David S. Stanley

This article is about the Union general. For the television producer, see Stone Stanley Entertainment.

David Sloane Stanley
Major General David S. Stanley
Born	June 1, 1828(1828-06-01) Cedar Valley, Wayne County, Ohio
Died	March 13, 1902(1902-03-13) (aged 73) Washington, D.C.
Place of burial	United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	U.S. Army
Years of service	1852 - 1892
Rank	Major General
Commands held	IV Corps
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Franklin
Awards	- Medal of Honor

David Sloane Stanley (June 1, 1828 – March 13, 1902) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Franklin.

Early life

Stanley was born in Cedar Valley, Wayne County, Ohio. He graduated from West Point in 1852 and went to the Western frontier to survey railroad routes. He engaged in Indian fighting and was promoted to captain shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Stanley was on duty at Fort Washita in Indian Territory when war broke out. He led his men to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Civil War

He fought at several battles in Missouri, including the Battle of Wilson's Creek, where he guarded the supply trains. He quickly rose in rank to brigadier general. President Lincoln appoint Stanley as brigadier general September 28, 1861, although the U.S. Senate did not confirm the appointment until March 7, 1862.^[1] Fighting in the Western Theater, he participated in the operations against New Madrid, Missouri and the Battle of Island Number Ten. He was involved in numerous major battles, including the Second Battle of Corinth, where he commanded a division of infantry of the Army of the Mississippi, and the Battle of Stones River, in which he led the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland. On March 11, 1863, Stanley was appointed major general to rank from November 29, 1862.^[2] Stanley also led the Union cavalry in the Tullahoma Campaign. He fell ill late in 1863 and missed the Battle of Chickamauga. In 1864, he fought under William Tecumseh Sherman as a division commander in the IV Corps of the Army of the Cumberland during the Atlanta Campaign, and he was promoted to command of the corps when Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard was named commander of the Army of the Tennessee. After the capture of the city, instead of employing him marching to the sea, Sherman dispatched Stanley and his IV Corps to Tennessee to help protect the state from invasion by John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee.

For leading one of his brigades in a successful counterattack during a critical moment in the fighting at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, the President of the United States on behalf of the United States Congress presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor on March 29, 1893. Two of his divisions having been re-assigned to the defensive lines of the XXIII Corps before the battle, Stanley had no actual command. Two brigades of the remaining division, under Brig. Gen. George D. Wagner, were overwhelmed by the initial Confederate assault, having been left in an exposed position. It was for his role in the counterattack by the 3rd Brigade of Wagner's division that Stanley was awarded the medal. He was wounded in the neck at the same time and had his horse shot out from under him. Maj. Gen. Jacob Cox, commanding the defenses, provided Stanley a remount with which to seek medical attention, and Stanley did not participate further in the battle. He returned to corps command only after the Battle of Nashville.

Postbellum career

After the war, Stanley was appointed colonel of the 22nd U.S. Infantry, primarily serving in the Dakota Territory until 1874. He commanded the Yellowstone Expedition of 1873, successfully conducting his troops through several unmapped areas, and his favorable reports on the country led to subsequent settlement of the region. In 1879, Stanley and his regiment were reassigned to Texas to suppress Indian raids in the western portion of the state. He was ordered to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1882, and placed in command of the District of New Mexico. In March 1884, he was appointed a brigadier general in the regular army, and assigned command of the Department of Texas. He retired in 1892.

Stanley was interred at the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. - Plot: Section O-20.^[3]

His son-in-law, Willard Ames Holbrook, also served as a major general in the U.S. Army. His grandson, Willard Ames Holbrook, Jr., served as a brigadier general. His only son, David Sheridan Stanley, served as a colonel.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization:

Major General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and Date: At Franklin, Tenn., November 30, 1864. Entered Service At: Congress, Wayne County, Ohio. Born: June 1, 1828, Cedar Valley, Ohio. Date of Issue: March 29, 1893.

Citation:

At a critical moment rode to the front of one of his brigades, reestablished its lines, and gallantly led it In a successful assault.^[4][5]

See also

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal
	American Civil War portal

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: Q–S
• List of American Civil War generals (Union)

Notes

1. ^ Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 728
2. ^ Eicher, 2001, p. 705
3. ^ "David S. Stanley". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7173892. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 
4. ^ ""Civil War Medal of Honor citations" (S-Z): Stanley, David S.". AmericanCivilWar.com. http://americancivilwar.com/medal_of_honor8.html. Retrieved 2007-11-09. 
5. ^ "Medal of Honor website" (M-Z): Stanley, David S.". United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html. Retrieved 2007-11-09. 

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.

Further reading

• Jacobson, Eric A., and Richard A. Rupp. For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin. Franklin, TN: O'More Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0-9717444-4-0.
• Stanley, David Sloane (1987). Personal Memoirs of Major-General D. S. Stanley. Cambridge, MA: Olde Soldier Books. ISBN 0-942211-57-X. hdl:2027/mdp.39015036027301. 

Military offices
Preceded by Oliver O. Howard	Commander of the IV Corps July 27, 1864 – December 4, 1864	Succeeded by Thomas J. Wood
Preceded by Thomas J. Wood	Commander of the IV Corps January 31, 1865 – August 1, 1865	Succeeded by None, End of War

Persondata
Name	Stanley, David S.
Alternative names
Short description	United States Army Medal of Honor recipient and Union Army general
Date of birth	June 1, 1828
Place of birth	Cedar Valley, Ohio
Date of death	March 13, 1902
Place of death	Washington, D.C.