Major General Abner Doubleday
Born: June 26, 1819
Ballston Spa, New York
Died: January 26, 1893
Mendham, New Jersey
West Point: June 1842
2nd Lieutenant: June 1842
1st Lieutenant: March 1847
Captain: March 1855
Major: May 1861
Brig. Gen: February 1862
Brevet Lt. Col: September 1862
Maj. Gen: November 1862
Lt. Colonel: August 1865
Colonel: September 1867
June 1842: West Point Graduate - 25th in class of 56 - Assigned to 3rd U. S. Artillery
1846-1848: Mexican American War and transferred to 1st U. S. Artillery
September 21-25, 1846: Battle of Monterey
February 23, 1847: Battle of Buena Vista
Member of a commission investigating allegations of fraud during the Mexican War
March 3, 1847: Promoted to 1st Lieutenant
March 3, 1855: Promoted to Captain
1856-1858: Third Seminole War
1860: Assigned to Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor
December 26, 1860: Under orders from Major Anderson, moves to Fort Sumter
April 12-14, 1861: Battle of Fort Sumter - Fires the first shot for the Union
May 1861: Promoted to Major and assigned to the 17th Infantry in Maj. Gen. Patterson's command in the Shenandoah Valley
August 1861: Transferred to Washington to command the batteries along the Potomac
February 3, 1862: Promoted to Brig. General of Volunteers and placed in command of Washington defenses
Summer 1862: Receives his first command - 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps
August 29-30, 1862: Second Battle of Bull Run - Assumes command of the division when Brig. Gen. Hatch is wounded - His men cover the retreat of the Union Army
Transferred to I Corps, Army of the Potomac
September 14, 1862: Battle of South Mountain
September 17, 1862: Battle of Antietam
Recognized for his superior performance at Antietam, he is promoted to Brevet Colonel in the Regular Army
November 29, 1862: Promoted to Major General of Volunteers
December 13, 1862: Battle of Fredericksburg - His unit is held in reserve
May 1-4, 1863: Battle of Chancellorsville - His unit sees little action
July 1-3, 1863: Battle of Gettysburg
July 1, 1863: Replaces Gen. Reynolds as commander of the 1st Corps when Reynolds is killed
July 1, 1863: I Corps holds their position for five hours and only retreats after the XI Corps collapsed. Outnumbered, the I Corps inflicted 35 to 60 percent casualties on enemy brigades before falling back to Cemetery Ridge
July 2, 1863: Was replaced as Commander of I Corps - Upon returning to his division, was wounded in the neck.
July 1863: Asks for command of I Corps, but Gen. Meade refuses
July 1863: Rides to Washington and assumes administrative duties
August 24, 1865: Reverts back to his rank in the Regular Army of Lt. Colonel
September 1867: Promoted to Colonel and becomes commander of 35th Infantry
1869: Assigned to San Francisco where he heads the Recruiting Service
While in San Francisco, he receives a patent for a cable car railway system and opens the city's first cable car company.
1871: Receives command of the Black 24th Infantry in Texas
1873: Retires from the U. S. Army
Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1959. p 244
Portrait of Brig. Gen. Abner Doubleday, officer of the Federal Army (Maj. Gen. from Nov. 29, 1862). Library of Congress Prints
and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. May 17, 1861.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1964. p 129-130