Samuel S. Carroll
Encyclopedia
Samuel Spriggs "Red" Carroll (September 21, 1832 – January 28, 1893) was a career officer in the United States Army
who rose to the rank of brigadier general
during the American Civil War
. The Maryland
native was most known for his service as the commander of the famed "Gibraltar Brigade
," an infantry
brigade
in the Army of the Potomac
that played a key role during the defense of Cemetery Hill
during the Battle of Gettysburg
, as well as in repulsing a portion of Pickett's Charge
.
. He was a descendant of Charles Carroll
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
. He was educated in the local schools, and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy
in West Point, New York
. He graduated 44th of 49 cadets in the Class of 1856 and was brevetted
as a second lieutenant in the infantry. He was assigned to frontier
duty at a variety of posts in the Old West before returning to West Point as the post's quartermaster
.
of the 8th Ohio Infantry
, a three-years' regiment that exclusively saw duty in the Eastern Theater
. During the 1862 Valley Campaign
, Carroll commanded the 4th Brigade in James Shields
' division
. Carroll commanded the vanguard of the Union army at the Battle of Cross Keys
. He was commended for his performance at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
. Transferred with this brigade to the Northern Virginia
area, he was severely wounded in the chest in a fight near the Rapidan River
. He recovered in time to resume his field command in III Corps before the Battle of Fredericksburg
.
In 1863, Carroll commanded the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division of the II Corps at the Battle of Chancellorsville
. During the second day at Gettysburg
, his 8th Ohio was involved in skirmishing along the Emmitsburg Road, while the other three regiments of the Gibraltar Brigade, 14th Indiana, Col. John Coons (191)
4th Ohio, Lieut. Col. Leonard W. Carpenter (299)and 7th West Virginia, Lieut. Col. Jonathan H. Lockwood (counter-attack
ed oncoming Confederates from North Carolina
and the Louisiana Tigers
from Jubal Early's division on the slopes of Cemetery Hill
, driving them back in the growing darkness. Carroll later led his depleted brigade in some small engagements during the Mine Run Campaign.
Carroll was promoted to brigadier general on May 12, 1864. He was twice wounded during the Overland Campaign
, once at the Wilderness
and again at Spotsylvania Court House
. His left arm was amputated. After his recovery, he commanded the Department of West Virginia briefly and later led a division
in the Army of the Shenandoah.
, serving in the inspector general's department. Partially invalided by his war-time injuries, he retired from the army in 1869 with the brevet rank of major general
. In August 1886, his wife divorced him.
and died six days later at the age of 60 at his country residence, "Belleview," near Takoma Park, Maryland. His death was hastened by his never having fully recovered from his wounds. His funeral was held in St. John's Church in Washington, D.C.
. He was buried with full military honors in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
.
The main street in Takoma Park is named Carroll Avenue in his memory.
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...
who rose to the rank of brigadier general
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...
during the American Civil War
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...
. The Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
native was most known for his service as the commander of the famed "Gibraltar Brigade
Gibraltar Brigade
The "Gibraltar Brigade" was a famed infantry brigade within the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Noted for its tenacity in combat, the brigade drew its nickname from the steadfastness of the Rock of Gibraltar...
," an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
in the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
that played a key role during the defense of Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
during 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...
, as well as in repulsing a portion of Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
.
Early life
Samuel S. Carroll was born in Takoma Park, MarylandTakoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...
. He was a descendant of Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
. He was educated in the local schools, and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
in West Point, New York
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
. He graduated 44th of 49 cadets in the Class of 1856 and 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...
as a second lieutenant in the infantry. He was assigned to frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
duty at a variety of posts in the Old West before returning to West Point as the post's quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
.
Civil War
Carroll was promoted to the rank of captain in the 10th U.S. Infantry shortly after the Civil War erupted. In December 1861, he was appointed as colonelColonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of the 8th Ohio Infantry
8th Ohio Infantry
The 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a number of campaigns and battles, but perhaps is most noted for its actions in helping repulse Pickett's Charge during the Battle of...
, a three-years' regiment that exclusively saw duty in the Eastern Theater
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...
. During the 1862 Valley Campaign
Valley Campaign
Jackson's Valley Campaign was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's famous spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War...
, Carroll commanded the 4th Brigade in James Shields
James Shields
James Shields was an American politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states...
' division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
. Carroll commanded the vanguard of the Union army at the Battle of Cross Keys
Battle of Cross Keys
The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War...
. He was commended for his performance at the Battle of 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...
. Transferred with this brigade to the Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
area, he was severely wounded in the chest in a fight near the Rapidan River
Rapidan River
The Rapidan River, flowing through north-central Virginia in the United States, is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg...
. He recovered in time to resume his field command in III Corps before the Battle of 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...
.
In 1863, Carroll commanded the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division of the II Corps at the Battle of 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...
. During the second day at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day
The Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day was an attempt by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to capitalize on his first day's success. He launched the Army of Northern Virginia in multiple Gettsyburg Battlefield attacks on the flanks of the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G...
, his 8th Ohio was involved in skirmishing along the Emmitsburg Road, while the other three regiments of the Gibraltar Brigade, 14th Indiana, Col. John Coons (191)
4th Ohio, Lieut. Col. Leonard W. Carpenter (299)and 7th West Virginia, Lieut. Col. Jonathan H. Lockwood (counter-attack
Counter-Attack
Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
ed oncoming Confederates from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and the Louisiana Tigers
Louisiana Tigers
Louisiana Tigers was the common nickname for certain infantry troops from the state of Louisiana in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Originally applied to a specific company, the nickname expanded to a battalion, then to a brigade, and eventually to all Louisiana troops...
from Jubal Early's division on the slopes of Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
, driving them back in the growing darkness. Carroll later led his depleted brigade in some small engagements during the Mine Run Campaign.
Carroll was promoted to brigadier general on May 12, 1864. He was twice wounded during the 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...
, once 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...
and again at Spotsylvania Court House
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...
. His left arm was amputated. After his recovery, he commanded the Department of West Virginia briefly and later led a division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
in the Army of the Shenandoah.
Post War career
When the war ended, Carroll stayed in the postbellum Regular ArmyRegular Army
The Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
, serving in the inspector general's department. Partially invalided by his war-time injuries, he retired from the army in 1869 with the brevet rank of major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
. In August 1886, his wife divorced him.
Death and legacy
In late January 1893, Carroll contracted pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and died six days later at the age of 60 at his country residence, "Belleview," near Takoma Park, Maryland. His death was hastened by his never having fully recovered from his wounds. His funeral was held in St. John's Church in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He was buried with full military honors in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
.
The main street in Takoma Park is named Carroll Avenue in his memory.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
- Carroll familyCarroll familyThe Carroll family of Maryland is a prominent political family in the History of the United States, or, more correctly, a group of distantly related families...