Background
Sturgis was born on June 11, 1822 in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, United States. His parents were Mary Brandenburg and James Sturgis. He was a descendant of William Sturgis who came to Pennsylvania from Ireland about 1745.
Sturgis was born on June 11, 1822 in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, United States. His parents were Mary Brandenburg and James Sturgis. He was a descendant of William Sturgis who came to Pennsylvania from Ireland about 1745.
Samuel entered West Point, July 1, 1842, graduated July 1, 1846.
Samuel joined the 2nd Dragoons, with which he fought at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Before the battle of Buena Vista he volunteered for a reconnaissance which resulted in his capture but also in gaining essential information about the enemy. He remained a prisoner eight days.
After the Mexican War he served in the West with the 1st Dragoons, in which he was promoted first lieutenant, July 15, 1853, and the 16t (now 4th) Cavalry, in which he was appointed captain, March 3, 1855.
He took part in an Indian campaign in New Mexico in 1855, the Utah expedition of 1858, and a campaign against the Kiowas and Comanches in 1860, after which he was charged with settling difficulties between white settlers and Indians on the "neutral lands" of the Cherokee border.
In 1861 he was in command at Fort Smith, Ark. All his officers resigned to join the Confederate army and the post was surrounded by hostile militia. Sturgis brought off his troops, however, with most of the government property under his care. He was promoted major, May 3, 1861.
He fought at Wilson's Creek, succeeding to the command when General Nathaniel Lyon was killed, and was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers with rank from August 10, 1861, the date of the battle. He was in charge of the district of Kansas for a time and then commanded the defenses of the city of Washington until sent into the field for the second battle of Bull Run.
He commanded a division of the IX Corps at South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.
At Antietam it was his division that carried the famous bridge, Sturgis himself leading the charge. He was transferred to the West with the IX Corps, and later had small commands in Tennessee and Mississippi, suffering a severe defeat by General N. B. Forrest at Brice's Cross Roads (Guntown) in June 1864.
He was mustered out of the volunteer army, August 24, 1865, and went to duty as lieutenant-colonel of the 6th Cavalry, having been promoted October 27, 1863.
He died at St. Paul, Minnesota.
Samuel Davis Sturgis became colonel of the 7th Cavalry, May 6, 1869, saw considerable service in Indian campaigns, was governor of the Soldiers' Home from 1881 to 1885. Criticism of his conduct at Brice's Cross Roads having been revived in 1882 he published The Other Side as Viewed by Generals Grant, Sherman, and Other Distinguished Officers, Being a Defence of his Campaign into N. E. Mississippi in the Year 1864.
Quotes from others about the person
Grant wrote to Stanton (October 14, 1865): "Notwithstanding his failure at Guntown, Mississippi, I know him to be a good and efficient officer, far above the average of our cavalry colonels. From the beginning of the war he has suffered from having served in Kansas, and coming in contact with, and in opposition to, civilians, Senator Lane probably in the lead".
At West Ely, Missouri, July 5, 1851, he married Jerusha Wilcox, daughter of Jeremiah Wilcox of Akron, Ohio.
His son Samuel D. Sturgis, Jr. became a general in the United States Army, and was a division commander in the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. His grandson Samuel D. Sturgis, Jr. also became a general in the United States Army and served as Chief of Engineers from 1953 to 1956.
