{{Short description|American general (1835–1914)}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = |name = Robert Newton Adams |honorific_suffix = |image = Robert N. Adams (cropped).gif |image_upright = |alt = |caption = |native_name = |native_name_lang = |birth_name = |other_name = |nickname = |birth_date = {{birth date|1835|09|15}} |birth_place = [[Fayette County, Ohio]], U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1914|03|25|1835|09|15}} |death_place = [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], U.S. |burial_place = [[Lakewood Cemetery]]<br />[[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], U.S. |burial_label = |burial_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}}--> |allegiance = United States ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]) |branch = [[United States Army]] ([[Union Army]]) |branch_label = Branch |service_years = 1861–1865 |service_years_label = |rank = [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]<br /> [[Brevet (military)|Bvt.]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] |rank_label = |service_number = |unit = [[20th Ohio Infantry Regiment]] |commands = [[81st Ohio Infantry Regiment]] |known_for = |battles = {{tree list}} *[[American Civil War]] ** [[Western theater of the American Civil War|Western Theater]] *** [[Battle of Shiloh]] *** [[Siege of Corinth]] *** [[Battle of Town Creek]] ** [[Atlanta campaign]] *** [[Battle of Resaca]] *** [[Battle of Dallas]] *** [[Battle of Kennesaw Mountain]] *** [[Battle of Nickajack Creek]] *** [[Battle of Atlanta]] *** [[Battle of Jonesborough]] *** [[Battle of Hobkirk's Hill (1864)|Battle of Hobkirk's Hill]] {{tree list/end}} |battles_label = |awards = |memorials = |alma_mater = |spouse = {{marriage|Elinor W. Whipple|1866|1900|reason=died}}<br />{{marriage|Mary C. Compton|1903}} |children = 2 |relations = |other_work = |signature = |signature_size = |signature_alt = |website = <!--{{URL|example.com}}--> |module = }}
'''Robert Newton Adams''' (September 15, 1835 – March 25, 1914) was an American Brevet Brigadier General during the [[American Civil War]]. He commanded the [[81st Ohio Infantry Regiment]] throughout the later years of the war and participated in the Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers and the [[Atlanta campaign]].
==Early years== Robert was born on September 15, 1835, at a farm in [[Fayette County, Ohio]] as the son of Albert Adams and Nancy Verdie Coffey Adams as well as a descendant of the [[Clan Douglas|Douglas family]].<ref name="House Divided">{{Cite web|title=Adams, Robert Newton: House Divided|url=https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/4955|website=House Divided|access-date=May 21, 2022}}</ref><ref name="obit">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-journal-dr-robert-n-ad/179319693/ |title=Dr. Robert N. Adams Dies of Apoplexy |date=1914-03-25 |newspaper=The Minneapolis Journal |page=11 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2025-08-20}}{{Open access}}</ref> Adams spent his childhood at his parents barn before attending the Greenfield School there.<ref name="House Divided"/>
==American Civil War== In 1858, he enrolled in [[Miami University]] but during his junior year, the [[American Civil War]] broke out.<ref>{{Cite book|author=[[Miami University]]|title=The Alumni and Former Student Catalogue of Miami University: Including Members of the Board of Trustees and Faculty, 1809-1892|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLXOAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Robert+Newton+Adams%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA140|date=1892|publisher=Press of the Oxford News|pages=140|access-date=May 22, 2022}}</ref> After graduating, Adams enlisted in the [[20th Ohio Infantry Regiment]] on April 18, 1861, as a part of the "University Rifles" (Later known as Company C) which was mustered in [[Oxford, Ohio]] for a tenure of 3 months.<ref name="House Divided"/><ref name="Presbyterian">{{Cite book|title=Presbyterian Magazine|volume=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cRkRAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Robert+Newton+Adams%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA416|date=1907|publisher=[[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America]]|pages=416–417|access-date=May 22, 2022}}</ref> After his initial tenure expired, August 30, 1861, Adams was made Captain of the new [[81st Ohio Infantry Regiment]] of Company C.<ref name="Data">{{Cite web|title=American Civil War Database|url=http://civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?Officer?839&U|website=Civil War Data|access-date=May 22, 2022}}</ref> Adams was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on May 7, 1862, and on August 8, 1864, to Colonel.<ref name="House Divided"/><ref name="Data"/> Adams saw active combat at the battles of [[Battle of Shiloh|Shiloh]] and [[Siege of Corinth|Corinth]], [[Battle of Town Creek|Town Creek]], [[Battle of Resaca|Resaca]], [[Battle of Dallas|Dallas]], [[Battle of Kennesaw Mountain|Kennesaw Mountain]], [[Battle of Nickajack Creek|Nickajack Creek]], [[Battle of Atlanta|Atlanta]], [[Battle of Jonesborough|Jonesborough]] and [[Battle of Hobkirk's Hill (1864)|Hobkirk's Hill]]. Adams was then brevetted Brigadier General on March 13, 1865, for "meritorious services during the war".<ref name="Data"/> Adams was then honorably mustered out with his regiment on July 13, 1865, at [[Louisville, Kentucky]].
==Later career== After the war, Adams studied in the Allegheny Theological Seminary and gained his license by 1869.<ref name="Presbyterian"/> He then became a pastor from 1869 to 1875 in Ohio and [[Kansas]]. Adams then moved to [[Minnesota]] and worked at [[Fergus Falls, Minnesota|Fergus Falls]]. Adams was then made Superintendent of Home Missions in 1886 and would hold that position for 21 years.<ref name="Presbyterian"/>
==Personal life== Adams married Elinor W. Whipple on December 27, 1866. She died in 1900. He married Mary C. Compton on March 3, 1903. He had two daughters, Mabel and Maude.<ref name="obit"/>
Adams died on March 25, 1914, at his home on Marshall Avenue in Merriam Park, [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]].<ref name="obit"/> He was buried at [[Lakewood Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-journal-rev-r-n-adams/179319596/ |title=Rev. R. N. Adams Buried |date=1914-03-27 |newspaper=The Minneapolis Journal |page=17 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2025-08-20}}{{Open access}}</ref>
==See also== *[[List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Robert Newton}} [[Category:1835 births]] [[Category:1914 deaths]] [[Category:People from Fayette County, Ohio]] [[Category:People from Saint Paul, Minnesota]] [[Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War]] [[Category:Union army colonels]] [[Category:Union army generals]] [[Category:19th-century Baptists]] [[Category:Miami University alumni]] [[Category:Burials at Lakewood Cemetery]]