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Civil War Soldiers - Bailey
| Bailey, Joseph, brigadier-general, was born in Salem,
O., April 28, 1827. He was killed, near Nevada, Newton county, Mo.,
March 21, 1867, while, in performance of his duty as sheriff, a
position to which he was elected after the war, he was attempting to
take two arrested desperadoes to the county seat. Gen. Bailey entered
the service of the United States as captain, July 2, 1861, was
assigned with his regiment to New Orleans, and in Dec, 1862, was made
acting engineer of the defenses of that city. He was later promoted to
major, and was sent home on a recruiting expedition, returning to duty
with his regiment in time to accompany Gen. N. P. Banks on the Red
river campaign. It was on this campaign that he won fame by saving the
army by means of an engineering feat. When Banks, accompanied by a
fleet of twelve gun-boats and thirty transports, tried to pass
Alexandria on the way back, it was found that the Red river had fallen
so that it was impossible for the fleet to pass the rapids. Working
against the advice of the regular engineers, Bailey constructed dams
on each side of the river, so that the channel was narrowed to
sixty-six feet. This caused an increase in the depth of the river and
enabled the fleet to escape. In recognition of this service he was
promoted to brigadier-general in 1864, and on March 13, 1865, he was
given the brevet of major-general of volunteers. He resigned from the
army July 7, 1865.
Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908 |
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