Solomon Meredith
| Solomon Meredith | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Long Sol" |
| Born |
May 29, 1810 Guilford County, North Carolina |
| Died | October 2, 1875 (aged 65) Cambridge City, Indiana |
| Place of burial | Riverside Cemetery, Cambridge City, Indiana |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861 – 1865 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General Brevet Major General
|
| Commands held |
19th Indiana Infantry Regiment Iron Brigade |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Solomon Meredith (May 29, 1810 – October 2, 1875) was a prominent Indiana farmer, politician, and lawman who was a controversial Union Army general in the American Civil War. He gained fame as one of the commanders of the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, leading the brigade in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Solomon Meredith was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, to David and Mary Farrington Meredith. The Merediths were Quaker and educated young Solomon at home. Meredith's grandfather, James Meredith, fought at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse during the American Revolutionary War. In 1829, Solomon traveled to Wayne County, Indiana, where he found work chopping wood and working on a farm. He later clerked in a general store in Centerville.
In 1834, he became the Sheriff of Wayne County, serving for two years. He was subsequently elected to the Indiana House of Representatives for four terms. In the mid-1850s, he was the U.S. Marshal for Indiana. He owned a sprawling farm, "Oakland," near Cambridge City. He was nicknamed "Long Sol" for his towering 6' 7" body.
When the Civil War erupted in early 1861, Meredith recruited hundreds of men from his county and organized them into a volunteer regiment of infantry. Governor Oliver P. Morton appointed Meredith as the first colonel of the newly named 19th Indiana, despite his lack of previous military experience. The regiment traveled by train to Washington, D.C., where it would eventually join the Army of the Potomac and be brigaded with three Wisconsin regiments in what became famous as the Iron Brigade.
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