William T. H. Brooks • Cullum's Register • 1104

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1837, to July 1, 1841, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Fla., 1843; on frontier duty at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., 1843‑45, — Ft. Jesup (Camp Wilkins), La., 1845; in Military Occupation of Texas, 1845‑46; in the War with Mexico, 1846‑48, being engaged in the Battle of Palo Alto, May 8, 1846, — Battle of Resaca-de‑la‑Palma, May 9, 1846,

p106 — Battle of Monterey, Sep. 21‑23, 1846, — Siege of Vera Cruz, Mar. 9‑29,

(Bvt. Capt., Sep. 23, 1846,
for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the several Conflicts at Monterey, Mex.)

1847, — Reconnoissance and Battle of Cerro Gordo, Apr. 17‑18, 1847, — Skirmish of Ocalaca, Aug. 16, 1847, — Battle of Contreras, Aug. 19‑20, 1847, — Battle of Churubusco, Aug. 20, 1847, — Operations before, and

(Bvt. Major, Aug. 20, 1847, for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct
in the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco, Mex.)

Capture of the City of Mexico, Sep. 12‑14, 1847, — and as Acting Adjutant-General of Bvt. Maj.‑General Twiggs's Division, 1847‑48; as Aide-de‑Camp to Bvt. Maj.‑General Twiggs, Aug. 19, 1848, to Nov. 10, 1851;

on frontier duty at Ft. Union, N. M., 1852, — Ft. Marcy, Santa Fé, N. M., 1852‑54, — Scouting, 1854, — Ft. Marcy, Santa Fé, N. M., 1854‑56, — Ft. Defiance, N. M., 1857‑58, — Scouting, 1858, being engaged against the Navajo Indians in a Skirmish at Ranchos de los Aragones, N. M., Oct. 10, 1858; on sick leave of absence, 1858‑60; on frontier duty at Ft. Clark, Tex., 1860‑61; in garrison at Ft. Hamilton, N. Y., 1861; and on sick leave of absence, 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑64: on Mustering duty in Wisconsin, Aug.‑Sep., 1861; in the Defenses of Washington,

D. C., Oct., 1861, to Mar., 1862; in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Mar. to Aug., 1862, being engaged in the

Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5 to May 4, 1862, participating in the Skirmish of Lee's Mills, Apr. 16, 1862, — Action of Golden's Farm, June 28, 1862, — Battle of Savage Station, June 29, 1862, where he was wounded, — and Battle of Glendale, June 30, 1862; in the Maryland Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Sep. to Nov., 1862, being engaged in the Action of Crampton Pass, Sep. 14, 1862, — Battle of Antietam, Sep. 17, 1862, where he was wounded, — and March to Falmouth, Va., Oct.‑Nov., 1862 (commanding Division from Oct. 22, 1862); in the Rappahannock Campaign, commanding Division (Army of the Potomac), Dec., 1862, to May, 1863; and in command of the Department of the Monongahela, June 11, 1863, to Apr. 6, 1864; in command of Division, 18th Corps (Army of the James), Apr. 22 to June 18, and of 10th Army Corps, June 18 to July 14, 1864, — in Operations before Richmond, being engaged in the Action of Swift's Creek, May 9‑10, 1864, — Skirmishes and Combats near Drury's Bluff, May 12‑16, 1864, — Defense of Bermuda Hundred, May 16‑29, 1864, — Battles of Cold Harbor, June 2‑12, 1864, — and Siege of Petersburg, June 18 to July 14, 1864.

Biographical Sketch.

Brig.‑General William T. H. Brooks was born, Jan. 28, 1821, at New Lisbon, Ohio, and was graduated from the Military Academy and promoted to the Third Infantry, July 1, 1841. After four years of service in the Florida War and on garrison duty, he joined General Taylor's forces invading Mexico, and was engaged in the Battles of Palo Alto, Resaca-de‑la‑Palma, and Monterey. Then he was transferred to General Scott's army, with which he took part in all its operations, including the p107 capture of the enemy's capital. On every occasion Brooks exhibited untiring activity and cool courage, combined with impetuous dash, for which gallant and meritorious conduct he received the brevets of Captain and Major. On the termination of hostilities, he was ordered to frontier duty in New Mexico and Texas against hostile Indians.

Soon after the beginning of the Rebellion, Brooks was appointed a Brigadier-General of Volunteers, and took a conspicuous part with the Army of the Potomac in the Virginia Peninsular, Maryland, and Rappahannock campaigns, being wounded in the Battle of Savage Station, Va., and again at Antietam, Md. In June, 1863, he took the command of the Department of the Monongahela, and the year following of a division of the Army of the James operating against Richmond. From his resignation, July 14, 1864, till his death, July 19, 1870, Brooks lived in retired life on a farm near Huntsville, Ala.

The following summary of Brooks's characteristics I gather from a letter of Dr. Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.

Henry Coppée, who was intimate with Brooks and served with him in the Mexican War:—

"This true warrior was a man of striking countenance, physically powerful and symmetrical, of dignified bearing, mentally quick and vigorous, gifted with a truly military instinct, loving the soldier's life, and never shirking duty on account of labor or danger, but rather courting it for both; modest as to his own qualifications and without envy as to those of others. He was the soul of honor, and his noble spirit rose at once against injustice and meanness in all their forms."

Class of 1841

Biographical Sketch.