Lewis A. Grant

Infobox Military Person
name= Lewis Addison Grant
born= birth date|1828|1|17
died= Death date and age|1918|3|20|1828|1|17
placeofbirth= Winhall, Vermont
placeofdeath= Minneapolis, Minnesota
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America Union
branch= United States Army Union Army
serviceyears= 1861-1866
rank= Brigadier General
commands=
unit=
battles= American Civil War
awards= Medal of Honor
laterwork= Assistant Secretary of War

Lewis Addison Grant (January 17, 1828 – March 20, 1918) was a teacher, lawyer, soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later Assistant U.S. Secretary of War. He was among the leading officers from the state of Vermont, and received the Medal of Honor for "personal gallantry and intrepidity."

Early life

Grant was born in Winhall, Vermont, the son of James and Elizabeth (Wyman) Grant. He attended the district school of Townshend, Vermont, and the academy at Chester, Vermont. He then taught school for five years in New Jersey, in Chester, Vermont, and near Boston, meanwhile reading law. He was admitted to the bar in 1855 and established his law practice in Bellows Falls, Vermont. [Charles Keyes, "Major General Lewis Addison Grant," "Annals of Iowa," January 1921, 3rd Series, Vol. XII, No. 7, sited August 16, 2006, at http://iagenweb.org/history/debannals/Annals6.htm; Internet.]

Civil War

He was mustered into the service of the United States on September 16, 1861, at St. Albans, Vermont, as major of the Fifth Vermont Infantry. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on September 25, 1861, and Colonel, on September 16, 1862. He was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg. He assumed command of the famed Vermont Brigade and led it during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. [Peck, 142-144] Grant was appointed Brigadier General U. S. Volunteers, April 27, 1864 and accepted the appointment May 21, 1864. He was commissioned Brevet Major-General U. S. Volunteers, to date from October 19, 1864, "for gallant and meritorious services in the campaign before Richmond, Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley;" and was honorably discharged from the service August 24, 1865. [Peck, 748] He commanded the Second Brigade, Second Division, VI Corps, from February 21, 1863, to December 29, 1863, and from February 2, 1864, to September 29, 1864, and from October 8, 1864, to December 2, 1864; the Second Division, VI Corps, from December 2, 1864, to February 11, 1865; the Second Brigade, same Division, from February 11, 1865, to February 20, 1865, and from March 7, 1865, to June 28, 1865. [Benedict, ii:208ff] During his service with the Fifth Vermont Infantry Volunteers, he participated in the following battles: Yorktown, Williamsburg, Goldings's Farm, Savage's Station, White Oak Swamp, Crampton's Gap, Antietam and the Battle of Fredericksburg. [Peck, 747-748] As a Brigade or acting Division Commander, he participated in the following: the Battle of Fredericksburg II and the Battle of Salem Church, Gettysburg, Fairfield, Battle of Rappahannock Station II, the Mine Run Campaign, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor,Siege of Petersburg, Charlestown, W. Va., Gilbert's Crossing, Cedar Creek, the siege and assault Petersburg (where he was wounded in the head), and the Battle of Sayler's Creek, Va. Grant was acting commander of second division VI Corps at the height of its stand against the Confederate assault at Cedar Creek. [Peck, 747-748] He was recommended August 22, 1866 for appointment as a field officer in the Regular Army by General Ulysses S. Grant, and was appointed August 29, 1866 as Lieutenant Colonel of the 36th Regiment, U. S. Infantry, to date from July 28, 1866, but declined the appointment. [Peck, 748] On May 11, 1893, he received the Medal of Honor for "Personal gallantry and intrepidity displayed in the management of his brigade and in leading it in the assault in which he was wounded," at Salem Church, Virginia, May 3, 1864.

Post War

After the war, Lewis Grant lived in Illinois, Iowa, and finally Minnesota. His son was Ulysses Sherman Grant, professor of geology, at Northwestern University. He was Assistant U.S. Secretary of War during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison. [Crockett, iv:181] He died at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is buried in Lakewood Cemetery (Section 8, Lot 416, Grave 2) in that city.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Colonel, 5th Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Salem Heights, Va., 3 May 1864. Entered service at: Bellow Falls, Vt. Born: 17 January 1828, Winhall, Vt. Date of issue: 11 May 1893.

Citation:

:Personal gallantry and intrepidity displayed in the management of his brigade and in leading it in the assault in which he was wounded.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*
*Vermont in the Civil War

References

*Benedict, George Grenville. Vermont in the Civil War. Burlington: Free Press Association, 1888, pp. i:108, 113-116, 120, 144-145, 148, 151, 166, 174, 181, 184, 186-187, 191-193, 198, 200, 208ff, ii:358, 362, 364.
*Crockett, Walter Hill, "Vermont The Green Mountain State," New York: The Century History Company, Inc., 1921, pp. iii:517, 541, 552,-555, 565, 575, 570, 580, 585, 587, 619, iv:6, 181, 450.
*Keyes, Charles, "Major General Lewis Addison Grant," "Annals of Iowa," January 1921, 3rd Series, Vol. XII, No. 7, sited August 16, 2006, at http://iagenweb.org/history/debannals/Annals6.htm; Internet.
*Peck, Theodord S., compiler, "Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During The War of the Rebellion, 1861-66", Montpelier, VT: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892, pp. 142, 144, 735, 747
*Warner, Ezra J. "Generals in Blue." Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1992, pp. 182-183

External links

* [http://iagenweb.org/history/debannals/Annals6.htm Annals of Iowa: Major-General Lewis Addison Grant]
* [http://vermontcivilwar.org/units/1bgd/ Vermont in the Civil War]
* [http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ngg/grantla.htm Photographs of Lewis A. Grant]

Notes

Persondata
NAME= Grant, Lewis A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
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DATE OF DEATH=
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