Byron M. Cutcheon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's9th district | |
| In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | Jay A. Hubbell |
| Succeeded by | Harrison H. Wheeler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1836-05-11)May 11, 1836 |
| Died | April 12, 1908(1908-04-12) (aged 71) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Marie Amnie Warner |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Rank |  BrevetBrigadier General |
| Commands |  27th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Byron Mac Cutcheon (May 11, 1836 – April 12, 1908) was anAmerican Civil War officer,Medal of Honor recipient and politician from theU.S. state ofMichigan.
Cutcheon was born inPembroke, New Hampshire May 11, 1836 but his parents died and he became an orphan at a young age. He worked in acotton mill in Pembroke to earn money so he could attend school and at the age of 13, he began attendingPembroke Academy. At the age of 17, he was a teacher in the same school but in 1855, he moved toYpsilanti, Michigan, continuing to study and teach. In 1857, he was invited to take charge ofBirmingham Academy inOakland County as principal, though he intended only to remain long enough to secure means to further progress in his own education. The following spring, he entered theUniversity of Michigan and in the fall of 1859, he worked as principal of theOak Grove Academy, inLenawee County in order to support himself. As soon as he had acquired sufficient means, he again entered the university, and graduated in 1861. Before graduating he had become the principal and was a professor of ancient languages, higher mathematics and mental and moral philosophy in theYpsilanti High School, 1861 and 1862.
He resigned his school post to enlist in theUnion Army following the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War and raised a company for the Twentieth Regiment, Michigan Infantry who mustered him into service as aSecond Lieutenant. On July 29, 1862, he was made captain of his company and on October 14, 1862, he was mademajor of the Twentieth Regiment. On November 16, 1863, he was promoted tolieutenant colonel, and by order of theU.S. War Department, he was made colonel on November 21, 1863.
He was transferred and madeColonel of the Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry, November 12, 1864. He was mustered into the United States service as colonel, December 19, 1864, and wasbrevetted colonel of U. S. Volunteers, August 18, 1864, for gallant services at the battles of theWilderness andSpottsylvania Court House.
During his service in the American Civil War he was in the battles ofFredericksburg, Virginia;Horseshoe Bend, Kentucky; thesiege of Vicksburg, Mississippi; theAssault on Jackson, Mississippi; the battles ofBlue Springs, Tennessee; London, Tennessee;Campbell's Station, Tennessee; thesiege of Knoxville, Tennessee; theAssault on Fort Saunders, at Knoxville; Thurley's Ford, Tennessee; Strawberry Plains, Tennessee; Chuckey Bend; Wilderness (for actions during which he would later be awarded the Medal of Honor); Ny River; Spottsylvania Court House (in which he was wounded, while leading a charge of the Twentieth Michigan and Fifty-first Pennsylvania). He remained at the hospital about two months. For gallant conduct on this occasion he received a commission as brevet colonel. He was next in thesiege of Petersburg, July, 1864, the Weldon Railroad, Reams Station, Virginia; Poplar Spring Church, Virginia;Boydton Plank Road,Hatcher's Run, and the siege of Petersburg, from November 1864, to March 1865.
On October 16, 1864, he was assigned the command of the Second Brigade, Fifteenth Division Ninth Army Corps, and remained in command of that brigade until March 6, 1865, when he resigned on account of sickness in his family. He was brevettedbrigadier general of U.S. Volunteers, March 13, 1865, for conspicuous gallantry on the field of battle.
After the war he returned home and entered into the law office of his brother,Sullivan M. Cutcheon, in Ypsilanti. At the time, Sullivan was Speaker of theMichigan House of Representatives and later becameU.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. He entered theUniversity of Michigan Law School in 1865 and graduated in March 1866. He wasadmitted to practice inWashtenaw County in January 1866. In the Spring of 1866 he was appointed the state agent of the Michigan Soldiers' Monumental Association. When the association was inaugurated, in 1865, addresses were made on that occasion by Gen. Cutcheon, Hon.Austin Blair, (Michigan's war governor), Hon.Jacob M. Howard and Gen.Orlando B. Wilcox. In this work he traveled all over the state, making appeals to the people and securing their aid in this grand undertaking. In fall 1866, he moved toIonia to resume the practice of law. In July 1867, he moved toManistee. He was appointed a member of the State Board of Railroad Commissioners, 1867–1883. In 1866 he was also appointed president of the Michigan Soldiers' Home Commission,GovernorHenry H. Crapo. He served as aPresidential elector from Michigan in 1868, casting votes for the ticket ofUlysses S. Grant andSchuyler Colfax.[1]
He was elected to theBoard of Regents of theUniversity of Michigan in 1875 and served until 1883. He was the city attorney of Manistee, 1870–1873; prosecuting attorney ofManistee County in 1873 and 1874; and postmaster of Manistee, 1877–1883.
In 1882, Cutcheon was elected as aRepublican fromMichigan's 9th congressional district to the49th Congress. He was re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1891. He served as chairman,Committee on Military Affairs in the51st Congress. In 1890, Cutcheon lost toDemocratHarrison H. Wheeler in the general election.
In 1887, he was the Moderator of the Congregationalists' "General Association of Michigan" annual meeting held in Lansing[2] He was also a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and a compatriot of theSons of the American Revolution.
Cutcheon was married atDexter, June 22, 1863, to Miss Marie A. Warner, of Ann Arbor. They raised five children, four sons and one daughter, named, respectively, Frank Warner, Charles Tripp, Max Hart, Frederick Richard, and Marie Louise.
Cutcheon was awarded aMedal of Honor on June 29, 1891, "for distinguished gallantry at theBattle of the Wilderness", Virginia on May 7, 1864. He was appointed civilian member of the Board of Ordnance and Fortifications byU.S. PresidentBenjamin Harrison in July 1891 and served until March 25, 1895. He was editorial writer for theDetroit Daily Tribune and theDetroit Journal, 1895–1897. He resumed the practice of law inGrand Rapids and died in Ypsilanti, where he is interred inHighland Cemetery.[3]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)1887 -- Lansing -- Hon. Byron M. Cutcheon
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Representative for the 9th Congressional District of Michigan 1883 – 1891 | Succeeded by |
Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on Armed Services | ||
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| Military Affairs Committee (1822–1947) |  | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1822–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee* (from 1947) | ||
*Alternately namedNational Security in 104th and 105th Congresses. | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
