{{Short description|American Union Army colonel and general (1789–1872)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox military person |name= Gustavus Loomis |birth_date= {{birth date|1789|9|23}} |death_date= {{death date and age|1872|3|5|1789|9|23}} |birth_place= Thetford, Vermont, U.S. |death_place= Stratford, Connecticut, U.S. |burial_place= Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut |burial_label= Place of burial |image= Gustavus Loomis.jpg |caption= Gustavus Loomis |allegiance= United States of America<br />Union |branch= United States Army<br />Union Army |service_years= 1811–1867 |rank= 35px Colonel<br>35px Brevet Brigadier General |commands= |unit= |battles= {{tree list}} *War of 1812 **Battle of Fort George **Capture of Fort Niagara{{POW}} *Black Hawk War *Second Seminole War **Battle of Lake Okeechobee *Mexican-American War *Third Seminole War *American Civil War {{tree list/end}} |awards= |other_work= |relations= }} '''Gustavus A. Loomis''' (September 23, 1789 – March 5, 1872) was a United States Army officer who served during the War of 1812, the Seminole Wars, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. He was one of the oldest soldiers to serve in the Civil War.
==Biography== Loomis was born in Thetford, Vermont, and graduated from West Point in 1811.
He entered the army as a second lieutenant of artillery. After garrison duty in the harbor of New York in 1812–13, he was ordered to the Niagara frontier in 1813 for service in the War of 1812. He assisted in the capture of Fort George (May 27, 1813) and was made prisoner at Fort Niagara on December 19, 1813. He was exchanged and transferred to the Artillery Corps on May 12, 1814.
Following the War of 1812, Loomis was promoted to captain in 1819. He was transferred to the infantry in 1821. In 1832, during the Black Hawk War, he was in garrison at Fort Crawford, Wisconsin. During the Second Seminole War, Loomis was promoted to major in the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment in 1838. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on September 22, 1840. He commanded the 6th U.S. Infantry Regiment in Florida (1842–1844) and served as Lieut. Col of the 6th U.S. Infantry in the Mexican War (1846–1848). On March 9, 1851, Loomis was promoted to colonel and was given command of the 5th U.S. Infantry Regiment at Fort Belknap, Texas (1852–1853). During the Third Seminole War, he served as commander of the Department of Florida from 1857 to 1858.
During the Civil War, he was so successful as a recruiter in Connecticut and Rhode Island that President Lincoln made him Superintendent of General Recruiting for the entire Union army at Fort Columbus, New York.<ref name="Eicher735">Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}. p. 735</ref> He also served as commandant of the prisoner of war camp at Fort Columbus.<ref name="Lawson376">Lawson, Kenneth E., ''For Christ and Country: A Biography of Brigadier General Gustavus Loomis''. Greenville, SC: Ambassador International, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-935507-47-5}}. p. 376</ref>
On June 1, 1863, Loomis was retired from active duty as a colonel of infantry, but was immediately recalled to duty.<ref name="Lawson383">Lawson, Kenneth E., ''For Christ and Country: A Biography of Brigadier General Gustavus Loomis''. Greenville, SC: Ambassador International, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-935507-47-5}}. p. 383</ref> In 1864, he was assigned as a senior court martial officer at Fort Columbus. He remained on active duty after the war to process administrative and court martial proceedings. In 1867, he was still in uniform, managing army supply, personnel, and administrative issues related to his duties as a court martial officer.<ref name="Lawson376" />
On July 17, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Loomis for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general in the Regular Army for long and faithful service, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 26, 1866.<ref name="Eicher735" />
Gustavus Loomis died on March 5, 1872, at Stratford, Connecticut.<ref name="Eicher735" /> He was buried at Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.<ref name="Eicher735" /> Throughout his life in the military, he was often known as a Christian officer.<ref name="Lawson384">Lawson, Kenneth E., ''For Christ and Country: A Biography of Brigadier General Gustavus Loomis''. Greenville, SC: Ambassador International, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-935507-47-5}}. pp. 383–384</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|American Civil War}} * List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Find a Grave|33490187}}
==References== * Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}. :{{NIE}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Loomis, Gustavus}} Category:1789 births Category:1872 deaths Category:People of Vermont in the American Civil War Category:United States Army personnel of the Seminole Wars Category:Union army colonels Category:American people of the Black Hawk War Category:United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Category:United States Military Academy alumni Category:United States Army officers Category:People from Thetford, Vermont Category:Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Category:War of 1812 prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom