John R. Brooke

General Brooke

John Rutter (or Ruller) Brooke (born July 21, 1838 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † September 5, 1926 ibid) was a major general in the United States Army in both the Civil War and the Spanish-American War . He served as the military governor of Puerto Rico and Cuba .

Brooke trained in Collegeville and West Chester , two suburbs of Philadelphia. His military career began in 1861 when he joined the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry with the rank of captain . Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to colonel in the 53rd Infantry and served in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign .

In September of the same year he temporarily commanded a brigade during the Battle of Antietam . In May 1863 he took command of the brigade of the first division of Corps II, which he took in the battle of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg .

On July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg , Brooke was in the middle of the action when James Longstreet , the Confederate Lieutenant General , launched his attack against the ranks of the Union Army south of Gettysburg . As a backup for Winfield Scott Hancock , Brooke and his brigade began a limited counterattack against the Confederates in Wheatfield. Although seriously wounded himself, his people were able to temporarily stop the Confederates and stabilize the Union's ranks long enough to prevent a breakthrough.

After his recovery, Brooke fought in the overland campaign with the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House and many other battles. On May 12, 1864, he was promoted to Brigadier of the Volunteer Army. He was seriously injured again in the Battle of Cold Harbor in June. He later rose to become major general in the Volunteer Army.

In 1866 he accepted an assignment as Lieutenant Colonel of the 37th US Infantry in the Regular Army. Three years later, he served as a colonel in the US 13th Infantry on multiple fronts. In 1888 he commanded the Department of the Platte as a brigadier and in 1890 the ghost dance began . General Nelson Appleton Miles sent him to Wounded Knee with the 7th US Cavalry .

In 1897 he became major general and commanded the Army's first corps during the Spanish-American War . He landed at Arroyo , Puerto Rico with General Hains, and reached Guayama when the armistice was signed. When Miles left the island, Brooke became military governor and head of the occupation army in the US military government. On December 6th Brooke was replaced by General Guy Vernon Henry and seven days later he took the same post in Cuba .

On July 21, 1902, he retired to Philadelphia, where he spent the rest of his life. After his death in 1926 he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery .

Web links

• Biography at the Library of Congress (English)