John G. Foster
Encyclopedia
John Gray Foster was a career military officer in the United States Army
and a Union
general during the American Civil War
whose most distinguished services were in North
and South Carolina
. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition
, he wrote the definitive treatise on the subject.
. When he was ten, his family moved to Nashua
, where he attended the local schools before enrolling in the Hancock Academy. He graduated from West Point in 1846, fourth in his class of 59 cadets.
He first served as an engineer during the Mexican-American War, under Winfield Scott
. Severely wounded at the Battle of Molino del Rey
, he won two brevet
promotions for bravery. After the war, Foster returned to West Point as an instructor. In 1858 he was on engineering duty in Charleston Harbor
, where he helped in the construction of Fort Sumter
.
began. He immediately transferred his small force to Fort Sumter and became second-in-command to Maj.
Robert Anderson during the Battle of Fort Sumter
. Foster was appointed a brigadier general
of volunteers on October 23, 1861, and commanded the 1st Brigade in Maj. Gen.
Ambrose Burnside
's North Carolina Expedition. He was conspicuous in action at the battles of Roanoke Island
and New Bern
. After the Battle of Roanoke Island, the Union renamed the Confederate Fort Bartow as Fort Foster in his honor. The US Army dismantled the three forts on the island in late 1865 after the end of the war.
After General Burnside was transferred to Virginia
, Foster assumed command of the Department of North Carolina. He was promoted to major general
of volunteers on July 18, 1862, and led the Goldsboro Expedition. During Confederate
Lieutenant General James Longstreet
's Tidewater Campaign, upon hearing of a planned Confederate attack on Washington, North Carolina
, Foster personally assumed command of its defenses. When D. H. Hill demanded the surrender of Washington, Foster defiantly replied, "If you want Washington, come and get it." Hill's forces besieged the garrison and two Union relief expeditions were turned back. Foster escaped the besieged city in order to personally lead a relief column back. Hill withdrew his forces shortly afterward. Both Confederate and Union forces burned down much of the town. In December, Foster won a strategically important fight at the Battle of Goldsboro Bridge
, resulting in the destruction of an important railroad bridge on a vital Confederate supply line.
After President Abraham Lincoln
issued the Emancipation Proclamation
freeing all slaves in rebel territory, in April 1863 Foster appointed Horace James, an experienced Congregational chaplain, as ”Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District.” He was to help support the transition for former slaves and to organize a colony from the contraband
camp that had developed on Roanoke Island. It became known as the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony (1863-1867). James was also to manage other camps for former slave refugees in the state, such as the Trent River contraband camp near his base at New Bern. Foster directed James to “settle the colored people on the unoccupied [Confederate] lands and give them agricultural implements and mechanical tools… and to train and educate them for a free and independent community.”
By 1864, 2200 freedmen lived on the island, settled on individual plots, and working for pay for the Army. James recruited teachers and several schools were established. To help the colony become self-sustaining, he had a sawmill built and a fisheries started. More than 150 freedmen from the island joined the nearly 4,000 from North Carolina who joined the United States Colored Troops
. After the war, the Army dismantled the forts and the colony was abandoned, due to President Andrew Johnson
's returning lands to Confederate landowners. The freedmen were transported at their choice to the mainland, where they looked for work. Three hundred remained on the island by 1870.
In December 1863, Foster was sent to Tennessee
to assume command of the Department of the Ohio
and its corresponding Army of the Ohio
. He was in command for only a short time before he was badly injured in a fall from his horse. Upon his recovery, he took command of the Department of the South and aided in forcing the surrender of Savannah, Georgia
. He was making preparations for the surrender of Charleston, but his wounds forced him to relinquish command to Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gilmore.
Foster was assigned to command of the Department of Florida at the end of the war, receiving a promotion to the rank of major general in the volunteer service and brevet
major general in the regular army.
of engineers in 1867. Promoted to colonel
of engineers in 1871, he was involved in military and underwater surveying. He became an expert in underwater demolition, publishing a definitive manual on the subject in 1869 that became the acknowledged reference work. From 1871 until 1874, he was assistant to the Chief of Engineers
in Washington, D.C.
His final post was as superintendent of the Harbor of Refuge on Lake Erie
.
Foster died in Nashua, New Hampshire
, and was buried in Nashua Cemetery. The first official reunion of the New Hampshire Veterans Association, which took place in Manchester, New Hampshire
, in October 1875, was named Camp J.G. Foster.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and a Union
Union Army
The 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...
general during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
whose most distinguished services were in North
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition
Underwater demolition
Underwater demolition refers to the deliberate destruction or neutralization of man-made or natural underwater obstacles, both for military and civilian purposes.-John G. Foster:...
, he wrote the definitive treatise on the subject.
Early life
Foster was born in Whitefield, New HampshireWhitefield, New Hampshire
Whitefield is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA, in the White Mountains Region. The population was 2,306 at the 2010 census. Situated on the northern edge of the White Mountains, Whitefield is home to the Mount Washington Regional Airport and the White Mountains Regional High...
. When he was ten, his family moved to Nashua
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
, where he attended the local schools before enrolling in the Hancock Academy. He graduated from West Point in 1846, fourth in his class of 59 cadets.
He first served as an engineer during the Mexican-American War, under Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
. Severely wounded at the Battle of Molino del Rey
Battle of Molino del Rey
The Battle of Molino del Rey was one of the bloodiest engagements of the Mexican-American War. It was fought in September 1847 between Mexican forces under General Antonio Léon against an American force under General Winfield Scott at a hill called El Molino del Rey near Mexico City.-Background:On...
, he won two brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
promotions for bravery. After the war, Foster returned to West Point as an instructor. In 1858 he was on engineering duty in Charleston Harbor
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where he helped in the construction of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
.
Civil War
Promoted to captain of U.S. engineers, Foster was in command of the garrison at Fort Moultrie when the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
began. He immediately transferred his small force to Fort Sumter and became second-in-command to Maj.
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Robert Anderson during the Battle of Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...
. Foster was appointed a brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A 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...
of volunteers on October 23, 1861, and commanded the 1st Brigade in Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
's North Carolina Expedition. He was conspicuous in action at the battles of Roanoke Island
Battle of Roanoke Island
The opening phase of what came to be called the Burnside Expedition, the Battle of Roanoke Island was an amphibious operation of the American Civil War, fought on February 7–8, 1862, in the North Carolina Sounds a short distance south of the Virginia border...
and New Bern
Battle of New Bern
The Battle of New Bern was fought on 14 March 1862, near the city of New Bern, North Carolina, as part of the Burnside Expedition of the American Civil War. The US Army's Coast Division, led by Brigadier General Ambrose E...
. After the Battle of Roanoke Island, the Union renamed the Confederate Fort Bartow as Fort Foster in his honor. The US Army dismantled the three forts on the island in late 1865 after the end of the war.
After General Burnside was transferred to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Foster assumed command of the Department of North Carolina. He was promoted to major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
of volunteers on July 18, 1862, and led the Goldsboro Expedition. During Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Lieutenant General James Longstreet
James Longstreet
James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the...
's Tidewater Campaign, upon hearing of a planned Confederate attack on Washington, North Carolina
Washington, North Carolina
Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. The closest major city is Greenville, approximately 20 miles to the west....
, Foster personally assumed command of its defenses. When D. H. Hill demanded the surrender of Washington, Foster defiantly replied, "If you want Washington, come and get it." Hill's forces besieged the garrison and two Union relief expeditions were turned back. Foster escaped the besieged city in order to personally lead a relief column back. Hill withdrew his forces shortly afterward. Both Confederate and Union forces burned down much of the town. In December, Foster won a strategically important fight at the Battle of Goldsboro Bridge
Battle of Goldsboro Bridge
The Battle of Goldsborough Bridge took place on December 17, 1862, in Wayne County, North Carolina, as part of the Union expedition to Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the American Civil War.-Background:...
, resulting in the destruction of an important railroad bridge on a vital Confederate supply line.
After President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
issued the Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
freeing all slaves in rebel territory, in April 1863 Foster appointed Horace James, an experienced Congregational chaplain, as ”Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District.” He was to help support the transition for former slaves and to organize a colony from the contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
camp that had developed on Roanoke Island. It became known as the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony (1863-1867). James was also to manage other camps for former slave refugees in the state, such as the Trent River contraband camp near his base at New Bern. Foster directed James to “settle the colored people on the unoccupied [Confederate] lands and give them agricultural implements and mechanical tools… and to train and educate them for a free and independent community.”
By 1864, 2200 freedmen lived on the island, settled on individual plots, and working for pay for the Army. James recruited teachers and several schools were established. To help the colony become self-sustaining, he had a sawmill built and a fisheries started. More than 150 freedmen from the island joined the nearly 4,000 from North Carolina who joined the United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
. After the war, the Army dismantled the forts and the colony was abandoned, due to President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
's returning lands to Confederate landowners. The freedmen were transported at their choice to the mainland, where they looked for work. Three hundred remained on the island by 1870.
In December 1863, Foster was sent to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
to assume command of the Department of the Ohio
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.General Orders No...
and its corresponding Army of the Ohio
Army of the Ohio
The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...
. He was in command for only a short time before he was badly injured in a fall from his horse. Upon his recovery, he took command of the Department of the South and aided in forcing the surrender of Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. He was making preparations for the surrender of Charleston, but his wounds forced him to relinquish command to Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gilmore.
Foster was assigned to command of the Department of Florida at the end of the war, receiving a promotion to the rank of major general in the volunteer service and brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
major general in the regular army.
Postbellum
After the war, Foster remained in the army, being promoted to lieutenant colonelLieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
of engineers in 1867. Promoted to colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of engineers in 1871, he was involved in military and underwater surveying. He became an expert in underwater demolition, publishing a definitive manual on the subject in 1869 that became the acknowledged reference work. From 1871 until 1874, he was assistant to the Chief of Engineers
Chief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....
in Washington, D.C.
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. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
His final post was as superintendent of the Harbor of Refuge on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
.
Foster died in Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
, and was buried in Nashua Cemetery. The first official reunion of the New Hampshire Veterans Association, which took place in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, in October 1875, was named Camp J.G. Foster.
Honors
- The John G. Foster Post #7 of the Grand Army of the RepublicGrand Army of the RepublicThe Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
in Nashua was named in his honor.
- In 1900, Fort Foster in MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
was named in his memory by the US Army. It is preserved as a park.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals