Frank Crawford Armstrong (November 22, 1835 – September 8, 1909) was a
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
officer and later a
brigadier generalA brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed services.-...
in the
Confederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. He is also known for being the only
Confederate generalThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
to fight on both sides during the Civil War.
Armstrong was born on the
Choctaw AgencyThe Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States . They are of the Muskogean linguistic group...
in the
Indian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the use of Native Americans...
, where his father, an army officer, was stationed. When Armstrong was a boy, his father died and his mother married former Mexican-American War general Persifor Smith.
Frank Crawford Armstrong (November 22, 1835 – September 8, 1909) was a
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
officer and later a
brigadier generalA brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed services.-...
in the
Confederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. He is also known for being the only
Confederate generalThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
to fight on both sides during the Civil War.
Early life and Career
Armstrong was born on the
Choctaw AgencyThe Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States . They are of the Muskogean linguistic group...
in the
Indian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the use of Native Americans...
, where his father, an army officer, was stationed. When Armstrong was a boy, his father died and his mother married former Mexican-American War general Persifor Smith. In 1854, Armstrong accompanied his stepfather on an expedition of the United States Army troops into the
New Mexico TerritoryThe Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of New Mexico....
. His performance in a battle against local Indians near Eagle Spring gained him a commission as a
lieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
following his graduation from Holy Cross Academy in
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
. Armstrong then fought with
Albert Sidney JohnstonAlbert Sidney Johnston was a career United States Army officer, a Texas Army general, and a Confederate States general...
against the Mormons during the
Utah WarThe Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed dispute between Latter-day Saint settlers in Utah Territory and the United States federal government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
.
Civil War service
By the time of the Civil War, Armstrong was a captain in the regular army. He led a group of
UnionThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
cavalry at the
First Battle of Bull RunThe First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas , was fought July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia...
. However, following the Confederate victory, Armstrong resigned his commission and, on August 10, 1861, enlisted in the Confederate Army. Armstrong's Union resignation did not go into effect until August 13 so he was technically on both sides at the same time. He later served as a staff officer under Confederate generals
James M. McIntoshJames McQueen McIntosh was a career American soldier who served as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War...
and
Benjamin McCullochBenjamin McCulloch was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, a U.S. marshal, and a brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
before their deaths at the
Battle of Pea RidgeThe Battle of Pea Ridge was a land battle of the American Civil War, fought on March 7 and March 8, 1862, at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Bentonville. In the battle, Union forces led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis defeated Confederate troops under Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn...
, and was standing only feet away as McCulloch was killed.
He was subsequently elected as
colonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of the 3rd Louisiana Infantry in 1863, and was soon given command of the cavalry of Major General
Sterling PriceSterling Price was a lawyer, politician, and militia general from the U.S. state of Missouri, an American Army general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general during the American Civil War....
. Two months later he was promoted to brigadier general and commanded a cavalry
divisionA division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
under
Nathan Bedford ForrestNathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War...
at the
Battle of ChickamaugaThe Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign. The battle was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.The battle was...
.
In February 1864, he requested a transfer to the command of Maj. Gen.
Stephen D. LeeStephen Dill Lee was an American soldier, planter, legislator, and author. He was the youngest Confederate lieutenant general during the American Civil War, and later served as the first president of Mississippi A&M College...
. Armstrong was assigned command of a brigade of Mississippi cavalry previously led by Colonel Peter B. Starke. He and his men accompanied Lt. Gen.
Leonidas PolkLeonidas Polk was a Confederate general in the American Civil War who was once a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, and a second cousin of President James K. Polk...
's corps to Georgia and served in the
Atlanta CampaignThe Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta, Georgia, during the summer of 1864, leading to the eventual fall of Atlanta and hastening the end of the American Civil War....
before participating in Lt. Gen. John B. Hood's
campaignThe Franklin-Nashville Campaign, also known as Hood's Tennessee Campaign, was a series of battles in the Western Theater, fought in the fall of 1864 in Alabama, Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia during the American Civil War. The Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood...
through north Georgia campaign and the subsequent advance into Tennessee. He saw considerable action during the campaign against
MurfreesboroMurfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 101,753 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2009 report, up from 81,393 residents certified during the city's 2005 special census. The center of population of Tennessee is...
, and capably led much of Forrest's rear guard after the Confederates' defeat at the
Battle of NashvilleThe Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1864, and was one of the largest victories achieved by...
.
On March 23, he was assigned to the defenses of
Selma, AlabamaSelma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census. The city is best known for the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement and its Selma to Montgomery marches, three civil rights...
, one of the Confederacy's last remaining industrial centers. On April 2, his troops participated in efforts to defend the town against a much larger Union force under Maj. Gen.
James H. WilsonJames Harrison Wilson was a United States Army topographic engineer, a Union Army General in the American Civil War and later wars, a railroad executive, and author.-Early life and engineering:...
. Armstrong was captured later that day on April 2, 1865.
Postbellum career
After the war, Armstrong worked for the Overland Mail Service in
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. With his
frontierA frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary.-Colonial North America:In the earliest days of European settlement of the Atlantic coast, the frontier was essentially any part of the forested interior of the continent beyond the fringe of existing...
and military experience, he served as United States Indian Inspector from 1885 until 1889, and the Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1893 to 1895.
He died in Bar Harbor, Maine, and is buried in
Rock Creek CemeteryRock Creek Cemetery — also Rock Creek Church Cemetery — is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
. His brother-in-law, Lucius Marshall Walker, also served as a Confederate general.
See also