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Civil War Soldiers - Leggett
| Leggett, Mortimer D., major-general,
U.S. Army, was born in Danby, Tompkins county, N. Y., April 19, 1821.
In 1836 he moved to Ohio with his parents, who were Friends, worked on
his father's farm until 1839, and then studied at Kirtland, Ohio, and
at Western Reserve college. He subsequently taught school, studied
law, was graduated in medicine at the Willoughby medical school, and
in 1845 established the first system of graded schools west of the
Alleghanies. He became superintendent of public schools in Zanesville,
Ohio, in 1857, and when the Civil war broke out he was volunteer aide
on McClellan's staff and accompanied him to western Virginia. In the
fall of 1861 he raised and organized the 78th Ohio infantry, of which
he became lieutenant-colonel, Dec. 18, and colonel a month later, and
he commanded his regiment at Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Corinth. In
June, 1862, he commanded a brigade, and at Bolivar, Tex., in August,
he met and fought for seven hours a brigade of Confederate cavalry
under Gen. Armstrong. He was wounded at Shiloh, at Champion's hill and
at Vicksburg, where his brigade was assigned to construct the
extensive mine which hastened the surrender of the city. He commanded
a division in Sherman's march to the sea, captured Bald hill on July
21, 1864, held it against repeated assaults by the Confederate army,
and was with Sherman through the Carolinas to Washington. He was
brevetted major-general of volunteers, Sept. 1, 1864, for gallantry,
was given the full commission Aug. 21, 1865, and resigned Sept. 28,
1865. After the war Gen. Leggett was United States commissioner of
patents, 1871-75, then engaged in the practice of patent law in
Cincinnati, and became an organizer and the president of the Brush
Electric company. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 6, 1896.
Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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