George H. Crosman

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George H. Crosman
The Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AllegianceUnited StatesUnited States of America
Union
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1823–1866
RankColonel
Brevet Major General
Commands held
Battles/warsBlack Hawk War
Second Seminole War
Mexican–American War
American Civil War

George Hampden Crosman (November 2, 1799 – May 28, 1882) was a career officer in the

Quartermaster Corps
.

After graduating from the

U.S. Camel Corps to better transport supplies. As an officer in the Quartermaster Corps, he played a notable role in the Second Seminole War, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. During the Civil War, he rose to the rank of brevet major general and held a number of important posts in the Quartermaster Corps, most notably as quartermaster of the Schuylkill Arsenal
in Philadelphia, the army's largest supply depot of that era.

Early career

Born in

6th United States Infantry. During the 1820s, he served at various posts on the frontier with the 6th Infantry including: Fort Mackinac, Michigan; Fort Atkinson, Nebraska; and Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.[2] Crosman participated in General Atkinson's expedition up the Missouri River in 1825 and served in the Black Hawk War of 1832. As a line officer, he was detailed several times for various quartermaster duties, including during the Second Seminole War, until he was transferred from the Infantry to the Quartermaster Department in 1838.[1]

Crosman was among the first officers in the U.S. Army to advocate the military use of

U.S. Camel Corps. Subsequently, camels were successfully used in several minor army expeditions in the desert regions of the Southwestern United States in the 1840s and 1850s. By the time of the Civil War, however, the concept of a Camel Corps had been abandoned.[3]

During the Mexican–American War, Captain Crosman served as an assistant quartermaster. Although his duties did not typically require him to be in the line of fire, he was nonetheless awarded the brevet rank of major during the Battle of Palo Alto "for gallant and meritorious service" when the supply train of which he was in charge came under attack.[1]

Civil War service

During the 1850s, Crosman remained in the Quartermaster Corps. In the months leading up to the Civil War, he was stationed in Utah and held the rank of lieutenant colonel.[4]

With the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, Crosman was appointed Chief Quartermaster of the Department of Pennsylvania.[2] During the summer of 1861, this military department encompassed all army installations and military personnel stationed in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. In this capacity, Crosman was in charge of distributing food and supplies across three states.[5]

After the Department of Pennsylvania was merged with the Department of the Potomac in August 1861, Crosman served as quartermaster for units in the field, most notably as quartermaster for the

Northern Virginia Campaign.[4]

In September 1862, Crosman was transferred to Philadelphia and served as quartermaster of the

U.S. Senate confirmed the award on April 16, 1867.[11]

Post-war life and legacy

On the day following the confirmation of his award of the grade of brevet brigadier general, July 26, 1866, Crosman resigned from active service in the army.[1] However, on August 27, 1866, he was appointed Chief Quartermaster, Department of the East.[7] Headquartered in Philadelphia, Crosman oversaw sale of surplus military property until August, 1867.[12] After his final retirement he lived with his wife, Hannah Blair Foster Crosman, in Philadelphia.[13] He died on May 28, 1882, in Philadelphia.[4] His granddaughter was the stage and film actress Henrietta Crosman.

The

George H. Crosman United States Army Reserve Center in Taunton, Massachusetts, was named for him.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Bowen, 907–908.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Mexican War
  3. ^ Field and Hook, 5.
  4. ^ a b c d Eicher, 192.
  5. ^ Heidler, 587.
  6. ^ Heidler, 1584.
  7. ^ a b "Corpus Christi Public Libraries | City of Corpus Christi".
  8. ISBN 1-56013-002-4
    . p. 125
  9. ^ Eicher, 733
  10. ^ Hunt and Brown, 125
  11. ^ Eicher, 706
  12. ^ [Philadelphia] "Evening Telegraph", May 5, 1866 (page 3, col. 5) through August 19, 1867 (page 7, col. 6) all at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
  13. ^ 1880 U.S. Census
  14. ^ Department of Defense Base Structure Report

References

External links

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