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VITAL STATISTICS
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BORN: 1825 in Lorain County, OH.
DIED: 1888 in Brooklyn, NY.
CAMPAIGNS: Port Royal, Fort Pulaski, Morris Island, and Battery Wagner.
HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED: Major General.
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BIOGRAPHY
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| Quincy Adams Gillmore was born in Lorain County, Ohio, on February 28, 1825. He graduated at the top of his class at the US Military Academy in 1849, then received a commission in the Corps of Engineers. Gillmore helped build forts from 1849 to 1852, taught at the US Military Academy from 1852 to 1856, was the head of the Engineer Agency in New York City from 1856 to 1861. By the time the Civil War began, Gillmore was a 1st lieutenant. He was appointed chief engineer of the Port Royal Expedition; and was praised for his bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski, outside Savannah, Georgia. Appointed brigadier general as of April 28, 1862, then major general on July 10, 1863; he was given command of the Department of the South and the X Corps. He helped bring about the capture of Morris Island and Battery (Fort) Wagner, as well as the destruction of Fort Sumter. In 1864, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler unfairly blamed Gillmore for a series of Union failures, and sent Gillmore to Washington in disgrace. Taking part in the defense of Washington, he was injured so seriously that he could not participate in anything more than nominal duty for the rest of the war. After the Civil War, Gillmore remained in the Corps of Engineers. He had Ball, Black & Company of New York make 400 bronze medals to reward enlisted people who had made significant contributions in operations against Charleston, South Carolina and Fort Sumter. The "medals of honor" included certificates explaining why the medals had been awarded. Gillmore asked regimental commanders to provide the names of individuals who had earned the medal. He spent many years working to improve fortifications off the south Atlantic coast, including some which he had helped destroy during the war. He also helped improve some of the harbors he had been involved in closing. Gillmore died on April 7, 1888, in Brooklyn, New York. |
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