George W. Getty

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George W. Getty

George Washington Getty (October 2, 1819 – October 1, 1901) was a career military officer in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
, most noted for his role as a division

Division (military)

A 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....
commander in the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
during the final full year of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Early Life
G. W. Getty was born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown is a neighborhood located in the Washington DC Address #Quadrants of Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River waterfront. Founded in 1751, the city of Georgetown substantially predated the establishment of the city of Washington and the District of Columbia....
He was appointed to the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational United States Service academies located at West Point, New York, New York....
at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation located North of the Highland Falls, New York in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census....
, at the age of 16, and graduated 15th out of 42 graduates in the Class of 1840.

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Encyclopedia

George Washington Getty (October 2, 1819 – October 1, 1901) was a career military officer in the United States Army

United States Army

Division (military)

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
during the final full year of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Early Life

G. W. Getty was born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational United States Service academies located at West Point, New York, New York....
at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
and Richard S. Ewell

Richard S. Ewell

Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate States Army General officer during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E....
and Bushrod R. Johnson of the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
. He was assigned to the artillery

Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
as a second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant is the lowest Officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /l?f't?n?nt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu't?n?nt/ ....
. During the Mexican-American War, he campaigned with Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful List of United States Presidential candidates of the Whig Party in 1852. Known as "Old Fuss and Feathers" and the "Grand Old Man of the Army", he served on active duty as a general longer than any other man in American history and many historians rate him the ablest America...
's army and was brevetted

Brevet (military)

In the U.K. and U.S. military, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher Military rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank....
for gallantry. He fought against the Seminole

Seminole

The Seminole are a Native Americans in the United States people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation was formed in the 18th century and was composed of Native Americans from Georgia , Mississippi, and Alabama, most significantly the Creek people, as well as African Americans who escap...
Indians

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
in Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
in the last two Seminole Wars

Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between various groups of Native Americans in the United States, collectively known as Seminoles, and the United States....
, seeing action in 1849–50 and again in 1856–57.

Civil War

At the beginning of the Civil War, Getty was Captain of the 4th U.S. Artillery. In September 1861, he was appointed lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the army and most Marine and air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel....
. He commanded four batteries in George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
's 1862 Peninsular Campaign. Named Chief of Artillery of Ambrose Burnside

Ambrose Burnside

Ambrose Everett Burnside was an United States soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S....
's IX Corps

IX Corps (ACW)

IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters: the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi....
, he served at the battles of South Mountain

Battle of South Mountain

The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's Gap, Turner's Gap, and Fox's Gaps....
and Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern United States soil....
during the Maryland Campaign

Maryland Campaign

The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign, of September 1862 is widely considered one of the major Turning Point of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
. Shortly afterwards, Getty was promoted to the rank of brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
of volunteers and assigned to the infantry

Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
. During the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major general Ambrose E....
in December, he commanded the 3rd Division of IX Corps. In March 1863, Getty's division was sent to Suffolk, Virginia

Suffolk, Virginia

Suffolk is an independent city located in the South Hampton Roads area of eastern Virginia. Geographically, it is the largest of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads, and the largest independent city in land-area in the entire Commonwealth....
, where the Federal Army under John A. Dix

John Adams Dix

John Adams Dix was an United States politician from New York. He served as Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, and Governor of New York. He was also a distinguished American Civil War General....
successfully resisted James Longstreet

James Longstreet

James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate States Army General officers of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E....
's investment of the town, which guarded the southern approaches to Norfolk

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Virginia in the United States. With a population of 234,403 as of the United States Census 2000, it is Virginia's second-largest incorporated city....
and Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water and the region of land areas which surround it in southeastern Virginia in the United States. Hampton Roads is notable for its year-round ice-free harbor, for United States Navy, U.S....
.

After subsequent engineering duty and command of a diversion to the South Anna River

South Anna River

The South Anna River is a principal tributary of the Pamunkey River, about 85 mi long, in central Virginia in the United States. Via the Pamunkey and York River Rivers, it is part of the drainage basin of Chesapeake Bay....
during the Gettysburg Campaign

Gettysburg Campaign

File:Meade and Lee.jpgThe Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate States Army Full General Robert E....
, Getty served as acting Inspector General of the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
in early 1864, He was assigned to command second division, VI Corps

VI Corps (ACW)

The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War....
. We was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness

Battle of the Wilderness

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lieutenant general Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E....
, but recovered to lead his troops during the lengthy Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War....
, and later in Philip Sheridan

Philip Sheridan

Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to Major general and his close association with Lieutenant general Ulysses S....
's Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Valley Campaigns of 1864

The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864....
. Getty became acting commander of VI Corps when James B. Ricketts

James B. Ricketts

James Brewerton Ricketts was a career officer in the United States Army, serving as a general in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War during the American Civil War....
was wounded leading the corps at the Battle of Cedar Creek

Battle of Cedar Creek

The Battle of Cedar Creek, or The Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War....
. He was brevetted Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
, U.S. Volunteers, in August 1864, and in the Regular Service in March 1865. Getty's division, including the famed Vermont Brigade, made the initial breakthrough at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, and took part in the final campaign of the Army of the Potomac, which terminated in the surrender of Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
at Appomattox Court House

Appomattox Court House

File:New Appomattox Court House.jpgFile:Appomattox Court House new and old marker.jpgThe Appomattox Court House is a courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892....
.

Post War Service

After the war, Getty was appointed Colonel

Colonel

Colonel 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 38th U.S. Infantry in the Regular Army

Regular Army

In contemporary use, the term Regular Army refers to the full-time active component of the United States Army, as opposed to the United States Army Reserve or the Army National Guard....
in 1866. He transferred to the 3rd U.S. Artillery in 1871, and then commanded the Artillery School at Fortress Monroe

Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe is a Hampton, Virginia, military installation located at Old Point Comfort, which is on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula. Along with Fort Calhoun, later renamed Fort Wool, it guarded approach by sea of the navigational shipping channel between the Chesapeake Bay and the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads, which itself is fo...
, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
, for six years. Getty was a member of the Board of Conduct

Court-martial of Fitz John Porter

The court-martial of Fitz John Porter was a major event of the American Civil War in which Major general Fitz John Porter was found guilty of disobeying a lawful order and misconduct in front of the enemy and removed from command based on internal political machinations of the Union Army....
which exonerated former V Corps

V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
commander Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Second Battle of Bull Run and his subsequent Court-martial of Fitz John Porter....
in 1879.

After he retired from the Army in 1883, Getty lived on a farm near Forest Glen, Maryland

Forest Glen, Maryland

Forest Glen is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, Maryland, United States. The community hosts a 113-acre U.S. Army installation, the Forest Glen Annex....
, before his death in 1901. He was buried in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia is a United States National Cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, The Robert E....
.

George W. Getty

Early Life

Civil War

Post War Service

See also

External links