Carle Augustus Woodruff

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First Lieutenant Carle A. Woodruff, September 1863. Library of Congress

Carle Augustus Woodruff (August 8, 1841 – July 20, 1913), was a career soldier in the United States Army who rose to the rank of brigadier general. He received the Medal of Honor while serving as an artillery officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Woodruff graduated from the United States Military Academy and was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery at Washington, D.C.. Serving with Combined Batteries B and L, 2nd U.S. Artillery, he was part of the U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade in the Army of the Potomac. As a section chief, he was cited for gallantry during an engagement at Newby’s Crossroads, Virginia, on July 24, 1863:

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While in command of a section of a battery constituting a portion of the rear guard of a division then retiring before the advance of a corps of Infantry was attacked by the enemy and ordered to abandon his guns. Lt. Woodruff disregarded the orders received and aided in repelling the attack and saving the guns.

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He was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor for these actions, on September 1, 1893. Woodruff was also awarded brevet promotions for gallantry at the battles of Gettysburg (brevet captain, July 3, 1863) and Trevillian Station (brevet major, June 11, 1864), and for good conduct during the war (lieutenant colonel, March 13, 1865). Serving primarily as a section chief, Woodruff commanded Battery M, 2nd U.S. Artillery, at the Battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864.

Woodruff remained in the Regular Army after the Civil War, and gained his captaincy in 1869. He rose steadily through the officers corps, to major of the 2nd U.S. Artillery (1894), lieutenant colonel of the 7th U.S. Artillery (1899), and colonel of the Corps of Artillery, 1901. By the end of his career, he ranked as a brigadier general.

He died July 20, 1913, and was buried at Oakwood Cemetery, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Battery Woodruff at Fort Hughes is named for him. The Carle A. Woodruff Lodge of the Perfection, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is also named for him.

[edit] References

American Memory: Selected Civil War Photographs. Library of Congress. Prints and Photograps Division. Washington, D.C.
Heitman, Francis B., Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, From its Organization, September 29, 1789 to March 2, 1903. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903.
Simpson, Lt. W. A., History of the Second Regiment of Artillery.
U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1894.