Maj. Gen. John Newton
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Born: August 24, 1822
Norfolk, Virginia
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Died: May 5, 1895
New York City, New York
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1842: West Point Graduate
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6 August 1861: Major
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23 September, 1861: Brigadier General
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30 March 1863: Major General USV
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18 April 1864: Brigadier General
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Maj. Gen. John Newton
1842: West Point Graduate - 2nd of 56 Graduates Commissioned in Corps of Engineers
1843-1846: Taught engineering at the Military Academy
1846-1852: Constructed fortifications along the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes
1856: Special Gulf Coast Defense Board
1858: Chief Engineer Utah Expidition
Helped to construct Washington defenses
6 August 1861: Promoted to Major
23 September 1861: Promoted to Brigadier General
1862: Led a brigade in the Peninsula Campaign
14 September 1862: Battle of South Mountain - led bayonet charge resulting in taking the enemy position
17 September 1862: Battle of Antietam
13 December 1862: Battle of Fredericksburg - After the battle, Newton and other generals went to Pres. Lincoln and expressed their lack of confidence in Maj. Gen. Burnside
30 March 1863: Promoted to Major General, but due to his protest of Burnside, the promotion was never officially confirmed
1-4 May 1863: Battle of Chancellorsville - wounded at Salem Church
1-3 July 1863: Battle of Gettysburg
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1 July 1863: Took command of the I Corps after Maj. Gen. Reynolds was killed. The command should have fallen to Maj. Gen. Doubleday, but Maj. Gen. Meade had no confidence in him
Commanded the I Corps until it was dissolved and its remnants spread among the II and V Corps
18 April 1864: Was converted back to Brig. Gen. and sent to Maj. Gen. Sherman
In the Atlanta Campaign, commanded the 2nd Division, IV Corps in Maj. Gen. George Thomas command
20 July 1864: Battle of Peachtree Creek preventing a dangerous Confederate movement against Maj. Gen. Sherman
1864-1866: Commanded the District of Key West and the Tortugas of the Department of the Gulf
6 March 1865: Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida which was a Union defeat
After the war, returned to the Corps of Engineers and oversaw improvements to waterways around New York City and to Hudson River above Albany
1886: Retired and became President of the Panama Railroad Company until his death in 1895
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Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 593
John Newton (engineer). 6 February 2022. web. 17 May 2022
Warner, Ezra J. General in Blue Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1964. p 344-345
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