Francis Fessenden | |
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Col. Francis Fessenden
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Born |
Portland, Maine |
March 18, 1839
Died | January 2, 1906 Portland, Maine |
(aged 66)
Place of burial | Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Maine |
Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1861–1866 |
Rank |
Brigadier General (Regular Army) Major General |
Commands held |
25th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment 30th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment |
Battles/wars | |
Relations | James D. Fessenden (brother) |
Francis Fessenden (March 18, 1839 – January 2, 1906) was a lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of Maine who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a member of the powerful Fessenden family, which was prominent in national politics during the mid-19th century.
Francis Fessenden was born in Portland, Maine, in the spring of 1839. He was the son of U.S. Senator William P. Fessenden and a brother of James Deering Fessenden, who would also serve as a general in the Union army. Another brother, Samuel, would be killed at the Second Battle of Manassas during the war. Two uncles, Samuel C. Fessenden and T. A. D. Fessenden were U.S. Congressmen.
He was educated in the local schools and then graduated from Bowdoin College in 1858. He studied law at the Harvard Law School, passed his bar exam, and joined his father's law firm.
Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Fessenden received a commission as a captain in the Regular Army in the newly raised 19th U.S. Infantry on May 14, 1861. He spent much of the year as a recruiting officer, helping raise additional troops.
In January 1862, he assumed duties as a line officer in the Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee and was severely wounded at the April 1862 Battle of Shiloh. He became the colonel of the 25th Maine Infantry and commanded a brigade as part of the 22nd Army Corps in the defenses of Washington, D.C.. He was married that year to Ellen Winslow, a daughter of Edward Fox of Portland.