Gordon Granger
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Gordon Granger (1822 – 1876) was a Union Major General during American Civil War. Granger was born in Wayne County, New York in 1822. He attended West Point and graduated in 1845. During the Mexican War, he fought in Winfield Scott's Army. Between wars, he served on the frontier. His first fight in the Civil War was the Union defeat at Wilson's Creek, Missouri in August 1861.
He is most famous for his actions, commanding the Reserve Corps at the Battle of Chickamauga. There on September 20, 1863, the second day of the battle, he reinforced, without orders, Major General George H. Thomas's XIV Corps on Snodgrass Hill. This action staved off the Confederate attackers until dark, permitting the Federal forces to retreat in good order and helping earn the sobriquet "Rock of Chickamauga" for Thomas.
Granger's success at Chickamaugua, earned him command of the newly formed IV Corps in the Army of the Cumberland. Under his command, this force distinguished itself, at the Battle of Chattanooga. Two of the IV Corps' divisions, those commanded by Thomas J. Wood and Phil Sheridan, were among the fore of units that assaulted the reinforced center of the Confederate line on top of Missionary Ridge. There, the Union forces broke through and forced the Confederates, under General Braxton Bragg, to retreat. After Chattanooga, Granger took part in lifting the siege at Knoxville TN.
Despite these successes and his continuing to lead troops the remainder of the war, his outspokeness prevented him from gaining more prominent commands. Nevertheless, he did lead troops, after the Union naval victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay, capturing the city of Mobile AL.
When the war ended, he remained in the Army, and was given command of the Department of Texas. There, in the city of Galveston, on June 19th 1865, he declared the institution of slavery dead in the State, setting off joyous demonstrations by freedmen and originating the annual "Juneteenth" celebration, commemorating the freeing of the blacks in Texas.
In 1876, he died in Santa Fe, where he was serving in command of the District of New Mexico.
