Horatio Gates Gibson
| Horatio Gates Gibson | |
|---|---|
  (top) Captain Horatio Gates Gibson, 1862. Photo by James F. Gibson. Library of Congress (bottom) Horatio Gates Gibson near the end of his life on his 93rd birthday, in May 1920. | |
| Born |
May 22, 1827 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died |
April 27, 1924 (aged 96) Washington, D.C. |
| Allegiance |
 United States of AmericaUnion |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1847–1891 |
| Rank |
 Colonel Bvt. Brigadier General |
| Commands held |
2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Horatio Gates Gibson (May 22, 1827 – April 27, 1924) was a career artillery officer in the United States Army, and brevet brigadier general in the American Civil War.
Biography
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gibson attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and graduated seventeenth in the Class of 1847. Commissioned into the 3rd Regiment of Artillery, he rose slowly through the peacetime army, eventually earning his captaincy at the outbreak of the Civil War.
During the war, he commanded Battery C, 3rd U.S. Artillery, and was part of the famed U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade in the Army of the Potomac. Cited for gallantry, he was awarded brevet (honorary) promotions to major (May 5, 1862, for actions at Williamsburg) and lieutenant colonel (September 17, 1862, for actions at Antietam). By 1863, he accepted a commission in the U.S. Volunteers and commanded the 2nd Ohio Artillery as a lieutenant colonel and colonel. At the end of the war, Gibson was awarded brevet promotions to colonel in the Regular Army and brigadier general in the volunteers.
Mustering out of the USV in August 1865, Gibson returned to his permanent rank of captain in the 3rd Artillery. He remained in the army, and was promoted to major in 1867, lieutenant colonel in 1882, and colonel in 1883. He retired from the service on May 22, 1891.
Time Magazine’s obituary of him (Monday, April 28, 1924) cited the following:
Died. Brigadier General Horatio Gates Gibson, 97, "oldest living West Pointer"; in Washington. He entered just as Ulysses S. Grant graduated. Due to his slight stature, he was nicknamed "Agnes"—an appellation which clung to him through life. When he was a lieutenant at the battle of Fredericksburg, his sword was cut from his side by a shell; at the end of the Civil War he was a captain in the regulars. A nonagenarian at his daughter's house in Washington, he smoked from six to ten cigars daily.
See also
References
- Birkhimer, Lt. William E. The Third Regiment of Artillery.
- Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, From its Organization, September 29, 1789 to March 2, 1903. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903.
- Register of Graduates and Former Cadets of the United States Military Academy. West Point, NY: West Point Alumni Foundation, Inc., 1970.
- Time Magazine. Time-Warner.
- U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1894.
External links
- American Memory: Selected Civil War Photographs. Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division. Washington, D.C.
- Generals and Brevets: Photographs of General Officers of the Civil War at the Wayback Machine (archived February 8, 2008).