Orville E. Babcock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orville Elias Babcock (December 25, 1835 – June 2, 1884) was an American Civil War general in the Union Army.
Born in Franklin, Vermont, Babcock graduated third in a class of forty-five from West Point in 1861. During the Civil War, he served as Nathaniel P. Banks' aide-de-camp until August 1861. He then was assigned to help construct the defenses around Washington D.C.. On November 17, 1861, he was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to the Left Grand Division as the Chief Engineer. Babcock was promoted to lieutenant colonel on January 1, 1863, and was named the Assistant Inspector General of the VI Corps until February 6, when he was named the Assistant Inspector General and Chief Engineer of the IX Corps. He fought with the IX Corps at the Battle of Vicksburg and the Battle of Blue Springs, and the Battle of Campbell's Station.
After fighting in the Knoxville Campaign, he was became the Chief Engineer of the Department of the Ohio on January 23, 1863. On March 29, Babcock was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became the aide-de-camp to General Ulysses S. Grant where he participated in the Battle of the Wilderness, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House and Battle of Cold Harbor. As Grant's aide-de-camp, it fell to Babcock to deliver Grant's surrender demand to General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, Virginia, and to escort Lee to his meeting with Grant at the Appomattox Court House.
Babcock was brevetted Brigadier General for his services during the Civil War. After the war, he served as Grant's private secretary. In 1875 he was indicted as a member of the Whiskey Ring, but was acquitted, partially due to testimony given by Grant. Babcock left Washington to become the chief engineer of the Sixth District of the Light House Establishment. As part of this job, Babcock was responsible for the planning and building of the Mosquito Inlet Lighthouse. Before construction could begin, the boat bringing Babcock to shore from a schooner overturned in the Inlet, and he drowned in Mosquito Inlet, Florida. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 2, Grave 3828.
Babcock was also involved in the attempt to annex the Dominican Republic. While Grant believed the southern blacks might want to refugee in the Dominican. Babcock, without informing the current secretary of war, Hamilton Fish, negotiated an Agreement with the Dominicans. This attempt for a treaty split Charles Sumner away from the Radical Republican Party. Following the corruption scandal, Babcock took his position as lighthouse inspector.
