Civil War Union Army Officer. He was the Chief Signal Officer for the Army of the Potomac during the pivotal July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. He was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in Company H, 10th Pennsylvania Reserves on June 22, 1861. He was promoted to Captain and commander of the company on May 1, 1863 after the death in battle of the previous company, but resigned on June 22, 1863 to assume the Army of the Potomac Chief Signal Officer duty, the previous Chief, Captain Benjamin F. Fisher, having been captured by Confederates at the June 17, 1862 Battle of Aldie. Through the subsequent battle he directed the Union's signal and communication stations throughout the Union positions, with a number of them, especially the one on Little Round Top, becoming famous for their part in the battle. Captain Norton would serve through the rest of the conflict, and would not be mustered out of the Volunteer service until May 7, 1867. After the war he was mustered into the Regular Army, serving as a 1st Lieutenant in the 1st United States Regular Artillery until he died on active duty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December 1871. On March 13, 1865 he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel, US Volunteers for "faithful and meritorious services in the Campaign against Richmond, Virginia".
Civil War Union Army Officer. He was the Chief Signal Officer for the Army of the Potomac during the pivotal July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. He was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in Company H, 10th Pennsylvania Reserves on June 22, 1861. He was promoted to Captain and commander of the company on May 1, 1863 after the death in battle of the previous company, but resigned on June 22, 1863 to assume the Army of the Potomac Chief Signal Officer duty, the previous Chief, Captain Benjamin F. Fisher, having been captured by Confederates at the June 17, 1862 Battle of Aldie. Through the subsequent battle he directed the Union's signal and communication stations throughout the Union positions, with a number of them, especially the one on Little Round Top, becoming famous for their part in the battle. Captain Norton would serve through the rest of the conflict, and would not be mustered out of the Volunteer service until May 7, 1867. After the war he was mustered into the Regular Army, serving as a 1st Lieutenant in the 1st United States Regular Artillery until he died on active duty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December 1871. On March 13, 1865 he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel, US Volunteers for "faithful and meritorious services in the Campaign against Richmond, Virginia".
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