Brevet Brig. General James Totten (USA)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Totten

James Totten (September 11, 1818 – October 1, 1871) was a career American soldier who served in the United States Army and retired from active service in 1870 as the Assistant Inspector General. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Early life and career

Totten was born in 1818 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1841 and subsequently became a first lieutenant in 1847 before fighting Seminole Indians in Florida during 1849-50. After attaining the rank of captain in 1855, he went to Bleeding Kansas to try to suppress the disturbances there.

Civil War service

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Totten was in command of the Little Rock, Arkansas, arsenal with just 65 men. He was forced to evacuate his forces to St. Louis when about 5,000 pro-secession volunteers led by Governor Henry M. Rector poured into the city and surrounded the federal armory. Serving under generals Nathaniel Lyon and John C. Frémont in Missouri as their chief of artillery, Totten was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1861.

He became known for the style which he used to issue orders to his batteries. Punctuated with profanity, a typical order might sound like, "Forward that caisson, G-d d--n you, sir!" It was claimed that some soldiers would walk half a mile just to listen to Totten for five minutes. On February 12, 1862, Totten was promoted to Brigadier General in the Missouri Militia. Totten commanded the 2nd Division in the Army of the Frontier in 1862. He was not present with the division when it went into action at the battle of Prairie Grove and was therefore led by Colonel Daniel Huston, Jr. In 1865 Totten commanded the artillery in the Military Division of West Mississippi and participated in the battle of Fort Blakely.

Following the war, the Army issued a wide series of omnibus promotions to hundreds of officers to cite their service. Totten received brevets to the ranks of colonel and brigadier general in the Union Army dating from March 13, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious service in the field".

Postbellum

Totten died in Sedalia, Missouri, in the fall of 1871, and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.

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TOTTEN, James, soldier, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 11 September, 1818 ; died in Sedalia, Missouri, 1 October, 1871. He was graduated at the United States military academy in 1841, became 1st lieutenant in 1847, engaged in the Florida war against the Seminole Indians in 1849-'50, and became captain in 1855. He aided in quelling the Kansas disturbances in 1857-'8, and in expelling intruders from the Indian reserves in Kansas and Arkansas in 1860. While in command of Little Rock arsenal in February, 1861, he was compelled to evacuate theft post by a superior Confederate force under Governor Henry M. Rector. He served under General Nathaniel Lyon and General John C. Fremont in the military operations in Missouri as chief of artillery, was engaged at Camp Jackson, Booneville, and Wilson's Creek, and in June was brevetted major in the United States army for Camp Jackson, and lieutenant-colonel in August, 1861, for "gallant and meritorious service" in all these actions, lie became major in the 1st Missouri volunteers, 19 August, 1861, lieutenant-colonel the next month, and assistant inspector-general, with the rank of major, in November. On 12 February, 1862, he became brigadier-general of Missouri militia, in command of the central district of the state. He then engaged in several actions on the frontier and in pursuit of the enemy beyond Boston mountains, Arkansas, became inspector-general of the Department of the Missouri in May, 1863, and chief of artillery and chief of ordnance in 1864. He was brevetted colonel, United States army, on 13 March, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious conduct during the siege of Mobile, Alabama," and on the same day brigadier-general in the United States army "for gallant and meritorious service in the field" during the civil war. He was inspector-general of the Military division of the Atlantic from 15 August, 1865, till" 27 August, 1866, and became lieutenant-colonel, United States army, and assistant inspector-general. 13 June, 1867. In 1870 he was retired.--His son, Charles Adiel Lewis, inventor, born in New London, Connecticut, 3 February, 1851, was graduated at the United States military academy in 1873, was professor of military science and tactics in the Massachusetts agricultural college at Amherst in 1875-'8, and occupied a similar chair in St. Paul's cathedral school, Garden City, New York, in 1883-'6. He is now 1st lieutenant in the 4th artillery. He served in the Bannock campaign in 1878, and in the Chiricahua campaign in 1881. In 1.877 he patented an improvement in explosives, one in collimating sights, one in signal-shells, and several minor inventions. He patented "Strategos," a war-game, in 1880, a system of weights and measures in 1884, and improvements in linear and other scales in 1885. Trinity gave him the degree of A. M. in 1885. He has written extensively on pyramid explorations, lectured in favor of Professor Piazzi Smyth's pyramid theories, and for several years was chairman of the committee on pyramid exploration in the International institute for preserving Anglo-Saxon weights and measures. His publications include "Strategos, the American War-Game" (2 vols., New York, 1880); "An Important Question in Metroiogy," a plea for the Anglo-Saxon against the metric system (1883); and, under the pen-name of Ten Alcott, "Gems, Talisroans, and Guardians, the Facts, Fancies, Legends, and Lore of Nativity" (1887).

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Capt. James Totten, Second Artillery, commanding light battery, distinguished for conspicuously gallant and meritorious conduct and for highly important and valuable services in the command of his battery throughout all the operations of the day. His name deserves to become a household word.

From Gen. J. C. Fremont report after the Battle of Wilson's Creek. http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/m/moawar/text/waro0003.txt, page 55.