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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1850

Vol. II
p415
1461

(Born Pa.)

Adam J. Slemmer

(Ap'd Pa.)

12

Adam Jacoby Slemmer: Born Jan. 24, 1829, Montgomery County, PA.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, Sep. 1, 1846, to July 1, 1850, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut. of Artillery, July 1, 1850.

Served: in Florida Hostilities against the Seminole Indians, 1850‑51;

(Second Lieut., 1st Artillery, Feb. 22, 1851)

on frontier duty at San Diego, Cal., 1851‑52, — San Luis Rey, Cal., 1852, — San Diego, Cal., 1853‑54, — and Ft. Yuma, Cal., 1854; in garrison at

(First Lieut., 1st Artillery, Apr. 30, 1854)

Ft. Moultrie, S. C., 1855; at the Military Academy, 1855‑59, as Asst. Professor of Geography, History, and Ethics, Sep. 13, 1855, to Sep. 6, 1856, — and Asst. Professor of Mathematics, Sep. 9, 1856, to Aug., 31, 1859; and in garrison at Ft. Moultrie, S. C., 1859‑60, — and Barrancas Barracks, Fla., 1860‑61.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: in command of Ft. Barrancas and Barracks till Jan. 10, 1861, when he transferred his forces to Ft. Pickens, in Defense of which he remained till May 9, 1861, being in command till Apr. 14, 1861;​a in garrison at Ft. Hamilton, N. Y., May 18 to July 3, 1861; in Organizing and Recruiting

(Major, 16th Infantry, May 14, 1861)

his regiment at Chicago, Ill., July 3 to Aug. 20, 1861; as Acting Inspector-General of the Department of the Ohio, Aug. 20 to Nov. 5, 1861; being engaged on an Expedition from Parkersburg to Roane C. H., Va., Sep., 1861; on sick leave of absence, Dec. 12, 1861, to May 12, 1862; in Major-General Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1841: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Buell's Operations in Mississippi, North Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, May to Nov., 1862, being engaged in the Siege of Corinth, May 13‑30, 1862, — movement to Louisville, Ky., June to Sep., 1862, — and Advance into Kentucky by Bowling Green, to relieve Nashville, Sep. to Nov. 1862; in the Tennessee Campaign (Army of the Cumberland),

(Brig.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, Nov. 29, 1862)

Nov. 7 to Dec. 31, 1862, being engaged in the Battle of Stone River,  p416 Dec. 31, 1862, where he was severely wounded; on sick leave of absence,

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Colonel, Dec. 31, 1862, for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Murfreesborough, Ten.)

disabled by wound, Mar. 10 to July 3, 1863; and as President of Board of Examination of sick and wounded officers at Columbus and Cincinnati, O., July 3, 1863, to Sep. 14, 1865.

Lieut.‑Colonel, 4th Infantry, Feb. 8, 1864.

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

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

Mustered out of Volunteer Service, Aug. 24, 1865.

Served: in garrison at Ft. Schuyler, N. Y., Sep. 30 to Nov. 24, 1865, — and Madison Barracks, Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1865, to Oct. 1, 1866; as Member of Board for Examination of Candidates for Promotion in the Army, Oct. 1, 1866, to Oct., 1867; and on frontier duty at Ft. Laramie, Dak., Nov. 17, 1867, to Oct. 7, 1868.

Died, Oct. 7, 1868, at Ft. Laramie, Dak.: Aged 40.

Buried, Montgomery Cemetery, Norristown, PA.


Thayer's Note:

a This glosses over, somewhat inexplicably to my mind, the signal service to the Union for which Slemmer is remembered today: his refusal, despite very unfavorable circumstances, to surrender Ft. Pickens to the Confederacy. The fort, deep in Southern territory, held out for the duration of the war; strategically commanding the Gulf of Mexico. The details are much more interesting than one would expect; see "Civil War Operations in and around Pensacola" (FlaHQ 36:125‑165).


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