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E. M. Gregory
(1804 - 1871)
Home State: Pennsylvania
Command Billet: Commanding Regiment
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 91st Pennsylvania Infantry
see his Battle Report
Before Antietam
In the 1820s and 30s he lived in Deposit, NY, moving to Cincinnati, OH after 1836. There he was in the lumber business and known as an abolitionist - assisting runaway slaves on the "underground railroad" to Canada. By 1851 he was President of City Bank and of the Washington Life Insurance Company in Cincinnati. In 1861 he was in Philadelphia, PA, still in lumber. 1
He was appointed Colonel of the 91st Pennsylvania on 1 August 1861.
On the Campaign
He and the rest of Humphreys' Division arrived at Sharpsburg on the evening of the 17th, and were in reserve. They reported being ready for action at 9am on the 18th.
The rest of the War
He was wounded in action at Chancellorsville in May 1863 and returned to duty in August. He was then in command of the Brigade til War's end. He was honorably mustered out of Federal service in November 1867. He had been cited by brevets for "gallant and distinguished service" at Poplar Spring Church (near Petersburg), Va (to Brigadier General Sept 1864) and "gallant conduct" at Five Forks, Va. (to Major General Aug 1866).
After the War
He was Assistant Commissioner of the Freedman's Bureau in Texas at Galveston 1865-1866, but removed due to local opposition. In 1870, as U.S. Marshall in Philadelphia, he "called out a contingent of Marines from the Navy Yard to quell the disturbances"2 surrounding the first vote by black citizens following the 15th Amendment. He was still in that position at his death, of Bright's disease, in 1871.
References & notes
Birth
1/1/1804; Sand Lake, Rensselaer County, NY
Death
11/7/1871; Philadelphia, PA; burial in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
1 Professor Ide notes that the 'abolitionist' label and Gregory's participation in aiding runaway slaves may be weakly documented. However, they seem plausible in light of his post-war activities.
Ide, Harry, The 91st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Published 1999, first accessed 21 June 2005, <http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~pa91/index.html>, Source page: (Gregory bio) /cqgreg.html [AotW citation 93]
2 Waskie, Andy, Biography of Octavius V. Catto: Forgotten Black Hero of Philadelphia, afrolumensProject, Published 2004, first accessed 21 June 2005, <http://www.afrolumens.org/rising_free/waskie1.html> [AotW citation 92]
3 Heitman, Francis Bernard, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army 1789-1903, 2 volumes, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1903, pg. 477 [AotW citation 90]
4 Dodge, Russ, and Jim Tipton (founder), A.J. Marik, et al., FInd A Grave, Published 1995, first accessed 01 January 2000, <http://www.findagrave.com/>, Source page: /cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21804 [AotW citation 91]
5 Original source is the USAMHI Collection (Photo ID: RG98S-CWP4.69).
Uriguen, Mikel, Photo Gallery (Generals and Brevet Generals), Generals of the Civil War, Published c. 1998, first accessed 01 January 1998, <http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/>, Source page: /bg/bg3.htm [AotW citation 99]