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Civil War Soldiers - Stannard
| Stannard, George J.,
brigadier-general, U.S. Army, was born in Georgia, Vt., Oct. 20, 1820.
Between the ages of fifteen and twenty he worked on his father's farm
in summer and taught in a district school in winter. In 1845 he became
a clerk in the St. Albans Foundry company and in time was placed in
charge of the business. In 1860 he was admitted as a member of the
company. Up to this time he had been active in the state militia and
had become colonel of the 4th Vt. regiment. On President Lincoln's
first call for volunteers he tendered the services of himself and his
regiment by telegraph; but it was decided by the state authorities and
the legislature, then in special session, to organize a regiment of
ten companies selected from the 1st, 2nd, and 4th regiments of the
militia, under the command of Col. John W. Phelps, reserving Col.
Stannard for the duty of organizing additional regiments. In May,
1861, he organized the 2nd Vt. infantry, was commissioned as its
lieutenant-colonel and mustered into the U. S. service at Burlington,
June 12, 1861, leaving for the field twelve days later. He was with
the men of the 2nd in every march and skirmish till the latter part of
May, 1862, when he accepted the commission of colonel of the 9th Vt.
infantry and was soon afterward assigned to Gen. Pope's command. On
March 11, 1863, he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers and
placed in command of the 2nd Vt. brigade. He rendered efficient
service in the Gettysburg battles, his brigade being conspicuous in
the repulse of the final Confederate charge, and he was severely
wounded in the cannonade with which Gen. Longstreet strove to cover
the Confederate retreat. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered for
light duty he was assigned to the command of the troops garrisoning
the forts in New York harbor, remaining at this post till May, 1864,
when on the final advance of Gen. Grant upon Richmond he again took
the field, being assigned to the 10th army corps. He took part in the
battle of Cold Harbor, where he lost two staff-officers and was again
wounded. In the movement of the 18th corps on Petersburg on June 14 he
led the advance with his brigade, occupied some of the enemy's
fortifications within three-quarters of a mile of the city, and was a
third time wounded. On Sept. 19 he was assigned the task of storming
Fort Harrison, which he accomplished in a gallant manner, capturing
and holding that important work at the cost of his right arm. This
wound unfitted him for active service for several months. In Dec.
1864, he was assigned to the command of the Vermont border and
remained in service in the Department of the East till Feb., 1866,
when he was ordered to duty at Baltimore in connection with the
Freedmen's bureau. He retired from the army on June 27, 1866 and was
appointed collector of customs for the District of Vermont, holding
the office till 1872. In 1881 he was appointed a door-keeper of the
House of Representatives at Washington, D. C., and he died at this
post on May 31, 1886. Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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