Life span: 11/06/1822 to 01/10/1876TabsLife SummaryFull name: Gordon GrangerPlace of Birth: Joy, NYBurial Place: Lexington, KYBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: NorthOrigins: Free StateNo. of Spouses: 1Family: Gaius Granger (father), Catherine Taylor (mother), Maria Letcher (wife, 1869)Education: West Point (US Military Academy)Occupation: MilitaryRelation to Slavery: White non-slaveholderMilitary: US military (Pre-Civil War)Union ArmyUS military (Post-Civil War) Note Cards Gordon Granger (American National Biography) Scholarship[Gordon] Granger's command of the Reserve Corps [of the Army of the Cumberland] was achieved despite opposition from some other commanders within the Army of the Cumberland. In Kentucky he had earned a reputation for being highly opinionated and for criticism of his superiors that verged on insubordination. General William Rosecrans, however, considered him a good fighter and named him commander anyway. This assignment provided the opportunity for Granger's most noteworthy accomplishment in the army, at the battle of Chickamauga on 20 September 1863, when he marched his corps to the relief of General George Thomas without orders and helped prevent the complete route of Union forces that day. For his performance, Granger was promoted brevet lieutenant colonel in the regular army, and when Thomas assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland, he rewarded Granger with command of the Fourth Army Corps. Despite Granger's success at Chickamauga, his reputation continued to be a problem for him among his superiors. While his corps fought well at Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, and in the relief of Knoxville, the decisive Granger seen at Chickamauga had disappeared. When Granger was sent to relieve Knoxville, Ulysses S. Grant ordered William T. Sherman to join him and assume actual leadership, because Grant did not believe Granger had the energy or the capacity for such a large mission.Carl H. Moneyhon, "Granger, Gordon," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00431.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 09/18/1863 09/20/1863 In Georgia, advancing Union forces suffer a very heavy defeat near Chickamauga Creek 08/05/1864 08/05/1864 In Mobile Bay, Alabama, U.S. naval forces win a comprehensive victory over the Confederate fleet 05/25/1865 05/25/1865 Recently captured Mobile, Alabama is rocked with a massive explosion that kills hundreds 06/19/1865 06/19/1865 Landing in Galveston, Union General Gordon Granger decrees that slavery in Texas is at an end. 01/15/1866 01/15/1866 More than a hundred general officers of volunteers are mustered out of the Union Army 09/17/1866 09/19/1866 In Cleveland, Ohio, the Democratic-aligned Soldiers and Sailors Union, holds its first annual convention. 09/18/1866 09/19/1866 A Southern Soldier's Convention of Confederate veterans is meeting in Memphis. 05/13/1867 05/13/1867 In Richmond, former Confederate president Jefferson Davis appears in federal court under a writ of habeas corpus and is released on bail. Major TopicsMexican War Documents Subject Docs Date Title 09/18/1866 Gordon Granger, et al, to Nathan Bedford Forrest, et al., September 18, 1866, Cleveland, Ohio. Images Gordon Granger Gordon Granger, detail Bibliography
Gordon Granger (American National Biography) Scholarship[Gordon] Granger's command of the Reserve Corps [of the Army of the Cumberland] was achieved despite opposition from some other commanders within the Army of the Cumberland. In Kentucky he had earned a reputation for being highly opinionated and for criticism of his superiors that verged on insubordination. General William Rosecrans, however, considered him a good fighter and named him commander anyway. This assignment provided the opportunity for Granger's most noteworthy accomplishment in the army, at the battle of Chickamauga on 20 September 1863, when he marched his corps to the relief of General George Thomas without orders and helped prevent the complete route of Union forces that day. For his performance, Granger was promoted brevet lieutenant colonel in the regular army, and when Thomas assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland, he rewarded Granger with command of the Fourth Army Corps. Despite Granger's success at Chickamauga, his reputation continued to be a problem for him among his superiors. While his corps fought well at Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, and in the relief of Knoxville, the decisive Granger seen at Chickamauga had disappeared. When Granger was sent to relieve Knoxville, Ulysses S. Grant ordered William T. Sherman to join him and assume actual leadership, because Grant did not believe Granger had the energy or the capacity for such a large mission.Carl H. Moneyhon, "Granger, Gordon," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00431.html.