Class of 1832

Erasmus Darwin Keyes: Born May 29, 1810, Brimfield, MA.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1828, to July 1, 1832, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., 3d Artillery, July 1, 1832.

Served: in garrison at Ft. Monroe, Va. (Artillery School for Practice), 1832, — Charleston harbor, S. C., 1832‑33, during South Carolina's

(Second Lieut., 3d Artillery, Aug. 31, 1833)

threatened nullification; on Staff duty at the Headquarters of the Eastern

(First Lieut., 3d Artillery, Sep. 16, 1836)

Department, 1833‑37; as Aide-de‑Camp to Bvt. Maj.‑General Scott, Feb. 7, 1837, to July 7, 1838; in the Cherokee Nation, 1838, while transferring the Indians to the West; as Aide-de‑Camp to Bvt. Maj.‑General

(Capt., Staff — Asst. Adjutant-General, July 7 to Nov. 16, 1838)

Scott, Dec. 1, 1838, to Nov. 30, 1841; in Florida, 1842; in garrison at

(Captain, 3d Artillery, Nov. 30, 1841)

New Orleans Barracks, La., 1842, — and Ft. Moultrie, S. C., 1842‑44; as Member of the Board of Visitors to the Military Academy, 1844; at the Military Academy, as Instructor of Artillery and Cavalry, July 25, 1844, to Dec. 24, 1848; in garrison at San Francisco, Cal., 1849‑51; in escorting Indian Commissioners in California, 1851; in garrison at San Francisco, Cal., 1851‑52, 1853‑54, 1854‑55; on frontier duty, engaged in Indian Hostilities in Washington Territory, 1855, — at Ft. Steilacoom, Wash., 1855‑56, — Scouting, 1856, on Puget Sound, being engaged against hostile Indians in a Skirmish at White River, Wash., Mar. 1, 1856, — and Ft. Steilacoom, Wash., 1856; in garrison at San Francisco, Cal., 1856‑58; on Spokane Expedition, Wash., 1858, being engaged in the Combat of

(Major, 1st Artillery, Oct. 12, 1858)

Four Lakes, Sep. 1, 1858, — Combat of Spokane Plain, Sep. 5, 1858, — and Skirmish on Spokane River, Sep. 8, 1858; in garrison at San Francisco,

(Lieut.‑Col., Staff — Military Secretary to the General-in‑Chief,
Jan. 1, 1860, to Apr. 19, 1861)

Cal., 1858‑59; and as Military Secretary to Lieut.‑General Scott, General-in‑Chief, Jan. 1, 1860, to Apr. 19, 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑64: at New

(Colonel, 11th Infantry, May 14, 1861)

York city, assisting in organizing an expedition to relieve Ft. Pickens,

(Brig.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, May 17, 1861)

Fla., Apr. 1‑20, 1861; on the Staff of Governor Morgan, of New York, assisting in dispatching the State quota of Volunteers to the field, Apr. 21 to June 25, 1861; in recruiting his regiment at Boston, Mas., June 25 to July 3, 1861; in the defenses of Washington, D. C., July, 1861; in the Manassas Campaign of July, 1861, being engaged in the Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; in the defenses of Washington, D. C., July 22, 1861, to Mar. 10, 1862; in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign, commanding 4th Corps (Army of the Potomac), Mar.‑Sep., 1862, being engaged in the Action at Lee's Mills, Apr. 5, 1862, — Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5‑May 4,

(Maj.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, May 5, 1862)

1862, — Skirmish at Bottom's Bridge, May 22, 1862, — Action near Savage Station, May 24, 1862, — Battle of Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862, — Battle

(Bvt. Brig‑General, U. S. Army, May 31, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Fair Oaks, Va.)

of Charles City Cross Roads, June 29, 1862, — Battle of Malvern Hill,  p511 July 1, 1862, — and Skirmish at Harrison's Landing, July 2, 1862; in command of 4th Army Corps on the Virginia Peninsula, Aug. 25, 1862, to July, 1863, being engaged in the organization of a Raid to the White House, Va., Jan. 7, 1863, — in command of Expedition to West Point, Va., May 7, 1863, — and in Expedition under Major-General Dix towards Richmond, June‑July, 1863, being engaged in several skirmishes; and on Board for Retiring Disabled Officers, July 15, 1863, to May 6, 1864.

Resigned, May 6, 1864.

Civil History. — Vice-President of California Vine-Culture Society, for Napa County, 1868‑72; of Humboldt Savings and Loan Society, 1868‑72; and President of Maxwell Gold-Mining Company, 1867‑69. Author of "Fifty Years' Observation of Men and Events, Civil and Military," 1884. Residence, San Francisco, Cal.

Buried, West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY.