Thomas Howard Ruger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1833-04-02)April 2, 1833 |
| Died | June 3, 1907(1907-06-03) (aged 74) |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Branch | United States Army Union Army |
| Service years | 1854–1855, 1861–1897 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | Department of the Missouri Department of Dakota Department of California Department of the East |
| Conflicts | American Civil War |
| Signature | .png) |
Thomas Howard Ruger (April 2, 1833 – June 3, 1907) was anAmericansoldier andlawyer who served as aUniongeneral in theAmerican Civil War. After the war, he was asuperintendent of theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point,New York.
Ruger was born inLima, New York, and moved toJanesville, Wisconsin in 1846. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1854, third in his class of 46, and was commissioned asecond lieutenant in theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He resigned in 1855 to become a lawyer inWisconsin.
Ruger was appointedlieutenant colonel of the3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in June 1861, and promoted tocolonel on August 20. Ruger commanded his regiment inMaryland and theShenandoah Valley campaigns. He participated in theBattle of Antietam, in which he was wounded while acting commander of a brigade in the 1st Division,XII Corps. Commissionedbrigadier general of volunteers in November 1862, Ruger led his brigade of the XII Corps,Army of the Potomac, in theBattle of Chancellorsville, and commanded the division of Brig. Gen.Alpheus Williams temporarily atGettysburg.[1] (Col.Silas Colgrove led the brigade in that battle, participating in the defense ofCulp's Hill.) In the summer of 1863, Ruger was inNew York City, where he aided in suppressingdraft riots.
Ruger led a brigade ofXX Corps in Maj. Gen.William T. Sherman'sAtlanta campaign until November 1864, and with a division ofXXIII Corps took part in thecampaign againstGeneralJohn B. Hood's army inTennessee. He was appointed abrevetmajor general of volunteers, November 30, 1864, for services at theBattle of Franklin. Ruger organized a division atNashville and led his command toNorth Carolina in June 1865, and then had charge of the department of that state until June 1866.[2] He was mustered out of his volunteer commission, accepting aregular army commission as colonel, July 28, 1866, and on March 2, 1867, was brevetted brigadier general, regular army, for his services at Gettysburg.
Ruger participated inReconstruction as the military governor ofGeorgia and in theFreedmen's Bureau inAlabama in 1868. He was the superintendent of theUnited States Military Academy from 1871 to 1876. Other commands he held were theDepartment of the South (1876–78), theInfantry and Cavalry School of Application (1885-86), theDepartment of Dakota (1886–91), theMilitary Division of the Pacific (1891), theDepartment of California (1891–94), theMilitary Division of the Missouri (1894-95) and theDepartment of the East (1895–97). In 1887 Ruger led the army's expedition into theBig Horn Mountains during theCrow War. From 1895 to 1897, he worked withCharles Badger Hall on a re-write of the to re-write the army'sInfantry Drill Regulations, the service's mainmanual of arms.[3] He retired, in 1897, with the rank of major general in the Regular Army.
He was a Veteran Companion of theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and an Honorary Companion of theMilitary Order of Foreign Wars.
He died inStamford, Connecticut, and is buried inWest Point National Cemetery.[4]
Fort Ruger atDiamond Head onOahu is named in his honor.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Superintendents of the United States Military Academy 1871–1876 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commandant of the Command and General Staff College June 1885 – May 1886 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Georgia 1868 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
