Patrick Henry Ray (May 8, 1842 in

Waukesha County, Wisconsin Waukesha County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its median income of $88,985 placed ...

– 1911), was a brigadier general in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, 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 th ...

. His father, Adam E. Ray, was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. An uncle, George Augustus Ray, was also a member. On April 22, 1889, Ray married Ada Blackman.

Career

After the outbreak 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 ...

, Ray enlisted with the

2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a member of the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. It suffered the largest numbe ...

of the Union Army. By war's end, he was 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 ...

with the

1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery Regiment The 1st Regiment Wisconsin Heavy Artillery was an artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery was originally organized by companies over a considerable period of time ...

. In 1867, he received a new commission in the regular Army. He would later take part in the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonization of the Americas, European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States o ...

. In 1881, he established a meteorological and magnetic observation station at Barrow,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. In 1885, the

Ray River The Ray River () is a river of Vietnam. It flows north-south for through Đồng Nai Province and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu (abbreviated BRVT) was formerly a province of Vietnam. It was located on the coast of t ...

was named after him, and the

Ray Mountains The Ray Mountains is a mountain range in central Alaska named for the Ray River, itself named for United States Army Captain Patrick Henry Ray, who established a meteorological station in Barrow, Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous ...

were in turn named after the River.Orth, Donald J.
Dictionary of Alaska Place Names
'' Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967, p. 795. During the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, Ray commanded the District of North Alaska. Afterwards, Ray would command

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint An ...

and what is now Fort William Henry Harrison. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1906.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Patrick 1842 births 1911 deaths Military personnel from Wisconsin American military personnel of the Indian Wars American military personnel of the Spanish–American War People from Waukesha County, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union army officers Union army soldiers United States Army generals