Edward Banker Willis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Edward Banker Willis (January 9, 1831 – December 7, 1879) was a United States military officer 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 ...
. He participated in the
Trans-Mississippi Theater The trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War was the scene of the major military operations west of the Mississippi River. The area is often thought of as excluding the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed ...
, fighting rebels and hostile native Americans in the frontier of
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
and
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
.


Biography

Willis was born on January 9, 1831, in New York City and when he was nineteen he traveled west for the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
. On August 24, 1861, he mustered into the service of the Union Army, becoming a
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
and later 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 ...
of Company A, 1st California Infantry. From
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, Willis marched with James H. Carleton's expedition across New Mexico Territory and was involved in the capture of
Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, an old
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...
defended by a handful of
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
. After that he headed south for the
mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...
of Mowry in order to arrest a suspected traitor named
Sylvester Mowry Sylvester Mowry (January 17, 1833 – October 17, 1871) was an American politician, miner, and land speculator. He is best remembered as an early advocate for establishing the Arizona Territory. He was also a West Point graduate and officer of t ...
. For his conduct in the Civil War, Willis was promoted to
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 ...
on May 5, 1863. In September, Willis led a scouting party against the
Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...
and later was on the board to determine where to build Fort Whipple. Leaving
Fort Wingate Fort Wingate was a military installation near Gallup, New Mexico, United States. There were two other locations in New Mexico called Fort Wingate: Seboyeta, New Mexico, Seboyeta (1849–1862) and San Rafael, New Mexico, San Rafael (1862–1868 ...
on November 7, 1863, he went to Little Chino Valley, north of Prescott, and opened the new fort on December 23. However, the fort was moved on May 11, 1864, to its present location near Prescott. On June 30, 1864, Willis fought a small engagement with
Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
s along the Salt River. On September 5, he mustered out of the 1st California Infantry and joined up with the 1st New Mexico Infantry at Santa Fe, becoming a lieutenant colonel on February 5, 1865. In January 1866 Willis was in command of
Fort Selden Fort Selden was a United States Army post, occupying the area in what is now Radium Springs, New Mexico. The site was long a campground along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. It was the site of a Confederate Army camp in 1861. The U.S. ...
when he heard a rumor that a large band of Apaches had sacked the Janos presidio in Chihuahua. Hastily he organized an expedition of fifty infantrymen and twenty-five cavalrymen to march to the aid of the Mexican citizens there. But when the column arrived, ten days later, Willis learned that the citizens had successfully fought the Apaches for two days. The rest fled into the surrounding mountains. Willis was honorably discharged at Santa Fe on November 1, 1866. He then became 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 ...
in New Mexico, Arizona
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
,
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
and
Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...
before retiring to
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
,
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
. Willis died at Fontenelle,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
on December 7, 1879, leaving a wife but no children.Thrapp, pg. 1577


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Edward Banker History of Arizona History of New Mexico People of the American Civil War Apache Wars Military personnel from New York City United States Army officers 1831 births 1879 deaths People of the American Old West Union army officers