Civil War Union Brigadier General. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York by Senator Robert Field Stockton, and graduated in 1856. He was assigned to the cavalry, and posted on the American frontier, where he was involved with conflicts with the Native Americans (one of the men he served with was a young J.E.B. Stuart, future Confederate cavalry legend). When the Civil War began he was serving as an instructor of cavalry tactics at West Point. The need for experienced offices facilitated his commissioning of Colonel, US Volunteers and commander of the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry on August 27, 1861. His training and discipline of the unit molded it into one of the top Union cavalry regiment in the early part of the war. He led his men first in the Washington, DC defenses, then in the Shenandoah Valley opposing the operations of Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. Commissioned Brigadier General, US Volunteers on April 29, 1862, he was placed in command of the cavalry for the Army of the Potomac's III Corps. At the August 1862 Battle of Cedar Mountain, he led the advance against the Confederate positions. Assigned again to the defenses of Washington DC after the 2nd Battle of Bull Run at the end of August 1862, when Major General Ambrose E. Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, he re-organized it into three "Grand Divisions" and placed Brigadier General Bayard in command of the cavalry for the "Left Grand Division". On December 13, 1862 during the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia he was meeting with Major General William B. Franklin, Left Grand Division commander, at General Franklin's headquarters when a Confederate artillery shell struck him, mangling his hip and legs. He lingered until the next day when he died of his wounds. He was buried in Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, New Jersey a few days before the date he was to be wed.
Civil War Union Brigadier General. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York by Senator Robert Field Stockton, and graduated in 1856. He was assigned to the cavalry, and posted on the American frontier, where he was involved with conflicts with the Native Americans (one of the men he served with was a young J.E.B. Stuart, future Confederate cavalry legend). When the Civil War began he was serving as an instructor of cavalry tactics at West Point. The need for experienced offices facilitated his commissioning of Colonel, US Volunteers and commander of the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry on August 27, 1861. His training and discipline of the unit molded it into one of the top Union cavalry regiment in the early part of the war. He led his men first in the Washington, DC defenses, then in the Shenandoah Valley opposing the operations of Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. Commissioned Brigadier General, US Volunteers on April 29, 1862, he was placed in command of the cavalry for the Army of the Potomac's III Corps. At the August 1862 Battle of Cedar Mountain, he led the advance against the Confederate positions. Assigned again to the defenses of Washington DC after the 2nd Battle of Bull Run at the end of August 1862, when Major General Ambrose E. Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, he re-organized it into three "Grand Divisions" and placed Brigadier General Bayard in command of the cavalry for the "Left Grand Division". On December 13, 1862 during the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia he was meeting with Major General William B. Franklin, Left Grand Division commander, at General Franklin's headquarters when a Confederate artillery shell struck him, mangling his hip and legs. He lingered until the next day when he died of his wounds. He was buried in Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, New Jersey a few days before the date he was to be wed.
Bio by: RPD2
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