Thornton Fleming Brodhead (December 5, 1820 – September 2, 1862) was a brevet brigadier general 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 ...

Biography

Thornton Fleming Brodhead was born in South New Market, New Hampshire, on December 5, 1820. He graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

with a degree in law. He then moved to

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

. He soon was appointed prosecuting attorney and then deputy Secretary of State. At age 29, he became a

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for

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. He served two terms. During his first term, he served on the judiciary, printing, and public lands committees. During his second term, he served on the state library and expiring laws committees. Brodhead enlisted in April 1847 as 1st Lieutenant and Adjutant in the 15th U.S. Infantry during the

Mexican War Mexican War may refer to: *Mexican War of Independence (1810–21) *Mexican–American War (1846–48) *Second French intervention in Mexico (1861–67) *Mexican Revolution (1910–20) *Cristero War (1926–1929) See also *List of wars involving Me ...

, and he was brevetted to the rank of captain on August 20, 1847. He was made a full captain on December 2, 1847, and was mustered out on July 31, 1848, when the troops were disbanded. In 1852 he was appointed postmaster of Detroit. At the beginning of the civil war he raised the 1st Michigan cavalry regiment, at the head of which he served under Generals

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and

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. He died on September 2, 1862 of gunshot wounds received at Lewis Ford during the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

on August 30, 1862.

Personal life

Brodhead married Archange Macomb, a daughter of general Macomb and they had six children.

References

1820 births 1862 deaths People from Newfields, New Hampshire Harvard Law School alumni Michigan postmasters Michigan state senators American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Union army colonels Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature {{Michigan-MISenate-stub