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Civil War Soldiers - Sprague
| Sprague, John W., brigadier-general,
U.S. Army, was born in White Creek, Washington county, N. Y., April 4,
1817. He was an attendant at the district school of his neighborhood
and entered the Rensselaer polytechnic institute at Troy, N. Y., when
thirteen years of age. He left school before graduation to engage in
business, and in 1845 removed to Milan, Erie county, Ohio, where he
continued the business of a merchant. He afterward settled in Sandusky
and was for one term (1851-52) treasurer of Erie county. Upon the
outbreak of the Civil war he raised a company of militia, was made its
captain and with it joined the 7th Ohio infantry. He was rapidly
promoted and in 1863 was colonel of the 63d Ohio infantry,
brigadier-general of volunteers on July 21, 1864, and on March 13,
1865, was brevetted major-general of volunteers. He was mustered out
of the service on Aug. 24, 1865. During his service as a volunteer
officer he declined a lieutenant-colonelcy in the regular army. After
the war he was appointed manager of the Winona & St. Paul railway. In
1870 he was general manager of the western division of the Northern
Pacific railway and with Capt. Ainsworth established the city of
Tacoma, Wash. In 1883 he had the honor of driving the golden spike on
the completion of his division and soon afterward resigned on account
of impaired health. He was active in building up the new city of
Tacoma and was president of the board of trade and of various banks
and corporations. Gen. Sprague died at his home in Tacoma, Wash., Dec.
27, 1893. Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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| Sprague, William, brigadier-general,
U.S. Army, was born at Cranston, Providence county, R. I., Sept. 12,
1830, son of Amasa and Fanny (Morgan) Sprague, the latter a native of
Groton, Conn. He was educated in the schools of Cranston, East
Greenwich and Scituate, and at Irving institute, Tarrytown, N. Y. At
the age of fifteen he entered the store at Cranston connected with the
large cotton manufacturing and calico printing business of A. & W.
Sprague, the firm consisting of his father and his uncle, Gov. William
Sprague. At the age of sixteen he removed to Providence to enter the
counting house of the firm, and two years later became a book-keeper.
He took an interest in military affairs early in life, and in 1848
joined the marine artillery company of Providence and rose from the
ranks to the position of colonel. He made the company the equal of any
military force in the United States in efficiency. In 1859 he visited
Europe and made a special study of its military establishments. In
1860 he was elected governor of Rhode Island and, anticipating the
Civil war, had the infantry and artillery of the state in readiness
for emergencies. He made great exertions to raise troops in response
to President Lincoln's call for three-months' men and offered the
national government a regiment and a battery of light-horse artillery.
The "war governor," as he was called, went immediately to the front
and was in the first battle of Bull Run, where his horse was shot
under him. He served during the Peninsular campaign and for his
bravery and patriotic services in general was commissioned
brigadier-general of volunteers, but was not mustered into service,
being unwilling to give up his position as governor. He was reelected
governor in 1861 and 1862, but was absent in the field most of the
time and the duties of his office were performed by John R. Bartlett.
In the spring of 1863 Gov. Sprague was elected to the U. S. senate and
resigned the governorship, William C. Cozzens, president of the
senate, acting in his place until the regular election in May. He was
a member of the committees on manufactures and on military affairs,
and chairman of the committee on public lands. He served two terms in
the senate, from March 4, 1863 until March 3, 1875, when he left
Congress to resume his business as a manufacturer.
Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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