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Vol. II |
(Born Ga.) |
Owen F. Solomon |
(Ap'd Ga.) |
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Owen Fort Solomon: Born Sep. 24, 1829.a Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1849, to July 1, 1853, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to Bvt. Second Lieut. of Artillery, July 1, 1853. Served: in garrison at Ft. Moultrie, S. C., 1853, — and Ft. Myers, (Second Lieut., 4th Artillery, Nov. 25, 1853) Fla., 1853‑54; on frontier duty at Ft. Brady, Mich., 1854‑55, — and Ft. Brown, Tex., 1856; in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1856‑57; in (First Lieut., 4th Artillery, Oct. 31, 1856) Florida Hostilities against the Seminole Indians, 1857‑58; and on frontier duty at Ft. Leavenworth, as Acting Asst. Adjutant-General, Feb. 6 to May 18, 1858, in quelling Kansas Disturbances, — and Ft. Laramie, Dak., 1858‑59. Died, Sep. 27, 1859, at Ft. Laramie, Dak.: Aged 30. Burial place unknown.b |
a Lt. Solomon's middle name and birthdate are from the obituary notice cited further below; and although that article casts doubt on its accuracy by misstating his dates at the Military Academy, the 1850 to 1853 issues of the Official Register of the Officers and Cadets of the U. S. Military Academy state that he was 19 years and 19 months old at the time of his admission, supporting this date of birth.
b I am indebted to Prof. Emeritus Richard Rieck of the Department of Geography in Western Illinois University for the following heads‑up:
Lt. Solomon has at least two funerary monuments, one in Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, GA and the other in Camp Floyd Cemetery, Fairfield, UT. It is unclear which, if either, is his actual burial place, although the impressive monument in Atlanta in the state of his birth makes it rather likely to me.
A further more diligent search on my part yielded the following article on p2 of The (Nashville) Tennessean, Nov. 9, 1859:
The distinguished young officer whose death is announced below, was brother of Mrs. J. C. French, of this city:
Death of Lieut. O. F. Solomon. — The sad intelligence of the death of 1st Lieut. Owen Fort Solomon, 4th Artillery, U. S. Army, reached his family in this city on Sunday morning last. This melancholy event took place on the afternoon of the 27th of September, at Fort Laramie, Territory of Nebraska. His illness was not of long duration, and its fatal termination was as unexpected to his comrades in the service as it was to his family at home. The tidings will be received by a large circle of relatives and friends throughout the State, with deep regret. Lieut. Solomon had only reached his 30th year on the 24th of September. He was entered at West Point Military Academy in June, 1848,º and graduated with distinction in 1852.º He at once commenced active life as an officer of the Army, and has been stationed, within the last seven years, at various forts in different parts of the Union. During that period he acquired a high reputation as a drill officer — not surpassed by any one of his age in the service. He was universally beloved by officers and privates; and his commanding officer writes that his death was regarded as a heavy calamity to the service at Fort Laramie. During the last Spring, Lieutenant Solomon paid a visit to his parents in this place, and, while amongst us, made many warm friends. They well remember his manly appearance and his modest unassuming demeanor, and will long cherish the memory of his many fine qualities. The sympathies of our community are with his parents in this sad bereavement. They have lost a son of whom they were justly proud, and the country has lost a soldier than whom she has none, of his age, more promising. — Atlanta Intelligencer.
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