Class of 1829

Caleb Chase Sibley: Born Apr. 20, 1806, Sutton, MA.​a

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1825, to July 1, 1829, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., 5th Infantry, July 1, 1829.

Second Lieut., 5th Infantry, July 1, 1829.

Served: on frontier duty at Ft. Mackinac, Mich., 1829‑32, — Ft. Howard, Wis., 1832‑36, — Ft. Winnebago, Wis., 1837, — and Ft. Crawford,

(First Lieut., 5th Infantry, Oct. 31, 1836)

Wis., 1837‑40; as Adjutant, 5th Infantry, Aug. 4, 1838, to Sep. 22, 1840; on frontier duty at Ft. Snelling, Min., 1840‑41, — and Detroit,

(Captain, 5th Infantry, Sep. 22, 1840)

Mich., 1841‑45; in Military Occupation of Texas, 1845‑46; on Recruiting service, 1846‑47; in the War with Mexico, 1847‑48; on frontier duty at Ft. Smith, Ark., 1848‑50, — Ft. Gibson, I. T., 1850‑51, — Ft. Smith, Ark., 1851, — March to Brazos River, Tex., 1851, — Clear Fork of the Brazos, 1851‑53, 1854, — San Antonio, Tex., 1854, — Ringgold Barracks, Tex., 1854, — Scouting, 1854, — Ringgold Barracks, Tex., 1854‑56, — and Pavilion Key, Fla., 1857; in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1857; on March to Utah, 1857; on sick leave of absence, 1857‑59; on frontier

(Major, 3d Infantry, Jan. 19, 1859)

duty at Albuquerque, N. M., 1860, — Ft. McIntosh, Tex., 1860‑61, — Matagorda Bay, Tex., 1861, in command of Battalion, which he surrendered

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 9th Infantry, Oct. 9, 1861)

to the Rebels commanded by General Van Dorn; and on parole at Ft. Hamilton, N. Y., 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1862‑66: in command of 9th Infantry, at San Francisco, Cal., Jan. 15, 1862, to Sep. 8, 1863; en route to Wilmington, Del., to appear before the Retiring Board, Sep. 8, 1863, to Jan. 25, 1864; in command of 9th Infantry, at San

(Colonel, 16th Infantry, Apr. 20, 1864)

Francisco, Cal., Jan. 25 to Oct. 21, 1864; on detached service at New York, Nov., 1864; in command of 16th Infantry, and Superintendent of Regimental Recruiting Service, at Fort Ontario, N. Y., Nov. 29, 1864, to June, 1865, — and at Madison Barracks, N. Y., June, 1865, to Apr., 1866; in command of Nashville, Ten., May 5 to June 25, 1866; on leave of absence, June 25 to Nov. 30, 1866.​b

Served: in command of Savannah, Ga., Nov. 30, 1866, to Mar. 1, 1867, and of District of Georgia, headquarters at Macon, Mar. 12, 1867, to Feb. 22, 1869.

Retired from Active Service, Feb. 22, 1869,
under the Law of July 17, 1862, he being over the Age of 62 Years.

Died, Feb. 19, 1875, at Chicago, Ill.: Aged 69.

Obituary notice in Annual Report, Association of Graduates, for 1875.º

Buried, Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, IL.

Genl Caleb Chase Sibley U. S. Army. Born April 20, 1806 Died Feby 19, 1875 His wife Nancy Davenport 1809‑1903

The Author's Note:

1 Named Caleb Sibley when he was graduated.

Thayer's Notes:

a Gen. Sibley's middle name is from Heitman's Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army; his birth data are repeated in several near-contemporaneous printed sources, and taken up by John and David Eicher, Civil War High Commands, p487.

b In his AOG obituary, Caleb Sibley is given the rank of Brevet Brigadier General; as also elsewhere, for example in the AOG obituary of Gen. Benjamin S. Roberts. This is very plausible, since brevet ranks were issued wholesale at the conclusion of the War between the States; the omission may merely represent an oversight by Gen. Cullum — and then it just might be intentional, since Sibley surrendered his forces to the Confederacy apparently without giving battle, and that kind of thing didn't sit well with Cullum.

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