Samuel B. Holabird was born in Canaan, Connecticut on June 16, 1826, the son of Horatio Nelson Holabird and Amanda Malvina (Beckley) Holabird.[1] He was educated in Canaan and at Winsted Academy in Winchester, Connecticut and Amenia Seminary in Amenia, New York.[1]
Holabird performed frontier and scouting duties at Fort Brown, Fort Duncan and Fort McIntosh from 1849 to 1850.[2] He received his permanent commission as a second lieutenant on June 10, 1850.[2]
From 1850 to 1858, Holabird performed quartermaster, frontier, and scouting duties at Ringgold Barracks, Fort Terrett, Fort Duncan, and Fort McKavett.[2] He was promoted to first lieutenant on May 31, 1855.[2] From 1858 to 1859, Holabird was on recruiting duty, and he served as the adjutant of the United States Military Academy from 1859 to 1861.[2] On May 13, 1861, Holabird was promoted to captain.[2]
He was chief quartermaster of the Department of the Gulf from December 1862 to July 1865, and participated in the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana from May 25 to July 9, 1863.[2] Holabird became ill in Louisiana and was on sick leave from July 13, 1863, to October 1, 1865. While he recovered, Holabird translated Antoine-Henri Jomini's Treatise on Grand Military Operations from French to English, enabling the U.S. military to make use of Jomini's work.[2] He served as depot quartermaster in New Orleans from October 1 to December 16, 1865.[2] From October 1, 1865, to March 7, 1866, Holabird was the chief quartermaster of the Department of Louisiana.[2]
Holabird received a brevet promotion to major to recognize his distinguished service and he was promoted to the permanent rank of major on July 2, 1862.[2] He received a temporary promotion to colonel on July 11, 1862. At the end of the war, he received brevet promotions to lieutenant colonel, colonel, and brigadier general to recognize the superior service he displayed during the course of the war.[2]
Post-Civil War
After the war, Holabird reverted to his permanent rank of major.[2] From March 1866 to February 1867, he was assigned to Washington, D.C. to settle the Department of the Gulf's wartime accounts and claims.[2] On July 29, 1866, Holabird was promoted to lieutenant colonel.[2]
Holabird was chief quartermaster of the Department of the Pacific and Department of California from May 1878 to October 1879.[2] From November 11, 1879, to April 30, 1882, he served as the Army's Assistant Quartermaster General.[2] Holabird received promotion to colonel on January 22, 1881.[2] He commanded the army's Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot from May 1, 1882, to July 1, 1883.[2]
As Quartermaster General, Holabird oversaw the effort to resolve pending civilian claims for property lost, damaged, or appropriated by the military during the Civil War, the last of which was settled in 1889.[3] Holabird also undertook an effort to enhance soldier facilities and living conditions, including improvements to uniforms and personal equipment, and new or refurnished barracks, mess halls, storehouses, and hospitals.[3]
Holabird also undertook an unsuccessful initiative to professionalize the Army's Quartermaster Corps.[3] Under the prevailing system, soldiers from the Army's basic branches, including Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery, performed quartermaster duties on an as-needed basis.[3] Under Holabirds's plan, the Army would have created approximately 1,300 positions for soldiers to permanently serve as quartermaster clerks, teamsters, and laborers.[3]
William Holabird became a prominent architect based in Chicago.[7] His daughter Cornelia was the wife of U.S. Army general William Mackey Cruikshank.[7]
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Brigadier General 
