Civil War Union Army Brigadier General. Born in Hoosick, New York, he was an 1859 graduate of Union College in Schenectady. He studied law and engaged in manufacturing. On April 15, 1861, when President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to suppress the Southern rebellion, he recruited a company of the 2nd New York, a 2-year command. A month later, he was commissioned Captain and seen his first action on June 10 at Big Bethel, Virginia. The regiment then participated in the major campaigns of 1862, seeing action at Peninsula, Seven Days', Second Bull Run, and Fredericksburg. Have risen to the rank of Major, he fought at Chancellorsville in May 1863. The regiment, its term of service having expired, mustered out on May 26. He reenlisted on February 5, 1864, as Colonel of the 21st New York Cavalry and commanded a brigade of cavalry on May 15, during the Union defeat at New Market, Virginia. The next month he led his cavalrymen in the fighting at Piedmont, his performance earning him a strong recommendation for promotion from Major General David Hunter, department commander. He was brevetted Brigadier General on October 21, 1864. From February to April 1865, he commanded a cavalry division in the Middle Military Division, and on October 18, he became one of the last officers commissioned to the full rank of Brigadier General. He mustered out in 1866 and moved to Troy, New York, where he lived until his death.