John Henry Martindale (March 20, 1815 – December 13, 1881) was an American lawyer,

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

general, and politician.

Early life

Martindale was born in Sandy Hill,

Washington County, New York Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,302. The county seat is Fort Edward. The county was named for U.S. President George Washington. Washington County is part of the Glen ...

, the son of Congressman Henry C. Martindale and Minerva Hitchcock Martindale. He entered the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1831, and graduated in 1835. He was appointed a brevet second lieutenant, but resigned from the Army the next year and began to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1838, and commenced practice in Batavia, New York. In 1840, he married Emeline M. Holden. He was District Attorney of Genesee County from 1842 to 1846, and from 1848 to 1851. Then he removed to

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

Civil War

On August 9, 1861, Martindale was commissioned a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of volunteers in the Union Army, and was assigned to command a brigade within the Union

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

. He later participated in all the battles of the Peninsula Campaign in

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

. After the retreat from

Malvern Hill Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, USA, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond. On 1 July 1862, it was the scene of the Battle of Malvern Hill, one of the Seven Days Battles of the Americ ...

, he was brevetted a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

of volunteers, and appointed

Military Governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

of Washington, D.C., a post he held from November 1862 to May 1864. Afterward he returned to field service, fighting with the XVIII Corps in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign, the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses ...

and the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

, commanding the corps briefly in mid-July 1864. In September 1864 he resigned his commission because of bad health.

Return To Post-War Life

John H. Martindale was

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

from 1866 to 1867, elected in 1865 on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

ticket. In 1877, one of his clients tried to shoot him at his law office in

. He died in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, Alpes-Maritimes, France, and was buried at the

Batavia Cemetery Batavia Cemetery is located on Harvester Avenue in Batavia, New York, United States. It opened in 1823 and contains over 8,000 graves, mostly from the 19th century. In 2002 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first of t ...

in Batavia, New York.

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, .
Political GraveyardThe "attempted murder" at his office
in the New York ''Times'' on November 26, 1877

transcribed from the New York ''Times'' on December 14, 1881

at Office of the NYSAG
Google Books ''Life Sketches of State Officers, Senators, and Members of Assembly in the State of New York in 1867''
by S. R. Harlow and H. H. Boone (Weed, Parsons & Co., Albany NY, 1867)

External links

* at Generals and Brevets {{DEFAULTSORT:Martindale, John Henry 1815 births 1881 deaths United States Military Academy alumni Union Army generals People of New York (state) in the American Civil War New York State Attorneys General County district attorneys in New York (state) People from Hudson Falls, New York People from Batavia, New York New York (state) Republicans 19th-century American politicians

Early life

Civil War

Return To Post-War Life

See also

References

External links