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VITAL STATISTICS
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BORN: 1821 in Ithaca, NY.
DIED: 1896 in Cleveland, OH.
CAMPAIGNS: Fort Donelson, Corinth, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Atlanta,
March to the Sea, Carolinas.
HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED: Major General.
(Was a Lawyer-Physician-Educator in pre-civil war life.)
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BIOGRAPHY
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| Mortimer Dormer Leggett was born near Ithaca, New York, on April 19, 1821. He grew up on a farm, then, as a teenager, moved with his family to Geauga County, Ohio. In 1839, after studying at night for months, he entered a teacher's academy in Kirtland, Ohio, and graduated at the top of his class. He attended Western Reserve College and took courses at Willoughby Medical School, combining his interests in law and medicine. After he was admitted to the bar, Leggett moved to Akron, worked as a school superintendent and promoted primary education. In 1850, he began practicing law, and joined the faculty of the Ohio Law College in 1856. When the Civil War began, he joined his friend Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's staff, and served with him in the western Virginia campaigns of 1861. Leggett went on to raise an infantry regiment; then led an outfit in the Army of the Tennessee at Fort Donelson, Corinth and Shiloh. Promoted to brigadier general to rank from November 29, 1862, he performed well in the Vicksburg Campaign. In the Atlanta Campaign, he led a victorious assault on Bald Hill, which became known as Leggett's Hill. Brevetted a major general of volunteers, he participated in Sherman's March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. Promoted to full generalship in August of 1865, he resigned his commission in a month and returned to civilian life. Leggett practiced law in Zanesville, Ohio, and entered manufacturing. President Grant appointed him commissioner of patents in January of 1871, and Leggett later founded a firm that became part of the General Electric Company. He died on January 6, 1896, in Cleveland, Ohio. |
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