Henry Baxter (September 8, 1821 – December 30, 1873) was a 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 ...

. At 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, ...

, his brigade resisted a Confederate assault from parts of Maj. Gen.

Robert E. Rodes Robert Emmett (or Emmet) Rodes (March 29, 1829 – September 19, 1864) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and the first of Robert E. Lee's divisional commanders not trained at West Point. His division led Stonewall Jackson ...

's division, slaughtering hundreds in a surprise attack on BG Alfred Iverson's brigade, and held the north flank of the Union position for much of the day before retiring due to lack of ammunition. He was wounded four times during the war. He later served as President Grant's Minister to Honduras.

Early life and career

Baxter was born in Sidney Plains,

Delaware County, New York Delaware County is a county located in the US state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,308. The county seat is Delhi. The county is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas Wes ...

. His grandfathers had both served in 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 ...

. In 1831, he and his father moved to

Jonesville, Michigan Jonesville is a city in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,176 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by brothers Benaiah and Edmund Jones, who came here from Painesville, Ohio in 1828 and purch ...

. In 1849, he traveled to

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 ...

with a company of thirty men in search of gold, returning in 1852 to Jonesville to become a

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

. He commanded a military unit he organized known as the Jonesville Light Guards.

Civil War

Early assignments

Due to his military experience, Baxter was elected captain of a local company at Camp Monroe (Monroe MI today at the fair grounds) which was to be designated as Camp Monroe, Parts of five companies, being one from Port Huron under Capt. Hunt, from Jonesville under Capt. Baxter, from Burr Oak under Capt. Waterman, from Farmington under Capt. Harty, and the Monroe City Guards under Capt. Darrah have been reported at the Camp, partially full. ) that became Company C of the 7th Michigan Infantry Regiment. He was wounded severely in the abdomen during the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...

. During the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

, as lieutenant colonel of his regiment, he was wounded again in the right leg as his regiment was decimated along with the rest of Maj. Gen.

John Sedgwick John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was an American military officer who served as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsucces ...

's division during an ambush. He left for Michigan to recuperate, and was promoted to command of the regiment prior to 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 ( ...

. His regiment was selected to make an amphibious assault to drive Confederate sharpshooters out of the town, and they were successful, although Baxter was again wounded, this time in the left shoulder with the bullet lodging in his spine. When he returned to duty, he was appointed brigadier general on March 12, 1863.

Gettysburg

At the Battle of Gettysburg, Baxter's I Corps brigade arrived around noon just as Confederate Maj. Gen. Robert Rodes's 8,000-man division began to appear on Oak Hill. Baxter's brigade advanced far beyond the nearest Federal brigade on the right flank of the line and deployed in a V-shaped formation along the Mummasburg Road. Rodes's division attacked piecemeal, and scores of Colonel Edward A. O'Neal's men were mowed down. Shortly afterward, a Confederate brigade under BG Alfred Iverson advanced without skirmishers and moved past Baxter's men, who were hidden behind a stone wall. Suddenly, the men of Baxter's brigade rose up and delivered a lethal fire into the North Carolinians. In one of the most one-sided exchanges during the war, Baxter's surprise attack killed, wounded and captured 758 of 1300 men in Confederate Iverson's brigade and eliminated it as an effective fighting force in under ten minutes. Running low on ammunition, Baxter's men withdrew to the north end of

Cemetery Ridge Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park, south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for t ...

, having lost all of the officers on Baxter's staff and close to half the brigade in defense of the I Corps right flank. He received glowing praise from his division commander, Maj. Gen. John C. Robinson, and a subordinate wrote that, "I wish to say one word outside of my regiment in regard to Generals Baxter and Robinson. They were on every part of the field, encouraging and stimulating the men by their presence and bravery."

1864–1865

Baxter retained command of his brigade during the reorganization of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

in March 1864, a sign that he held the confidence of his superiors. His brigade was assigned to the 2nd Division, V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Robinson. 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 ...

, he was shot in the left leg, the bullet also killing his horse. After recuperating, he led a brigade in the 3rd Division, V Corps, during later stages of the siege of Richmond and Petersburg. He was mustered out of the volunteers on August 24, 1865. On May 31, 1866, President

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 Baxter for the award of the brevet grade of major general to rank from April 1, 1865 and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on July 23, 1866.Eicher, 2001, p. 710

Postbellum career

Baxter served as Register of Deeds for Hillsdale County, Michigan, and was then appointed by President Grant as Minister to Honduras in 1869. He returned home in 1872 and became active in the lumber business before dying from pneumonia in 1873. He died in Jonesville and is buried in Jonesville Cemetery. McFarland Publishing published a biography entitled ''General Henry Baxter, 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry: A Biography'' in 2016.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Lash, Gary G. "Brig. Gen. Henry Baxter’s Brigade at Gettysburg, July 1." ''Gettysburg Magazine'' 10 (January 1994): 6-27. * Tagg, Larry
''The Generals of Gettysburg''
Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1998. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. .

External links

Official Records of the American Civil War The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

Henry Baxter letters and reports, MSS 894
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Henry 1821 births 1873 deaths Union army generals People of Michigan in the American Civil War Ambassadors of the United States to Honduras People from Sidney, New York People from Jonesville, Michigan