Robert H. Milroy
Robert Huston Milroy | |
---|---|
![]() Robert H. Milroy during the war | |
Nickname(s) | "the Gray Eagle"[1][2] |
Born | near Salem, Indiana | June 11, 1816
Died | March 29, 1890 Olympia, Washington | (aged 73)
Place of burial | Masonic Memorial Park, Tumwater, Washington |
Allegiance | ![]() Union |
Service/ | United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1846–1847; 1861–1865 |
Rank | ![]() |
Commands held | 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Signature | ![]() |
Robert Huston Milroy (June 11, 1816 – March 29, 1890) was a lawyer, judge, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War, most noted for his defeat at the Second Battle of Winchester in 1863.
Early life
Milroy was born on a farm near the hamlet of Canton, five miles east of Salem, Indiana, but the family moved to Carroll County in 1826. He graduated from Norwich Academy in Vermont in 1843. He moved to Texas in 1845, returning to Indiana in 1847. He was a captain in the 1st Indiana Volunteers during the Mexican War, but did not see any combat action. He graduated from Indiana University Law School in 1850 and became a lawyer and judge in Rensselaer, Indiana.
Civil War
Just before
On May 8–9, 1862, Milroy led Union forces in the Battle of McDowell against Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Milroy's "spoiling attack" surprised Jackson, seized the initiative, and inflicted heavier casualties, but did not drive the Confederates from their position.
Milroy led a brigade at the Battle of Cross Keys on June 8, 1862. His brigade consisted of 5 Virginia regiments loyal to the Union (later designated as West Virginia units,) 1 Ohio regiments and 3 Ohio artillery batteries.
At Second Bull Run, Milroy faced Jackson once again; leading his brigade into a gap in the Confederate line, he managed to surprise the brigade of Brig. Gen
The low point of Milroy's military career was during the early days of the
General-in-chief
As Ewell's Confederate Second Corps closed in on Winchester, Milroy was further blinded by the fact that his
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/General_Robert_H._Milroy_-_NARA_-_527012_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-General_Robert_H._Milroy_-_NARA_-_527012_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On June 15, 1863, Milroy escaped with his staff, but over 3,000 of his men were captured, as were all of his artillery pieces and 300 supply wagons. He was called before a court of inquiry to answer for his actions, but after ten months he was relieved of any culpability for the debacle.
During the attack on Winchester, Milroy's horse was hit by an exploding shell. He was thrown from the saddle and bruised his left hip in the process, but did not seek any medical attention and instead merely mounted another horse.
After this period of inactivity, Milroy was transferred to the
Postbellum career
After the war, Milroy was a trustee of the Wabash and Erie Canal Company and, from 1872 to 1875, he was the superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Washington Territory and an Indian agent for the following ten years. During this time he was active in ensuring that the aging Yakama chief, Kamiakin, would not be evicted from his ancestral land by area ranchers.
Not long after the war ended, Milroy began suffering extensive pain from his hip injury at Winchester which worsened as he got older, eventually impairing his mobility and requiring him to use a cane. Doctors diagnosed his condition as chronic inflammation of the ligaments around the hip joint. Milroy died from heart failure in Olympia, Washington on May 29, 1890, and is buried in the Masonic Memorial Park at Tumwater, Washington.[8]
He was the author of Papers of General Robert Huston Milroy, published posthumously in 1965 and 1966.
Commemoration
Milroy is the namesake of the city of Milroy, Minnesota.[9]
See also
- List of American Civil War generals (Union)
- White Top, on which Fort Milroy — named for the General — was emplaced.
Notes
- ISBN 9780786425082.
- ^ "Robert H. Milroy". Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.
- ^ Warner, p. 326.
- ^ Eicher, p. 391.
- ^ Eicher, p. 704.
- Gettysburg Campaign, noted there were many traces of Milroy's troops (and of their leader's) harsh conduct during their occupation of Winchester.
- ^ "Rousseau's Official Report". murfreesboropost.com.
- ^ "Gen. Milroy is Dead". The Oregonian. Olympia, Washington. March 30, 1890. p. 2. Retrieved December 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 450.
References
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Fremantle, Arthur Lyon, Three Months in the Southern States: April–June 1863, New York: John Bradburn, 1864.
- Sword, Wiley, The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville, University Press of Kansas, 1992, ISBN 0-7006-0650-5.
- Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
Further reading
- Grunder, Charles S. and Brandon H. Beck, The Battle of Second Winchester, H.E. Howard, Inc., ISBN 978-0-930919-90-0.
External links
Media related to Robert H. Milroy at Wikimedia Commons
- General Milroy Collection - Jasper County (Indiana) Public Library