John G. Foster

John Gray Foster
Department of North Carolina Army of the Ohio XVIII Corps Department of the South
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War Battle of Vera Cruz Battle of Cerro Gordo Battle of Contreras Battle of Churubusco Battle of Molino del Rey American Civil War Battle of Fort Sumter Burnside's North Carolina Expedition Battle of Roanoke Island Battle of New Bern Battle of Fort Macon Goldsborough Expedition Battle of Kinston Battle of White Hall Battle of Goldsborough Bridge Tidewater Operations Battle of Washington Knoxville Campaign Battle of Bean's Station Sherman's March to the Sea
Other work	Assistant Professor of Engineering at West Point, Assistant to the Chief of Engineers in Washington D.C., Superintendent of the Harbor of Refuge, Author
Signature

John Gray Foster (May 27, 1823 – September 2, 1874) was an American soldier. A career military officer in the

From 1862 to December 1863 Foster commanded the Department of North Carolina. After the Emancipation Proclamation, he appointed Horace James, a Congregational minister, to help freedmen prepare for independent life, and directed a former contraband camp to be developed as the Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island. By 1864, 2,200 freedmen were settled on household plots. Many worked for pay for the Army, which held the forts. Under President Andrew Johnson, after the war, the Army abandoned the colony. Most of the freedmen chose to return to the mainland for work.

Early life

Foster was born in

He first served as an engineer during the Mexican–American War, under Winfield Scott. Severely wounded at the Battle of Molino del Rey, he won two brevet promotions for bravery. After the war, Foster returned to West Point as an instructor. In 1858 he was on engineering duty in Charleston Harbor, where he helped in the construction of Fort Sumter.

Civil War

Promoted to

After General Burnside was transferred to

By 1864, 2,200 freedmen lived on Roanoke Island, settled on individual household plots, and working for pay for the Army. James recruited teachers and founded several schools. A sawmill was built and a fisheries started. More than 150 freedmen from the island joined the nearly 4,000 from North Carolina who joined the United States Colored Troops. After the war, the Army dismantled the forts. Due to President Andrew Johnson's returning lands to Confederate landowners, the colony was abandoned. Most of the freedmen chose to be transported to the mainland, where they looked for work. By 1870, only 300 remained on the island.^[1]

In December 1863, Foster was sent to

Foster was assigned to command of the Department of Florida at the end of the war, receiving a promotion to the rank of major general in the volunteer service and brevet major general in the regular army.

Postbellum

After the war, Foster remained in the army, being promoted to

Foster died in Nashua, New Hampshire, and was buried in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua Cemetery. The first official reunion of the New Hampshire Veterans Association, which took place in Manchester, New Hampshire in October 1875, was named Camp J.G. Foster.^{[citation needed]}

Honors

• The John G. Foster Post #7 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Nashua was named in his honor.
• In 1900,
  Fort Foster in Maine
  was named in his memory by the US Army. It is preserved as a park.
• A statue of him stands on Lock Street in the French Hill neighborhood of Nashua, New Hampshire, including a plaque honoring his achievements.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals (Union)

References

• Eicher, John H., and
  ISBN 0-8047-3641-3
  .

• Clarence E.E. Stout, "John Gray Foster," The Granite Monthly, (1882).
• Frank G. Noyes, "Biographical sketch of Major-General John G. Foster, son of New Hampshire, soldier of the Republic," The Granite Monthly, (1899).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John G. Foster.

• John G. Foster webpage
• Fort Foster webpage
• Foster biography