Hugh Brady
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hugh Brady | |
|---|---|
| July 29, 1768–April 15, 1851 | |
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| Place of birth | Standingstone, Pennsylvania |
| Place of death | Detroit, Michigan |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1792–95; 1799–c. 1801; 1812–51 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | 22nd Infantry Regiment, |
| Battles/wars | Northwest Indian War, War of 1812, Black Hawk War |
Hugh Brady (July 29, 1768–April 15, 1851) was an American general from Pennsylvania. He served in the Northwest Indian War under General Anthony Wayne, and during the War of 1812. Following the War of 1812, Brady remained in the military, eventually rising to the rank of major general and taking command of the garrison at Detroit. He also marginally participated in the 1832 Black Hawk War. Hugh Brady died an accidental death in 1851 when he was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage.
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[edit] Early life
Hugh Brady was born July 29, 1768, one of six sons and four daughters by John and Mary Brady, in Standingstone, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.[1][2] Brady's father, Captain John Brady, was killed in 1776, during the American Revolution in a battle with Native Americans. In May 1779, the family moved to Brady's maternal grandfather's home in Cumberland County and stayed there until October 1779. After a harsh winter, Brady spent the ensuing few years working the fields in the area with his brothers, often armed in case of conflict with Native Americans. Brady's mother died in 1783, and his oldest siblings began to marry. Hugh Brady moved with his brother Samuel Brady to Washington County, Pennsylvania. Samuel married and Hugh stayed with his brother until 1792, when he began his military career.[2]
[edit] Military career
[edit] Early career
Brady was first inducted into the military with a commission from George Washington as an ensign in General "Mad" Anthony Wayne's army in 1792 and placed in a rifle company under the command of Captain John Crawford.[1][2] By 1794, Brady rose to the rank of lieutenant, and fought with Wayne in the Northwest Indian War. Brady participated in the decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers, which resulted in the Treaty of Greenville.[1][2][3] Following the war, in 1796, he left the military, albeit temporarily, and returned to Virginia to visit the widow of his brother, Captain Samuel Brady.[2][4]
His brother had settled in Ohio County, Virginia and after visiting his widow there, Hugh Brady decided to return home to see his family in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He arrived there, after further stops in Virginia and Kentucky, in 1797. He remained in Sunbury until, during the winter of 1798–99 he was appointed a captain in a militia raised during the administration of President John Adams.[2][1] The militia was disbanded less than two years later and Brady went about improving a plot of land, with his brother William, about 50 miles from Pittsburgh along the Mahoning River.[2][1] Brady married Sarah Wallace and remained on the plot until 1807.[1][4]
[edit] War of 1812
In 1807 Brady moved to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania and remained there until 1812. In 1812 he received a commission from President Thomas Jefferson and once again rejoined the ranks of U.S. military officers.[5] He was given command of the 22nd Infantry Regiment and saw action at the Battle of Chippawa and the Battle of Lundy's Lane, where he was severely wounded.[1][4] The wounds ended his service during the War of 1812.[5][1] Brady would remain in the military after the war, until his death in 1851.[4]
[edit] In Michigan
In 1819 Brady was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Regiment based at Sackett's Harbor, New York. As a colonel, in 1822, Brady and five companies of the 2nd Infantry established Fort Brady on the site of the 1751 French stockade Fort Repentigny, along the St. Mary's River at Sault Ste. Marie near Lake Superior in Michigan Territory.[5][6] The outpost became an important defense structure in the upper Michigan frontier. In 1857, most of the soldiers at Fort Brady were withdrawn and transferred to Fort Snelling, in Minnesota.[6] Brady rose in rank to brigadier general later that same year, after ten years service.[5][1] Brady had command of the garrison at Detroit by 1828.
In late April 1832 the Black Hawk War began between Sauk war chief Black Hawk's British Band and the Illinois state and Michigan Territorial Militia. Brady left Michigan Territorial Capital for Fort Winnebago, near present-day Portage, Wisconsin. Brady was Commandant of the Department of the Upper Great Lakes at the time and was accompanied by one aide. Brady, having seen combat in the 1790s with Wayne and during the War of 1812, was of the opinion that the Sauk could be easily defeated with only a few companies of soldiers. Brady was given command of two companies and set out to rendevous with General Henry Atkinson, overall commander, in northern Illinois.[7]
Much of Brady's overall involvement in this conflict was peripheral. On the afternoon of June 8, 1832, Henry Dodge and his men, including James W. Stephenson, proceeded to Kellogg's Grove and buried the victims of the St. Vrain massacre. That night Stephenson returned to Galena, Illinois, while Dodge moved to Hickory Point where he remained overnight.[8] The next morning Dodge set out for Dixon's Ferry, where he camped with General Brady.[9] On June 11, Dodge escorted Brady to the mouth of the Fox River to confer with Atkinson.[8] Dodge left the conference with clear authority from Atkinson to deal with the violence in the mining region.[9] Hugh Brady set out for Fort Hamilton, with the brigade commanded by Alexander Posey and his two companies of regulars, on June 20.[9] Brady was eventually given a larger force but was stricken with dysentery in July and did not participate further in the war.[7]
Five years after the Black Hawk War, in 1837, Brady was given command of Military Deparment No. 7, headquartered in Detroit. He remained in the position for seven years, during which time he was in command over the removal of several Native American tribes as well as an incident known as the "Patriot War".[5] When the U.S.-Mexican War broke out, Brady was too old to join the troops in the field but he assisted by helping to raise troops and equipment and shipping it to the war zone. In 1848, three years before his death, Brady was promoted to the rank of major general.[1]
[edit] Late life and death
Hugh Brady died an accidental death in Detroit on April 15, 1851.[5] Brady was at the helm of a horse-drawn carriage, when the vehicle became entangled in telegraph wires. The wires, lowered for repairs, caused the horses to panic. In the panic, Brady was thrown from the carriage and fatally injured. He died in the presence of his pastor, Dr. (Rev.) George Duffield.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Farmer, Silas. History of Detroit and Wayne County and Early Michigan: A Chronological Cylopedia of the Past and Present, (Google Books), S. Farmer & Co. for Munsell & Co.: 1890, p. 1078. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g Meginness, John Franklin. Otzinachson: Or, a History of the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna (Google Books), H.B. Ashmead: 1857, pp. 337–43. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
- ^ Thwaites, Reuben Gold, ed. Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, (Google Books), Vol. VII (1876), The Society: 1908, p. 236. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The Centennial Memorial of the Presbytery of Carlisle (Google Books), Vol. II — Biographical, Meyers Printing and Publishing House: 1889, pp. 356–57. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f Moore, Charles. History of Michigan, (Google Books), The Lewis Publishing Co.: 1915, pp. 1105–06. Retrieved 11 October 2007
- ^ a b Laurence, Mary Leefe. Daughter of the Regiment: Memoirs of a Childhood in the Frontier Army, 1878-1898, (Google Books), University of Nebraska Press: 1999, (ISBN 0803279884), p. 177. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
- ^ a b Barnett, LeRoy and Rosentreter, Roger L. Michigan's Early Military Forces: A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War (Google Books), Wayne State University Press: 2003, p. 156, (ISBN 0814330819). Retrieved 10 October 2007.
- ^ a b Stevens, Frank. The Black Hawk War, Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University. Originally published: 1903, Section 181-182, Chapter XXV, Battle of Pecatonica. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
- ^ a b c Trask, Kerry A. Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America, (Google Books), Henry Holt Company, New York: 2007, pp. 233-237, 243, (ISBN 0805077588). Retrieved 14 August 2007.
