Romeyn B. Ayres | |
|---|---|
 Romeyn B. Ayres | |
| Born | (1825-12-20)December 20, 1825 Manheim, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 4, 1888(1888-12-04) (aged 62) Fort Hamilton, New York, U.S. |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Service | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1847–1888 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General BrevetMajor General |
| Commands | 2nd Division,V Corps 3rd U.S. Artillery 2nd U.S. Artillery |
| Battles / wars | |
Romeyn Beck Ayres (December 20, 1825 – December 4, 1888) was aUnion Army general in theAmerican Civil War.
Ayres was born atEast Creek,New York, along theMohawk River inMontgomery County. He was the son of a small-town doctor, who trained him inLatin. He graduated from theUnited States Military Academy in 1847, ranking 22nd in a class of 38, and was commissioned abrevetsecond lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. Although graduating in time for theMexican–American War, Ayres served only on garrison duty inPuebla andMexico City until 1850, seeing no fighting in the war.
Between the wars, Ayres was stationed at various posts on the frontier and served at theFort Monroe Artillery School from 1859 to 1861. In 1849 he married Emily Louis Gerry Dearborn inBangor, Maine. His second wife was Juliet Opie Hopkins Butcher, the daughter ofJuliet Opie Hopkins, a woman who later became prominent establishing hospitals forConfederate soldiers inRichmond, Virginia.
After the start of the Civil War, Ayres was promoted tocaptain and commanded a battery in the 5th U.S. Artillery, which he led in theFirst Bull Run Campaign, and was heavily involved in theBattle of Blackburn's Ford, immediately before the largerFirst Battle of Bull Run. At First Bull Run, his battery, attached to the brigade ofWilliam Tecumseh Sherman, was held in reserve and he did not see action during the battle proper, but distinguished himself by providing cover for retreatingUnion Army troops pursued by Confederate cavalry.
On October 3, 1861, Ayres was appointed chief of artillery forWilliam F. "Baldy" Smith's division (later designated the 2nd Division of theVI Corps) of theArmy of the Potomac. He served in that position in thePeninsula Campaign, theSeven Days Battles, and at theBattle of Antietam. Just before theBattle of Fredericksburg, he was promoted to chief of artillery of theVI Corps as abrigadier general, as of November 29, 1862. At Fredericksburg he commanded the corps artillery stationed across theRappahannock River on Falmouth Heights.
While recuperating from an injury caused when his horse fell, Ayres considered his military career and realized that artillery officers had a much slower rate of promotion than their colleagues in theinfantry. Thus, he arranged for a transfer and became a brigade commander in the 2nd Division of theV Corps as of April 21, 1863. This division was known as the Regular Division because it consisted almost entirely ofregular army (versus state volunteers) soldiers and he led its 1st Brigade in theBattle of Chancellorsville. On the first day of the battle (May 1, 1863) his brigade formed the left flank of Sykes' division when it engaged Maj. Gen.Lafayette McLaws' division on the Orange Turnpike. Sykes' division was forced to retreat after being attacked on the right flank by Maj. Gen.Robert E. Rodes' division.
In theGettysburg Campaign, as part of a general shuffling of senior officers whenMaj. Gen.George Meade was promoted from commander of the V Corps to be commander of the Army of the Potomac and Maj. Gen.George Sykes took command of the corps, Ayres was promoted to command the Regular Division. He had risen to division command quickly for an officer with little infantry experience. At theBattle of Gettysburg, he did not have an opportunity to shine in his new assignment. His division arrived on the battlefield around midday on the second day of battle, July 2, 1863. After a brief rest in camp near Power's Hill, two brigades from his division were sent to reinforce Union troops from Maj. Gen.John C. Caldwell's division (II Corps), which was counterattacking Confederate forces in theWheatfield. Due to a great Confederate assault nearby at thePeach Orchard, Caldwell's division retreated, because his two brigades were at risk of being surrounded. Ayres' troops were forced to retreat as well, suffering heavy casualties. Nevertheless, Ayres received praise for his performance and he received a brevet promotion tomajor in the regular army for his actions at Gettysburg. After the battle, the Regular Division was sent inNew York City to suppress thedraft riots there.
In March 1864, the Army of the Potomac was reorganized, reducing the number of corps commanders, and subordinates down thechain of command were affected. Ayres was reduced to commanding the 4th Brigade of the 1st Division, V Corps. He led the brigade inLt. Gen.Ulysses S. Grant'sOverland Campaign of 1864. He received command of a new 2nd Division of the V Corps for theSiege of Petersburg. On August 1, 1864, he received a brevet promotion tomajor general for his contributions in these campaigns; he received particular commendations and brevet promotions forWeldon Railroad andFive Forks. Ayres continued to lead his division through theAppomattox Campaign and the Confederate surrender.
By the summer of 1864, the Regular Division no longer existed because it was hardly above brigade strength. Ayres was asked after the war if any of the regular troops he'd commanded were still serving. He replied "I had a division of regulars once. I buried half of them at Gettysburg and the other half in the Wilderness. There's no regulars left."
After the war, Ayres commanded a division in theProvisional Corps, and then commanded the District of theShenandoah Valley until April 30, 1866, when he was mustered out of the volunteer service. As part of the general reduction of ranks that was typical following many American wars, Ayres returned to the regular army with the rank oflieutenant colonel and he performed mostly garrison duty in a number of posts in the South, includingLittle Rock, Arkansas,Jackson Barracks,New Orleans, Louisiana, andKey West, Florida. In 1877 he commanded troops suppressing therailroad strikes in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and in 1879 he was promoted tocolonel of the 2nd U.S. Artillery.
Ayres died on duty on December 4, 1888, inFort Hamilton, New York, at 62 years of age. He was buried atArlington National Cemetery, inArlington, Virginia.[1]
Media related toRomeyn B. Ayres at Wikimedia Commons
"Ayres, Romeyn Beck".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. 1906. p. 170.
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