointed
On December 14, 1862, Major General
During the Siege of Port Hudson, which lasted from April 27 to July 9, 1863, Augur commanded the First Division in the XIX Corps of Major General Bank's Army of the Gulf.[10][11] Banks had replaced Butler as the Army's commander in December 1862.[12][13] Augur's First Division acted as the left wing of Bank's army throughout the siege.[4] Augur was brevetted first to Brigadier General in the United States Army on March 13, 1865, for his meritorious service during the Post Hudson Campaign and then, on the same date, brevetted to Major General for his service during the war.[4]
After the fall of Port Hudson, Augur was assigned command of the
Augur was one of the Army officers who were present at the Petersen House where the mortally wounded President Abraham Lincoln was taken after he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. At Secretary of War Edwin Stanton's request, Augur went into the street and called out for a competent phonographer who knew shorthand well enough to take verbatim notes for Stanton as he interviewed witnesses to that night's tragic event.[14] Corporal James R. Tanner answered Augur's call and volunteered to transcribe the witness accounts for Secretary Stanton.[15] Augur escorted Corporal Tanner into the Petersen House where he introduced Tanner to Secretary Stanton and Chief Justice David K. Cartter, who was also present for the depositions.[16] Augur then outlined to Tanner what his duties would be for the rest of the night.[16]
Throughout that fateful night, and in the following days, Augur was instrumental in mobilizing troops in his command to pursue and eventually capture Booth and his co-conspirators,
At about 9:30 a.m. on the morning of April 15, 1865, about ninety minutes after Mr. Lincoln had succumbed to the assassin's bullet, Augur served as one of the officers who walked as escorts for the president's body from the Petersen House, where the president died, to the White House.[20] On Wednesday, April 19, 1865, Augur served as the officer in charge of the military procession that escorted the president's body from the White House to the Capitol where it lie in state.[21]
Postbellum career
Following the war, Augur went on to command several military departments: the
He was a member of the Aztec Club of 1847, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.
Augur died in
See also
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-8379-3201-7.
- ^ Bishop, Jim (1955). The Day Lincoln Was Shot. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers. p. 299.
- ^ Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Christopher Columbus Augur, Major General, United States Army". www.arlingtoncemetery.net.
- ^ Boynton, Edward Carlisle (1864). History of West Point: And Its Military Importance During the American Revolution: and the Origin and Progress of the United States Military Academy. New York: D. Van Nostrand. p. 316.
- ^ Boynton, op. cit., p. 316.
- ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 702
- ISBN 0-317-52753-3.
- ^ Brown, op. cit. p. 218.
- ^ Edmonds, David C. (1984). The Guns of Port Hudson: The Investment, Siege and Investment. Lafayette, Louisiana: The Acadiana Press. p. 387.
- ^ a b Eicher, op. cit. p. 862.
- ^ Hewitt, Lawrence L. (1987). Port Hudson, Confederate Bastion on the Mississippi. Louisiana State University Press. p. 34.
- ^ a b Boatner, Mark M. III (1984). The Civil War Dictionary: Revised Edition. David McKay Company, Inc. p. 34.
- ISBN 0-8131-2217-1.
- ^ Steers, op. cit., p. 128.
- ^ a b Bishop, op. cit., p. 239.
- ^ Steers, op. cit. p. 128.
- ^ Steers, op. cit., pp. 194–95.
- ^ Steers, op. cit., pp. 200–05.
- ^ Steers, op. cit., p. 269.
- ^ Steers, op. cit., p. 171.
- ^ https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/393.html#393.4%7C Records of United States Army Continental Commands, 1821–1920
- ^ "Treaty with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache, 1867" (Medicine Lodge Treaty). Archived May 30, 2017, at the Wayback Machine 15 Stats. 589, October 21, 1867. Ratified July 25, 1868; proclaimed August 25, 1868. In Charles J. Kappler, compiler and editor, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties — Vol. II: Treaties, pp. 982–984. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1904. Through Oklahoma State University Library, Electronic Publishing Center.
- ^ "Treaty with the Sioux — Brulé, Oglala, Miniconjou, Yanktonai, Hunkpapa, Blackfeet, Cuthead, Two Kettle, Sans Arcs, and Santee — and Arapaho, 1868" (Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868). Archived November 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine 15 Stat. 635, April 29, 1868. Ratified February 16, 1868; proclaimed February 24, 1868. In Charles J. Kappler, compiler and editor, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties — Vol. II: Treaties. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. 998–1007. Through Oklahoma State University Library, Electronic Publishing Center...
- ^ Eicher, 2001, p. 109
Bibliography
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the New International Encyclopedia. Vol. 2 (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. p. 243.
- Augur, E.P. The Augur Family. Middletown, Connecticut, 1904.
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Keenan, Jerry. Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars, ABC-CLIO, Inc.: California, 1997. ISBN 0-87436-796-4
- Who Was Who in American History – the Military. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1975. ISBN 0-8379-3201-7.