Brig. Gen. William Passmore Carlin

[jkBluesman]

Brig. Gen. William Passmore Carlin (b. 1829, d. 1903). Born in Richwoods, Illinois Carlin graduated from West Point in 1850. Serving with the infantry, he fought in the Sioux War (1855-1856), the Cheyenne War (1857) and the rebellion of the Latter Day Saints (1858) rising to the rank of captain by 1860. After the outbreak of the Civil War he was commissioned colonel in August 1861 and was assigned the task of fighting guerrillas in Missouri and Arkansas. When the Confederates invaded Kentucky in mid-1862 Carlin was summoned to the Army of the Cumberland and given a brigade. He distinguished himself with a charge in his first big battle at Perryville and was promoted in November to brigadier general of volunteers. Assigned to the division of Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, Carlin’s brigade participated in the heavy fighting at Stone’s River on New Year’s Eve of 1862. The next year it took part in the Tullahoma Campaign. At Chickamauga Carlin’s brigade suffered such high casualties that it was almost destroyed. Carlin accused his division commander Davis of directing artillery fire on his troops. To solve the feud, army commander Gen. George Thomas assigned Carlin to a different division. His brigade fought in the battles for Chattanooga and through the Atlanta Campaign though Carlin was frequently absent in the first half of 1864 due to bad health and business dealings. Nevertheless, during the advance on Atlanta, Carlin proofed his value and in August was given a division in the XIV corps commanded by Davis. The tensions between the two men had not yet ceased. No problems arose during the Savannah campaign but in the Carolinas the feud was reopened when Carlin was not able to effect a rapid of the Black River on the march to Goldsboro, North Carolina. The whole army’s advance was delayed and Davis held Carlin responsible for it. He put Carlin’s division in the lead nevertheless and thus it was struck by Confederate cavalry and then infantry at Bentonville on March 19, 1865. The Federals were routed but could hold the field when reinforcements arrived. Carlin left his division after the battle on a leave of absence but returned to the army in May. He served in West Virginia before being mustered out of volunteer service in August 1865 breveted major general. He continued to serve in the regular army until his retirement in 1893. With his retirement he received a Medal of Honour for his service in the battle of Bentonville. He moved back to Illinois and died on the journey back from Spokane, Washington to his hometown on October 4, 1903. The town Carlin in Nevada was named after him.

Ldr: 4
Tact: 3
Init: 2
Cmd: 4
Cav: 0

Teaches: Chargers

[Gil R.]

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