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W. Franklin
(1823 - 1903)
Home State: Pennsylvania
Education: US Military Academy, West Point, NY, Class of 1843;Class Rank: 1
Command Billet: Commander, Army Corps
Branch of Service: Engineers
Unit: Sixth Army Corps
see his Battle Report
Before Antietam
He graduated first in his class from the USMA in 1843, was on engineer duty, served in Kearny's exploration of the Rockies, served in the Mexican war, and just before War, was assigned to oversee the construction of a new dome for the Capitol in Washington, D.C. . In May 1861 he was Colonel of the 12th US Infantry, and was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers. He commanded the 1st Brigade/3rd Division at First Bull Run, commanded a division in Washington defenses, and commanded VI Corps in the Peninsula campaign. In July 1862 he was promoted to Major General of Volunteers.
On the Campaign
He commanded McClellan's Sixth (VI) Army Corps.
The rest of the War
He commanded the Left Grand Division at Fredericksburg and led 19th Corps in the Red River campaign (wounded).
After the War
He was a businessman (an executive of the Colt Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, serving for 22 years), politician and US commissioner general to the 1888 Paris Exposition.
References & notes
Source: Heitman, Francis Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army 1789-1903, Washington, US Government Printing Office, 1903.
Birth
2/27/1823; York, PA
Death
3/8/1903; Hartford, CT