Years of service 1837–1880 Name Edward Townsend | Rank Brigadier general | |
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Born August 22, 1817
Boston, Massachusetts ( 1817-08-22 ) Allegiance United States of America Commands held Adjutant General of the Army Battles/wars Second Seminole War
American Civil War
Indian Wars Relations Elbridge Gerry (grandfather) Died May 10, 1893, Washington, D.C., United States Education United States Military Academy Place of burial Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C., United States Battles and wars Second Seminole War, American Civil War, American Indian Wars | ||
Service/branch United States Army | ||
Edward Davis Townsend (August 22, 1817 – May 10, 1893) was Adjutant General of the United States Army from 1869 to 1880.
The grandson of Vice President Elbridge Gerry, Townsend was educated at Boston's Latin School before graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1837. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Second U. S. Artillery and served as that regiment's adjutant and participating in the Second Seminole War and the relocation of the Cherokee Nation. In 1846 he was transferred to the Adjutant General's Corps and assigned to duty in Washington, D.C. He served on the Pacific coast from 1851 to 1856, after which he returned to Washington for the remainder of his career. In February 1869 he was promoted to brigadier general and became adjutant general. He retired in 1880. He died in Washington in 1893 after an accidental shock from a cable car and is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.