Years of service 1823 - 1868 Name Edmund Alexander | ||
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Born October 6, 1802 ( 1802-10-06 ) Allegiance United States of America Rank Colonel
Bvt. Brigadier General Battles/wars Mexican-American War
Battle of Cerro Gordo
Battle of Contreras
Battle of Churubusco
Utah War
American Civil War Died January 3, 1888, Washington, D.C., United States Education United States Military Academy Unit 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment Battles and wars Battle of Cerro Gordo, Battle of Contreras, Battle of Churubusco, Utah War, American Civil War | ||
Commands held 10th Infantry Regiment | ||
Edmund Brooke Alexander (October 6, 1802 – January 3, 1888) was an officer in the United States Army in the Mexican-American War through the American Civil War who rose to the rank of brevet Brigadier General in 1865.
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Early career
Alexander was born in Haymarket, Virginia and an 1823 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York - along with Lorenzo Thomas, Alfred Mordecai and George S. Greene.
He was a cadet at the Military Academy, Oct. 6, 1818, to July 1, 1823, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to Brevet Second Lieutenant in the 6th Infantry. He was shortly after promoted to Second Lieutenant in the 3d Infantry with the same date of rank.
He served on frontier duty at Fort Atkinson, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1824; in garrison at Detroit, Mich., 1824‑25, — Green Bay, Wis., 1825‑26; Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1826‑27; and Ft. Armstrong, Ill., 1828‑29; on Recruiting service, 1829‑30; on frontier duty at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1830; and at Natchitoches, Louisiana, 1830‑31.
He served at Fort Towson, in the Indian Territory from 1831 to 1835; on Quartermaster duty at Fort Towson, I. T., 1833‑34, Fort Jesup, Louisiana, 1834‑35, Ft. Towson, I. T., 1835, Ft. Jesup, La., 1835‑38, Fort Smith, Ark., 1839, Ft. Towson, I. T., 1840, Ft. Jesup, La., 1840, Ft. Towson, I. T., 1840.
He served at Fort Smith, Arkansas from 1840 to 1846, during which he was briefly assigned to Washington, D. C. in 1844.
Mexican War
Alexander was brevetted Major at the Battle of Cerro Gordo on April 18, 1847 and Lieutenant Colonel at the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco on August 20 during the Mexican-American War.
During the War with Mexico, from 1846 to 1848, he was involved in the following battles -
After the War with Mexico was concluded he was in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1848‑49; on frontier duty, on march to New Mexico, 1849, Santa Fé, N. M., 1849‑50, Las Vegas, N. M., 1850‑51, Ft. Union, N. M., 1851‑52, Ft. M'Kavett, Tex., 1853 and the march to El Paso in late 1853.
Alexander, as a brevet Lieutenant Colonel, led the 8th Infantry, when it became the first garrison stationed at Fort Bliss in the El Paso, Texas, area, from January 1854 through March 1855.
In March 1855, promoted to Colonel, Alexander was appointed as commander of the new 10th Infantry. He later led his regiment in the Utah War.
He served in garrison at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., 1855; on frontier duty at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from 1855 to 1856; Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, 1856‑57, and the Utah Expedition, 1857 to 1858. He was on a leave of absence from 1858 to 1860.
Civil War
Alexander was on frontier duty at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory from 1860 to 1862. He then transferred to Fort Kearny, Nebraska, where he served until 1863.
Alexander served during the American Civil War as Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General, Superintendent of Volunteer Recruiting Service, and Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer for the State of Missouri, with headquarters at St. Louis from May 1, 1863, to Apr. 25, 1866.
Post war
After the war, he was in command of 10th Infantry at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from May, 1866 until he retired from active service on February 22, 1868, under the Law of July 17, 1862, as he was over "the Age of 62 Years."
General Alexander died on January 3, 1888, at Washington, D. C. at the age of 85. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Promotions
Namesake
In World War II, a United States Army transport ship, Edmund B. Alexander, was named in his honor.