Background
William Thomas Harbaugh Brooks was born on January 28, 1821 at New Lisbon, Ohio.
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William Thomas Harbaugh Brooks
Edit ProfileEducation
In an environment and at a period when attainment of a higher education was difficult, young Brooks eagerly accepted appointment, July 1, 1837, as a cadet at the United States Military Academy.
Not a brilliant student, but with work marked by industry and thoroughness, he was graduated in the year 1841, Number 41 in a class which had been reduced by elimination from 113 original cadets to 52 successful graduates.
Career
Brooks' first assignment was to the 3rd Infantry, and his first field service after joining his regiment was against hostile Seminole Indians in Florida, 1842-43. This was followed, up to the beginning of the war with Mexico, by arduous duty at various isolated frontier posts.
In 1846 he joined General Taylor's army, and took part in the battles of Palo Alto (May 8), and of Resaca de la Palma (May 9), receiving his first lieutenancy September 21 of the same year. Thereafter, he participated in nearly all the important battles and engagements of the war--Monterey, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Ocalaca, Contreras, Churubusco, and the final capture of the City of Mexico.
He was brevetted a captain, September 23, 1846, for gallant and meritorious services at Monterey; and on the same date brevetted a major for similar distinguished services at Contreras and Churubusco. At Contreras, working under the direct supervision of that distinguished soldier, Captain Robert E. Lee, Brooks had made a particularly hazardous and difficult night reconnaissance of a ravine which served as the approach to the enemy's position, when the successful assault was made by Scott's army the following day.
For a time thereafter, he served as acting adjutant-general for General Twigg's division, a duty of marked responsibility for so young an officer; and later, from August 19, 1848, until November 10, 1851, when he received his captaincy in the regular army, Brooks served as General Twigg's aide-de-camp. There followed a long period of difficult field service in New Mexico and Texas, which included almost continuous scouting against hostile Indians, and one skirmish with the warlike Navajos in New Mexico, October 10, 1858.
During this prolonged period of exposure to danger and to the rigors of climatic extremes, Brooks's ill health required several sick-leaves.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Brooks was well prepared, except as to impaired physical condition, for promotion to high command, so that his advancement, September 28, 1861, from captain in the regular army to brigadier-general of volunteers, followed naturally and logically.
He took part with distinction, in McClellan's Peninsular campaign, being engaged in the siege of Yorktown (April 5-May 4, 1862), the skirmish of Lee's Mills (April 16), the action at Golden's Farm (June 28), and in the battles of Savage Station (June 29) and of Glendale (June 30, 1862).
Meanwhile, March 12, 1862, he had become a major in the regular service. In the Maryland campaign of the Army of the Potomac, which followed, Brooks was engaged in the action at Crampton Pass (September 14), the battle of Antietam (September 17), and in the march to Falmouth, Virginia, during which he commanded his division, from October 22, 1862.
In the subsequent Rappahannock campaign, he commanded his division from December 1862 to May 1863; commanded the Department of Monongahela, June 1863 to April 1864; commanded a division of the 18th Corps, Army of the James, April to June, and a division of the 10th Corps, June to July 1864. As division commander, Brooks participated in the battles around Richmond, including Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg. But he had been wounded in the battle of Savage Station, and again at Antietam, so that just as victory was about to crown with success the final campaigns of the Union Army, his health broke down completely, and he was forced to resign from the service, June 14, 1864.
After a period of rest and recuperation, he moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where he engaged in farming until his death, July 19, 1870. His premature end at the age of forty-nine years was mourned not alone by a large circle of army friends and acquaintances, but by his more recent Southern neighbors, who, at a time when the status of former Union officers was strained, loved Brooks for his amiable disposition, simplicity of character, and sound common sense.
Achievements
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William Brooks led his Corps in the Peninsula campaign, the Seven Days Battles, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. In June 1863, he was placed in command of the Department of the Monongahela, 1st Division, XVIII Corps at Cold Harbor and Petersburg. Prior to that he also took part in McClellan's Peninsular campaign, being engaged in the siege of Yorktown (April 5-May 4, 1862), the skirmish of Lee's Mills (April 16), the action at Golden's Farm (June 28), and in the battles of Savage Station (June 29) and of Glendale (June 30, 1862). In the subsequent Rappahannock campaign, he commanded his division from December 1862 to May 1863; commanded the Department of Monongahela, June 1863 to April 1864; commanded a division of the 18th Corps, Army of the James, April to June, and a division of the 10th Corps, June to July 1864.
Connections
He was married to Alme Buell Drake Brooks.
References
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Born
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Died
July 19, 1870 (aged 49) -
Nationality
American