Edwin Vose Sumner Jr. (August 16, 1835 – August 23, 1912) was a general in the

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 ...

. Born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania; he was the son of General

Edwin Vose Sumner Edwin Vose Sumner (January 30, 1797March 21, 1863) was a career United States Army Commissioned officer, officer who became a Union Army General officer, general and the oldest field commander of any Army Corps on either side during the American ...

, one of the oldest generals to serve 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 ...

.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 519.

Civil War service

Edwin V. Sumner Jr. began his military career shortly after the outbreak of the

, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

1st U.S. Cavalry Regiment The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons ...

on August 5, 1861. He was promoted to

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 ...

on November 12, 1861. He served as aide de camp to Major General

George Stoneman George Stoneman Jr. (August 8, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a United States Army cavalry officer and politician who served as the 15th governor of California from 1883 to 1887. Stoneman trained at West Point, graduating in 1846, and served in ...

between January 1863 and August 1863. He 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 ...

volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

on May 19, 1863. He was mustered out of the volunteers on August 15, 1863. On September 23, 1863, Sumner was appointed 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

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 served as an Assistant Inspector General of the cavalry in the

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 ...

in 1864 until July 21, 1864. He was appointed brevet major in the regular army for his service at the

Battle of Todd's Tavern The Battle of Todd's Tavern was fought in Virginia during the American Civil War. The Battle of the Wilderness On May 4, 1864, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 122,000-man Army of the Potomac and Gen. Robert E. Lee's 66,000-man Army of Northern Virgini ...

. He served as an Assistant Inspector General of the cavalry in the Department of West Virginia starting July 21, 1864. On September 8, 1864, he was appointed

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 ...

of the

1st Regiment New York Mounted Rifles The 1st Regiment New York Mounted Rifles, sometimes designated 7th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry, was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Companies organized and mustered in between July 1861 and S ...

. He commanded the 3rd Brigade of the Cavalry Division, XVIII Corps (Union Army),

between February 5, 1865, and March 28, 1865. Sumner was mustered out of the volunteers and reverted to his Regular Army rank of captain on September 29, 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 Sumner for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier 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.

Post Civil War

After the Civil War, Sumner served in the Indian Wars. He was appointed

in the 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, March 4, 1879, lieutenant colonel in the 8th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, April 15, 1890, and

of the

7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Ireland, Irish air "Garryowen (air), Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated i ...

, November 10, 1894. In April 1890, he participated in the Pine Ridge Campaign in which the 8th Cavalry was ordered to establish a camp on the Cheyanne River in order to observe a band of

Miniconjou Lakota The Miniconjou (Lakota: Mnikowoju, Hokwoju – ‘Plants by the Water’) are a Native American people constituting a subdivision of the Lakota people, who formerly inhabited an area in western present-day South Dakota from the Black Hills in to ...

under the leadership of Big Foot. The relationship between the Lakota and the U.S. Cavalry was initially amicable, but this soon deteriorated after incidents of Lakota harassing soldiers, attempting to steal horses, and reports that the Lakota were buying up rifles and ammunition in preparation for battle. Sumner was ordered to arrest and disarm Big Foot and his band, but failed to do so when the band rode away to the Pine Ridge Reservation. In 1890, he was elected a member of the Massachusetts

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

by right of his collateral descent from Major Job Sumner, a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. At the beginning of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, he was appointed brigadier general of Volunteers on May 27, 1898, and was discharged from the Volunteers on February 24, 1899.

Later life

Sumner was promoted to brigadier general in the Regular Army on March 27, 1899, and retired from the United States Army three days later after 37 years of service. Sumner died at

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on August 28, 1912. He was buried at the

United States Military Academy 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 ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

Family

He was married to Margaret Forster, the daughter of General John Forster (1777–1863). His brother was Major General Samuel S. Sumner.

Awards

Civil War Campaign Medal The Civil War Campaign Medal is considered the first campaign service medal of the United States Armed Forces. The decoration was awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who had served in the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865. ...

Indian Campaign Medal The Indian Campaign Medal is a decoration established by War Department General Orders 12, 1907.

Spanish War Service Medal The Spanish War Service Medal was a United States military medal of the U.S. Army which was established by an act of the U.S. Congress on 9 July 1918 (40 Stat. 873). The medal recognizes those members of the Army and of the U.S. Volunteers who per ...

(posthumously eligible)

References

External links

*Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army. Francis B. Heitman. 1903. p. 936. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumner Jr., Edwin Vose 1835 births 1912 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Military personnel from Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union army colonels United States Army generals Sumner family 19th-century United States Army personnel