John W. Sprague
John Wilson Sprague (April 4, 1817 – December 27, 1893) was an American soldier and railroad executive. He served as a
Early life and career
John W. Sprague was born in White Creek, New York, on April 4, 1817, the son of Otis and Polly (Peck) Sprague. He was educated in the district school of his neighborhood and at the age of thirteen entered the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York. He left school before graduation to engage in the grocery business, and in 1845 removed to Milan, Ohio, where he continued the business of a merchant in the shipping and commission sales businesses. He afterward settled in Sandusky and was for one term (1851–52) the treasurer of Erie County, Ohio.[1][2][3]
He was married to Lucy Wright, daughter of a judge of Huron County, Ohio. However, she died in Troy, New York, in May 1844, not long after giving birth to a daughter.[4] He was remarried to Julia Frances Choate of Milan; the couple had five children of their own.
In the late 1850s he organized and equipped a line of sailboats and steamers for traffic on Lake Erie and was engaged in that business when war erupted.
Civil War service
With the outbreak of the Civil War and President
Later that month, Sprague was appointed as the
For the next several months, Sprague took part in the army's general operations in northern
During the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, Sprague was in command of the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division of the Sixteenth Army Corps. During the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864, at a subsidiary action near Decatur, Georgia, he masterfully conducted a delaying action under heavy enemy fire and received praise from his superiors. With only a small command, he defeated an overwhelming Confederate force and saved the entire ordnance and supply trains of the XV, XVI, XVII, and XX corps.[2][5]
Sprague was promoted to the rank of
From April 1865 until September 1866, Sprague was the assistant commissioner of the
Postbellum career
He was appointed as the manager of the Winona & St. Paul Railway in Minnesota. In 1870 he became the general manager of the Western Division of the Northern Pacific Railway and co-established the city of Tacoma, Washington, on Puget Sound. He was instrumental in selecting the route for the railroad's Pacific Division, from what later became Kalama, Washington, to Tacoma. In 1883 he had the honor of driving the golden spike on the completion of his division. However, he suffered from poor health and was forced to resign a few months later.[1][2]
He was active in building up the new city of Tacoma and was president of the board of trade and of various banks and corporations. He served as the town's first mayor, became prominent in its financial circles, and was president of the National Bank, Tacoma Chamber of Commerce, and the Tacoma Steam Navigation Company. His second wife Julia died in 1886. He later married Abigail Choate.
The town of Sprague, Washington, founded in 1880, was named for General Sprague.[8] Lincoln County, Washington, was originally named for Sprague, until opposition from political enemy (and former Union colonel) Joseph H. Houghton, a Washington Territory legislator.[9]
After suffering for several years from
The John W. Sprague Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was named in his honor.
Medal of Honor citation
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Medal_of_honor_old.jpg/80px-Medal_of_honor_old.jpg)
SPRAGUE, JOHN W.[10]
Rank and Organization: Colonel, 63d Ohio Infantry. Place and Date: At Decatur, Ga., 22 July 1862. Entered Service At: Sandusky, Ohio Born: 4 April 1817, White Creek, N.Y. Date of Issue: 18 January 1894.
Citation:
With a small command defeated an overwhelming force of the enemy and saved the trains of the corps.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d Warner, pp. 468-69.
- ^ a b c d e f Smith, pp. 344-45.
- ^ a b c Wilson, p. 455.
- ^ Wright genealogy at rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- 35th New Jersey Infantry.
- ^ Eicher, 2001, p. 715.
- ^ Encyclopedia of Arkansas Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ "Sprague history". Archived from the original on 2004-11-05. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ "Washington Territorial Legislature creates Lincoln County on November 1, 1883." at HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Medal of Honor citation at homeofheroes.com. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
References
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Evans, David, "The Fight for the Wagons: A Battle in Decatur." Civil War Times Illustrated, February 1988.
- Smith, Charles H., The History of Fuller's Ohio Brigade, 1861-1865. Cleveland: 1909.
- Warner, Ezra J. (1964). Generals in Blue: The Lives of the Union Commanders. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7..
- Wilson, Lawrence, Itinerary of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1864. New York and Washington: The Neale Publishing Company, 1907.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "Sprague photo gallery at generalsandbrevets.com". Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- "Rededication of Sprague's grave in Tacoma". Archived from the original on September 29, 2006. Retrieved September 29, 2010.