William Montrose Graham

Son of a career Army officer, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st US Artillery on 7 June 1855. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on 1 Mar 1861 and Captain on 26 October of that year.

He commanded Battery K of the First US (Horse artillery) on the Maryland Campaign.

He was later appointed Colonel of the 2nd District of Columbia Infantry (April 1865) and honorably mustered out of Volunteer service 12 September 1865. He was cited by Brevet for gallantry during the Peninsular campaign in Virginia (to Major), for the battles of Antietam (Lt. Colonel) and Gettysburg (Colonel), and War service (Brigadier General).

He returned to Regular Army service as Captain, and was promoted to Major, 4th US Artillery, on 18 July 1879. He returned to the First US as Lieutenant Colonel on 10 August 1887. He transferred to the Fifth Artillery in May 1891 and was appointed their Colonel on 1 July 1891.
During the Spanish American War he was made Brigadier General, USA (26 May 1897) and Major General of Volunteers (4 May 1898 - 30 November 1898). He retired from active service on 28 September 1898. Cited by Brevet for gallantry during the Peninsular campaign in Virginia, and the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg.

His father, after whom he was named, was of the Class of 1817 from West Point - he was killed, as Lieutenant Colonel, 11th US Infantry, in 1847 in the battle of Molino del Rey, Mexico. His mother was the former Charlotte Meade - sister of George Gordon Meade. His son, William Jr., was also Army (1898 - ? ). His father's brother James Duncan Graham (also USMA 1817) served til 1865 in Engineering commands. His wife was Mary Brewerton Ricketts, sister of to Gen James B Ricketts.

Information here from Heitman1 and The (Washington) Evening Star, obituaries &etc of various dates, as cited online for the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC. The photograph above is from Uriguen2.

9/28/1834; Washington, DC

1/16/1916; near Annapolis, MD; burial in Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC