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Henry Hopkins Sibley

 
Henry Hopkins Sibley

 
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Henry Hopkins Sibley
 
 
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Henry Hopkins Sibley (May 25, 1816 – August 23, 1886) was a 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....
 during 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....
, fighting in 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....
 in the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory

The Territory of New Mexico became an organized territory of the United States on September 9, 1850, and it existed until New Mexico became the 47th U.S....
.

The Sibley family emigrated from the Dorset area of England. In 1629 they had come to America with the Winthrop Expedition and settled in Massachusetts.






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Henry Hopkins Sibley
Henry Hopkins Sibley (May 25, 1816 – August 23, 1886) was a 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....
 during 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....
, fighting in 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....
 in the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory

The Territory of New Mexico became an organized territory of the United States on September 9, 1850, and it existed until New Mexico became the 47th U.S....
.

The Sibley family emigrated from the Dorset area of England. In 1629 they had come to America with the Winthrop Expedition and settled in Massachusetts. Henry's grandfather Dr. John Sibley had served as a medic in the War of Independence. After the death of his first wife Elizabeth Hopkins, to which son and grandson owe their middle name, he moved to Louisiana. Dr. John Sibley settled down on the banks of the Red River at Natchitoches. In 1803 he conducted an expedition of Western Louisiana for the federal government. In 1811 his son Samuel Hopkins Sibley followed him to Natchitoches, where he served as a parish clerk from 1815 on until his death in 1823.

When Henry Hopkins Sibley was seven years old he was sent to live with his uncle George Champlin Sibley and his wife Mary Easton. They founded the Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri. At the age of 17 Henry entered 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.

He graduated from 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....
 in 1838 and was commissioned as 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/ ....
 in the 2nd U.S. Dragoons.

He fought in the Seminole Indians 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....
, 1840-1841; participated in the Military Occupation of Texas, 1845-1846; and fought in the Mexican-American War, 1847-1848. Sibley was on frontier duty in Texas from 1850-1855, and then helped control the disturbances in Kansas provoked by the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory, opened new lands, repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and allowed settlers in those territories to determine if they would allow slavery within their boundaries....
, 1855-1857. He took part in the Utah War
Utah War

The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition or Buchanan's Blunder, was an armed dispute between Latter-day Saint settlers in Utah Territory and the United States federal government....
, 1857-1860, and was in active service in New Mexico 1860-1861 until resigning the day of his promotion to Major in the 1st Dragoons on May 13, 1861.

In the 1850s, he invented the "Sibley tent
Sibley tent

The Sibley tent was a tent invented by Henry Hopkins Sibley and patented in 1856 . Of conical design, it stands about twelve feet high and eighteen feet in diameter....
", which was widely used in during the Civil War and for a short while thereafter. He also invented the "Sibley stove," which was used until the advent of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

During 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....
 he sided with the Confederacy. His unsuccessful New Mexico Campaign
New Mexico Campaign

The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate States of America Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwestern United States, including the Colorado Gold Rush and the ports of Calif...
 was intended to control the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th century transportation route through southwestern North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico....
 up to Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
 and from there gain access to the warm water ports of California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. His opponent throughout the New Mexico Campaign
New Mexico Campaign

The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate States of America Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwestern United States, including the Colorado Gold Rush and the ports of Calif...
 had been Colonel Edward Canby
Edward Canby

Edward Richard Sprigg Canby was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War and Indian Wars....
, formerly a comrade in arms in the U.S. Army. Sibley was initially successful at the Battle of Valverde
Battle of Valverde

The Battle of Valverde , fought in and around the town of Valverde, New Mexico in the New Mexico Territory, was a major Confederate States of America success in the New Mexico Campaign of the American Civil War....
, but he was forced to retreat after the Battle of Glorieta Pass
Battle of Glorieta Pass

The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26–28, 1862, in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War....
 (called "Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
 of the West"), when he lost his supply train. At the same time, he faced the approach of Union forces from the west, known as the California Column
California Column

The California Column, a force of nearly 2,000 Union Army volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas....
. Sibley's retreat to San Antonio in 1862 ended the aspirations of the Confederate nation to stretch to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and utilize the mineral wealth of California.

After the failure of his New Mexico Campaign
New Mexico Campaign

The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate States of America Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwestern United States, including the Colorado Gold Rush and the ports of Calif...
, Sibley was given minor commands and struggled with alcoholism
Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions to describe the detrimental effects of alcohol intake.In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite health problems and negative social consequences....
. In 1863, he was court martialed in Louisiana
Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
. Although not convicted of cowardice
Cowardice

Cowardice describes a personality trait which is typically viewed as a negative characteristic and has been generally frowned upon within most, if not all global cultures, while courage - typically viewed as its direct opposite - is generally rewarded and encouraged....
, he was censured. After the war, he served as a military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 advisor to the Khedive
Khedive

Khedive was a title first used by Muhammad Ali of Egypt as governor and monarch of Egypt and Sudan, and subsequently by his dynastic successors....
 of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 before returning to the United States where he died at Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located 50 miles south of Washington, D.C., and 58 miles north of Richmond, Virginia....
, in poverty. He is buried in the City Cemetery at Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located 50 miles south of Washington, D.C., and 58 miles north of Richmond, Virginia....
.

Union
Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the Federal government of the United States of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America....
 General and Governor of Minnesota
Governor of Minnesota

The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Thirty-eight different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory....
, Henry Hastings Sibley
Henry Hastings Sibley

Henry Hastings Sibley, first governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota, was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 20, 1811. He was the son of Solomon Sibley and Sarah Whipple Sibley, and the grandson of Reuben and Ruth Sibley, and of Col....
, was a distant cousin.

Sibley is referred to several times in the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 in film Cinema of Italy epic Western spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles....
. He is also seen briefly at the start of the sequence in which the character "Tuco" tries to surprise "Blondie" at a hotel under the cover of the noise of a Confederate retreat.

External links

  • from the Cullum biographies