Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Son of Maine Congressman Jonathan Cilley, he studied law and after his admittance to the bar opened a law practice in Thomaston, Maine. At the outbreak of the Civil War 1861, he enlisted in the 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry and was made Captain of Company B. On April 14, 1862, he was promoted Major, reported to General Banks command with his unit and was severely wounded in the Shenandoah Valley Battle, Middletown, Virginia, on May 24, 1862. He later returned to action as Lieutenant Colonel in command of the unit, serving with his men until the end of the war. For his great distinction and dedication to duty he was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers on June 12 1865. After the war he returned to Maine where he was married and resumed law practice at Rockland, Maine. He was a member of the Maine State Legislature in 1867, Deputy Collector of Customs from 1867 to 1871, a member of the city council from 1873 to 1875, Adjutant-General of Maine from 1875 to 1877 and commissioner of the United States Circuit Court from 1867 to 1880. His published works include orations and addresses, a genealogy of The Cilley Family, The Gamble Family and The Mount Desert Widow. He was elected a member of the Maine Historical Society and a corresponding member of the New Hampshire Historical Society. He passed away while on a visit to his daughter’s home in California.
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Son of Maine Congressman Jonathan Cilley, he studied law and after his admittance to the bar opened a law practice in Thomaston, Maine. At the outbreak of the Civil War 1861, he enlisted in the 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry and was made Captain of Company B. On April 14, 1862, he was promoted Major, reported to General Banks command with his unit and was severely wounded in the Shenandoah Valley Battle, Middletown, Virginia, on May 24, 1862. He later returned to action as Lieutenant Colonel in command of the unit, serving with his men until the end of the war. For his great distinction and dedication to duty he was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers on June 12 1865. After the war he returned to Maine where he was married and resumed law practice at Rockland, Maine. He was a member of the Maine State Legislature in 1867, Deputy Collector of Customs from 1867 to 1871, a member of the city council from 1873 to 1875, Adjutant-General of Maine from 1875 to 1877 and commissioner of the United States Circuit Court from 1867 to 1880. His published works include orations and addresses, a genealogy of The Cilley Family, The Gamble Family and The Mount Desert Widow. He was elected a member of the Maine Historical Society and a corresponding member of the New Hampshire Historical Society. He passed away while on a visit to his daughter’s home in California.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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