Alvan Cullem Gillem | |
|---|---|
 Alvan Cullem Gillem | |
| Born | (1830-07-29)July 29, 1830 |
| Died | December 2, 1875(1875-12-02) (aged 45) |
| Place of burial | Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Branch | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1851–1875 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | 10th Tennessee Infantry Fourth Military District |
| Battles / wars | Third Seminole War American Civil War Modoc War |
Alvan Cullem Gillem (July 29, 1830 – December 2, 1875) was a general in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War. Although Southern-born, he remained loyal to the Federal government and fought in several battles in theWestern Theater before commanding occupation troops inMississippi andArkansas duringReconstruction. He later played a prominent role in theModoc War in 1873.
Gillem was born inGainesboro inJackson County, Tennessee, the son of Samuel Gillem. In 1851, he graduated 11th in his class from theUnited States Military Academy and was assigned as asecond lieutenant to theartillery. He was soon sent to the front lines inFlorida to serve in abattery during theThird Seminole War until 1852. He was then reassigned to theTexas frontier following the war.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Gillem became acaptain on May 14, 1861, initially serving underGeorge H. Thomas. Gillem was chiefquartermaster of theArmy of the Ohio in the severalTennessee campaigns and wasbrevetted as amajor for gallantry in theBattle of Mill Springs. He was appointedcolonel of the10th Tennessee Infantry in May 1862 and served for a time as theprovost marshal ofNashville during the Federal occupation of the city. He and military governor Andrew Johnson had "developed an extremely close friendship" and Gillem was put in command of the "Governor's Guard" which consisted of the 10th Tennessee, a battery of light artillery, and three cavalry regiments, all of which were essentially a "personal army" under Johnson's control.[1]
From June 1, 1863, until the close of the war, with rank ofbrigadier general of volunteers, he was active in Tennessee, where he wasadjutant general. He commanded the troops guarding the Nashville and Northwestern railroad from June 1863 until August 1864. In a campaign to protect the loyal mountaineers inEast Tennessee, his troops surprised and killedConfederate GeneralJohn H. Morgan inGreeneville, on September 4, 1864. On October 28, Gillem routed Confederate forces under GeneralJohn C. Vaughn at theBattle of Morristown in order to push them out of East Tennessee in what became known as “Vaughn’s Stampede.”[2] Vaughn returned two weeks later under the command of GeneralJohn C. Breckinridge and routed Gillem at theBattle of Bull's Gap. Gillem was forced to retreat toStrawberry Plains nearKnoxville and the battle became known as “Gillem’s Stampede.” Operating later in the year nearMarion, Virginia, Gillem performed well in combat against the Confederates and was again recognized for bravery, being brevetted as acolonel in theRegular Army.
Gillem was vice-president of the convention (January 9, 1865) for the revision of the constitution of the State of Tennessee, and sat in the firstLegislature elected thereafter. Afterwards, Gillem commanded the Unioncavalry in east Tennessee, and was commander inStoneman's 1865 raid toNorth Carolina which resulted in the capture ofSalisbury.[3] For this action, he was brevetted as amajor general in the volunteer army, his third such citation of the war.
Following the war, in January 1866, Gillem was assigned command of theFourth Military District, headquartered inVicksburg, Mississippi and composed of the Federal occupation forces in Mississippi and Arkansas. He was mustered out of the volunteer army and commissioned as acolonel in the Regular Army on July 28, 1866. Gillem supervised the district until 1868. He often feuded with theRadical Republicans in theUnited States Congress over his lenient treatment of ex-Confederate soldiers in his district.
WhenUlysses S. Grant assumed thePresidency in 1869, Gillem was removed from the Fourth Military District in favor of Grant's personal friendEdward Ord. He was reassigned to duty in Texas, and later toCalifornia, where he was prominent in the military operations against theModoc Indians in 1873. He was engaged in theattack at the Lava Beds on April 15, 1873. However, some of his troops were surprised and thoroughly beaten on April 26 at theBattle of Sand Butte, losing over 40% of their strength. Following the so-called "Thomas-Wright Massacre", many called for Colonel Gillem to be removed. On May 2, the new commander of the Department of the Columbia, Brig. Gen.Jefferson C. Davis formally relieved Gillem of command, and personally assumed control of the army in the field.
In 1875, Gillem became seriously ill and returned home to Tennessee to recuperate. However, he died of consumption[4] in the Soldier's Rest home near Nashville at the relatively young age of 45. He was buried in the city'sMount Olivet Cemetery.
Gillem married Margaret Jones (1838–1878) on July 23, 1855
They had two children:
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Alvan Cullem Gillem".New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Wilson, J. G.;Fiske, J., eds. (1891). "Alvan Cullem Gillem".Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.| International | |
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