Charles Kinnaird Graham (June 3, 1824 – April 15, 1889) was a sailor in the

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, attorney, and later a brigadier general in the Union Army during 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 ...

. As a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

, he helped plan and lay out

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early years and education

Charles Kinnaird Graham was born on June 3, 1824, in the ninth ward of

, to John A. Graham.Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 261. His father was a lawyer. He entered the Navy in October 1841, at the age of 17 and served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

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, ...

, resigning his commission in May 1848. Later he studied civil engineering and was for several years after 1857 constructing engineer of the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

. During this time he was a

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 ...

, lieutenant colonel and, finally,

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 ...

in the New York Militia.

Career

Civil War

At the outbreak of the

, on May 26, 1861, he entered the Union Army as

of the

74th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 74th New York Infantry Regiment was a Union regiment recruited in 1861, during the American Civil War. The regiment was part of Sickles' Excelsior Brigade and their first commander was sailor and engineer COL Charles K. Graham. This regi ...

, of one of the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s of the "

Excelsior Brigade The Excelsior Brigade was a military unit in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Mainly composed of infantry regiments raised in the state of New York (state), New York primarily by former United States House of Representatives, U.S. Re ...

." He resigned on April 10, 1862, but was restored to the colonelcy of the regiment during the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

on May 26, 1862. On November 9, 1862, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers to rank from November 29, 1862 and assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division,

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

. At the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

he commanded the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps. Upon the mortal wounding of

Amiel W. Whipple Amiel Weeks Whipple (October 21, 1817 – May 7, 1863)Anderson, TSHA was an American military officer and topographical engineer. He served as a brigadier general in the American Civil War, where he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Chanc ...

, Graham assumed command of the 3rd Division, III Corps on the last day of the battle, May 4, 1863, through June 20, 1863. He returned to command the 1st Brigade, 1st Division in June during the Gettysburg Campaign. During the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, Graham's brigade defended the Union position along the Emmitsburg Road, particularly the area of the Sherfy peach orchard. He was wounded in the hip and shoulders on July 2 and taken prisoner by the Confederates. He was sent to a prison camp in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

until he was exchanged (for James L. Kemper) on September 19, 1863. Upon his recovery, he was assigned by Major General

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general (United States), major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, ...

to the command of a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

flotilla on the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

labeled the "Naval Brigade" and was attached to the XVIII Corps,

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

from April 28, 1864, to February 17, 1865. Graham led the Naval Brigade during the

First Battle of Fort Fisher First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. When the Union forces of the First Fort Fisher expedition returned to Virginia, Graham commanded the defenses of

Bermuda Hundred Bermuda Hundred was the first Hundred (county division), administrative division in the English overseas possessions, English colony of Virginia Colony, Virginia. It was founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1613, six years after Jamestown, Virginia, ...

, February 19, 1865, to March 19, 1865, and later the garrison of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

from March 19, 1865, to July 1865. He was mustered out of the volunteers on August 24, 1865. On January 13, 1866,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

nominated Graham for appointment to the grade of brevet major general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.

Postbellum career

After the war, Graham returned to New York and resumed the practice of civil engineering. From 1873 to 1875, he was chief engineer of the dock department. From 1878 to 1883, he was surveyor of the port of New York. He held the post of naval officer from 1883 to 1885. He also worked with the Broadway Pavement Commission and the Beach Pneumatic Transit Company.

Personal life

Graham married Mary. His wife died in 1888. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the Laurel House in

Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community, as of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 135,158, its highest decennial count ever and ...

, on April 15, 1889. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery,

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . Attribution * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Charles Kinnaird Union army generals United States Navy officers People of New York (state) in the American Civil War United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War New York (state) lawyers American civil engineers Military personnel from New York City American Civil War prisoners of war Excelsior Brigade 1824 births 1889 deaths Engineers from New York City Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 19th-century American lawyers