Short answers, pulled from the story.
William Woods Averell (the 5th of November 1832 - the 3rd of February 1900) was a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War. He is notable as the only Union general to achieve major victories against Confederate forces in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 before Philip Sheridan took command, winning at the Battle of Rutherford's (Carter's) Farm and the Battle of Moorefield.
General Joseph Hooker relieved Averell of his command on the 2nd of May 1863, following what Hooker criticized as Averell's slow and ineffective performance during Stoneman's cavalry raid. Hooker's official report noted that Averell had commanded roughly 4,000 sabers and marched only twenty-eight miles over several days while engaging no serious opposition.
At the Battle of Moorefield in West Virginia, Averell used scouts disguised as Confederates in his vanguard and launched a sunrise attack on Confederate Brigadier General John McCausland's camp, capturing hundreds of prisoners and a four-gun battery. The attack came after McCausland had burned Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on the 30th of July 1864.
Averell was relieved by Major General Philip Sheridan on the 23rd of September 1864, following a dispute over Averell's conduct after the Battle of Fisher's Hill during the Valley Campaigns of 1864. A staff officer recorded that Averell was "dreadfully depressed and broken" after the relief and never served in the field again during the war.
Averell patented an improved technique for laying asphalt pavement in 1878, titled "Improvement in Asphaltic Pavement," which became the basis of his wealth. He had grown interested in asphalt around 1870 while observing early installations in New York City and Newark, New Jersey, built on procedures patented by Belgian engineer Edward de Smedt. He also held patents for methods of manufacturing steel castings and insulated electrical cable.
Averell co-wrote the History of the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, 60th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, published in 1905. He also wrote a memoir about his army years from 1851 to 1862, titled Ten Years in the Saddle; the manuscript was lost for a time, rediscovered in the late 20th century, and published in an annotated edition in 1978. Both works were published posthumously.