- Frank Wheaton
Infobox Person
name = Frank Wheaton
caption = Major General Frank Wheaton
dead=dead
birth_date = birth date|1833|5|8|df=y,
birth_place =Providence, Rhode Island .
death_date = death date and age|1903|6|18|1833|5|8|df=y,
death_place =Washington, D.C. .Frank Wheaton (
May 8 ,1833 –June 18 ,1903 ) was a career military officer in theUnited States Army during theAmerican Civil War andIndian Wars .Early life and career
Wheaton was born in
Providence, Rhode Island , and was educated in the local schools. He attendedBrown University , but withdrew at the age of seventeen to take a position with Mexican-American Boundary Commission, where he worked for the next five years. In 1855, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Cavalry and assigned to duty on the Indianfrontier .Civil War
When the Civil War started, Wheaton was commissioned as lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry on
July 10 ,1861 . His father-in-law, General Samuel Cooper, was the ranking general for the Confederacy, whereas Wheaton fought for the Union. Wheaton's unit fought at theFirst Battle of Bull Run , where its commander, Col. John Slocum, was killed. Wheaton took command of the unit, was promoted tocolonel effectiveJuly 21 ,1861 , and led the 2nd Rhode Island during thePeninsula Campaign , where he was commended for his actions at theBattle of Williamsburg . At theBattle of Antietam , the regiment was kept in the rear and out of the battle. OnNovember 29 ,1862 , Wheaton was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers and placed in command of the 3rd Brigade (62d NY, 93d Pa, 98th Pa, 102 Pa & 139 Pa), 3rd Division, VI Corps. He led them in heavy fighting at theBattle of Chancellorsville . His brigade, under the command of ColonelDavid J. Nevin of the 62nd New York, was the only brigade of the VI Corps to see action on the afternoon of the second day of theBattle of Gettysburg after completing a forced march of approximately 30 miles from Manchester, Maryland that day. At Gettysburg he commanded the 3rd Division while its commander, Maj. Gen. John Newton, temporarily commanded the I Corps, in place ofJohn F. Reynolds .Wheaton remained in command of the brigade during Lt. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant 'sOverland Campaign in 1864, as well as during the subsequentSiege of Petersburg . His men were hurried by train toWashington, D.C. , in time to help repelJubal Early 's raid on the capital. During the ensuing operations in the Shenandoah Valley, under Maj. Gen.Philip Sheridan , Wheaton was promoted to command of the first division afterDavid Allen Russell was killed at theThird Battle of Winchester . His division fought well in subsequent battles. After the return of VI Corps to the Petersburg front, Wheaton earned the brevet rank of major general in both the volunteer and regular services.Postbellum career
Wheaton was mustered out of the volunteers in 1866, becoming Lieutenant Colonel of the 39th U.S. Infantry the same year. In 1873, he commanded the expedition against Modocs in the lava beds of northern
California . This expedition resulted in the assassination of GeneralEdward R. S. Canby , who had gone there to ] negotiate with them. Following his defeat at theFirst Battle of the Stronghold , he was relieved of command of the troops in the field. He was then appointed Colonel of the 2nd U.S. Infantry in 1874, he was subsequently promoted to brigadier general in 1892, and major general in 1897. He retired from the army in 1897.He died at Washington, D.C., and was buried in Section 1 of
Arlington National Cemetery .His wife, Maria B. Wheaton, was born in
Utica, New York , onAugust 4 ,1846 , and died inDenver, Colorado , onAugust 21 ,1924 . She is buried beside him.In memoriam
The
Wheaton, Maryland , section of the Wheaton/Glenmont division of the unincorporated township ofSilver Spring, Maryland , just northwest ofWashington, D.C. , is named for him, as is theWheaton High School , a school in the Down County Consortium of the Montgomery County Public School system ofMontgomery County, Maryland .ee also
References
* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
* Warner, Ezra J., "Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders", Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
* [http://aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=310 Antietam on the web] biographyPersondata
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