David B. Birney
| David Bell Birney | |
|---|---|
David B. Birney
|
|
| Born |
May 29, 1825 Huntsville, Alabama |
| Died | October 18, 1864 (aged 39) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Place of burial | Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1864 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Commands held | X Corps |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
David Bell Birney (May 29, 1825 – October 18, 1864) was a businessman, lawyer, and a Union General in the American Civil War.
Birney was born in Huntsville, Alabama, the son of an abolitionist from Kentucky, James G. Birney. The Birney family returned to Kentucky in 1833, and James Birney freed his slaves. In 1835, the family moved to Cincinnati, where the father published an anti-slavery newspaper. Following numerous threats from pro-slavery mobs, the family moved again to Michigan, and finally to Philadelphia.
Following his graduation from Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, David Birney entered business, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He returned to Philadelphia, practicing law from 1856 until the outbreak of the Civil War.
Birney entered the Union army just after Fort Sumter as lieutenant colonel of the 23rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, a unit he raised largely at his own expense. Just prior to the war he had been studying military texts in preparation for such a role. He was promoted to colonel on August 31, 1861, and to brigadier general on February 17, 1862, clearly benefiting from political influences, not military merit. He commanded a brigade in Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny's division of the III Corps, which he led through the Peninsula Campaign. At the Battle of Seven Pines he was accused of disobeying an order from his corps commander, Maj. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, allegedly for "halting his command a mile from the enemy." But this was simply a matter of orders misunderstood. Birney was court-martialed, but with strong positive testimony from Kearny, he was acquitted and restored to command.
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