John Francis Appleton (August 29, 1838 – August 31, 1870) was a lawyer and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

from the state of

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

who was awarded the honorary grade of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

United States Volunteers United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army and t ...

.Hunt, Roger D. and Brown, Jack R. ''Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue.'' P. 17. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. .

Early life

Born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, the oldest son of

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

Chief Justice

John Appleton John Appleton (February 11, 1815 – August 22, 1864) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the United States' first ''chargé d'affaires'' to Bolivia, and later as special envoy to Great Britain and Russia. Born in ...

, he was a graduate of

Bangor High School Bangor High School, a member of the Bangor School System, is a high school in Bangor, Maine, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students in grades 9–12. It is Bangor's only public high school. Since its 2001–2002 sele ...

and

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint e ...

American Civil War service

When the Civil War began the year after his college graduation, Appleton raised and commanded a company for the

12th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 12th Maine Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Formation The 12th Maine Regiment, formed in November 1861, was one of the 10 regiments Major General Benjamin F. Butler of M ...

, which saw action in Louisiana and Virginia. At the

Battle of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses Grant was besieging Vicksburg upriver, G ...

, according to a published account by a fellow officer, "Capt. Appleton alone, among ten thousand men who fought that day, mounted the Rebel parapet and stood there facing the whole Rebel Army, a mark for a thousand rifles . . . A Confederate officer told me, after the surrender, that as he saw that young man standing there so calm and brave, he could not bear to see him die, and he told his men not to fire upon him." For this and similar acts Appleton was promoted to colonel and eventually, on May 18, 1866,Eicher, John H. and

Eicher, David J. 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 America ...

''Civil War High Commands''. p. 739. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. brevetted as a brigadier general of volunteers (back dated to March 13, 1865).''History of Penobscot County, Maine'', 225. Appleton subsequently accepted command of a free black regiment (the 81st Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops), as did another Union general from Bangor serving in Louisiana,

Cyrus Hamlin Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

, the son of Vice President

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republica ...

, who had strongly urged the arming of freed slaves.

Postbellum

On May 18, 1866, the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

confirmed the award to Colonel Appleton of the honorary grade of

brigadier general, U.S. Volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865 for faithful and meritorious services. During Southern

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, Appleton was offered the position of U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, but declined due to ill-health. He practiced law in Bangor and died there in 1870. He is buried in the city's Mount Hope Cemetery.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H. and

''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * ''History of Penobscot County, Maine'' (Cleveland, 1882), p. 225. * Hunt, Roger D. and Brown, Jack R. ''Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue.'' P. 17. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, John F. Union Army colonels People of Maine in the American Civil War Military personnel from Bangor, Maine Appleton family Bowdoin College alumni 1838 births 1870 deaths Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor, Maine) Bangor High School (Maine) alumni