Charles Candy | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1832-08-07)August 7, 1832 Lexington, Kentucky |
| Died | October 28, 1910(1910-10-28) (aged 78) Dayton, Ohio |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Service | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1850–1861 1861–1865 |
| Rank |  Colonel BrevetBrigadier General |
| Commands | Candy's Brigade,XII Corps |
| Battles / wars | |
Charles Candy (August 7, 1832 – October 28, 1910) was a career soldier in theUnited States Army who served as an officer in the volunteerUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War. He commanded anOhioregiment and, frequently, abrigade, during the war, and played a role in the defense ofCulp's Hill during the July 1863Battle of Gettysburg.
Candy was born inLexington, Kentucky. He joined theUnited States Army on May 14, 1850, as an enlisted man with the rank ofprivate and subsequently served in a wide variety of garrisons and outposts. He served underRichard S. Ewell in the 1st Dragoons. He was promoted tocorporal in March 1853. Candy was honorably discharged in May 1855.[1]
Candy resumed his military career in January 1856 as a private in the1st U.S. Infantry. In May 1856, he was promoted tosergeant. By the eve of the Civil War, he was asergeant major. Discharged from theregular army on January 1, 1861, Candy became a volunteer clerk in theDepartment of the Ohio.[2]
Following the outbreak of the Civil War and the firing on the Union garrison atFort Sumter inCharleston Harbor, Candy was appointed on September 21, 1861, as acaptain and assistantadjutant general of volunteers. He served on the staff ofCharles Pomeroy Stone at the time of theBattle of Ball's Bluff. Candy resigned his staff position on December 3, 1861. He was commissionedcolonel of the66th Ohio Infantry on December 17 of that year.[1]
Candy led his regiment underNathaniel Banks in what becameII Corps ofJohn Pope'sArmy of Virginia, serving inJohn W. Geary's brigade ofChristopher C. Augur'sdivision. When Geary was wounded in theBattle of Cedar Mountain, Candy succeeded to brigade command. Banks's corps missed theSecond Battle of Bull Run, and Candy was absent when the corps—newly dubbedXII Corps,Army of the Potomac—fought in theBattle of Antietam. XII Corps was in reserve during theBattle of Fredericksburg, but it participated in Maj. Gen.Ambrose Burnside'sMud March.[1]
Candy next saw action leading the First Brigade of Geary's Second Division, XII Corps, at theBattle of Chancellorsville. He commanded the same brigade at theBattle of Gettysburg, arriving on the Baltimore Pike, behind the Union right, late on the first day of the fight (July 1, 1863). Late in the day, Geary led the brigades ofGeorge S. Greene and Candy toLittle Round Top to protect the Union left flank. The brigade returned to the right early the next day and took part in the defense of Culp's Hill. Candy's brigade was in reserve, except when Geary—trying to go to the relief of the left flank of the army—got lost and took it and the brigade ofGeorge A. Cobham, Jr., down the Baltimore Pike in the wrong direction.[3]
When XII Corps was transferred west under the command of Major GeneralJoseph Hooker later in 1863 to relieve theArmy of the Cumberland besieged at Chattanooga, Candy was transferred with his brigade. It fought at theBattle of Wauhatchie. Candy was injured early in theBattle of Lookout Mountain, and he also missed theBattle of Ringgold Gap. When XII Corps andXI Corps were combined into Hooker'sXX Corps of the Army of the Cumberland, Candy became commander of a brigade in Geary's second division. He led it in Major GeneralWilliam T. Sherman'sAtlanta Campaign until August 4, 1864. Candy was mustered out of the volunteer service on January 14, 1865, and he received abrevet appointment as abrigadier general on March 13, 1865.[1][4]
After the war, Candy served as chief clerk in theQuartermaster General's office of theWar Department. From 1888 to 1906, he wascommissary of subsistence for the Southern Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers.[1]
Candy died inDayton, Ohio. He is buried atArlington National Cemetery.[5]
