- John Mansfield
John Mansfield (August 1822 –
May 6 1896 ) wasCalifornia 'sLieutenant Governor from 1880 to 1883. He also was an officer in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War , serving as the lastcolonel of the2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the famedIron Brigade .Mansfield responded to President
Abraham Lincoln 's call to arms in 1861 following thesecession of the twelve Southern states that comprised the Confederacy. He enlisted in a localWisconsin company, the Portage Guards, which became a part of the 2nd Wisconsin, initiallybrigade d underWilliam T. Sherman . Mansfield first saw action at theFirst Battle of Bull Run . He served at many of the important battles of theArmy of the Potomac , including the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, and Gettysburg, where, as the regiment'smajor , he assumed command of the 2nd Wisconsin after the senior officer,Lucius Fairchild , was shot. He was subsequently promoted tolieutenant colonel and served in the Bristoe andMine Run Campaign s. As Colonel of the 2nd Wisconsin, he was wounded and captured in May 1864 at theBattle of the Wilderness .Towards the end of the Civil War, Mansfield became colonel of the 12th
Veteran Reserve Corps , aregiment of former soldiers who had reenlisted. In the omnibus promotions in 1866 following the cessation of hostilities, he was brevetted as abrigadier general of volunteers for "gallant and meritorious services during the war," a rank to date fromMarch 13 ,1865 .Mansfield moved to California after resigning from the army and was a delegate to the 1880
Republican National Convention . He served as Lieutenant Governor underGeorge C. Perkins for the next three years as a Republican.Mansfield died in Los Angeles and was cremated. His ashes are interred in
Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in an unmarked grave.External links
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6038270 Find a Grave]
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