Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin
Born: February 27, 1823
York, Pennsylvania
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Died; March 8, 1903
Hartford, Connecticut
West Point: June 1843
February 1847: Brevet 1st Lieutenant
1857: Captain
June 18, 1861: Colonel
May 17, 1861: Brigadier General
July 4, 1862: Major General
Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin
June 1843: West Point Graduate - 1st in his class and joined the Corps of Topographical Engineers
1st Assignment was to assist in the survey of the Great Lakes
Sent to the Rocky Mountains for two years to survey the region with the Stephen Kearney Expedition
Mexican-American War
February 22-23, 1847: Battle of Buena Vista - Received a brevet promotion to 1st Lieutenant
1857: Promoted to Captain and named the Army Engineer Secretary of the Light House Board with the task of overseeing the construction of several lighthouses along the Atlantic Coast in New Hampshire and Maine
November 1859: Replaced Lieut. Col. Montgomery Meigs as the engineer supervising construction of the U.S. Capital Dome
March 1861: Appointed as supervising architect for the new Treasury Building
June 18, 1861: Promoted to Colonel of the 12th U.S. Infantry Regiment
May 18, 1861: Promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers
July 21, 1861: 1st Battle of Bull Run
Became Division Commander in the Army of the Potomac
July 4, 1862: Promoted to Major General
September 14, 1862: Battle of South Mountain
September 17, 1862: Battle of Antietam - Franklin tried to convince Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner to allow his Corps to exploit the weak Confederate center, but Sumner refused
December 11-15, 1862: Battle of Fredericksburg - commanded the Left Grand Division consisting of the I and IV Corps
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Maj. Gen. Burnside personally blamed Franklin for the defeat at Fredericksburg causing considerable political difficulty offering damaging testimony before the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War keeping Franklin from field duty for months
When Maj. Gen. Hooker assumed command, Franklin resigned his command refusing to serve under Hooker
Gettysburg Campaign - was at home in York, Pennsylvania and assisted Maj. Granville Hailer to develop plans for the defense of the region
Was reassigned to the Department of the Gulf in New Orleans under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks
September 8, 1863: 2nd Battle of Sabine Pass
March - May 1864: Red River Campaign
April 8, 1864: Battle of Mansfield - was wounded in the leg, but stayed with his troops
April 9, 1864: Battle of Pleasant Hill - was replaced by Maj. Gen. William H. Emory as Franklin's condition was steadily getting worse
July 1864: While on medical leave, was captured by Major Harry Gilmer's Confederate Partisians near Washington, D.C., but escaped the following day
After the Civil War, became vice-president of the Colt Firearms Manufacturing Company until 1888
1872 - 1880: Supervised the construction by the Connecticut State Capital building
1872: Approached by the Democratic Party to run for president, but declined
1876: Delegate to the Democratic National Convention
1880-1899: President of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers
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Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 303-304
William B. Franklin. 21 January 2025. web. 28 April 2025.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue. Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1964. p 1596-160
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