Eugene Beauharnais Beaumont | |
---|---|
Born |
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
August 2, 1837
Died | July 17, 1916 Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania |
(aged 78)
Place of burial | Hollenback Cemetery, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |
Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1861 – 1892 |
Rank |
Lieutenant Colonel Brevet Colonel |
Unit | 4th Cavalry Regiment |
Battles/wars |
American Civil War Red River War |
Awards | Medal of Honor |
Eugene Beauharnais Beaumont (August 2, 1837 – July 17, 1916) was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at an engagement on the Harpeth River in Tennessee and at the Battle of Selma. After the Civil War he served in the Indian Wars of the western United States.
Beaumont was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, the son of U.S. Representative Andrew Beaumont. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy from the city of Wilkes Barre in 1856 and graduated on May 6, 1861. Ranking 32nd out of his class of 45 cadets, Beaumont was assigned as a second lieutenant to the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Soon after entering the Army he married Margaret Rutter, his childhood sweetheart.
He trained soldiers in Washington, D.C., until June 1861, when he was appointed aide-de-camp to General Ambrose Burnside. With Burnside, he participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. In September he became aide-de-camp to General John Sedgwick and served with him in the Peninsula Campaign of early 1862 until falling ill with typhoid fever. After recuperating, he returned to duty in August 1862 and again worked as an aide-de-camp, this time to General-in-Chief of the Union Army, Henry Wager Halleck. Beaumont requested to be sent back to the field, and in May 1863 he rejoined General Sedgwick as a captain. He served with Sedgwick for just over a year and took part in a series of battles, including Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Raccoon Ford, Mine Run, and the Wilderness.