Charles Champion Gilbert (March 1, 1822 – January 17, 1903) 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 ...

officer during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and 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 ...

Early life

Gilbert was born in

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking and Muskingum River, Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus, Ohio, Columb ...

. He graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in the famed Class of 1846, finishing 21st out of 59 students.Eicher, p. 598. His classmates included twenty future Civil War generals, including

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

, George Stoneman,

Darius N. Couch Darius Nash Couch (July 23, 1822 – February 12, 1897) was an American soldier, businessman, and naturalist. He served as a career United States Army, U.S. Army officer during the Mexican–American War, the Second Seminole War, and as a general ...

, and George Pickett. During the

he served in the 3rd U.S. Infantry and

1st U.S. Infantry The 1st Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army that draws its lineage from a line of post American Revolutionary War units and is decorated with thirty-nine campaign streamers. The 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry is assigned as ...

and fought at

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. Then he served in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

for two years. Returning to West Point in 1850 as the Assistant Professor of Geography, History and Ethics he was promoted to first lieutenant on June 10, 1850. In 1855, now a

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 ...

in the 1st Infantry, he returned to Texas for frontier duty and Indian fighting. He was also the first member of the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

fraternity chapter at

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

(Beta Kappa).

Civil War

Early service

When the Civil War started, Gilbert commanded the post of

Fort Cobb, Oklahoma Fort Cobb is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 518 at the 2020 census. History Fort Cobb was established as a U.S. Army frontier post in Indian Territory on October 1, 1859, east of the present location of ...

. Gilbert rejoined the regiment and fought in the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri. In August, Confe ...

, where he was wounded. He was appointed Inspector General in the

Army of the Ohio The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union Army, Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863. History 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed ...

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 ...

and 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 ...

Promotion to Major General

During the Confederate Heartland Offensive, Maj. Gen.

William "Bull" Nelson William "Bull" Nelson (September 27, 1824 – September 29, 1862) was a United States naval officer who became a Union general during the American Civil War. As a Kentuckian, Nelson could have sympathized with the Confederates but, like his st ...

was wounded in the

battle of Richmond The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, fought August 29–30, 1862, was one of the most complete Confederate victories in the American Civil War by Major General Edmund Kirby Smith against Union major general William "Bull" Nelson's forces, whic ...

and his Army of Kentucky severely mauled. Department commander Horatio G. Wright needed to select a replacement for the wounded Nelson and the two ranking officers, Generals Charles Cruft and James S. Jackson, refused the promotion. Therefore, at the recommendation of both Cruft and Jackson, Wright promoted Gilbert to fill the vacancy, and Gilbert was elevated to acting major general pending the approval of the president. Several days later, on September 9, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Gilbert to brigadier general of U.S. Volunteers. Wright's promotion to acting Major General, however, gave Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell enough leverage to appoint Gilbert to a corps command in his

over such generals as Jeremiah T. Boyle, Jefferson C. Davis, and Albin F. Schoepf. Buell later denied knowing Gilbert had not actually received an official appointment.

Perryville

Proudly wearing two stars in his shoulders, Gilbert was temporarily placed in command of the corps-sized Army of Kentucky in the absence of Nelson. About the time Nelson was well enough to resume command, he was murdered in Louisville. When the Army of Kentucky was assimilated into the

it was redesignated as its III Provisional Corps, and Gilbert retained the command. A week later, Gilbert was engaged in the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...

. His troops were successful in checking the last of the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

attacks and driving a Confederate brigade back through Perryville, but Gilbert was criticized for his slow action in battle and he was widely despised by the men in his corps for his actions as a martinet. Gilbert's appointment to brigadier general was not confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and it expired on March 4, 1863. Some officers in the Army, including Buell's Chief of Staff James B. Fry, were surprised to find out Gilbert had not officially been promoted to major general. Leaving the Volunteer service and returning to the

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

he was appointed

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the 19th U.S. Infantry. He also was brevetted as lieutenant colonel and

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Later assignments

Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans took command of the Army of the Ohio and the subsequent reorganization as the

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creatio ...

left Gilbert without a permanent command. He commanded the 10th (Provisional) Division in Tennessee at the Battle of Harpeth River. In July 1863 he was assigned to the East on administrative duty, serving as Assistant Provost Marshal General and Chief Mustering Officer in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and later

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, for the remainder of the war.

Postbellum career

Gilbert served on the

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

serving in the 28th U.S. Infantry and 7th U.S. Infantry Regiments. When he retired in 1886 he was the Commanding Officer of the 17th U.S. Infantry with the rank of colonel. He died in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

on January 17, 1903; and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. He was the brother of Union Brig. Gen. Samuel A. Gilbert and uncle to Samuel's son

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Noe, Kenneth W. ''Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle''. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Charles Champion 1822 births 1903 deaths People from Zanesville, Ohio American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 Union army generals United States Military Academy alumni People of Ohio in the American Civil War Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery