Joseph Bradford Carr

Joseph Bradford Carr

Joseph Bradford Carr (born August 16, 1828 in Albany , New York , † February 24, 1895 in Troy , New York) was an American general in the Union Army during the Civil War and politician . He was Secretary of State of New York from 1880 to 1886 .

Early years

Joseph Bradford Carr, son of Irish immigrants, was born in Albany in 1828. His childhood was overshadowed by the economic crisis of 1837 and the following years by the Mexican-American War . Later he worked as a tobacco dealer. While living in Troy, New York, he became interested in military service. He joined the New York militia as a colonel in 1861 .

Civil war

At the beginning of the war he helped decisively with the recruitment of the 2nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment . On May 14, 1861 he was appointed colonel of the regiment. He was Fort Monroe ( Virginia assigned). In the following years the regiment took part in the battle at Big Bethel . Carr served in the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Day Battle and the Northern Virginia Campaign . As a brigade commander in III. Corps , Carr participated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville . He commanded a division during part of the final battle after Hiram Gregory Berry was killed.

On September 7, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general for bravery at the Battle of Malvern Hill . However, this promotion was associated with procedural difficulties. His first appointment was sent back to the President on February 12, 1863 . On March 30, 1863 he was reappointed, but the confirmation of his officer patent by the US Senate failed in the session in which he was nominated and expired on March 30, 1864. On April 9, 1864 he was nominated again and on March 30, 1864 he was nominated Confirmed by the US Senate on June 25th, 1864, his appointment being effective retrospectively as of March 30th, 1863.

He was honored for his bravery at the Battle of Gettysburg , where he was wounded and where his men stubbornly held their positions with Peach Orchard . He commanded the 3rd Division in the III. Corps during the fall campaigns of 1863. Because of the difficulties with his appointment as brigadier general, he was technically the youngest of his subordinate brigadier generals. On May 2, 1864 it had Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant of the Army of the James under Major General Butler Benjamin Franklin to. Carr commanded a division of African American soldiers in the 18th century. Corps. He briefly commanded the defense of Yorktown in the Department of Virginia and North Carolina . On March 13, 1865, he was made Major General of the Volunteers Brevet . He resigned from the army on August 24, 1865.

Later years

After the end of the war, Carr worked as a manufacturer in Troy, New York. Carr was a member of the Republican Party . He was elected Secretary of State of New York in 1879 and re-elected in 1881 and 1883. In 1885 he ran for the office of lieutenant governor of New York, but suffered a defeat to the Democrat Edward F. Jones .

He died in Troy and was buried there in Oakwood Cemetery .

literature

• John H. Eicher and David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 , pp. 165 and 719
• Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7 , pp. 71f