Quincy Adams Gillmore

• 1. West Point And Early Engineering

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  Quincy Adams Gillmore entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1845. He graduated in 1849 as first in a class of 43 members. This top ranking secured his appointment to the engineers branch of the army. From 1849 until 1852, he worked on constructing fortifications at Hampton Roads in coastal Virginia. The next four years saw him serving as an instructor of Practical Military Engineering back at West Point. During this teaching period, he designed a new riding school for cadets. In 1856, Oberlin College conferred an honorary A.M. degree upon him. Beginning that same year, Gillmore served as a purchasing agent for the Army in New York City. He was promoted to captain on the 6th of August 1861.

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• 2. Fort Pulaski Siege Tactics

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  Gillmore took charge of siege operations against Fort Pulaski after being appointed brigadier general. He became the first officer to effectively use naval rifled guns to knock out enemy stone fortification. More than 5,000 artillery shells fell on Pulaski from a range of 1,700 yards during the short siege. These shells breached the forts walls and resulted in its surrender. His actions essentially rendered stone fortifications obsolete across military strategy. Although he was one of the best artillerists and engineers in the army, he was not well respected by his men. This tension between technical brilliance and interpersonal relations would follow him through future campaigns.

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• 3. Charleston Harbor Campaigns

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  Gillmore commanded the Department of the South with headquarters at Hilton Head from the 12th of June 1863, to the 1st of May 1864. Under his direction, the army constructed two earthen forts named Fort Mitchel and Fort Holbrook near Spanish Wells. He then turned his attention against Charleston, South Carolina. An initial attack on July 10 succeeded at the southern end of Morris Island. Gillmore had enough confidence to assault Fort Wagner on the north end of the island. The following day he launched the first attack which was defeated. On the 18th of July 1863, Gillmores troops were repulsed with heavy losses in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner. General Truman Seymour was wounded while brigade commanders George Crockett Strong and Haldimand S. Putnam died in the attack. Among the troops who assaulted Fort Wagner was the 54th Massachusetts regiment of African-Americans led by white commissioned officers. Gillmore ordered that his forces be integrated and that African-Americans were not assigned menial tasks only but instead carried arms into battle.

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• 4. The Swamp Angel Artillery

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  Gillmore decided on siege operations to capture Fort Wagner using innovative technology such as the 25-barreled Requa gun. He also deployed calcium flood lights to blind opponents during trenching efforts. A massive Parrott rifle nicknamed the Swamp Angel fired 200-pound shots into the city of Charleston itself. Despite swampy ground Union troops worked their way toward Fort Wagner. Meanwhile, Gillmores artillery pounded Fort Sumter into rubble. On the 7th of September 1863, Gillmores forces captured Fort Wagner. In February 1864, Gillmore sent troops to Florida under the command of General Truman Seymour. Despite orders from Gillmore not to advance into the interior of the state, General Seymour advanced toward Tallahassee. This decision resulted in the largest battle in Florida known as the Battle of Olustee which ended in a Union defeat.

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• 5. Postwar Engineering Legacy

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  The Gillmore Medal first issued on the 28th of October 1863, was struck and issued by Gilmore to all Union soldiers who had served under his command in fighting around Charleston during 1863. Some African Americans in the 19th century took the surname Gillmore or Gilmore as a tribute to the general. The traveling secretary of the Negro Leagues Kansas City Monarchs from 1920 to 1925 was named Quincy J. Jordan Gilmore. A coal schooner named in his honor called the General Q.A. Gillmore sank in 1881 in Lake Erie about 45 miles west of Lorain near Kelleys Island. The shipwreck remains in the shallow waters of the lake. A second ship was launched bearing his name called the Q.A. Gillmore. It was a steam-powered tugboat Hull number 24 built for the Great Lakes Towing Company of Cleveland Ohio and launched around 1912-13. This vessel operated on the Great Lakes and participated in rescues of ships during the notable Great Lakes storm of 1913. General Gillmore

• 6. Medals And Commemorative Honors

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  died at Brooklyn New York at the age of 63.