Thomas Howard Ruger (April 2, 1833 – June 3, 1907) was an American

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and

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who served as a Union

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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 ...

. After the war, he was a superintendent of the

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Early life

Ruger was born in

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, and moved to

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in 1846. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1854, third in his class of 46, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

. He resigned in 1855 to become a lawyer in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Civil War

Ruger was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in June 1861, and promoted to

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on August 20. Ruger commanded his regiment in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

campaigns. He participated in the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

, in which he was wounded while acting commander of a brigade in the 1st Division, XII Corps. Commissioned brigadier general of volunteers in November 1862, Ruger led his brigade of the XII Corps,

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

, in the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

, and commanded the division of Brig. Gen. Alpheus Williams temporarily at Gettysburg. (Col. Silas Colgrove led the brigade in that battle, participating in the defense of

Culp's Hill Culp's Hill,. The modern U.S. Geographic Names System refers to "Culps Hill". which is about south of the center of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, played a prominent role in the Battle of Gettysburg. It consists of two rounded peaks, separated b ...

.) In the summer of 1863, Ruger was in

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, where he aided in suppressing draft riots. Ruger led a brigade of XX Corps in Maj. Gen.

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's Atlanta Campaign until November 1864, and with a division of XXIII Corps took part in the campaign against

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

John B. Hood's army in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. He was appointed a brevet major general of volunteers, November 30, 1864, for services at the

Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...

. Ruger organized a division at

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and led his command to

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in June 1865, and then had charge of the department of that state until June 1866. He was mustered out of his volunteer commission, accepting a

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

commission as colonel, July 28, 1866, and on March 2, 1867, was brevetted brigadier general, regular army, for his services at Gettysburg.

Later years

Ruger participated in

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as the military governor of

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and in the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen (i.e., former enslaved people) in the ...

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in 1868. He was the superintendent of the

from 1871 to 1876. Other commands he held were the Department of the South (1876–78), the Infantry and Cavalry School of Application (1885-86), the Department of Dakota (1886–91), the Military Division of the Pacific (1891), the Department of California (1891–94), the Military Division of the Missouri (1894-95) and the Department of the East (1895–97). In 1887 Ruger led the army's expedition into the Big Horn Mountains during the Crow War. He retired, in 1897, with the rank of major general in the Regular Army. He was a Veteran Companion 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 ...

and an Honorary Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. He died in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, and is buried in West Point National Cemetery. Fort Ruger at Diamond Head on

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is named in his honor.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. .

External links