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Richard Coulter (general)
Encyclopedia
Richard Coulter, Sr. was an American Civil War
general in the Union Army
, a businessman, and banker. During the Civil War he was colonel of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry
, often rising to brigade command upon the wounding of superior officers.
, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
, a son of Eli Coulter Jr. (1791–1830) and Rebecca Alexander. Eli Coulter was a prominent business man and managed a steam mill in Greensburg. Richard attended Jefferson College
in Washington, Pennsylvania
. After leaving college in 1845 at the age of 19, he worked in the law office of his uncle, Richard Coulter (1788–1852) in Greensburg where he remained until the beginning of the Mexican-American War.
Coulter enrolled in the Westmoreland Guards, a local militia
company that was mustered into the United States Army
as Company E of the Second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It was one of only two regiments sent from Pennsylvania to serve in Mexico. Coulter saw action under General Winfield Scott
in the Siege of Vera Cruz and the subsequent battles of Cerro Gordo
, Contreras
, Churubusco
, and Chapultepec
, and the capture and occupation of Mexico City
in 1847. He served directly under future Civil War general John W. Geary
, a man he had little respect for due to his vanity.
After the Mexican War, the regiment returned to Pennsylvania in June 1848. Coulter then resumed his study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1849. His uncle had become a Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge in 1846, and Coulter took over his uncle's law practice in Greensburg. He practiced law until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. Throughout the 1850s, he remained active in the local militia.
and then by the Governor of Pennsylvania, Andrew Curtin, Coulter raised a company of soldiers and was elected as their first captain. The company soon was made part of the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers
, in which Coulter was promoted to lieutenant colonel
. When the regiment was reorganized as a three-year regiment, Coulter became the regimental commander until the end of the war in 1865. Coulter's regiment fought at Cedar Mountain
, Thoroughfare Gap
, and Second Bull Run. At the Battle of Antietam
, Coulter assumed command of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, I Corps when Brig. Gen. George L. Hartsuff was wounded. Returning to regimental command Coulter fought at Fredericksburg
and Chancellorsville
. At the battle of Gettysburg
Coulter assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, I Corps when Brig. Gen.
Gabriel R. Paul and all other ranking officers were wounded on July 1 near Oak Ridge. Coulter himself was wounded but retained brigade commanded until July 3 when he briefly turned over command before resuming command the same day.
At the start of the 1864 Overland Campaign
, Coulter was in command of his regiment but once again assumed brigade command (2nd Brigade, 2nd Divisio, V Corps) at the Wilderness
when Brig. Gen. Henry Baxter
was wounded on the second day of the battle. At Spotsylvania
he assumed command of the 2nd Division, V Corps when Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson
was wounded and led the division for two days before returning to brigade command. On May 18 Coulter received a wound that incapacitated him for the next several months. He was brevetted
Brigadier General of United States Volunteers
on August 1, 1864. During the siege of Petersburg
Coulter briefly returned to the front in command of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps at the battle of Globe Tavern
. His final command appointment was the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps during the Appomattox Campaign
. He was brevetted Major General of U.S. Volunteers for services at Five Forks
. He was mustered out of the volunteer services on July 1, 1865.
After the Civil War, Coulter returned to Greensburg, where he became active in business. He joined with several other local financiers to invest in various industries, businesses, and residential areas in and around Greensburg. Coulter began a partnership with George Franklin Huff
, a local businessman and financier who later became a state senator and a U.S. congressman. Coulter and Huff collaborated on several of the largest and most significant companies in Westmoreland County in the 1880s, including the Keystone Coal and Coke Company, the Greensburg-Hempfield Electric Street Railway, and the First National Bank of Greensburg (now the First Commonwealth Bank
). Coulter served at the bank's president until his death in 1908. His son, Richard Coulter Jr
. (1870–1955) took over as president and held that position for more than 40 years.
Greensburg was located on a large vein of bituminous coal
about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. Coal and coke were needed for steel mills that were built in and near Pittsburgh in the 1860s and 1870s. Coulter and Huff prospered with the rising steel industry by developing and mining the coalfields in Westmoreland County.
General Coulter married Emmy Welty (1841–1929) and had six children—Richard Coulter Jr., Rebecca, Henry, Alexander, William, and Margaret.
.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
general in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, a businessman, and banker. During the Civil War he was colonel of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry
11th Pennsylvania Infantry
The 11th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was a Union army regiment that participated in the American Civil War. It had the distinction of being the oldest unit in continuous service from Pennsylvania.-History:...
, often rising to brigade command upon the wounding of superior officers.
Early life and career
Richard Coulter, Sr. was born in GreensburgGreensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...
, a son of Eli Coulter Jr. (1791–1830) and Rebecca Alexander. Eli Coulter was a prominent business man and managed a steam mill in Greensburg. Richard attended Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
in Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...
. After leaving college in 1845 at the age of 19, he worked in the law office of his uncle, Richard Coulter (1788–1852) in Greensburg where he remained until the beginning of the Mexican-American War.
Coulter enrolled in the Westmoreland Guards, a local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
company that was mustered into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as Company E of the Second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It was one of only two regiments sent from Pennsylvania to serve in Mexico. Coulter saw action under General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
in the Siege of Vera Cruz and the subsequent battles of Cerro Gordo
Battle of Cerro Gordo
The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, in the Mexican-American War saw Winfield Scott's United States troops flank and drive Santa Anna's larger Mexican army from a strong defensive position.-Battle:...
, Contreras
Battle of Contreras
The Battle of Contreras, also known as the Battle of Padierna, took place during August 19–20, 1847, in the final encounters of the Mexican-American War. In the Battle of Churubusco, fighting continued the following day.-Background:...
, Churubusco
Battle of Churubusco
The Battle of Churubusco took place on August 20, 1847, in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Contreras during the Mexican-American War. After defeating the Mexican army at Churubusco, the U.S. Army was only 5 miles away from Mexico City, the capital of the nation...
, and Chapultepec
Battle of Chapultepec
The Battle of Chapultepec, in September 1847, was a United States victory over Mexican forces holding Chapultepec Castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican-American War.-Background:On September 13, 1847, in the costly Battle of Molino del Rey, U.S...
, and the capture and occupation of Mexico City
Battle for Mexico City
The Battle for Mexico City refers to the series of engagements from September 8 to September 15, 1847, in the general vicinity of Mexico City during the Mexican-American War...
in 1847. He served directly under future Civil War general John W. Geary
John W. Geary
John White Geary was an American lawyer, politician, Freemason, and a Union general in the American Civil War...
, a man he had little respect for due to his vanity.
After the Mexican War, the regiment returned to Pennsylvania in June 1848. Coulter then resumed his study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1849. His uncle had become a Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge in 1846, and Coulter took over his uncle's law practice in Greensburg. He practiced law until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. Throughout the 1850s, he remained active in the local militia.
Civil War
With the outbreak of the war and the subsequent calls to arms by President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and then by the Governor of Pennsylvania, Andrew Curtin, Coulter raised a company of soldiers and was elected as their first captain. The company soon was made part of the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers
11th Pennsylvania Infantry
The 11th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was a Union army regiment that participated in the American Civil War. It had the distinction of being the oldest unit in continuous service from Pennsylvania.-History:...
, in which Coulter was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
. When the regiment was reorganized as a three-year regiment, Coulter became the regimental commander until the end of the war in 1865. Coulter's regiment fought at Cedar Mountain
Battle of Cedar Mountain
The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...
, Thoroughfare Gap
Battle of Thoroughfare Gap
The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, also known as Chapman's Mill, took place on August 28, 1862, in Fauquier County and Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. James Longstreet successfully drove back Union...
, and Second Bull Run. At the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, Coulter assumed command of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, I Corps when Brig. Gen. George L. Hartsuff was wounded. Returning to regimental command Coulter fought at Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
and Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
. At the battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
Coulter assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, I Corps when Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Gabriel R. Paul and all other ranking officers were wounded on July 1 near Oak Ridge. Coulter himself was wounded but retained brigade commanded until July 3 when he briefly turned over command before resuming command the same day.
At the start of the 1864 Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
, Coulter was in command of his regiment but once again assumed brigade command (2nd Brigade, 2nd Divisio, V Corps) at the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
when Brig. Gen. Henry Baxter
Henry Baxter
Henry Baxter was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Gettysburg, his brigade resisted a Confederate assault from parts of Maj. Gen. Robert E...
was wounded on the second day of the battle. At Spotsylvania
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
he assumed command of the 2nd Division, V Corps when Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson
John C. Robinson
John Cleveland Robinson had a long and distinguished career in the United States Army, fighting in numerous wars and culminating his career as a Union Army brigadier general of volunteers and brevet major general of volunteers in the American Civil War. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated...
was wounded and led the division for two days before returning to brigade command. On May 18 Coulter received a wound that incapacitated him for the next several months. He was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Brigadier General of United States Volunteers
United States Volunteers
United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U. S. Vol., or U.S.V.Starting as early as 1861 these regiments were often referred to as the "volunteer army" of the United States but not officially named that until 1898.During the nineteenth century this was the United States federal...
on August 1, 1864. During the siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
Coulter briefly returned to the front in command of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps at the battle of Globe Tavern
Battle of Globe Tavern
The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under...
. His final command appointment was the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps during the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign
The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...
. He was brevetted Major General of U.S. Volunteers for services at Five Forks
Battle of Five Forks
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan against...
. He was mustered out of the volunteer services on July 1, 1865.
Postbellum career
George Franklin Huff
George Franklin Huff was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.George F. Huff was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools in Middletown, Pennsylvania, and later in Altoona, Pennsylvania...
, a local businessman and financier who later became a state senator and a U.S. congressman. Coulter and Huff collaborated on several of the largest and most significant companies in Westmoreland County in the 1880s, including the Keystone Coal and Coke Company, the Greensburg-Hempfield Electric Street Railway, and the First National Bank of Greensburg (now the First Commonwealth Bank
First Commonwealth Bank
First Commonwealth Financial Corporation is a financial services company based in Indiana, Pennsylvania, primarily serving the Western and the Central Pennsylvania regions....
). Coulter served at the bank's president until his death in 1908. His son, Richard Coulter Jr
Richard Coulter Jr
Richard Coulter, Jr. was a World War I general, a businessman, a professional football player and a banker.- Early life and career :...
. (1870–1955) took over as president and held that position for more than 40 years.
Greensburg was located on a large vein of bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. Coal and coke were needed for steel mills that were built in and near Pittsburgh in the 1860s and 1870s. Coulter and Huff prospered with the rising steel industry by developing and mining the coalfields in Westmoreland County.
General Coulter married Emmy Welty (1841–1929) and had six children—Richard Coulter Jr., Rebecca, Henry, Alexander, William, and Margaret.
Memorial
Coulter is memorialized on the Pennsylvania State Monument at Gettysburg National Military ParkGettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
Further reading
- Coulter, Richard, "The Westmoreland Guards in the War with Mexico, 1846-1848." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine Number 24 (1941), 101-126.
- Peskin, Allan, ed. Volunteers: the Mexican War journal of Private Richard Coulter and Sergeant Thomas Barclay, Company E, Second Pennsylvania Infantry. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1991.