American general & territorial governor (1823?1882)
Robert Byington Mitchell
(April 4, 1823 – January 26, 1882) was a
brigadier general
in the
Union Army
during the
American Civil War
and the Governor of the
New Mexico Territory
from 1866 to 1869.
[1]
Early life and career
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Mitchell was born on April 4, 1823, in
Mansfield, Ohio
.
[2]
For some odd reason, it was recorded that he graduated from both
Kenyon College
and
Washington College
, although neither school has a record of his attendance.
He studied law in
Mount Vernon, Ohio
. After completing his studies, he practiced law in Mansfield. He served in the
Mexican War
as a
second lieutenant
in the 2nd Ohio Volunteers. He was elected mayor of
Mount Gilead, Ohio
, in 1855. Next year, he moved to
Linn County
,
Kansas Territory
. He served in the territorial legislature, as a delegate to the Leavenworth Convention, from 1857 to 1858. He served as treasurer of the Kansas Territory from 1859 to 1861. He was a delegate to the
1860 Democratic National Convention
in
Charleston, South Carolina
.
[2]
Civil War service
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After the start of the Civil War, Mitchell served as the
Adjutant General of Kansas
from May 2, 1861, to June 20, 1861. He later led the
2nd Kansas Infantry
. He was badly wounded at the
Battle of Wilson's Creek
on August 10, 1861. He was shot from his horse while leading his regiment.
[2]
After recovery, U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln
appointed him as a brigadier general to rank from April 8, 1862, and he was given command of a mixed
brigade
at
Fort Riley
. He commanded the 9th Division in
Charles C. Gilbert
's III Corps at the
Battle of Perryville
. He was then sent to
Nashville, Tennessee
, where he remained for several months.
[2]
During the
Chickamauga campaign
, Mitchell served as
George H. Thomas
's Chief of Cavalry for the
Army of the Cumberland
. Just before the
Third Battle of Chattanooga
, he was ordered to Washington, D.C., for
court-martial
duty. According to some sources, this was due to severe wounds which incapacitated him from field duty but this is contradicted in the
Official Records
by Mitchell's own correspondence. Whether incapacitated or not, he would not see active campaigning again, and for the remainder of the Civil War, he commanded the
District of Nebraska
, then the
District of North Kansas
, and finally the
District of Kansas
.
[2]
He saw service in
Colorado Territory
in January 1865, following the
Indian raid on Julesburg, Colorado
, on the
Overland Trail
, but he did not succeed in locating the Indian camp on the Republican River until after they had departed.
[3]
[4]
Governor of New Mexico Territory
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Mitchell was honorably mustered out of the army on January 15, 1866. On the same day, the
United States Senate
confirmed his nomination as the Governor of the New Mexico Territory. He took the oath of office on June 6, 1866. He never appeared to take his duties as governor seriously. He was often absent from the territorial capital
Santa Fe
, without explanation, forcing the legislature to forward bills it had passed to Washington, D.C., for approval of the
United States Congress
. He resigned as governor in 1869.
[2]
Later life
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After leaving the office, Mitchell returned to Kansas. He was unsuccessful in his bid to represent Kansas in the U.S. Congress in 1872. He then moved to Washington, D. C., where he died on January 26, 1882.
[2]
He was buried with full military honors in Section 2, Grave 1023, of
Arlington National Cemetery
in
Arlington, Virginia
.
[5]
See also
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References
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]
- ^
"Index to Politicians: Mitchell, O to R"
. The Political Graveyard
. Retrieved
August 1,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"A Civil War Biography: Robert Byington Mitchell"
. Civil War Interactive. Archived from
the original
on September 7, 2008
. Retrieved
August 1,
2008
.
- ^
Footnote 6, page 188,
The Fighting Cheyenne
, George Bird Grinnell, University of Oklahoma Press (1956 original copyright 1915 Charles Scribner's Sons), hardcover, 454 pages
- ^
Chapters 32, 33, 34, Ware, Eugene,
The Indian War of 1864:
Being a Fragment of the Early History of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming", Crane & Company (1911)
Eugene Ware
was the most junior officer in the
Seventh Iowa Cavalry
when on September 19, 1863, it was deployed to Omaha en route to the
Indian Wars
.
- ^
Burial Detail: Mitchell, Robert B
? ANC Explorer
External links
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