| Birth: | Sep. 24, 1823 | | Death: | Oct. 24, 1892 | 
Civil War Union Brigadier General. He was born in Summerfield, Ohio, but as a young man he migrated to Farmington, Iowa. Beginning in 1846 he worked as a farmer and merchant until 1855 when he was elected sheriff of Van Buren County. Two years later he was elected county treasurer and in 1859, recorder of deeds. On May 31, 1861, he joined the 2nd Iowa Infantry with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. A modestly capable soldier, serving best in combat, he never set aside personal ambitions during his war service. Promoted to Colonel of the 2nd Iowa on September 6, 1861, he saw duty at Fort Donelson, then assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of the Tennessee for the Battle of Shiloh. Following division commander Brigadier General William H. L. Wallace's wounding in combat on April 6, 1862, he led 2nd Division troops in fighting around the "Hornet's Nest," and barely escaped capture. He was promoted to Brigadier General on June 9, 1862, then successively led the 3rd Division, XV Corps and the 1st Division, XVI Corps in Vicksburg and central Mississippi campaigning, and distinguished himself in the May 14, 1863, capture of Jackson, Mississippi. During this year and the next he unsuccessfully promoted his war record at home in bids for the governorship of Iowa while retaining his commission and participating in Major General William T. Sherman's Meridian Campaign. On March 7, 1864, he was made commander of the post at Natchez, Mississippi, however, he pillaged army financial accounts entrusted to him, extorted money from local citizens, took large bribes, and arrested citizens marginally suspected of Confederate sympathies, then ransomed them back to their families. In collusion with a United States Treasury official, he engaged in profiteering and in extracting tribute from residents in the area. Politicians and other volunteer officers, accustomed to some minor measure of corruption, were stunned at his venality and aggressiveness. Major General Henry W. Slocum ordered his relief late in May, concurrent with a similar order from Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton on May 25. Before investigations could proceed, he resigned on June 14, 1864, and hastily returned to Iowa. The Treasury official was apprehended, and a partial confession was extracted from him before he was released. Major General Napoleon J.T. Dana inspected his former command in July 1864, and recommanded pursuit and prosecution. For undisclosed reasons his suggestion was not followed. After the war, he served in the Iowa legislature for several years, engaged in the real estate and meat packing businesses, and in 1877 invested his money in mines in the Southwest. He suffered a stroke at one of his mine sites near Casa Grande, Arizona Territory, and later died. (bio by: Ugaalltheway)
Search Amazon for James Tuttle | | | Burial:
Woodland Cemetery
Des Moines
Polk County
Iowa, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Oct 26, 2001
Find A Grave Memorial# 5895024 |
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(4.1 after 15 votes)
