USMA Class of 1847. Cullum No. 1347.
He was the son of Rev. John Gibson and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson.
On March 16, 1863, he married Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, USMA Class of 1819 at St. Louis, Missouri.
They were the parents of five children including Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson.
Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Fifty-sixth Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1925.
Horatio Gates Gibson
No. 1347. Class of 1847.
Died, April 17, 1924, at Washington, D.C., aged 97 years.
To West Point, cradle of warriors, Brigadier General Horatio Gates Gibson, oldest graduate of the United States Military Academy at the time of his death and sole surviving officer of the Mexican War, made his final journey on April 22, 1924.
Fighter, philosopher and philanthropist - he was there buried with highest military honors. America's most distinguished sons did honor to his passing and war heroes of three generations paid tribute at his burial. A great man, a courteous and honorable gentleman and a faithful friend.
In Baltimore, quiet little village that it was in those days, General Gibson was born on May 22, 1827, the son of the Reverend John and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson and scion of an old Revolutionary War family. With a boy's love of battle glory, after school hours in York, Pennsylvania and vacation days of his early youth were filled with war games, fighting of imaginary Indians and re-waging the battles of three-quarters of a century before in which his great-grandfather, whose memory was his greatest pride - had distinguished himself. And in these playtime hours, the boy Gates shaped his future.
June 13, 1843, was the day when his child dreams came true, for on that morning, as a slim, undersized boy of 16, he walked up the long hill overlooking the Hudson to enter the United States Military Academy. With him on that little journey were two other youths, destined to glory in the war between the States, Ambrose E. Burnside and Romeyne B. Ayres.
Graduation of the Class of 1843 was taking place on that day and the youngsters looked with envy on the new1y made Second Lieutenants. One of the graduates he met, a stocky, black haired lad, whom he was to meet again many years later - was Ulysses S. Grant.
Four years later, as Brevet Second Lieutenant, he received his first detail to Vera Cruz, Mexico, with the 3rd Artillery. During the Mexican Campaign, Lieutenant Gibson saw little active fighting, but was included in the forces that entered Mexico City at the end of the war. On September 8, 1847, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant.
Sent to California in 1849 at the time of the gold rush, the young officer encountered difficulties when the greater part of his command succumbed to the lure of gold and deserted. With even the camp cook away, all the duties of the camp fell upon the shoulders of the few that remained faithful. Lieutenant Gibson often lent a hand in preparing the meals for the day.
Slow days followed, but adventure lay not far along the path. In 1851, as First Lieutenant, he was sent on an expedition against the Coquille Indians of Oregon. A sharp battle took place on the Coquille River in which the Indians were dispersed and pursued by Gibson's detachment. During the chase, a keen eyed Corporal espied through the branches of a tree a pair of dangling brown legs. Summoning aid, he investigated and found there a redskin boy of the Coqui1le tribe. They took him prisoner, keeping him for four days, and finally allowing him to escape at such a point that they knew he would find his way back to the tribe.
Four years later Gibson again met the Indian boy, then grown, playing the role of a desperate young chief - Captain Jack. It was in an engagement with the forces of Captain Jack that Gibson received his first bullet wound. In his memoirs he wrote:
I saw the smoke of a rifle arise from the crotch of a tree a little way up the ascent and felt something penetrate my right leg. The surgeon quickly ripped the clothing apart and pronounced my wound a 'beautiful one', which diagnosis somewhat reconciled me to my ill fortune.
In 1858 he was engaged in the Battle of Spokane Plain, and two years later in the Batt1e of Pyramid Like, while with the Carson Valley Expedition.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Gibson was commissioned as Captain of the 3rd Artillery and ordered to assist in the defense of Washington. With the Army of the Potomac he saw service in the Peninsular Campaign of Virginia, in the Siege of Yorktown and the Battle of Antietam. In all three of those engagements Gibson won glory for himself, but the outstanding feat of his Civil War career took place at the Battle of Williamsburg.
Ordered to defend a certain strategic corner of a forest, Captain Gibson brought his guns into the desired position and commenced a scathing fire upon the enemy, only to find after a few moments that the ground assigned to him was a bog and that his pieces were rapidly sinking into the soft mud. Undaunted, however, he continued the fire, wreaking havoc in the opposing line of gray and despite the fact that he was heavily outnumbered held his ground. for several hours, until orders came to withdraw. In his retreat he managed to save all but one of the guns, although 17 of the horses, used to haul the artillery, had been killed in the action.
For this gallant and meritorious service he was made Brevet Major on May 5, 1862.
For the following months he assisted General Stoneman in guarding the rear of the Army of the Potomac, until September 14, 1862, when he and his command took part in the Battle of Stone Mountain.
During the Battle of Fredericksburg came one of the narrowest escapes from death that Gibson ever experienced. In a letter home, written on the night of the occurrence, he said:
While the battle was raging I had been talking to General Franklin and turned away to ask General Bayard to have some lunch with me. He had answered, 'Well, I believe I will', when I felt a shock across my back, followed by a rushing sound and a thud, which stunned me. I turned and poor Bayard lay prostrate at my feet. I stepped to his assistance and, on lifting him, found that he was mortally wounded, his thigh having been shot away. The shot went through my coat and carried away my sabre, cutting the slings at my waist-belt. Poor fellow, he was to have been married tomorrow.
After distinguishing himself at Shepherdstown and Rappahannock, Virginia, he was made Chief of the Heavy Artillery in the Army of the Ohio, April 20, 1863. Later the same year he was commissioned Colonel of the 2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery. With this rank he was engaged throughout the remainder of the war in defending the railroads of Kentucky and Tennessee and in constructing Forts McPherson and Sedgwick.
Upon being mustered out of Volunteer service in August 1865, his status reverted to his old rank of Captain of the 3rd Artillery. Soon afterwards he was made Major, later Lieutenant Colonel and finally, in 1883, Colonel.
Thereafter he served as commanding officer of various posts throughout the East. On June 5, 1885, he was ordered to Washington Barracks, Washington, D.C., where he remained until his retirement in 1891.
In 1898, with the declaration of war against Spain, General Gibson volunteered his services in defense of his country, but was not accepted owing to his advanced years.
In 1904, by Act of Congress, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, retired, which title he held until his death.
Quiet, waning years followed the retirement of General Gibson from the active service, during which time his main interests were centered about the Aztec Club of America, of which he was president for many years. The Aztec Club is composed of veterans of the Mexican War.
In 1913, however, the service to which he had dedicated his life did him honor in a most unusual way. In official orders from the Department of War he was informed that he had been reinstated in the active service and was thereby ordered to report to West Point, New York, on July 1, at which time he was to deliver the graduating address at the Academy. On July 3 he returned to the retired list.
Once more, in 1917, on the sixtieth anniversary of his own graduation, he returned to the Point, to hand a diploma to his grandson, Walker Gibson White.
General Gibson was a staunch advocate of an early entrance in the World War and took much interest in the activities of the American forces. Modern warfare, however, conducted on stereotyped formulae of destruction seemed to him to lack the glory and romance of that in which he had spent his life. On March 16, 1863, General Gibson was married to Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, of the Class of 1819, West Point Military Academy. They had four children, Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson. Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Thus ends the story of Horatio Gates Gibson, Brigadier General, United States Army. The old order passeth and with the passing of such men the world loses a precious possession which she can never regain. His were the days of splendid rugged men who underwent the hardships of an untried country, and who bravely and cheerfully contended with the forces of nature in remote posts and with the unfriendly tribes that it was their portion to encounter. His was a life of more than usual usefulness and power. He fought and conquered. The battle is to be strong.
John Hays Hammond.
He was the son of Rev. John Gibson and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson.
On March 16, 1863, he married Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, USMA Class of 1819 at St. Louis, Missouri.
They were the parents of five children including Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson.
Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Fifty-sixth Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1925.
Horatio Gates Gibson
No. 1347. Class of 1847.
Died, April 17, 1924, at Washington, D.C., aged 97 years.
To West Point, cradle of warriors, Brigadier General Horatio Gates Gibson, oldest graduate of the United States Military Academy at the time of his death and sole surviving officer of the Mexican War, made his final journey on April 22, 1924.
Fighter, philosopher and philanthropist - he was there buried with highest military honors. America's most distinguished sons did honor to his passing and war heroes of three generations paid tribute at his burial. A great man, a courteous and honorable gentleman and a faithful friend.
In Baltimore, quiet little village that it was in those days, General Gibson was born on May 22, 1827, the son of the Reverend John and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson and scion of an old Revolutionary War family. With a boy's love of battle glory, after school hours in York, Pennsylvania and vacation days of his early youth were filled with war games, fighting of imaginary Indians and re-waging the battles of three-quarters of a century before in which his great-grandfather, whose memory was his greatest pride - had distinguished himself. And in these playtime hours, the boy Gates shaped his future.
June 13, 1843, was the day when his child dreams came true, for on that morning, as a slim, undersized boy of 16, he walked up the long hill overlooking the Hudson to enter the United States Military Academy. With him on that little journey were two other youths, destined to glory in the war between the States, Ambrose E. Burnside and Romeyne B. Ayres.
Graduation of the Class of 1843 was taking place on that day and the youngsters looked with envy on the new1y made Second Lieutenants. One of the graduates he met, a stocky, black haired lad, whom he was to meet again many years later - was Ulysses S. Grant.
Four years later, as Brevet Second Lieutenant, he received his first detail to Vera Cruz, Mexico, with the 3rd Artillery. During the Mexican Campaign, Lieutenant Gibson saw little active fighting, but was included in the forces that entered Mexico City at the end of the war. On September 8, 1847, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant.
Sent to California in 1849 at the time of the gold rush, the young officer encountered difficulties when the greater part of his command succumbed to the lure of gold and deserted. With even the camp cook away, all the duties of the camp fell upon the shoulders of the few that remained faithful. Lieutenant Gibson often lent a hand in preparing the meals for the day.
Slow days followed, but adventure lay not far along the path. In 1851, as First Lieutenant, he was sent on an expedition against the Coquille Indians of Oregon. A sharp battle took place on the Coquille River in which the Indians were dispersed and pursued by Gibson's detachment. During the chase, a keen eyed Corporal espied through the branches of a tree a pair of dangling brown legs. Summoning aid, he investigated and found there a redskin boy of the Coqui1le tribe. They took him prisoner, keeping him for four days, and finally allowing him to escape at such a point that they knew he would find his way back to the tribe.
Four years later Gibson again met the Indian boy, then grown, playing the role of a desperate young chief - Captain Jack. It was in an engagement with the forces of Captain Jack that Gibson received his first bullet wound. In his memoirs he wrote:
I saw the smoke of a rifle arise from the crotch of a tree a little way up the ascent and felt something penetrate my right leg. The surgeon quickly ripped the clothing apart and pronounced my wound a 'beautiful one', which diagnosis somewhat reconciled me to my ill fortune.
In 1858 he was engaged in the Battle of Spokane Plain, and two years later in the Batt1e of Pyramid Like, while with the Carson Valley Expedition.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Gibson was commissioned as Captain of the 3rd Artillery and ordered to assist in the defense of Washington. With the Army of the Potomac he saw service in the Peninsular Campaign of Virginia, in the Siege of Yorktown and the Battle of Antietam. In all three of those engagements Gibson won glory for himself, but the outstanding feat of his Civil War career took place at the Battle of Williamsburg.
Ordered to defend a certain strategic corner of a forest, Captain Gibson brought his guns into the desired position and commenced a scathing fire upon the enemy, only to find after a few moments that the ground assigned to him was a bog and that his pieces were rapidly sinking into the soft mud. Undaunted, however, he continued the fire, wreaking havoc in the opposing line of gray and despite the fact that he was heavily outnumbered held his ground. for several hours, until orders came to withdraw. In his retreat he managed to save all but one of the guns, although 17 of the horses, used to haul the artillery, had been killed in the action.
For this gallant and meritorious service he was made Brevet Major on May 5, 1862.
For the following months he assisted General Stoneman in guarding the rear of the Army of the Potomac, until September 14, 1862, when he and his command took part in the Battle of Stone Mountain.
During the Battle of Fredericksburg came one of the narrowest escapes from death that Gibson ever experienced. In a letter home, written on the night of the occurrence, he said:
While the battle was raging I had been talking to General Franklin and turned away to ask General Bayard to have some lunch with me. He had answered, 'Well, I believe I will', when I felt a shock across my back, followed by a rushing sound and a thud, which stunned me. I turned and poor Bayard lay prostrate at my feet. I stepped to his assistance and, on lifting him, found that he was mortally wounded, his thigh having been shot away. The shot went through my coat and carried away my sabre, cutting the slings at my waist-belt. Poor fellow, he was to have been married tomorrow.
After distinguishing himself at Shepherdstown and Rappahannock, Virginia, he was made Chief of the Heavy Artillery in the Army of the Ohio, April 20, 1863. Later the same year he was commissioned Colonel of the 2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery. With this rank he was engaged throughout the remainder of the war in defending the railroads of Kentucky and Tennessee and in constructing Forts McPherson and Sedgwick.
Upon being mustered out of Volunteer service in August 1865, his status reverted to his old rank of Captain of the 3rd Artillery. Soon afterwards he was made Major, later Lieutenant Colonel and finally, in 1883, Colonel.
Thereafter he served as commanding officer of various posts throughout the East. On June 5, 1885, he was ordered to Washington Barracks, Washington, D.C., where he remained until his retirement in 1891.
In 1898, with the declaration of war against Spain, General Gibson volunteered his services in defense of his country, but was not accepted owing to his advanced years.
In 1904, by Act of Congress, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, retired, which title he held until his death.
Quiet, waning years followed the retirement of General Gibson from the active service, during which time his main interests were centered about the Aztec Club of America, of which he was president for many years. The Aztec Club is composed of veterans of the Mexican War.
In 1913, however, the service to which he had dedicated his life did him honor in a most unusual way. In official orders from the Department of War he was informed that he had been reinstated in the active service and was thereby ordered to report to West Point, New York, on July 1, at which time he was to deliver the graduating address at the Academy. On July 3 he returned to the retired list.
Once more, in 1917, on the sixtieth anniversary of his own graduation, he returned to the Point, to hand a diploma to his grandson, Walker Gibson White.
General Gibson was a staunch advocate of an early entrance in the World War and took much interest in the activities of the American forces. Modern warfare, however, conducted on stereotyped formulae of destruction seemed to him to lack the glory and romance of that in which he had spent his life. On March 16, 1863, General Gibson was married to Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, of the Class of 1819, West Point Military Academy. They had four children, Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson. Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Thus ends the story of Horatio Gates Gibson, Brigadier General, United States Army. The old order passeth and with the passing of such men the world loses a precious possession which she can never regain. His were the days of splendid rugged men who underwent the hardships of an untried country, and who bravely and cheerfully contended with the forces of nature in remote posts and with the unfriendly tribes that it was their portion to encounter. His was a life of more than usual usefulness and power. He fought and conquered. The battle is to be strong.
John Hays Hammond.
USMA Class of 1847. Cullum No. 1347.
He was the son of Rev. John Gibson and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson.
On March 16, 1863, he married Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, USMA Class of 1819 at St. Louis, Missouri.
They were the parents of five children including Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson.
Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Fifty-sixth Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1925.
Horatio Gates Gibson
No. 1347. Class of 1847.
Died, April 17, 1924, at Washington, D.C., aged 97 years.
To West Point, cradle of warriors, Brigadier General Horatio Gates Gibson, oldest graduate of the United States Military Academy at the time of his death and sole surviving officer of the Mexican War, made his final journey on April 22, 1924.
Fighter, philosopher and philanthropist - he was there buried with highest military honors. America's most distinguished sons did honor to his passing and war heroes of three generations paid tribute at his burial. A great man, a courteous and honorable gentleman and a faithful friend.
In Baltimore, quiet little village that it was in those days, General Gibson was born on May 22, 1827, the son of the Reverend John and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson and scion of an old Revolutionary War family. With a boy's love of battle glory, after school hours in York, Pennsylvania and vacation days of his early youth were filled with war games, fighting of imaginary Indians and re-waging the battles of three-quarters of a century before in which his great-grandfather, whose memory was his greatest pride - had distinguished himself. And in these playtime hours, the boy Gates shaped his future.
June 13, 1843, was the day when his child dreams came true, for on that morning, as a slim, undersized boy of 16, he walked up the long hill overlooking the Hudson to enter the United States Military Academy. With him on that little journey were two other youths, destined to glory in the war between the States, Ambrose E. Burnside and Romeyne B. Ayres.
Graduation of the Class of 1843 was taking place on that day and the youngsters looked with envy on the new1y made Second Lieutenants. One of the graduates he met, a stocky, black haired lad, whom he was to meet again many years later - was Ulysses S. Grant.
Four years later, as Brevet Second Lieutenant, he received his first detail to Vera Cruz, Mexico, with the 3rd Artillery. During the Mexican Campaign, Lieutenant Gibson saw little active fighting, but was included in the forces that entered Mexico City at the end of the war. On September 8, 1847, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant.
Sent to California in 1849 at the time of the gold rush, the young officer encountered difficulties when the greater part of his command succumbed to the lure of gold and deserted. With even the camp cook away, all the duties of the camp fell upon the shoulders of the few that remained faithful. Lieutenant Gibson often lent a hand in preparing the meals for the day.
Slow days followed, but adventure lay not far along the path. In 1851, as First Lieutenant, he was sent on an expedition against the Coquille Indians of Oregon. A sharp battle took place on the Coquille River in which the Indians were dispersed and pursued by Gibson's detachment. During the chase, a keen eyed Corporal espied through the branches of a tree a pair of dangling brown legs. Summoning aid, he investigated and found there a redskin boy of the Coqui1le tribe. They took him prisoner, keeping him for four days, and finally allowing him to escape at such a point that they knew he would find his way back to the tribe.
Four years later Gibson again met the Indian boy, then grown, playing the role of a desperate young chief - Captain Jack. It was in an engagement with the forces of Captain Jack that Gibson received his first bullet wound. In his memoirs he wrote:
I saw the smoke of a rifle arise from the crotch of a tree a little way up the ascent and felt something penetrate my right leg. The surgeon quickly ripped the clothing apart and pronounced my wound a 'beautiful one', which diagnosis somewhat reconciled me to my ill fortune.
In 1858 he was engaged in the Battle of Spokane Plain, and two years later in the Batt1e of Pyramid Like, while with the Carson Valley Expedition.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Gibson was commissioned as Captain of the 3rd Artillery and ordered to assist in the defense of Washington. With the Army of the Potomac he saw service in the Peninsular Campaign of Virginia, in the Siege of Yorktown and the Battle of Antietam. In all three of those engagements Gibson won glory for himself, but the outstanding feat of his Civil War career took place at the Battle of Williamsburg.
Ordered to defend a certain strategic corner of a forest, Captain Gibson brought his guns into the desired position and commenced a scathing fire upon the enemy, only to find after a few moments that the ground assigned to him was a bog and that his pieces were rapidly sinking into the soft mud. Undaunted, however, he continued the fire, wreaking havoc in the opposing line of gray and despite the fact that he was heavily outnumbered held his ground. for several hours, until orders came to withdraw. In his retreat he managed to save all but one of the guns, although 17 of the horses, used to haul the artillery, had been killed in the action.
For this gallant and meritorious service he was made Brevet Major on May 5, 1862.
For the following months he assisted General Stoneman in guarding the rear of the Army of the Potomac, until September 14, 1862, when he and his command took part in the Battle of Stone Mountain.
During the Battle of Fredericksburg came one of the narrowest escapes from death that Gibson ever experienced. In a letter home, written on the night of the occurrence, he said:
While the battle was raging I had been talking to General Franklin and turned away to ask General Bayard to have some lunch with me. He had answered, 'Well, I believe I will', when I felt a shock across my back, followed by a rushing sound and a thud, which stunned me. I turned and poor Bayard lay prostrate at my feet. I stepped to his assistance and, on lifting him, found that he was mortally wounded, his thigh having been shot away. The shot went through my coat and carried away my sabre, cutting the slings at my waist-belt. Poor fellow, he was to have been married tomorrow.
After distinguishing himself at Shepherdstown and Rappahannock, Virginia, he was made Chief of the Heavy Artillery in the Army of the Ohio, April 20, 1863. Later the same year he was commissioned Colonel of the 2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery. With this rank he was engaged throughout the remainder of the war in defending the railroads of Kentucky and Tennessee and in constructing Forts McPherson and Sedgwick.
Upon being mustered out of Volunteer service in August 1865, his status reverted to his old rank of Captain of the 3rd Artillery. Soon afterwards he was made Major, later Lieutenant Colonel and finally, in 1883, Colonel.
Thereafter he served as commanding officer of various posts throughout the East. On June 5, 1885, he was ordered to Washington Barracks, Washington, D.C., where he remained until his retirement in 1891.
In 1898, with the declaration of war against Spain, General Gibson volunteered his services in defense of his country, but was not accepted owing to his advanced years.
In 1904, by Act of Congress, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, retired, which title he held until his death.
Quiet, waning years followed the retirement of General Gibson from the active service, during which time his main interests were centered about the Aztec Club of America, of which he was president for many years. The Aztec Club is composed of veterans of the Mexican War.
In 1913, however, the service to which he had dedicated his life did him honor in a most unusual way. In official orders from the Department of War he was informed that he had been reinstated in the active service and was thereby ordered to report to West Point, New York, on July 1, at which time he was to deliver the graduating address at the Academy. On July 3 he returned to the retired list.
Once more, in 1917, on the sixtieth anniversary of his own graduation, he returned to the Point, to hand a diploma to his grandson, Walker Gibson White.
General Gibson was a staunch advocate of an early entrance in the World War and took much interest in the activities of the American forces. Modern warfare, however, conducted on stereotyped formulae of destruction seemed to him to lack the glory and romance of that in which he had spent his life. On March 16, 1863, General Gibson was married to Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, of the Class of 1819, West Point Military Academy. They had four children, Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson. Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Thus ends the story of Horatio Gates Gibson, Brigadier General, United States Army. The old order passeth and with the passing of such men the world loses a precious possession which she can never regain. His were the days of splendid rugged men who underwent the hardships of an untried country, and who bravely and cheerfully contended with the forces of nature in remote posts and with the unfriendly tribes that it was their portion to encounter. His was a life of more than usual usefulness and power. He fought and conquered. The battle is to be strong.
John Hays Hammond.
He was the son of Rev. John Gibson and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson.
On March 16, 1863, he married Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, USMA Class of 1819 at St. Louis, Missouri.
They were the parents of five children including Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson.
Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Fifty-sixth Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1925.
Horatio Gates Gibson
No. 1347. Class of 1847.
Died, April 17, 1924, at Washington, D.C., aged 97 years.
To West Point, cradle of warriors, Brigadier General Horatio Gates Gibson, oldest graduate of the United States Military Academy at the time of his death and sole surviving officer of the Mexican War, made his final journey on April 22, 1924.
Fighter, philosopher and philanthropist - he was there buried with highest military honors. America's most distinguished sons did honor to his passing and war heroes of three generations paid tribute at his burial. A great man, a courteous and honorable gentleman and a faithful friend.
In Baltimore, quiet little village that it was in those days, General Gibson was born on May 22, 1827, the son of the Reverend John and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson and scion of an old Revolutionary War family. With a boy's love of battle glory, after school hours in York, Pennsylvania and vacation days of his early youth were filled with war games, fighting of imaginary Indians and re-waging the battles of three-quarters of a century before in which his great-grandfather, whose memory was his greatest pride - had distinguished himself. And in these playtime hours, the boy Gates shaped his future.
June 13, 1843, was the day when his child dreams came true, for on that morning, as a slim, undersized boy of 16, he walked up the long hill overlooking the Hudson to enter the United States Military Academy. With him on that little journey were two other youths, destined to glory in the war between the States, Ambrose E. Burnside and Romeyne B. Ayres.
Graduation of the Class of 1843 was taking place on that day and the youngsters looked with envy on the new1y made Second Lieutenants. One of the graduates he met, a stocky, black haired lad, whom he was to meet again many years later - was Ulysses S. Grant.
Four years later, as Brevet Second Lieutenant, he received his first detail to Vera Cruz, Mexico, with the 3rd Artillery. During the Mexican Campaign, Lieutenant Gibson saw little active fighting, but was included in the forces that entered Mexico City at the end of the war. On September 8, 1847, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant.
Sent to California in 1849 at the time of the gold rush, the young officer encountered difficulties when the greater part of his command succumbed to the lure of gold and deserted. With even the camp cook away, all the duties of the camp fell upon the shoulders of the few that remained faithful. Lieutenant Gibson often lent a hand in preparing the meals for the day.
Slow days followed, but adventure lay not far along the path. In 1851, as First Lieutenant, he was sent on an expedition against the Coquille Indians of Oregon. A sharp battle took place on the Coquille River in which the Indians were dispersed and pursued by Gibson's detachment. During the chase, a keen eyed Corporal espied through the branches of a tree a pair of dangling brown legs. Summoning aid, he investigated and found there a redskin boy of the Coqui1le tribe. They took him prisoner, keeping him for four days, and finally allowing him to escape at such a point that they knew he would find his way back to the tribe.
Four years later Gibson again met the Indian boy, then grown, playing the role of a desperate young chief - Captain Jack. It was in an engagement with the forces of Captain Jack that Gibson received his first bullet wound. In his memoirs he wrote:
I saw the smoke of a rifle arise from the crotch of a tree a little way up the ascent and felt something penetrate my right leg. The surgeon quickly ripped the clothing apart and pronounced my wound a 'beautiful one', which diagnosis somewhat reconciled me to my ill fortune.
In 1858 he was engaged in the Battle of Spokane Plain, and two years later in the Batt1e of Pyramid Like, while with the Carson Valley Expedition.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Gibson was commissioned as Captain of the 3rd Artillery and ordered to assist in the defense of Washington. With the Army of the Potomac he saw service in the Peninsular Campaign of Virginia, in the Siege of Yorktown and the Battle of Antietam. In all three of those engagements Gibson won glory for himself, but the outstanding feat of his Civil War career took place at the Battle of Williamsburg.
Ordered to defend a certain strategic corner of a forest, Captain Gibson brought his guns into the desired position and commenced a scathing fire upon the enemy, only to find after a few moments that the ground assigned to him was a bog and that his pieces were rapidly sinking into the soft mud. Undaunted, however, he continued the fire, wreaking havoc in the opposing line of gray and despite the fact that he was heavily outnumbered held his ground. for several hours, until orders came to withdraw. In his retreat he managed to save all but one of the guns, although 17 of the horses, used to haul the artillery, had been killed in the action.
For this gallant and meritorious service he was made Brevet Major on May 5, 1862.
For the following months he assisted General Stoneman in guarding the rear of the Army of the Potomac, until September 14, 1862, when he and his command took part in the Battle of Stone Mountain.
During the Battle of Fredericksburg came one of the narrowest escapes from death that Gibson ever experienced. In a letter home, written on the night of the occurrence, he said:
While the battle was raging I had been talking to General Franklin and turned away to ask General Bayard to have some lunch with me. He had answered, 'Well, I believe I will', when I felt a shock across my back, followed by a rushing sound and a thud, which stunned me. I turned and poor Bayard lay prostrate at my feet. I stepped to his assistance and, on lifting him, found that he was mortally wounded, his thigh having been shot away. The shot went through my coat and carried away my sabre, cutting the slings at my waist-belt. Poor fellow, he was to have been married tomorrow.
After distinguishing himself at Shepherdstown and Rappahannock, Virginia, he was made Chief of the Heavy Artillery in the Army of the Ohio, April 20, 1863. Later the same year he was commissioned Colonel of the 2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery. With this rank he was engaged throughout the remainder of the war in defending the railroads of Kentucky and Tennessee and in constructing Forts McPherson and Sedgwick.
Upon being mustered out of Volunteer service in August 1865, his status reverted to his old rank of Captain of the 3rd Artillery. Soon afterwards he was made Major, later Lieutenant Colonel and finally, in 1883, Colonel.
Thereafter he served as commanding officer of various posts throughout the East. On June 5, 1885, he was ordered to Washington Barracks, Washington, D.C., where he remained until his retirement in 1891.
In 1898, with the declaration of war against Spain, General Gibson volunteered his services in defense of his country, but was not accepted owing to his advanced years.
In 1904, by Act of Congress, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, retired, which title he held until his death.
Quiet, waning years followed the retirement of General Gibson from the active service, during which time his main interests were centered about the Aztec Club of America, of which he was president for many years. The Aztec Club is composed of veterans of the Mexican War.
In 1913, however, the service to which he had dedicated his life did him honor in a most unusual way. In official orders from the Department of War he was informed that he had been reinstated in the active service and was thereby ordered to report to West Point, New York, on July 1, at which time he was to deliver the graduating address at the Academy. On July 3 he returned to the retired list.
Once more, in 1917, on the sixtieth anniversary of his own graduation, he returned to the Point, to hand a diploma to his grandson, Walker Gibson White.
General Gibson was a staunch advocate of an early entrance in the World War and took much interest in the activities of the American forces. Modern warfare, however, conducted on stereotyped formulae of destruction seemed to him to lack the glory and romance of that in which he had spent his life. On March 16, 1863, General Gibson was married to Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth Atkinson, the daughter of Major Benjamin Walker, of the Class of 1819, West Point Military Academy. They had four children, Dr. Horatio Gates Gibson, Mrs. Katherine Gibson White, Mrs. George Weed Wallace and Captain Henry Kendrick Gibson. Captain Gibson was in the Aviation Corps during the World War.
Thus ends the story of Horatio Gates Gibson, Brigadier General, United States Army. The old order passeth and with the passing of such men the world loses a precious possession which she can never regain. His were the days of splendid rugged men who underwent the hardships of an untried country, and who bravely and cheerfully contended with the forces of nature in remote posts and with the unfriendly tribes that it was their portion to encounter. His was a life of more than usual usefulness and power. He fought and conquered. The battle is to be strong.
John Hays Hammond.
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