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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1847

Vol. II
p316
1347

(Born Md.)

Horatio G. Gibson​a

(Ap'd Pa.)

17

Horatio Gates Gibson: Born May 22, 1827, Baltimore, MD.​b

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1843, to July 1, 1847, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., 2d Artillery, July 1, 1847.

 p317  Served: in the War with Mexico, 1847‑48, at Vera Cruz, Puebla,

(Second Lieut., 3d Artillery, Sep. 8, 1847)

and the City of Mexico; in garrison at Ft. Columbus, N. Y., 1848, — and San Francisco, Cal., 1849‑50; as Aide-de‑Camp to Bvt. Brig.‑General Riley, May 28 to Aug. 9, 1850; in garrison at Monterey and San Francisco, Cal., 1850‑51; escorting Indian Commissioners, 1851; on frontier

(First Lieut., 3d Artillery, May 26, 1851)

duty at Sonoma, Cal., 1851, — and Expedition against Coquille Indians, 1851, being engaged in a Skirmish on Coquille River, Or., Nov., 1851, — and Port Orford, Or., 1851‑52; in garrison at Ft. Sullivan, Me., 1852, — and Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1852‑53; on frontier duty at Ft. Gibson, I. T., 1853‑54, — Ft. Washita, I. T., 1854, — Ft. Reading, Cal., 1855, — escorting topographical party exploring Southern Route for Pacific Railroad, 1855, — at Ft. Lane, Or., 1855, — and on the Rogue River Expedition, 1855, being engaged in an Action with Oregon Indians, Oct. 31 -Nov. 1, 1855, where he was severely wounded; in garrison at Benicia, Cal., 1855, 1856, — San Francisco, Cal., 1856‑57, — and Mendocino Reserve, Cal., 1857‑58; on Spokane Expedition, Wash., 1858, being engaged in the Combat of Spokane Plain, Sep. 5, 1858, — and Skirmish of Spokane River, Sep. 8, 1858, — and at the Mendocino Reserve, Cal., 1858; on frontier duty at Ft. Bragg, Cal., and Ft. Vancouver, Wash., 1858; as Quartermaster, 3d Artillery, Nov. 15, 1858, to Oct. 2, 1861; in garrison at San Francisco, Cal., 1859‑60; on Expedition to Carson Valley, Utah, 1860, being engaged in the Combat on Truckee River, June 2, 1860, — and Skirmish on Pyramid Lake, June, 1860; on frontier duty at Ft. Churchill, Nev., 1860; and in garrison at San Francisco Harbor, Cal., 1860‑61.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: in the

(Captain, 3d Artillery, May 14, 1861)

Defenses of Washington, D. C., Dec. 19, 1861, to Mar. 10, 1862; in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Mar. 10 to Sep. 4, 1862, being engaged in the Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5 to May 4, 1862, — Battle of Williamsburg, May 4‑5, 1862, — and under General

(Bvt. Major, May 5, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services in the Battle of Williamsburg, Va.)

Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.Stoneman, guarding the rear of the Army, June 25‑29, 1862; in the Maryland Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Sep. to Nov., 1862, being engaged in a Skirmish at South Mountain, Sep. 13, 1862, — Battle of South Mountain, Sep. 14, 1862, — Battle of Antietam, Sep. 17, 1862, —

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., Sep. 17, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Antietam, Md.)

Skirmish of Shepardstown, Sep. 19‑20, 1862, — and Skirmish at Rappahannock Station, Nov. 7‑8, 1862, on the march to Falmouth, Va.; in the Rappahannock Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Dec., 1862, to Feb., 1863, being engaged in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; on leave of absence, Feb. 28 to Apr. 10, 1863; as Chief of Artillery of the Army of the Ohio, Apr. 20, 1863, to Jan. 22, 1864, employed in recruiting

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 2d Ohio Heavy Artillery Volunteers, Aug. 1, 1863)

(Colonel, 2d Ohio Heavy Artillery Volunteers, Aug. 15, 1863)

and organizing his volunteer Regiment, June to Sep. 23, 1863, — and in the Defenses of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Oct. 10, 1863, to Feb. 22, 1864; in command of District of Northern Central Kentucky, Feb. 22 to Apr. 9, 1864, — and in the Defenses of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Apr. 9 to May 15, 1864; in guarding railroads  p318 debouching from Cleveland, Ten., and constructing Fts. McPherson and Sedgwick at that place, May 26 to Oct. 9, 1864, being engaged in a Skirmish there, Aug. 17, 1864, — and Pursuit of the enemy, Aug. 22‑28, 1864; in command at Loudon, Ten., Oct. 12 to Nov. 18, 1864; in Operations in East Tennessee, opening communications from Knoxville with our troops engaged at Strawberry Plains, Nov. 18‑20, 1864, — under General Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.Ammen, covering General Stoneman's Raid into Southwestern Virginia, Dec. 10‑20, 1864, — and in command of Knoxville,

(Bvt. Brig.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services during the Rebellion)

(Mustered out of Volunteer Service, Aug. 23, 1865)

Ten., and Brigade of 23d Army Corps, Jan. 28 to Aug. 28, 1865; and on leave of absence, Sep. 20 to Nov. 14, 1865.

Served: in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., Nov. 14, 1865, to Apr. 10,

(Major, 3d Artillery, Feb. 5, 1867)

1867, — at Ft. Preble, Me., Apr. 23, 1867, to Apr. 29, 1868; in command

(Bvt. Colonel, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services during the Rebellion)

of Ft. Adams, R. I., to July 27, 1868, — of Ft. Preble, Me., Aug. 6, 1868, to Feb. 8, 1869, — and of Barrancas, Fla., to May 25, 1870; on leave of absence, May 25, 1870, to Apr. 6, 1871; in garrison at Newport Barracks, Ky., Apr. 6, 1871, to Nov. 11, 1872; in command of Ft. Wadsworth, N. Y., Nov. 13, 1872, to Oct. 20, 1876, — of Columbia, S. C., Oct. 23, 1876, to Jan. 13, 1877, — and of Ft. Wadsworth, N. Y., Jan. to July, 1877; at Baltimore, Md., and Maunch Chunk, Pa., suppressing railroad disturbances, July‑Aug., 1877; in command of Ft. Wadsworth, N. Y., Sep. 1, 1877, to Nov. 20, 1881; on delay to June 28,

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 2d Artillery, Apr. 1, 1882)

1882; in command of Ft. McHenry, Md., July 17, 1882, to Oct. 31, 1883; sick at post to Jan. 5, 1884; and in command of regiment and

(Colonel, 3d Artillery, Dec. 1, 1883)

post of St. Francis Barracks, Fla., Jan. 10, 1884, to June 5, 1885, — and Washington Barracks, D. C., to —.

Vol. IV
p71
[Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890‑1900]

Military History. — In command of regiment and post of Washington Barracks, D. C., to May 22, 1891. — Detached to command encampment of regular troops (associated with Division National Guard of Pennsylvania) at Mount Gretna, July and Aug., 1890.

Retired from Active Service, he being 64 Years of Age, May 22, 1891.

Civil History. — Tendered his services to the government at the outbreak of war with Spain, April 21, 1898. — Post-office address, 2104 Ward Place, N. W., Washington, D. C.

Vol. V
p65
[Supplement, Vol. V: 1900‑1910]

Military History. — Retired officer. — Residence, Washington, D. C.

Vol. VI
p53
[Supplement, Vol. VI: 1910‑1920]

Military History. —

Colonel, 3d Artillery, Dec. 1, 1883.

Colonel, U. S. A., Retired, May 21, 1891, by Operation of Law.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., on Retired List, April 23, 1904,
Act of April 23, 1904.

Died, April 18, 1924, at Washington, D. C.: Aged 96.​c

Buried, West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY.


Thayer's Notes:

a A quick but much more readable biographical sketch, with three photographs, is given at FortWiki.

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b Gen. Gibson's birthdate is taken from History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania (Warner, Beers & Co., Chicago, 1886; various authors), p498, where the writer states he is indebted for the information to Gen. Gibson himself.

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c Gen. Gibson died after the publication of the last volume of the Supplement available to me (Vol. VI, 1921): I am indebted to Janice Whitehead for his death date, which is from the Horatio Gates Gibson page of "District of Columbia Deaths, 1874‑1961," database at FamilySearch; citing District of Columbia, United States, District Records Center, Washington DC; FHL microfilm 2,116,021.

Of interest also is the following brief obituary notice, which I reproduce here in full, from the Apr. 28, 1924 issue of Time Magazine (once to be found at that magazine's website), as retrieved 4 Jul 10 — now behind a pay wall, but public domain since the copyright was not renewed in 1951 or 1952 as required by the law in effect at the time):

Died. Brigadier General Horatio Gates Gibson, 97, "oldest living West Pointer"; in Washington. He entered just as Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.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.


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