George Wright (general)
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George Wright (October 21, 1801 or 1803 – July 30, 1865) was an American soldier who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.
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[edit] Early life and career
He was born in Norwich, Vermont, and graduated from West Point in 1822. He served in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment on the frontier in Wisconsin and Maine. In 1838 he transferred to the U.S. 8th Infantry Regiment and served on the Canadian border.
In 1844, he fought in Florida against the Seminoles where he was brevetted major for meritorious service.
During the Mexican War, he served with the 8th Infantry at Vera Cruz and at the Battle of Molino del Rey, where he was wounded. For this service he was brevetted colonel.
In 1848 he was promoted to major, and then lieutenant colonel in 1855, when he transferred to the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment and served on the West Coast. Later, in 1855, he was promoted to colonel of the U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment, where he served in the Washington Territory. In 1858 Wright oversaw the re-construction of Fort Dalles in Oregon Territory from a wood outpost to a more substantial base while in command of the 9th.[1] He fought in the Yakima War and the Battle of Four Lakes near Spokane.
[edit] Civil War
At the beginning of the Civil War, he was the commanding officer of the Department of Oregon. Then, for a few months in 1861, he was the commanding officer of the District of Southern California. In October 1861, he was promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers and placed in command of the Department of the Pacific, replacing Edwin Vose Sumner. Sumner recommended Wright as his replacement.
Although Wright would have preferred to have been sent East during the Civil War, he remained in California where he commanded the largest force ever in the Far West. By 1862 he commanded 6,000 troops. His duties included protecting the frontier, keeping watch on secessionists, safeguarding the coast, and moving troops eastward.
The climate of San Francisco was not agreeable to Wright, because of his asthma, and he wanted to move the headquarters to Sacramento. The headquarters did not move, although Wright did spend time in Sacramento.
[edit] Postbellum
When the Regular Army again reorganized in 1865 and created the Military Division of the Pacific, Wright commanded the District of California for a few months until he was given command of the Department of the Columbia. He may have been removed from command of the Department of the Pacific in order for the Army to have a position for Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell.
As Wright was en route to his new command, he died at sea when his ship, the Brother Jonathan, sank off the California coast. His body was recovered six weeks later. He is interred in the Sacramento City Cemetery.
For his service as commander of the Department of the Pacific, he was brevetted brigadier general in the Regular Army.
Fort George Wright, located near Spokane, was named in his honor.
[edit] References
- ^ Horner, John B. (1921). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 122-123
- Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1889.
- Hubbell, John T., and James W. Geary (editors). Biographical Dictionary of the Union: Northern Leaders of the Civil War. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. ISBN 0-313-20920-0.
- Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Louisiana State University Press, 1964.
- Wright, G., Col. (1858). Great battle of the Spokane plains, Washington Territory. Philadelphia Press.
- Note: One and a half columns of text published in the September 23rd, 1858 issue of the The Press, Philadelphia. The newspaper story quotes dispatches sent by Col. G. Wright regarding an "expedition against Northern Indians, camp on the Spokane River, (W.T.), one and a half miles below the Falls, September 6, 1858."
Categories: 1803 births | 1865 deaths | People of the Mexican-American War | West Point graduates | Wars involving the indigenous peoples of North America | Union Army generals | People of California in the American Civil War | People of Oregon in the American Civil War | People of Vermont in the American Civil War
