Maj. Gen. William H. French
Born: January 13, 1815
Baltimore, Maryland
Died: May 20, 1881
Washington, D.C.
West Point Graduate: 1837
1837: 2nd Lieutenant
April 18, 1847: Brevet Captain
August 20, 1847: Brevet Major
September 28, 1861: Brigadier General
November 29, 1862: Major General
May 6, 1864 Mustered out of Volunteer Services, became Colonel in Regular Army
Maj. Gen. William H. French
April 5-May 4, 1862: Battle of Yorktown
May 31-June 1, 1862: Battle of Seven Pines
June 25, 1862: Battle of Oak Grove
June 27-28, 1862: Battle of Gaines Mill
June 27-28, 1862: Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm
June 29, 1862: Battle of Savage's Station
June 30, 1862: Battle of Glendale
July 1, 1862: Battle of Malvern Hill
September 17, 1862: Battle of Antietam
November 29, 1862: Promoted to Major General
December 13, 1862: Battle of Fredericksburg
May 1-4, 1863: Battle of Chancellorsville
July 1-3, 1863: Battle of Gettysburg
November 7-December 2, 1863: Battle of Mine Run
May 6, 1864: Mustered out of Volunteer Service
Remained in the Regular Army as Colonel of the 4th U.S. Artillery
Commanded the 2nd U.S. Artillery on the Pacific Coast from 1865 to 1872
1875: Appointed commander of Fort McHenry
July 1880 Retired at his own request
1839: West Point Graduate - 22 out of 50
1839: 2nd Lieutenant in 1st U.S. Artillery
Briefly served in the 2nd Seminole War
1837-1838: Garrison duty along the Canada-U.S. border
Mexican-American War
Aide-de-camp to General Franklin Pierce
March 9-29, 1847: Siege of Vera Cruz
April 18, 1847: Battle of Cerro Gordo - Received brevet promotion to Captain
August 19, 1847: Battle of Contreras
August 20, 1847: Battle of Churubusco - Received brevet promotion to Major
1850-1852: Served against the Seminole Indians
1853-1861: Frontier Duty
1860: Co-author of Instruction for Field Artillery with Maj. William Barry and Major Henry J. Hunt
At start of the war, refused to surrender his station at Fort Duncan, Eagle Pass, Texas - Moved his men to the Rio Grande and then sailed to Key West
Promoted Major
September 28, 1861: Promoted to Brigadier General
March - July 1862: Peninsula Campaign
Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 316
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1964. p 161-163
William H. French. 10 June 2022. web. 20 January 2023.