Iowa Brevet General Promotions
The following explanation of brevet promotions is taken from the alt.war.civil.usa FAQ and was written by Stephen Schmidt ([email protected]) with assistance from Jim Epperson and Justin Sanders.
A brevet rank was an honorary promotion given to an officer (or occasionally, an enlisted man) in recognition of gallant conduct or other meritorious service. They served much the same purpose that medals play today (our modern system of medals did not exist at the time of the Civil War).
A brevet rank was almost meaningless in terms of real authority. For example, a major who was a brevet colonel collected the pay of a major, wore the uniform of a major, could not give orders to lieutenant colonels, and was only eligible for commands that normally fell to majors. But he was allowed to use the title of colonel in his correspondence.
In addition, there were some unusual circumstances where brevet rank carried authority. For instance, when a force consisted partly of Regular troops and partly of state militia, command would go to the officer with the highest brevet rank (who might neither be the highest ranking regular officer nor the highest ranking volunteer!). This came up during the Mexican War on some occasions, and seems to have been designed to allow Regular officers with brevets (implying experience) to assume command over higher-ranking militia officers who had neither experience nor brevets.
An officer could also claim his brevet rank when serving on court-martial duty. Since an officer cannot be tried by officers ranking lower than himself, using brevet ranks allowed more people to qualify as possible court members.
During the war itself, brevets were very difficult to get and were a sign of valor, but on March 13, 1865, the War Department gave one brevet and sometimes two to nearly every officer on duty with the army. This angered many officers and men, who saw it as trivializing the efforts of men who won brevets in combat. (J.L. Chamberlain mentions this in his memoirs, for instance.)
Like regular ranks, brevets were kept separately for the U.S. Volunteers and the U.S. Army. Thus one man could have four ranks: an actual Volunteer rank, a brevet Volunteer rank, an actual Regular rank, and a brevet Regular rank. Brevets in the Regular army were sometimes used to honor men who had already been brevetted Major General in the Volunteers and could not be brevetted again (in the Volunteers), as no brevet Lieutenant Generals were created during the war (Winfield Scott had been made Brevet Lieutenant General [of Regulars] during the Mexican War).
Brevet ranks were authorized for the Regular Army in the Articles of War of 1806; they were authorized for the US Volunteers on March 3, 1863. Partly as a result of dissatisfaction with the end-of-war brevet giveaway, brevet promotions were discontinued in 1869; although officers who had been given brevets before that date continued to use them. They were reinstated for the Spanish-American war and continued in use until after World War I.
The Confederate army did not award brevet promotions.
Benton, Thomas Hart Jr. - Col., 29th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. December 15 1864
Bruce, John - Lt. Col., 19th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Chambers, Alexander - Col., 16th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Clark, George Washington - Col., 34th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Coon, Datus Ensign - Col., 2nd Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 8 1865
Drake, Francis Marion - Lt. Col., 36th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. February 22 1865
Dye, William McEntire - Col., 20th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Geddes, James Loraine Col., 8th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. June 5 1865
Glasgow, Samuel Lyle Col., 23rd Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. December 19 1864
Graham, Harvey Col., 22nd Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. July 25 1865
Heath, Herman H. Maj., 7th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865, Brevet Maj. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Hedrick, John Morrow Lt. Col., 15th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Hill, Sylvester G. Col., 35th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. December 15 1864
Killed at Nashville December 15 1864
Hillis, David Burke Col., 17th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Hudnutt, Joseph O. Lt. Col., 38th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Leake, Joseph Bloomfield Lt. Col., 20th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Lowe, William Warren Col., 5th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865, Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.A. March 13 1865
Sanders, Addison Hiatt - Lt. Col., 16th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Stibbs, John Howard - Lt. Col., 12th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Stone, George Augustus - Col., 25th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Stone, William Milo - Col., 22nd Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Thompson, William - Col., 1st Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Trumbull, Matthew Mark - Col., 9th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Weaver, James Baird - Col., 2nd Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Wever, Clark Russell - Col., 17th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. February 9 1865
Williams, John - Capt., 6th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Wilson, James - Col., 13th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Winslow, Edward Francis - Col., 4th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. December 12 1864
Wright, Edward - Lt. Col., 24th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
McQueen, Alexander G. Lt. Col., 1st Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Noble, John Willock Col., 3rd Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
O'Brien, George Morgan Maj., 7th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Parrott, James Corner Lt. Col., 7th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Pattee, John Lt. Col., 7th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Patterson, Robert Franklin Lt. Col., 29th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 26 1865
Pollock, Samuel McLean. Col., 6th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
Pomutz, George Maj., 15th Regt. Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.V. March 13 1865
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