Alvan Cullem Gillem (July 29, 1830 – December 2, 1875) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although Southern-born, he remained loyal to the Federal government and fought in several battles in the Western Theater before commanding occupation troops in Mississippi and Arkansas during Reconstruction. He later played a prominent role in the Modoc War in 1873.  Early life and career  Gillem was born in Gainesboro in Jackson County, Tennessee, the son of Samuel Gillem. In 1851, he graduated 11th in his class from the United States Military Academy and was assigned as a second lieutenant to the artillery. He was soon sent to the front lines in Florida to serve in a battery during the Third Seminole War until 1852. He was then reassigned to the Texas frontier following the war.  Civil War  With the outbreak of the Civil War, Gillem became a captain on May 14, 1861, initially serving under George H. Thomas. Gillem was chief quartermaster of the Army of the Ohio in the several Tennessee campaigns and was brevetted as a major for gallantry in the Battle of Mill Springs. He was appointed colonel of the 10th Tennessee Infantry in May 1862 and served for a time as the provost marshal of Nashville during the Federal occupation of the city.
From June 1, 1863, until the close of the war, with rank of brigadier general of volunteers, he was active in Tennessee, where he was adjutant general. He commanded the troops guarding the Nashville and Northwestern railroad from June 1863, until August 1864. In a campaign to protect the loyal mountaineers in East Tennessee, his troops surprised and killed Confederate General John H. Morgan in Greeneville, on September 4, 1864. On October 28, Gillem routed Confederate forces under General John C. Vaughn at the Battle of Morristown in order to push them out of East Tennessee in what became known as “Vaughn’s Stampede.” [1] Vaughn returned two weeks later under the command of General John C. Breckinridge and routed Gillem at the Battle of Bull's Gap. Gillem was forced to retreat to Strawberry Plains near Knoxville and the battle became known as “Gillem’s Stampede.” Operating later in the year near Marion, Virginia, Gillem performed well in combat against the Confederates and was again recognized for bravery, being brevetted as a colonel in the Regular Army.
Gillem was vice-president of the convention (January 9, 1865) for the revision of the constitution of the State of Tennessee, and sat in the first Legislature elected thereafter. Afterwards, Gillem commanded the Union cavalry in east Tennessee, and participated in an expedition to North Carolina which resulted in the capture of Salisbury. For this action, he was brevetted as a major general in the volunteer army, his third such citation of the war.