Stoneman
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GEORGE, an American military officer; born in Busti, N. Y., Aug. 8, 1822; was graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1846; served on the Pacific coast in 1847-1857; was promoted captain in 2d Cavalry in the latter year and was on duty principally in Texas till 1861. While in command of Fort Brown in the early part of the year he refused to surrender the government property to the Confederates at the order of Gen. David E. Twiggs. He was, however, compelled to evacuate the fort and sailed to New York. In August, 1861, he became brigadier-general of volunteers and chief of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac. He commanded the cavalry in the Peninsular campaign of 1862, and distinguished himself in the battle of Williamsburg on May 5 of that year; was promoted major-general of volunteers in the following November. He participated in the raid toward Richmond in April-May, 1863, and in the Atlanta campaign in May-July, 1864. He was taken prisoner in Clinton, Ga., in July of that year and held till October. Afterward till the end of the war he performed important service in southwestern Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. He was promoted colonel of the 21st Infantry in July, 1866, and was brevetted brigadiergeneral and major-general U. S. A., in recognition of his meritorious services. In August, 1871, he resigned from the army and settled in California, of which State he was Democratic governor in 1883-1887. He died in Buffalo, N. Y., Sept. 5, 1894.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The facts Collier's set down in 1921 still stand: the dates, the commands, the capture at Clinton, Georgia, and the single term as governor of California are all as given. What has shifted is why anyone outside military history knows the name. Stoneman's 1865 raid through Virginia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, dismissed here as "important service," was written into The Band's 1969 song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" -- "Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again" -- which has since made him more familiar to pop listeners than to readers of campaign histories. Modern accounts also give more weight to his governorship, when he took on the Southern Pacific and the state's railroad rate-setting machinery.
Written for this edition, 2026.