George P. Foster
George Perkins Foster (October 3, 1835 – March 19, 1879) was a school teacher,
Early life and career
Foster was born in Walden, Vermont, the son of Ephraim and Emily (Perkins) Foster. Of his early life little is known except that he was a teacher in his hometown school district.[1][2]
Civil War
He was commissioned
According to Vermont's military historian, George Benedict, Foster was "of stalwart proportions, and handsome face and figure, he was one of the finest looking officers in the brigade. He was a favorite with his men, distinguished himself as emphatically a fighting colonel."[3]
He was present in every action of the
At the
He was nominated to receive the brevet rank of brigadier general by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious service before Richmond and in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia," to date from August 1, 1864. The Senate approved the appointment on February 14, 1865.[4][5]
He mustered out of Federal service with his regiment on July 13, 1865.
Postwar career
President
His tenure was highlighted "by his bold arrest of the Fenian commander, General John O'Neill, in the midst of his army, during the Fenian invasion of Canada, in 1870."[8] He made the arrest immediately after O'Neill's defeat at the Battle of Trout River.
He died in Burlington, Vermont, and is buried in Burlington's Lakeview Cemetery.
See also
Notes
- ^ Child, Hamilton (1887). "Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, VT., 1764-1887". pp. 355–368.
- ^ Benedict, G. G. (1888). Vermont in the Civil War. A History of the part taken by the Vermont Soldiers And Sailors in the War For The Union, 1861-5. Burlington, VT.: The Free Press Association. p. 168.
- ^ Benedict, i:168
- ^ Senate Executive Journal, Monday, February 6, 1865, online; Internet.
- ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1. p. 745.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Senate Executive Journal, Monday, January 10, 1870, online; History of Marshals for the District of Vermont, http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/vt/general/history.htm
- ^ Benedict, i:168fn
References
- Benedict, G. G., Vermont in the Civil War. A History of the part taken by the Vermont Soldiers And Sailors in the War For The Union, 1861-5. Burlington, VT.: The Free Press Association, 1888, i:162, 163, 164, 165, 167, 168, 174, 176, 216, 414, 425, 485, 526, 545, 566, 572, 612.
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
- History of Marshals for the District of Vermont, United States Marshals Service
- Peck, Theodore S., compiler, Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, 1861-66. Montpelier, VT.: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892, p. 751
Further reading
- Coffin, Howard, Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War. Woodstock, VT.: Countryman Press, 1995.
- -----. The Battered Stars: One State's Civil War Ordeal during Grant's Overland Campaign. Woodstock, VT.: Countryman Press, 2002.
- U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.
External links
- "George P. Foster". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
- The Fenians and the American Civil War