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George Stoneman

army and virginia

STONE'MAN, GEORGE ( ) . An Ameri can soldier anti Governor of California. He was born at Bush, Chautauqua County. N. Y., and graduated at West Point in 1846. Just before the outbreak of the Civil War he was in command of Fort Brown in Texas, and was ordered by his superior officer, Gen eral Twiggs, to surrender to the Confederates, but refused to do so, and escaped with his troops on a steamer to New York. After sonic service in West Virginia he was appointed chief of Cal. airy in the Army of the Potomac. By overtaking the Confederate troops after the evacuation of Yorktown in May, 1862. he brought on the battle of Williamsburg. On November 15, 1862, he was made commander of time Third Army Corps, which he commanded at Fredericksburg on De cember 13th, During Hooker's Chancello•sviIle campaign he led a cavalry raid toward Rich mond. In April, 1864, he was put in command of a cavalry corps in the Army of the Ohio, and in the Atlanta campaign undertook a raid against Macon and Andersonville. He was cap

tured with a part of his force at Clinton, Ga., and was kept a prisoner for three months. In December, 1804, he led a raid from East Ten nessee into southwestern Virginia, and destroyed the salt works at Saltville. In the following March he again entered southwestern destroyed a part of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, and did much other damage. In the following month he moved into North Carolina, took Charlotte and other towns, and at Salisbury captured about 1400 prisoners. In 1871 he re tired from the army and settled in California.

There he served for six years as a railroad com missioner, and in 1853 was elected Governor by the Democrats.