Augustus Louis Chetlain (December 26, 1824 – March 15, 1914) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

soldier who was the first man in

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to volunteer at the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He served as a Union Army

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Early life and career

Chetlain was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. His parents were Swiss, and they came to the United States by the way of Canada. As an infant, he was taken to

Galena, Illinois Galena is the largest city in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 3,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Plac ...

. He studied at local schools in Galena and later became a clerk. In 1852, he started a career in business, and by 1859, he had become wealthy. He sold his business in the U.S. and traveled in Europe. Upon returning, Chetlain participated in the 1860 presidential campaign.Warner, p. 81.

Civil War service

When the

began in 1861, Chetlain chose to follow the Union cause. He was said to have been the first man in

to volunteer for the Civil War. On April 16, he was part of a meeting held in Galena to raise a volunteer company and, with

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

, was prominent in its creation. When Grant declined the post, he suggested for Chetlain to be elected as the company's captain. In Springfield in late April the 12th Illinois Infantry was organized, and Chetlain's company was added to it.White, p. 390. On May 2 he entered the Union Army as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the 12th Illinois, and the next day, he was elected the regiment's lieutenant colonel.Eicher, p. 171. Shortly afterward, the 12th Illinois was ordered to

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, and that September, it was part of the force used by Grant in the expedition against and capture of

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern United States at the confluence ...

. Chetlain was then given command of

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, where he constructed fortifications to defend part of the

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. In January 1862, he rejoined his regiment, led it during the expedition up the

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, was at the capture of Fort Henry on February 6, and led his command during the

Battle of Fort Donelson The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important ave ...

from February 12 to 16. Corinth Oct3-4

On April 6, 1862, Chetlain led his regiment with distinction during the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

in which he lost about a quarter of his men, and he was wounded when his face and his chest were seriously bruised. On April 27, he was promoted to

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for gallantry during the action at Fort Donelson. In May, his command participated in the

Siege of Corinth The siege of Corinth, also known as the first battle of Corinth, was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry H ...

and then the battle there on October 3 and 4 during which Chetlain was again highly praised for his performance.Warner, p. 81; White, p. 391. Chetlain was then given command of

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, where he began to organize and train black soldiers for Union Army service. This assignment lasted until May 1863, and on December 18, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. On the advice of Grant, Chetlain was given the task of raising black troops in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and in

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, with his headquarters located in

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. By October 1864, he had trained a force of about 17,000 men, who were "well armed, drilled, and disciplined."White, p. 391. On June 18, 1865, Chetlain was

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

to the rank of major general. Between 1865 and 1866, he commanded at Memphis and then at

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On January 26, 1866, Chetlain was mustered out of the Union Army. His wartime performance has been described as follows:

Later life

After the American Civil War, Chetlain was assessor of Internal Revenue for the district of Utah from 1867 to 1869. From 1869 to 1872, he was at U.S. consul in

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. In 1872, he established himself in the banking business in Chicago and as a stock broker. He was a president of the Home National Bank, organizer of the Industrial Bank of Chicago, director of the

Chicago Stock Exchange NYSE Chicago, formerly known as the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), is a stock exchange in Chicago, Illinois, US. The exchange is a national securities exchange and self-regulatory organization, which operates under the oversight of the U.S. Secu ...

, and member of the Board of Education. An active philanthropist, he was prominent in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic for many years. In 1893, he wrote ''Recollections of Seventy Years''. On March 15, 1914, he died in Chicago. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Galena.

Notes

References

* * * White, James T., general editor, '' National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', Volume 4, J. T. White Company, 1895.
galenahistorymuseum.org
Galena Historical Society site biography of Chetlain.

External links

Augustus L. Chetlain letters, Vault MSS 160
at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...