Lewis Golding Arnold (January 15, 1817 – September 22, 1871) was a career

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

officer and a brigadier 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 ...

, primarily noted for his service in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Birth and early years

Lewis G. Arnold was born in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in northeastern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area, New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city' ...

and graduated from

West Point 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 ...

in 1837, placing tenth in his class. He fought in the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

and the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, where he was severely wounded at Chuburusco. After the war, he once again commanded troops in

, and led a detachment against the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

Indians in the April 1856

Battle of Big Cypress The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Geography of Florida, Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Tribe (Nat ...

Civil War service

At the onset of the Civil War, 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 ...

of the 2nd United States Artillery and was assigned to Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas, Florida, in January 1861, leaving his command at Fort Independence, Massachusetts. In October 1861, he helped repulse a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

attack on

Santa Rosa Island Santa Rosa Island may refer to: *Santa Rosa Island (California), one of the Channel Islands *Santa Rosa Island (Florida) **Battle of Santa Rosa Island The Battle of Santa Rosa Island (October 9, 1861) was an unsuccessful Confederate attempt to ...

, and defiantly refused to surrender the outpost during three different Confederate

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

bombardments. He remained there until May 1862, having rendered invaluable service in defending the fort, which remained in Union hands through the war. In January 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general, and in October 1862 was transferred to command the

city of New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

after it fell to Union forces. On November 10 of that year, he was struck down by a stroke while reviewing troops, and was placed on sick leave for over a year while army officials hoped his condition would improve. When it became obvious he would be permanently disabled, he was retired from the Army in February 1864. Arnold died 8 years later in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and is buried in St. Mary's Episcopal Church Cemetery in

Newton Lower Falls Newton Lower Falls is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The commercial area extends across the Charles River into Wellesley, where it is known as Wellesley Lower Falls, whe ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Lewis G. 1817 births 1871 deaths Union army generals People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War United States Military Academy alumni American military personnel of the Mexican–American War United States Army personnel of the Seminole Wars

Birth and early years

Civil War service

See also

References

External links