Thomas Greely Stevenson (February 3, 1836 – May 10, 1864) 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 ...

. He was killed in action during the

Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse 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 ...

Biography

Stevenson was born in

Boston 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 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was 25 years old when the Civil War began and had risen from

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

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 ...

in the Massachusetts Militia at that time.Eicher p.511 On December 3, 1861 Stevenson was appointed

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 ...

of the 24th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He led his regiment in the battles of

Roanoke Island Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English colonizat ...

and

New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

. Following the capture of New Bern significant Union reinforcements arrived in North Carolina and Stevenson assumed command of a brigade under

John G. Foster John Gray Foster (May 27, 1823 – September 2, 1874) was an American soldier. A career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War, he served in North and South Carolina during the war. A recons ...

. When much of the Union forces in North Carolina were recalled to Virginia, Foster's command, including Stevenson's brigade, were left behind. He participated in Foster's

Goldsborough Expedition Goldsborough may refer to: Places Australia * Goldsborough, Queensland, a locality in the Cairns Region United Kingdom *Goldsborough, Harrogate, North Yorkshire **Goldsborough Hall ** Goldsborough railway station, a closed station *Goldsborou ...

and afterward was promoted to brigadier general on December 24, 1862. He then held a series of quiet commands along the Atlantic coast in North and South Carolina. During the

siege of Charleston Harbor The second battle of Charleston Harbor, also known as the siege of Charleston Harbor, the siege of Fort Wagner, or the battle of Morris Island, took place during the American Civil War in the late summer of 1863 between a combined U.S. Army/Navy ...

Stevenson commanded the 3rd Brigade in Alfred H. Terry's division. He remained in brigade command around Charleston until January 1864. On April 19, 1864 he was placed in command of the 1st Division,

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

. Stevenson had previously fought alongside many of the men from IX Corps in North Carolina. Now, he was one of Burnside's ablest division commanders.Rhea p.182 He led his new division into action at the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. On May 10, 1864 while resting beneath a tree, Stevenson was shot through the head by a sniper's bullet. His body was returned to Massachusetts where he was buried at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Fort Stevenson Fort Stevenson was a frontier military fort in the 19th century in what was then Dakota Territory and what is now North Dakota. The fort was named for Thomas G. Stevenson, a Civil War general who was killed in the Battle of Spotsylvania. Chief Big ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

was named in Thomas Stevenson's honor. His brother,

Robert Hooper Stevenson The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, was a colonel and brevet brigadier general in the Union Army. Battery Stevenson, located on Fort Warren, George's Island, Suffolk County, Massachusetts was named after General Stevenson on 14 February, 1902.U.S.Army

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . * Rhea, Gordon C., ''The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7–12, 1864'', Louisiana State University Press, 1997, . * U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Boston, Massachusetts, (HDB-AN-45), 31 Jan 1945, CDSG {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Thomas G. Union army generals People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War 1836 births 1864 deaths Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War