{{Short description|American sailor, editor, lawyer, and writer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox military person | name = George Henry Chapman | birth_date = {{birth date|1832|11|22}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1882|06|16|1832|11|22}} | image = G H Chapman UA BGen ACW.jpg | caption = | birth_place = Holland, Massachusetts, US | death_place = near Indianapolis, Indiana, US | burial_place = Crown Hill Cemetery and Arboretum, Section 6, Lot 12 | burial_label = | burial_coordinates = {{Coord|39.8201243|-86.1746721|type:landmark|display=inline}} | allegiance = United States<br/>Union | branch = United States Navy<br/>Union Army | service_years = 1847–1850 (USN)<br/>1861–1866 (Union Army) | rank = Midshipman (USN)<br>Brigadier General<br>Brevet Major General (Union Army) | unit = | commands = | battles = Mexican–American War<br/>American Civil War | awards = | relations = | other_work = }}
'''George Henry Chapman''' (November 22, 1832 – June 16, 1882) was an American sailor, newspaper editor, lawyer, and soldier. He served in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. Later in life he was a judge and a state legislator.<ref name=Eicher170/>
==Early life and career== Chapman was born in Holland, Massachusetts, in 1832.<ref name="George Henry Chapman, civilwarindiana">{{Cite web|url=http://civilwarindiana.com/biographies/chapman_george_henry.html |title=George Henry Chapman |access-date=December 21, 2008 |work=civilwarindiana.com |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514053714/http://civilwarindiana.com/biographies/chapman_george_henry.html |archive-date=May 14, 2008 }}</ref> At the age of six, Chapman and his family moved to Indiana. His father and uncle published newspapers in Terre Haute and then in Indianapolis,<ref name=Warner80>Warner, p. 80.</ref> including ''Indiana State Sentinel'', a pro-democratic newspaper.<ref name="George Henry Chapman, civilwarindiana"/> Chapman later studied at Marion County Seminary.<ref name=Warner80/>
In 1847 Chapman was appointed to the U. S. Navy as a midshipman. He served on the frigates USS ''Cumberland'' and USS ''Constitution'' until 1850, when he resigned following the death of his uncle. He then had a short-lived career in the mercantile business, and afterward he studied law. Chapman was admitted to the bar in 1857. From 1854–55, he edited and published his own newspaper called the Indiana ''Republican''.<ref name="George Henry Chapman, civilwarindiana"/> He became the assistant clerk to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1860.<ref name=Warner80>Warner, p. 80.</ref>
==Civil War service== At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, he resigned his clerk position to volunteer in the Union Army. On November 2 he was commissioned a major in the 3rd Indiana Cavalry. Chapman briefly led the cavalry division of the Army of the Ohio in May of the following year. Transferring to the infantry, he commanded a brigade in the Army of the Potomac until June 27, 1862.<ref name=Eicher170>Eicher, p. 170.</ref>
left|thumb|Chapman (seated) and his staff during the American Civil War Chapman was promoted to lieutenant colonel on October 25, 1862.<ref name=Eicher170/> He fought at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August, the Battle of Antietam in September, and the Battle of Fredericksburg in December.<ref name="George Henry Chapman, civilwarindiana"/> On March 12, 1863, Chapman was promoted to colonel,<ref name=Eicher170/> and that May he participated in the Battle of Chancellorsville.<ref name=Warner80/>
Returning to the cavalry service, Chapman led his regiment during the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. Here his command was part of Col. Thomas C. Devin's brigade, and was noted as the first Union soldiers to engage Confederate forces approaching Gettysburg via the Cashtown road.<ref>George Henry Chapman, civilwarindiana.com; Warner, p. 80.</ref> Shortly after the battle, Chapman was given brigade command in the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac until March 1864.<ref name=Eicher170/>
Chapman participated in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 against Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's forces, lasting from May to October.<ref name=Warner80/> He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on July 21, 1864, to rank from that date.<ref>President Abraham Lincoln sent the nomination for the appointment to the United States Senate on December 12, 1864, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14, 1865. Eicher, 2001, p. 719.</ref> Chapman led a cavalry brigade in the Union Army of the Shenandoah from August 6 until September 19, when he was wounded during the Third Battle of Winchester. Recovered by the following month, Chapman resumed leading a cavalry brigade in the Shenandoah Valley.<ref name=Eicher170/>
Beginning on January 5, 1865, Chapman led a cavalry division of the Army of the Shenandoah.<ref>Eicher, p. 170. 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, January 5–30, 1865; 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps, January 30–April 19, 1865.</ref> After the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, on March 2, he was ordered to remain in the Shenandoah Valley while the rest of the Union forces headed for Petersburg, Virginia. Chapman had with him now three small regiments and a few artillery pieces to hold the Valley.<ref name=Warner80/> Beginning on April 19, 1865, he was given command of the cavalry division assigned to Washington, D.C.<ref name=Eicher170/> In recognition of his performance at Winchester in September 1864, on January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Chapman for appointment to the grade of brevet major general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.<ref>Eicher, 2011, p. 711.</ref>
==Postbellum== thumb|right|Chapman's grave at Crown Hill Cemetery
After the war, Chapman spent two months serving on court-martial boards. His military career ended with his resignation on January 7, 1866.<ref name="George Henry Chapman, civilwarindiana"/><ref>Eicher, 2001, p. 719.</ref> He then served as a judge of the Criminal Court of Marion County, Indiana, for five years. He also served as receiver for two financially challenged railroads during the 1870s.<ref name=Warner80/> He then served as a state legislator in the Indiana Senate, after being elected to the Senate in 1880.<ref name=Eicher170/><ref>Warner, p. 81</ref> In June 1882 he died near Indianapolis and was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery located in Indianapolis (Section 6, Lot 12).<ref name=Warner80/>
==See also== {{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}} *List of American Civil War generals (Union) {{Clear}}
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{cite book |title=Civil War High Commands |last=Eicher |first=John H. |author2=David J. Eicher |author2-link=David J. Eicher |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=0-8047-3641-3}} *{{cite book |title=Generals in Blue: The Lives of the Union Commanders |url=https://archive.org/details/generalsinblueli0000warn |url-access=registration |last=Warner |first=Ezra J. |year=1964 |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |isbn=0-8071-0822-7}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, George Henry}} Category:1832 births Category:1882 deaths Category:Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery Category:People of Indiana in the American Civil War Category:Union army generals Category:United States Navy officers Category:People from Holland, Massachusetts Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts