Daniel Leasure (March 18, 1819 – October 10, 1886) was an American soldier and physician who served as a

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 ...

and

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

commander 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 ...

Early life

Leasure was born in 1819 near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in Westmoreland County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He attended Greersburg Academy in nearby

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in Beaver County from 1838 to 1840. Afterwards, he spent time in

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

in Pittsburgh.

Civil War

Leasure held the rank of colonel in the

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

through most of the war. His

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 ...

, the

100th Pennsylvania Infantry The 100th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry ("The Roundheads" and "The Round Head Regiment") was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 100th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at ...

, was known as the "Roundheads" because it was recruited from descendants of the followers of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

.100th Penn.com
/ref> The regiment first saw action in the command of Brig. Gen. Isaac I. Stevens at the

Battle of Secessionville The Battle of Secessionville (or the First Battle of James Island) was fought on June 16, 1862, during the American Civil War. Confederate forces defeated the Union's only attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, by land. It is noted for ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

on June 16, 1862. Transferred to the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

theater of the war, Leasure participated in the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

, and the

Battle of Chantilly The Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill, the Confederate name) took place on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as the concluding battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps ...

. Wounded at Second Bull Run he subsequently missed the

Maryland Campaign The Maryland campaign (or Antietam campaign) occurred September 4–20, 1862, during the American Civil War. The campaign was Confederate States Army, Confederate General (CSA), General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the Northern United Stat ...

. Leasure returned for the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat between the Union Army, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...

where he took command of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division in the IX Corps. Moving to the Western Theater with the IX Corps, Leasure continued in

command under Maj. Gen.

John Parke John Grubb Parke (September 22, 1827 – December 16, 1900) was a United States Army engineer and a Union general in the American Civil War. Parke's Civil War service was closely associated with Ambrose E. Burnside, often serving him as c ...

during the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

and Blue Springs. Returning to command of the 100th Pennsylvania he took part in the

Siege of Knoxville The siege of Knoxville (November 17 – December 4, 1863) saw Lieutenant General James Longstreet's Confederate States Army, Confederate forces besiege the Union (American Civil War), Union garrison of Knoxville, Tennessee, led by Major General ...

. Returning to Virginia, Leasure now commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division in the IX Corps at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General (C ...

and the

Battle of Spotsylvania The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 18 ...

. When division commander Brig. Gen.

Thomas G. Stevenson Thomas Greely Stevenson (February 3, 1836 – May 10, 1864) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was killed in action during the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. Biography Stevenson was born in Boston, Massachusett ...

was killed during the fighting at Spotsylvania, Leasure was the ranking subordinate and took command of the division for 3 days until relieved of this capacity by Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden. Returning to command the 2nd Brigade, Leasure was wounded a few days later and never returned to field command. He was mustered out of the service on August 30, 1864. He received the brevet rank of brigadier general in 1865.

Post-war career

When the war ended, Leasure returned to Pennsylvania where he practiced

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of Darlington. While in Darlington, Leasure became a trustee of Greersburg Academy where he was educated nearly thirty years before. He later served in the Pennsylvania state legislature, and afterwards, moved to New Castle, Pennsylvania. Leasure then moved to the city of

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in 1878, where he died eight years later on October 10, 1886. His body was returned to Pennsylvania, and was buried in New Castle.

Monument

The borough of Darlington erected a monument the year following Leasure's death. The monument was placed across from the Greersburg Academy school building where Leasure spent a considerable amount of time in his life. (Other notable Civil War alumni to go through the academy were the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

and John W. Geary.)

References

* Cole, Wayne A., ''The Greersburg Academy and the Station House'', Wayne A. Cole, 2003, .

Notes