{{Short description|General in the Union Army during the American Civil War}} {{Infobox military person |name=Erastus Tyler |birth_date= {{birth date|1822|4|24}} |death_date= {{death date and age|1891|1|9|1822|4|24}} |birth_place= [[West Bloomfield, New York]] |death_place= [[Baltimore]], Maryland |burial_place= [[Green Mount Cemetery]], Baltimore, Maryland |burial_label= Place of burial |image= Gen-ebtyler.jpg |caption=Brig. Gen. Erastus B. Tyler |nickname= |allegiance= {{flag|United States of America|1861}} |branch={{army|USA|1865}} |service_years=1861–1865 |rank= [[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] |commands=[[VIII Corps (Union Army)|VIII Corps]] (briefly) <br/> [[7th Ohio Infantry|7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry]] <br/> 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps |unit= |battles= [[American Civil War]] *[[Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes]] *[[First Battle of Kernstown]] *[[First Battle of Winchester]] *[[Battle of Port Republic]] *[[Battle of Fredericksburg]] *[[Battle of Chancellorsville]] *[[Battle of Monocacy]] |awards= |other_work=[[Postmaster]] of Baltimore }} '''Erastus Bernard Tyler''' (April 24, 1822 – January 9, 1891) was an American businessman, merchant, and soldier. He was a general in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]] and fought in many of the early battles in the [[Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|Eastern Theater]] before being assigned command of the defenses of [[Baltimore, Maryland]]. He briefly commanded the [[VIII Corps (Union Army)|VIII Corps]].
==Early life and career== Erastus B. Tyler was born in [[West Bloomfield, New York]], and was educated in the common schools. As a young man, he moved to [[Ravenna, Ohio]], and graduated from what was then known as Granville College (now [[Denison University]]). At the age of 23, he opened a successful business as a fur merchant in [[West Virginia|western Virginia]].
==Civil War service== With the outbreak of the Civil War, Tyler helped raise and recruit the [[7th Ohio Infantry|7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry]] in northeastern Ohio. He was elected as the [[regiment]]'s first [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]], with [[John S. Casement]] as [[Major (United States)|major]]. After initial training and organization, Tyler and the 7th OVI were sent to western Virginia in August 1861. At the [[Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes]] on August 26, Tyler's raw regiment was surprised in its camp by a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] [[brigade]] commanded by [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[John B. Floyd]], which had crossed the [[Gauley River]] unseen and attacked. Pressed by a numerically superior and more experienced enemy, the 7th withdrew and then routed from the field.
In early 1862, General [[Frederick W. Lander]] gave Tyler command of a brigade, which was later assigned to the [[division (military)|division]] commanded by [[James Shields (politician, born 1810)|James Shields]] and later [[Nathan Kimball]]. Tyler was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on May 14. His brigade was involved in several engagements during the [[Valley Campaign]] against the Confederates of [[Stonewall Jackson]], including the [[Battle of Winchester I|First Battle of Winchester]]. Tyler was in command of the Union forces engaged at the [[Battle of Port Republic]]. In one of the most hotly contested and bloodiest battles of the campaign, Jackson forced Tyler to withdraw.
With the reorganization of the [[Army of the Potomac]] following the [[Northern Virginia Campaign]], Tyler was given command of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, in the [[V Corps (ACW)|V Corps]]. Tyler's Brigade was involved in the [[Maryland Campaign]] and the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]], as well as the [[Mud March (American Civil War)|Mud March]] before going into winter quarters. His troops were a part of the unsuccessful series of attacks on well-entrenched Confederates on Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg. Tyler suffered a wound and lost a significant portion of his brigade in the fifth wave of Union attackers.
In the spring of 1863, Tyler was again in combat at the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]]. His brigade played a role in helping to stabilize the right flank of the Union [[III Corps (ACW)|III Corps]] by countering an assault by the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] brigade of [[Alfred Colquitt]] in dense woods that made it difficult for the two sides to see each other. The Federals continued until Tyler's ammunition grew scarce and Confederate reinforcements turned the Federal right flank.<ref>National Park Service, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville National Military Park.</ref>
Shortly after the battle, three of the four regiments in his brigade mustered out of the army, their terms of enlistment having expired. Left without a field command, Tyler returned to Washington, D.C. to await further orders. In June, he was assigned command of the defenses of [[Baltimore, Maryland]]. He remained stationed there for the rest of the war and married a local woman. He was in command of the VIII Corps from September 28, 1863 – October 10, 1863, succeeding [[Robert C. Schenck]].
During the [[Battle of Monocacy]] in July 1864, Tyler commanded two regiments of inexperienced [[Hundred Days Men]] that successfully held off numerous Confederate attempts to capture the Jug Bridge on the Baltimore Pike. The bridge was of great strategic importance as it protected the Union's extreme right flank. It was also the route used by the Union army in their subsequent retreat toward Baltimore.<ref>[https://home.nps.gov/mono/learn/historyculture/general-tyler.htm NPS biography of Tyler]</ref>
As the war ended, Tyler was included in the omnibus list of promotions to recognize Union officers for their "gallant and meritorious service." He received the [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] rank of [[Major general (United States)|major general]], dating from March 1865. On August 24, 1865, he was mustered out of the army.<ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|Fiske|1891}}.</ref>
==Postbellum career== Tyler and his wife remained in Baltimore after the war and raised a family. He rose to social prominence and served a term as the city's postmaster, a [[patronage]] position.
Erastus Tyler died at the age of 68 and was buried in Baltimore's [[Green Mount Cemetery]].
==See also== {{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}} *[[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]] *[[List of Ohio's American Civil War generals]] *[[Ohio in the American Civil War]]
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== * [https://home.nps.gov/mono/learn/historyculture/general-tyler.htm National Park Service Battle of Monocacy website, bio of Tyler]
'''Attribution''' *{{Appletons'}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185802/http://stonewall.hut.ru/leaders/tyler.htm Tyler biography] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071109045728/http://aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=130&from=results Antietam on the Web] * [http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=3501 Tyler's role at First Winchester]
{{s-start}} {{S-mil}} {{Succession box | title= Commander of the [[VIII Corps (ACW)]] | before=[[William W. Morris]] | after=[[Robert C. Schenck]] | years=September 28, 1863 - October 10, 1863 }} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Erastus B.}} [[Category:Union army generals]] [[Category:People of New York (state) in the American Civil War]] [[Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War]] [[Category:People from West Bloomfield, New York]] [[Category:People from Ravenna, Ohio]] [[Category:Denison University alumni]] [[Category:Burials at Green Mount Cemetery]] [[Category:1822 births]] [[Category:1891 deaths]]