Civil War Union Major General. Born in Lorain County, Ohio, he graduated at the top of his class at the US Military Academy in 1849 and was commissioned an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. In the years prior to the Civil War, he taught at the US Military Academy and was the head of the Engineer Agency in New York City. With the outbreak of the war, he was appointed chief engineer of the Port Royal Expedition and was praised for his bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski, Georgia. Appointed Brigadier General in April 1862, he was given command of the Department of the South X Corps and was promoted Major General in July 1863. Commanding his forces, he brought about the capture of the Morris Island Battery, Fort Wagner, as well as the destruction of Fort Sumter. In 1864, he was unfairly blamed for a series of Union failures by Major General Benjamin F. Butler and was sent Washington D.C. in disgrace. He took part in the defense of Washington and was injured so seriously that he could not participate in anything more than nominal duty for the rest of the war. After the Civil War, he remained in the Corps of Engineers working on fortifications off the south Atlantic coast, until he resigned in December 1865. He returned to New York City, became a well known civil engineer, authoring several books and articles on structural materials. He died in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 63. His son and grandson, both also named Quincy Gillmore, were also generals in the US Army.
Civil War Union Major General. Born in Lorain County, Ohio, he graduated at the top of his class at the US Military Academy in 1849 and was commissioned an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. In the years prior to the Civil War, he taught at the US Military Academy and was the head of the Engineer Agency in New York City. With the outbreak of the war, he was appointed chief engineer of the Port Royal Expedition and was praised for his bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski, Georgia. Appointed Brigadier General in April 1862, he was given command of the Department of the South X Corps and was promoted Major General in July 1863. Commanding his forces, he brought about the capture of the Morris Island Battery, Fort Wagner, as well as the destruction of Fort Sumter. In 1864, he was unfairly blamed for a series of Union failures by Major General Benjamin F. Butler and was sent Washington D.C. in disgrace. He took part in the defense of Washington and was injured so seriously that he could not participate in anything more than nominal duty for the rest of the war. After the Civil War, he remained in the Corps of Engineers working on fortifications off the south Atlantic coast, until he resigned in December 1865. He returned to New York City, became a well known civil engineer, authoring several books and articles on structural materials. He died in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 63. His son and grandson, both also named Quincy Gillmore, were also generals in the US Army.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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