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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1847

Vol. II
p324
1351

(Born N. Y.)

Clermont L. Best

(Ap'd N. Y.)

21

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1842, to July 1, 1847, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., 1st Artillery, July 1, 1847.

Served: in the War with Mexico, 1847‑48; in garrison at Ft. Monroe,

(Second Lieut., 4th Artillery, Sep. 13, 1847)

Va., 1848, — Baton Rouge, La., 1849, — and Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1849; in Florida Hostilities against the Seminole Indians, 1850; in garrison

(First Lieut., 4th Artillery, Sep. 12, 1850)

at Ft. Hamilton, N. Y., 1850, — and Ft. Mifflin, Pa., 1850‑53; on frontier duty at Ringgold Barracks, Tex., 1853, Ft. Brown, Tex., 1853‑54, — Las Animas, Tex., 1854‑55, — and Ringgold Barracks, Tex., 1855; on leave of absence, 1855‑56; in Florida Hostilities against the Seminole Indians, 1856‑57; and on frontier duty quelling Kansas Disturbances,  p325 1857‑58, — Utah Expedition, 1858, — Cheyenne Pass, Neb., 1858‑59, — escorting Recruits from New York to Kansas, 1859, — and Ft. Randall, Dak., 1859‑61.

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

(Captain, 4th Artillery, Apr. 29, 1861)

command of Battery in Major-General Banks's Operations in Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley, Aug., 1861, to Aug., 1862; in the Northern Virginia Campaign, Aug., 1862, as Chief of Artillery of the 5th Army Corps, being engaged in the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Aug. 9, 1862; in the Maryland campaign (Army of the Potomac), Sep. to Nov., 1862, being engaged in the Battle of Antietam, Sep. 17, 1862, — and March to Falmouth, Va., Oct. to Nov., 1862; in the Rappahannock Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Dec., 1862 to June, 1863, being engaged in the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2‑3, 1863; as Asst. Inspector-General of

(Bvt. Major, May 3, 1863,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Va.)

12th Corps (Army of the Potomac), May 16, 1863, to Apr. 4, 1864, being engaged in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1‑3, 1863; in command of 1st

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Colonel, July 3, 1863,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa.)

Division of Artillery Reserve, Department of the Cumberland, Apr. to Oct., 1864; as Instructor of Artillery at Camp Barry, Washington, D. C., Nov., 1864, to Feb., 1865; and on Recruiting Service at Philadelphia,

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

Pa., Feb. 25, 1865, to Sep. 7, 1866.

Served: in garrison in the Defenses of Washington, D. C., Oct. 1, 1866, to Mar. 23, 1867, — and at Ft. Wadsworth, N. Y., Apr. 19, 1867,

(Major, 1st Artillery, Feb. 5, 1867)

to Feb. 23, 1870, — and at Ft. Delaware, Del., Mar. 9 to July 18, 1870; on leave of absence, July to Sep., 1870, in garrison at Madison Barracks, N. Y., Sep. 6, 1870, to Oct., 1872, — and at Key West, Fla., Nov. 15, 1872, to June 17, 1873; on sick leave of absence, June 17 to Nov. 29, 1873; in garrison at Key West, Fla., Nov. 29, 1873, to July 16, 1874; on leave of absence, July 16 to Nov. 13, 1874; in garrison at Key West, Fla., Nov. 13, 1874, to May 17, 1875; on sick leave of absence, May 17, 1875, to Apr. 3, 1876; and in garrison at Ft. Independence, Mas., Apr. 3 to Oct. 19, 1876, — at Blackville, S. C., Oct. 24 to Nov. 10, 1876, — at Charleston, S. C., Nov. 12, 1876, to Feb. 3, 1877, — at Ft. Independence, Mas., Feb. 13, 1877, to Nov. 25, 1879, — and at Ft.

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 1st Artillery, Mar. 15, 1881)

(Transferred to 4th Artillery, Oct. 27, 1881)

(Colonel, 4th Artillery, Oct. 2, 1883)

Warren, Mas., to Nov. 15, 1883; and in command of regiment and post of Ft. Adams, R. I., to Apr. 25, 1888.

Retired from Active Service, Apr. 25, 1888, he being 64 Years of Age.

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

Military History. — Retired officer.

Died April 7, 1897, at New York, N. Y.: Aged 73.

See Annual Association of Graduates, U. S. M. A., 1897, for an obituary notice, with a portrait.


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