Isaac Quinby was an American military and Union general during the American Civil War.
Background
Isaac Ferdinand Quinby was born on January 29, 1821 in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. He was the son of Isaac and Sarah (DeHart) Quinby. He was a descendant of William Quinby who came from England about 1638 and settled in Connecticut.
Education
Isaac Quind entered the United States Military Academy in 1839 and was graduated sixth in his class in 1843, standing first in engineering.
Career
After brief service as brevet second-lieutenant, 2nd Artillery, he returned to West Point in 1845 as instructor in mathematics, later becoming assistant professor of natural philosophy. He left the Academy in June 1847 for service in the Mexican War and participated in several skirmishes during the last months of that conflict. In September 1851 Isaac became professor of mathematics and natural and experimental philosophy in the University of Rochester, in Rochester, New York. He resigned his commission in the army on Mar. 16, 1852, and remained actively associated with the growth and development of the university for thirty-three years. After the evacuation of Fort Sumter he raised a volunteer regiment, which, as the 13th New York, was the first Federal force to enter Baltimore after the attack on the 6th Massachusetts in April. Quinby's firm and skillful measures forestalled a repetition of hostile action by the mob. He led the regiment well at Bull Run, but it shared the demoralization that attended the retreat from that field.
On Aug. 4, 1861, he resigned from the service and resumed his chair in the university, but the following March, he reentered military service as brigadier-general of volunteers and was assigned to command the District of the Mississippi, and later, the 7th Division, Army of the Tennessee. In March 1863, he was in command of the Yazoo Pass expedition, one of Grant's abortive efforts to reach Vicksburg from the north. He pushed the project with characteristic initiative and persistence, but Grant, unaware of Quinby's progress and disturbed by reports that filtered back from disaffected sources, recalled the expedition.
Hardship and exposure in a malarial region brought on a severe illness and made it necessary for General Quinby to go north to recover. On learning of the progress of Grant's movement in the rear of Vicksburg, he hastened back and rejoined his division during the battle of Champion's Hill.
Isaac participated in the crossing of Big Black River in the assaults of May 19 and 22 against Vicksburg. Illness again rendered him unfit for field service, and on June 3, 1863, he relinquished his command and went north under orders. Failing to recover his health, he resigned his commission in December 1863, but continued to serve as provost-marshal of the 28th Congressional District in New York until Oct. 15, 1865. He was appointed United States Marshal for the Northern District of New York in April 1869, and held that office along with his professorship during both terms of Grant's administration. He was city surveyor of Rochester from 1885 to 1889 and was frequently employed as a consulting engineer. He died in Rochester after an illness of six months on September 18, 1891.
Achievements
Connections
Isaac Ferdinand married Elizabeth Greenbury Gardner, daughter of John Lane Gardner, on October 6, 1848, and they had thirteen children, eight boys and five girls.