William Carlin

For other uses, seeWilliam Carlin (disambiguation).

William Passmore Carlin
William P. Carlin
Born	(1829-11-23)November 23, 1829 Rich Woods,Greene County,Illinois
Died	October 4, 1903(1903-10-04)(aged 73) Whitehall,Montana
Place of burial	Carrollton City Cemetery,Carrollton, Illinois
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/ branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1850–1893
Rank	BrevetMajor General
Commands	38th Illinois Volunteer Infantry 4th Infantry Regiment Department of the Columbia
Battles / wars	Plains Indian Wars Utah War American Civil War Battle of Fredericktown Siege of Corinth Battle of Perryville Battle of Stones River Tullahoma Campaign Chattanooga Campaign Atlanta Campaign Sherman's March to the Sea Carolinas Campaign

William Passmore Carlin(November 23, 1829 – October 4, 1903) was acareer soldierfrom the state ofIllinoiswho served as ageneralin theUnion Armyduring theAmerican Civil Warand then in the postwarUnited States Army.He led abrigadeand then adivisionin theArmy of the Cumberlandin several of the most significant campaigns of theWestern Theaterof operations.

Early life

William P. Carlin was born at Rich Woods inGreene County, Illinois,and educated in the local schools. His parents were William B. Carlin (1804-1850) and Mary Carlin (née Goode, 1805-1888).His uncleThomas Carlin,aJacksonian Democratand veteran of theWar of 1812served as Illinois' governor when William was a boy. He received an appointment to theUnited States Military AcademyinWest Point, New York,and graduated in 1850, ranking 20th out of 44. Among his classmates were future six Civil War generals, includingGouverneur K. WarrenandWilliam L. Cabell.

Early career

Carlin was appointed abrevetsecond lieutenantin the6th U.S. Infantryand assigned to duty on theWestern frontieratFort Snellingand other subsequent posts. He spent much of the next decade on garrison duty, although he participated in several minor campaigns and expeditions to quell warringPlains Indians,includingWilliam S. Harney's 1855 campaign against theSioux(for which he was promoted tofirst lieutenant) and the 1857 expedition ofEdwin V. Sumneragainst theCheyennetribe. He then was involved in theUtah Warin 1858 in a U.S. Army force led byAlbert Sidney Johnston,a futureConfederategeneral. Carlin rose to the rank ofcaptainin theRegular Army.

From September 1859 through May 1860, he commandedFort BragginCalifornia.

Civil War

Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War in early 1861, Carlin was commissioned on August 5 by theGovernor of Illinois,Richard Yates,as thecoloneland first commander of the new38th Illinois Infantry.He and hisregimentwere shipped toMissourito help stabilize the region under Federal control. He participated in theBattle of Fredericktownon October 21, where his men help rout part of theMissouri State GuardunderM. Jeff Thompson.

As a reward for his performance, in November Carlin took command of the Southeastern Missouri District, a post he held through the winter into early spring of 1862 when he was assigned to lead abrigadeof infantry. He first led his brigade into combat during theSiege of Corinth,Mississippi,in May of that year. Fighting against the Confederates ofBraxton Braggduring the autumnKentucky Campaign,Carlin received multiple commendations for bravery for a successful charge at theBattle of Perryvillethat almost cut off the Confederate line of retreat, but it was called back, under protest, by his corps commander. After the battle he protested the lack of recognition his command received and privately chided division commander Lovell H. Rousseau for "crawling around trees on his belly [which] is not such conduct as soldiers admire."Carlin was promoted tobrigadier generalin the Union Army on November 29, 1862. A month later, his brigade in theArmy of the Cumberlandsuffered high casualties during theBattle of Stones RiverinTennessee.

For the next year and a half, Carlin commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division of theXX Corps.He participated in theTullahoma Campaignand the subsequentBattle of Chickamauga.In the autumn of 1863, he fought atLookout MountainandMissionary Ridgeduring theBattles for Chattanooga.In the summer of 1864, he led his brigade in theAtlanta Campaign,taking a brief furlough during the campaign to return to Illinois to be married. He was promoted to divisional command before theBattle of Jonesboroin September. He then took part inSherman's March to the Seaand the capture ofSavannah, Georgia.

In early 1865, Carlin's division was involved in theCarolinas Campaign.At theBattle of Bentonvilleon March 19, it conducted a "probing attack" that was routed by a major Confederate counterattack in which General Carlin narrowly escaped capture. At the end of the war, he received brevet appointments tomajor generalin both the volunteer Union Army and the Regular Army.

Postbellum career

Carlin mustered out of the volunteers in the summer of 1865 and returned to the Regular Army as themajorof the16th U.S. Infantry.He was the assistant commissioner of the Tennessee office of theFreedmen's Bureaufrom 1867 until 1868. He was promoted to colonel in April 1882 and later to brigadier general, and held various commands at army posts throughout the country. He put down a miners' strike in theIdaho Territoryand served in several posts in theSouthduringReconstruction.

Carlin retired from the Army in 1893 after 43 years of service. He wrote and published his autobiography,Memoirs of Brigadier General William Passmore Carlin, USA,which detailed his long career.

Carlin's son, William E. Carlin, was the leader of ahunting partythat was lost and rescued, by a party dispatched by General Carlin, on the Lochsa river in Idaho in 1893.

Death and legacy

While traveling on a train nearWhitehall, Montana,in 1903, Carlin died suddenly. His body was shipped home to Carrollton, Illinois, for burial.

The town ofCarlin, Nevada,was named for him.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals (Union)

References

• Carlin, William P.The Memoirs of Brigadier General William Passmore Carlin U.S.A.Edited by Robert I. Girardi and Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1999.ISBN0-8032-1494-4.
• Eicher, John H., andDavid J. Eicher.Civil War High Commands.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001.ISBN0-8047-3641-3.
• U.S. War Department,The War of the Rebellion:a Compilation of theOfficial Recordsof the Union and Confederate Armies,U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

External links

• Photo gallery at generalsandbrevetsat theWayback Machine(archived February 8, 2008)
• "William Carlin".Find a Grave.RetrievedOctober 12,2010.