Background
David was born on June 1, 1828 at Cedar Valley, Ohio, United States, the son of John Bratton and Sarah (Peterson) Stanley, and a descendant of Thomas Stanley who came to Massachusetts from England in 1634.
(Stanley had a remarkable American military career. He sta...)
Stanley had a remarkable American military career. He started in 1853 by surveying a railroad route along the 35th parallel, and fighting the Cheyenne on Solomon's Fork and the Comanche near Fort Arbuckle. At the start of the Civil War he turned down a Confederate commission and led Federal troops in dozens of battles, including most of the battles in the Atlanta Campaign and the defense of Nashville. After the war he led the Yellowstone expedition of 1873, then served in Texas and New Mexico, covering almost the entire Indian frontier. A remarkable and truly American life.
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(Excerpt from Personal Memoirs of Major-General D. S. Stan...)
Excerpt from Personal Memoirs of Major-General D. S. Stanley, U. S. A In riding over the State of Ohio today, one is struck with the beauty of the farms and the perfect condition of the land, - mellow soil in well levelled field; not a root or a stump to arrest the easy progress of the plow. It was not always so. The first cultivation was done amid stumps, roots and huge deadened trees. The land was very thoroughly grubbed where the plow could run ten feet without meeting stump or root. The plowman was jerked about by the handles of the plow until his motions resembled those of a rope dancer. One could not decide which most needed pity, the soreness of the plowboy or the necks of the wretched horses and oxen. The latter were mostly used for new land as their gait suited better the handling of the plow amongst the roots. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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David was born on June 1, 1828 at Cedar Valley, Ohio, United States, the son of John Bratton and Sarah (Peterson) Stanley, and a descendant of Thomas Stanley who came to Massachusetts from England in 1634.
David was educated in a log school house until he was fourteen years old, when he was apprenticed to study medicine.
In 1848 he entered the United States Military Academy, at West Point, N. Y. , graduating in 1852 as second lieutenant of dragoons.
David Stanley's first assignments were in Texas and California. In 1856 he was active in the Kansas disturbances, and the next year in operations against Cheyenne Indians. The commencement of the Civil War found him a captain of cavalry at Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was offered the colonelcy of an Arkansas regiment in the Confederate service, but declined and in May 1861 escaped from Southern territory by a hazardous march to Kansas. Later in the same year he served in the Missouri campaign, receiving and accepting a commission as brigadier-general of volunteers in October 1861.
In November he broke his leg and was forced to quit the field. The following spring he took a prominent part in the battles of New Madrid and Island No. 10. He next participated in the capture of Corinth, Mississippi.
When the Confederates attempted to retake that city in October, Stanley counter-attacked at the head of his troops, and drove the enemy back. For this victory, he was given command of a cavalry division in Tennessee, becoming a major-general in April 1863, his commission being dated November 29, 1862. He ably seconded the campaigns of Rosecrans during 1863. At the end of that year, he was assigned to the 16t Division, IV Corps, guarding communications.
In 1864 he took part in Sherman's Atlanta operations, being particularly commended for gallant conduct at Resaca, Georgia. On July 27 he succeeded to the command of the IV Corps, and in September was wounded at Jonesboro, Georgia. Although criticized by Sherman, Stanley led his troops with vigor.
In November 1864 his corps arrived at Pulaski, Tennessee, just in time to save Thomas' army from the advance of Hood. Falling back, Stanley next fought the battle of Spring Hill, enabling the balance of the army to retreat north. On November 30, Thomas was heavily attacked by Hood at Franklin, Tennessee. Once again Stanley personally led a counter-attack, restoring the battle to the Federals. He was painfully wounded and his active career in the Civil War came to an end.
In June 1865 Stanley's IV Corps was sent to Texas to support diplomatic representations against French interference in Mexico. On March 24, 1884, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, United States Army, and subsequently commanded in Texas until he retired, June 1, 1892.
He was governor of the Soldiers' Home, Washington, from September 13, 1893 to April 15, 1898, and thereafter lived in Washington until his death in 1902.
David Sloane Stanley was an influencial general during the American Civil War. His great service was his thirty-four years spent in the opening of the W. He was a master in handling Indians. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for action at Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864. He was also a First Class Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and a Hereditary Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars.
(Stanley had a remarkable American military career. He sta...)
(Excerpt from Personal Memoirs of Major-General D. S. Stan...)
In 1894 he became a member of the District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
He possessed the esteem of his associates, but was disliked by some on account of his deep prejudices, which his kindly appearance failed sometimes to conceal.
On April 2, 1857, he married Anna Maria, daughter of J. J. B. Wright, an army surgeon. His wife died in 1895, and of seven children four daughters and a son survived him.
