James Glas Grindlay (February 14, 1840 – October 19, 1907) was a Union Army officer in 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 ...

and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

, for his actions during the

Battle of Five Forks The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around the road junction of Five Forks, Dinwiddie County, at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, near the conclusion of the American Civil War. The Union A ...

. He served with the

146th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 146th New York Infantry Regiment, nicknamed Garrard's Tigers, was a Federal regiment which mustered on October 10, 1862, and mustered out on July 16, 1865. The regiment was raised and organized in Rome, New York, and was known as the 5th On ...

and commanded that unit for the last year of the war. He twice briefly led his

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 ...

after his superior officers became casualties, and was

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

brigadier general shortly before the end of the conflict.

Early life

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, Grindlay immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a young man.Brainard, p. 347 He was trained as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

, and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

agent.Eicher and Eicher, p. 270 Before enlisting in the Army he worked as a bookkeeper for a

tannery Tanning, or hide tanning, is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Historically, vegetable based tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound derived fr ...

Boonville, New York Boonville is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The town is in the northeastern section of the county. The population was 4,555 at the 2010 census. The town includes a village, also called Boonville. The town and village are name ...

Civil War service

Grindlay enlisted from Boonville on September 8, 1862 for a three-year term of service in the Union Army. He joined Company D of the 146th New York Infantry as 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 May and June 1864 the regiment took part in General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

in the first week of May, the 146th took heavy casualties. Both the regimental commander and the second-in-command were

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

, leaving Grindlay as the most senior officer. He assumed command of the regiment and led it through the

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House 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 ...

which immediately followed.Brainard, p. 523 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 ...

, Grindlay led the 146th for the remainder of the campaign, including the battles of North Anna, Totopotomoy Creek, and

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Army, Union Lieuten ...

. During the subsequent

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

, Grindlay again led his regiment through a series of battles, beginning with the

Second Battle of Petersburg The Second Battle of Petersburg, also known as the assault on Petersburg, was fought June 15–18, 1864, at the beginning of the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign (popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg). Union forces under Lieutenant General U ...

in June 1864 and the

Battle of Globe Tavern The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersbur ...

in August.Brainard, p. 524 At the

Battle of Peebles' Farm The Battle of Peebles' Farm (or Poplar Springs Church or Poplar Grove Church) was the western part of a simultaneous Union offensive against the Confederate works guarding Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, during the Siege of Petersburg in ...

, the commander of 1st Brigade, 2nd Division,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, of which the 146th New York was a part, was severely wounded. The injured officer,

Elwell Stephen Otis Elwell Stephen Otis (March 25, 1838 – October 21, 1909) was a United States Army general who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, the Philippines late in the Spanish–American War and during the Philippine–American War. Biography ...

, was carried from the field and Grindlay took over his position. Grindlay's tenure as brigade commander lasted only two days, from October 1, to October 3, before a replacement was found. He reverted to his previous position as leader of the 146th, and saw the regiment through several more battles from late 1864 into early 1865. He led his men at the

Battle of Boydton Plank Road The Battle of Boydton Plank Road (also known as Burgess Mill or First Hatcher's Run), fought on October 27–28, 1864, followed the Union Army's successful Battle of Peebles's Farm in the siege of Petersburg during the American Civil Wa ...

in late October, and, after being promoted to lieutenant colonel, at Hatcher's Run in early February. In the final weeks of the war, Grindlay was promoted to

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 brevetted before seeing action again in the Appomattox Campaign. On March 13, 1865, he was simultaneously awarded the brevet ranks of lieutenant colonel for his actions as Spotsylvania, colonel for his actions at North Anna, and brigadier general for his "gallant and meritorious services". At the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, the 1st Brigade, including the 146th New York, led the 2nd Division's attack on the Confederate breastworks. Just after breaching the defenses, brigade commander

Frederick Winthrop Frederick Winthrop (August 3, 1839 – April 1, 1865) was an American Union Colonel during the period of the American Civil War. General Winthrop, an officer in the Union Army, was killed at the Battle of Five Forks about one week before Genera ...

was mortally wounded. For a second time, Grindlay took over command of 1st Brigade. Under his leadership, the brigade took the Confederate defenses and captured more than one-thousand prisoners and four battle flags. Two of the flags were captured by his own regiment, the 146th New York.Brainard, pp. 293–295 Again, Grindlay was brigade commander for only two days until another replacement was found. For his actions during the engagement, Grindlay was awarded the Medal of Honor twenty-six years later, on August 14, 1891. His official citation states that he was " e first to enter the enemy's works, where he captured 2 flags." Grindlay and the rest of the 146th New York were mustered out of service on July 16, 1865, three months after the end of the war.

Post-war life

After the war, Grindlay lived in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

. He married twice, first to a Miss Anderson from Boonville and second to Mary Peckham from Utica. He was a companion of the New York Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

military society and was president of the

Veteran Association. In 1874 and 1875 he served as the U.S.

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, and from 1891 onwards he worked at the

New York State Comptroller The New York state comptroller is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the New York state government's Department of Audit and Control. Sixty-one individuals have held the office of State Comptroller si ...

's office in Albany. Grindlay died in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

, at age 67 and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica.

Notes

References

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External links