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R. H. Chilton
(1815 - 1879)
Home State: Virginia
Education: US Military Academy, West Point, NY, Class of 1837;Class Rank: 48
Command Billet: Chief of Staff, Adjutant Gen.
Branch of Service: Infantry
Before Sharpsburg
After West Point he served as a Dragoon officer in the West, becoming Captain, 1st US Dragoons in 1852. He fought in the Mexican War (1847-8), and was cited for bravery at the battle of Buena Vista. He continued in service as Major and Paymaster at Washington DC until his resignation from the US Army in 1861.
He was appointed Lt Colonel and Adjutant General, CSA, and served in the field on General Lee's staff until after Gettysburg when he became Inspector General of the Army of Northern Virginia, operating from Richmond.
On the Campaign
He was with the Army staff in Maryland.
The rest of the War
He was appointed Brigadier-General in October 1862, but it was not confirmed. He was finally given the rank in early 1864. He briefly commanded troops in the vicinity of Richmond in May 1864, but otherwise remained at Headquarters.
After the War
He was President of a manufacturing company in Columbus, Georgia.
References & notes
Birth
2/25/1815; Loudon County, VA
Death
2/18/1879; Columbus, GA; burial in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
1 Heitman, Francis Bernard, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army 1789-1903, 2 volumes, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1903 [AotW citation 718]
2 Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Gray, Lives of the Confederate Commanders, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1959 [AotW citation 719]
3 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/> [AotW citation 720]