William E. Woodruff (soldier)

Last updated
Woodruff in uniform, c. 1861 William E Woodruff.jpg
Woodruff in uniform, c.1861

William E. Woodruff was an American soldier who served as colonel of the 25th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. Woodruff was given temporary brigade and division command in the Army of the Cumberland, but not promoted to brigadier general. He resigned in January 1863 out of frustration for his lack of advancement and was replaced by Brig. Gen. Thomas T. Crittenden. [1]

Contents

Biography

Woodruff was born in Kentucky and educated in the common schools. He studied law, passed his bar exam, and established a successful practice in Louisville. He established strong ties with the local Republican Party. [2]

Early in the war, Woodruff was colonel of the 2nd Kentucky Infantry. He was captured at the Battle of Scary Creek in western Virginia in 1861 and imprisoned for nine months in a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. In April 1862 he was released in a prisoner exchange and placed in command of the 25th Illinois Infantry. He led a brigade in Jefferson C. Davis's division at the Battle of Stones River in late 1862. He fell from his horse and fractured his right ankle and badly damaged his right knee, incapacitating him for several months. During his recovery, he tendered his resignation in a letter dated January 19, 1863, to General Davis. [3]

Woodruff was also very active in Freemasonry in Kentucky. In a Masonic career spanning fifty years, he "advanced through the chairs" in Clarke Lodge No. 51 in Louisville until his election as Master of that lodge in 1855. Also active in the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, he served on several Grand Lodge committees, and was appointed as a minor Grand Lodge officer in 1859 by the Grand Master of Kentucky, Rob Morris. In 1860, along with other Louisville Masons, he chartered a new lodge – Falls City Lodge No. 376 – and served as its first Senior Warden. [4]

Notes

  1. Daniel, p. 230.
  2. Hughes & Whitney, p. 129.
  3. Hughes & Whitney, pp. 145-46.
  4. See generally, Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Proceedings, Frankfort: A.G. Hodges & Co., 1852-55, s.v., "Clarke Lodge No. 51;" Proceedings, 1859, 3; Proceedings, 1860, 47; Alfred W. Harris, History: The Progressive Spirit Of Parkland Lodge No. 638 F. & A.M., 1888-1918, Louisville: s.n., 1918, 60

Related Research Articles

Albert Sidney Johnston Texian, United States, and Confederate States army general

Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year military career, fighting actions in the Black Hawk War, the Texas War of Independence, the Mexican–American War, the Utah War, and the American Civil War.

Battle of Stones River Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Of the major battles of the war, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, the Union Army's repulse of two Confederate attacks and the subsequent Confederate withdrawal were a much-needed boost to Union morale after the defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and it dashed Confederate aspirations for control of Middle Tennessee.

Battle of Perryville Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi initially won a tactical victory against primarily a single corps of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Union Army of the Ohio. The battle is considered a strategic Union victory, sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky, since Bragg withdrew to Tennessee soon thereafter. The Union retained control of the critical border state of Kentucky for the remainder of the war.

Richard Montgomery Gano

Richard Montgomery Gano was a physician, Protestant minister, and brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.

Henry Heth

Henry Heth was a career United States Army officer who became a Confederate general in the American Civil War.

Battle of Mill Springs Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. The Union victory concluded an early Confederate offensive campaign in eastern Kentucky.

Charles Champion Gilbert American general

Charles Champion Gilbert was a United States Army officer during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

The Orphan Brigade was the nickname of the First Kentucky Brigade, a group of military units recruited from Kentucky to fight for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The brigade was the largest Confederate unit to be recruited from Kentucky during the war. Its original commander was John C. Breckinridge, former United States Vice President and candidate for president, who was enormously popular with Kentuckians.

Hugh Boyle Ewing American general

Hugh Boyle Ewing was a diplomat, author, attorney, and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He was a member of the prestigious Ewing family, son of Thomas Ewing, the eldest brother of Thomas Ewing, Jr. and Charles Ewing, and the foster brother and brother-in-law of William T. Sherman. General Ewing was an ambitious, literate, and erudite officer who held a strong sense of responsibility for the men under his command. He combined his West Point experience with the Civil War system of officer election.

George B. Anderson Confederate States Army officer

George Burgwyn Anderson was a career military officer, serving first in the antebellum U.S. Army and then dying from wounds inflicted during the American Civil War while a general officer in the Confederate Army. He was among six generals killed or mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862.

The 22nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. On October 8, 1862, at the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, the regiment suffered 65.3% casualties, one of the highest percentages of casualties suffered by any American Civil War regiment in a single engagement.

The 5th Kentucky Infantry Regiment, unofficially known as the Louisville Legion was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

123rd Illinois Infantry Regiment Military unit

The 123rd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, was an infantry and mounted infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1863 and 1864 it was temporarily known as the 123rd Illinois Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment, as part of Wilder's Lightning Brigade.

Archibald Livingston McDougall was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War who commanded the 123rd New York Volunteer Infantry early in the war and subsequently led a brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Sidney Burbank served as an officer in the regular army before and during the American Civil War. For a time he led a brigade in the Army of the Potomac.

S. A. M. Wood American politician

Sterling Alexander Martin Wood commonly referred to as S.A.M. Wood, was an American lawyer and newspaper editor from Alabama. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War until 1863, and resumed practicing law, served as a state legislator, and later taught law.

Walter C. Whitaker

Walter Chiles Whitaker was an American farmer, attorney, and soldier. He served as an officer in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, and also was a Union general during the American Civil War. After the war he returned to his profession as an attorney.

The 98th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 98th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

64th Virginia Mounted Infantry Regiment Military unit

The 64th Virginia Mounted Infantry Regiment was formed from troops raised in Lee, Scott, Wise and Buchanan counties in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It served as an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, and a mounted infantry (dragoon) unit, and had a mixed reputation.

The 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

References