Wesley Merritt

Wesley Merritt (June 16, 1834 – December 3, 1910) was a general in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War. He is noted for distinguished service in the cavalry.

Civil War

In 1862 Merritt was appointed captain in the U.S. Cavalry and served as an aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Philip St. George Cooke, who commanded the Cavalry Department of the Army of the Potomac. He served in the defenses of Washington, D.C., for the rest of 1862. In 1863 he was appointed adjutant for Major General George Stoneman and participated in Stoneman's Raid in the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.

Related Topics:
1862 - Captain - Aide-de-camp - Brigadier General - Philip St. George Cooke - Army of the Potomac - Washington, D.C. - 1863 - Major General - George Stoneman - Battle of Chancellorsville

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In the Gettysburg Campaign, Merritt commanded the Reserve Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He was slightly wounded in the Battle of Brandy Station; soon after (June 29, 1863) he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers for his "gallant and meritorious service" at Brandy Station and Upperville. Being promoted directly from captain to brigadier general was an unusual step, even for the Civil War, but Merritt shared this honor on that date with Captains George Armstrong Custer and Elon J. Farnsworth.

Related Topics:
Gettysburg Campaign - Army of the Potomac - Battle of Brandy Station - June 29 - 1863 - Upperville - George Armstrong Custer - Elon J. Farnsworth

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In the initial cavalry actions of the Battle of Gettysburg, Merritt saw no action; his reserve brigade guarded the lines of communications of the Army of the Potomac. On July 3, 1863, however, he participated in the assault ordered by division commander Judson Kilpatrick on the Confederate right flank, following Pickett's Charge. His fellow general, Elon J. Farnsworth, was killed during this futile assault against infantry troops. Merritt took over the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps following the death by typhoid fever of its commander, John Buford, in December, 1863. He commanded the division through Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign in 1864. He received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel in the regular army for his actions at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, the engagement in which Confederate cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart was killed.

Related Topics:
Battle of Gettysburg - July 3 - 1863 - Judson Kilpatrick - Confederate - Pickett's Charge - Ulysses S. Grant - Overland Campaign - 1864 - Brevet - Lieutenant colonel - Battle of Yellow Tavern - J.E.B. Stuart

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During Philip Sheridan's Valley Campaigns of 1864, Merritt commanded the 1st Division, Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Shenandoah. Arriving at the opportune moment, his division routed the Confederate forces at the Third Battle of Winchester, for which he received a brevet promotion to major general. He was second-in-command to Sheridan during the Appomattox Campaign and was one of several commissioners for the surrender at Appomattox Court House. He was brevetted brigadier general in the Regular Army in March, 1865, for bravery at the Battle of Five Forks and the Appomattox Campaign.

Related Topics:
Philip Sheridan - Valley Campaigns of 1864 - Army of the Shenandoah - Third Battle of Winchester - Appomattox Campaign - Appomattox Court House - Regular Army - March - 1865 - Battle of Five Forks

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