Charles Francis Adams Jr. | |
---|---|
Born |
Boston, Massachusetts |
May 27, 1835
Died | May 20, 1915 Washington, D.C. |
(aged 79)
Place of burial | Mount Wollaston Cemetery, Quincy, Massachusetts |
Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1861–1865 |
Rank |
Colonel Brevet Brigadier General |
Unit | 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry |
Commands held | 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry |
Battles/wars | |
Other work | Railroad Commissioner, Park Commissioner, Author, Historian |
Charles Francis Adams Jr. (May 27, 1835 – May 20, 1915) was a member of the prominent Adams family, and son of Charles Francis Adams Sr. He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he was a railroad regulator and executive, an author of historical works, and a member of the Massachusetts Park Commission.
Adams was born into a family with a long legacy in American public life. He was the great-grandson of United States President John Adams, and the grandson of president John Quincy Adams. His father Charles Francis Adams Sr. was a lawyer, politician, diplomat, and writer.
Adams graduated from Harvard University in 1856.
Adams served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry on December 28, 1861. He was promoted to captain on December 1, 1862. He fought with distinction during the Gettysburg Campaign, where his company was heavily engaged at the Battle of Aldie. When the regiment's 3-years enlistment ended it was reduced to a battalion; and Adams was mustered out of service on September 1, 1864.
On September 8, 1864 he was commissioned as the lieutenant colonel of the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry (officially designated "5th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry"). He was promoted to colonel and assumed command of the regiment on March 14, 1865, shortly before the end of the war. When he assumed command, the regiment was assigned guarding Confederate prisoners of war at Point Lookout, Maryland.