Brig. Gen. George Dashiell Bayard, (USA)

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

George Dashiell Bayard (December 18, 1835 – December 14, 1862) was a career soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Early life

Bayard was born in Seneca Falls, New York. His family moved as homesteaders to the Iowa Territory. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1856 as a second lieutenant in the U.S. cavalry. Bayard fought in the Indian Wars in Kansas and Colorado from 1856 to 1861.

Civil War

At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Bayard was promoted to colonel in the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was assigned to the defenses of Washington, D.C. During a reconnaissance of Confederate-held bridges outside Falmouth, Virginia, he came under attack, and rifle fire hit his horse three times. He survived the engagement unharmed, and was commissioned Chief of Cavalry of the III Corps and brigadier general of volunteers on April 28, 1862.

He then led 1,000 cavalrymen in advance of Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell's troops. Bayard also fought under Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont at the Battle of Port Republic. In August 1862, at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Bayard led a Union Army advance. When the Army of the Potomac was restructured that fall, Bayard was promoted to cavalry commander for the Left Grand Division.

Bayard was mortally wounded by a Confederate artillery round in the Battle of Fredericksburg. He died on December 14, 1862, the day after he was wounded. He is buried in Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey.

In memoriam

Fort Bayard in Washington, D.C., was named in his honor. Bayard Street in Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, was named after him. Fort Bayard Park, which replaced the fort, is also named in his memory, as well as Bayard, New Mexico, Fort Bayard, New Mexico, and Fort Bayard National Cemetery. The latter is now part of the Fort Bayard Historic District, a commemoration of the Buffalo Soldiers.