George Washington Tew (November 13, 1829 – November 8, 1884) was an American Union brevet brigadier general during the period of 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 ...

Biography

Born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, Tew joined the Rhode Island Home Guards in 1846. In 1860 he became commanding officer (with the rank of colonel) of the

Newport Artillery Company The Newport Artillery Company of Newport, Rhode Island was chartered in 1741 by the Rhode Island General Assembly during the reign of King George II of Great Britain. It is the oldest military unit in the United States operating under its origin ...

. When the Civil War began, he was commissioned a captain of Company F, 1st Rhode Island Detached militia. Company F was primarily formed from members of the Newport Artillery Company. The 1st Rhode Island fought at the Battle of Bull Run and was mustered out of service in August 1861. Shortly afterwards, Tew was appointed a captain in the

4th Rhode Island Infantry 4th Rhode Island Infantry Regiment was organized during the American Civil War from 1861 and 1864. History Organized at Providence, 1861, the 4th Rhode Island Infantry Regiment left the state for Washington, D. C., October 2. At Camp Casey till N ...

and was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel. Tew fought at the

Battle of Roanoke Island The opening phase of what came to be called the Burnside Expedition, the Battle of Roanoke Island was an amphibious operation of the American Civil War, fought on February 7–8, 1862, in the North Carolina Sounds a short distance south of the ...

, the Battle of New Bern, and the Siege of Fort Macon. He prominently participated in the rescue of Massachusetts troops at Little Washington in North Carolina. In 1863, the

5th Rhode Island Infantry The 5th Rhode Island Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 5th Rhode Island Infantry Regiment was organized at Providence, Rhode Island. The regiment rendezvoused at Camp Greene ...

was reformed as a heavy artillery unit, and Tew was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He served with the 5th Rhode Island until the regiment was mustered out of service in June 1865. After the war, he received his commission as a brevet brigadier general, dated to March 13, 1865, in honor of his distinguished service during the war. After the war, Tew continued to reside in Newport until his death. He is buried in the

Island Cemetery The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pai ...

in Newport.

Dates of rank

*Colonel, Rhode Island Militia - April 1860 *Captain, Company F, 1st Rhode Island Detached Militia - April 1861 *Honorably Mustered Out of Service - 2 August 1861 *Captain,

- September 1861 *Major, 4th Rhode Island Infantry - 30 October 1861 *Lieutenant Colonel, 4th Rhode Island Infantry - 20 November 1861 *Resigned - 11 August 1862 *Captain,

- 24 September 1862 *Major, 5th Rhode Island Infantry - 1 October 1862 *Lieutenant Colonel, 5th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery - 2 March 1863 *Brevet Brigadier General - 13 March 1865 *Honorably Mustered Out of Service - 26 June 1865 Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789-1903, Francis B. Heitman, 1903, Vol. 1, pg. 951.

Biography

Dates of rank

References

External links

See also