Jeremiah Cutler Sullivan | |
---|---|
Born |
Madison, Indiana |
October 1, 1830
Died | October 21, 1890 Oakland, California |
(aged 60)
Place of burial | Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, California |
Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
Service/branch |
United States Navy United States Army |
Years of service | 1848 - 1854 (Navy) 1861 - 1865 (Army) |
Rank |
Midshipman Brigadier General |
Unit | 6th Indiana Infantry Regiment |
Commands held |
13th Indiana Infantry Regiment 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Mississippi District of Jackson, Tennessee 2nd Division, Army of the Shenandoah |
Battles/wars |
Mexican-American War
American Civil War
Jeremiah Cutler Sullivan (October 1, 1830 – October 21, 1890) was an Indiana lawyer, antebellum United States Navy officer, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was among a handful of former Navy officers who later served as infantry generals during the war.
Jeremiah C. Sullivan was born in Madison, Indiana. He was the son of Virginia-born attorney Jeremiah Sullivan, who served as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court and coined the name "Indianapolis" for the new state capital. He was the younger brother of Algernon Sydney Sullivan, New York attorney and founder of the Sullivan & Cromwell law firm.
Sullivan was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated in 1848. He was commissioned as a midshipman and spent the next six years primarily at sea, serving aboard four different vessels, including duty during the Mexican-American War. In April 1854, he resigned from the Navy and returned home to Indiana, where he studied law, passed his bar exam, and opened a private practice.
Sullivan helped recruit and organize a three-months' infantry regiment, the 6th Indiana Volunteers. He was elected as a captain and led his troops into combat at the Battle of Philippi in western Virginia. Following the expiration of his term of enlistment, Sullivan mustered out of the army. However, he soon received an appointment from Governor Oliver P. Morton as the colonel of the 13th Indiana, a three-years' regiment. Sullivan returned to western Virginia in the army of George B. McClellan and fought at Rich Mountain and Cheat Mountain in the summer of 1861.