Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-05-01

By the recent promotion of General
William R. Shafter, who was advanced
from the colonelcy of the First infantry
to the grade of brigadier general, Colonel
Henry 9. Merriam, Seventh infantry, be-
comes the senior colonel of the army. 1t
is generally expected by his friends in the
west, to whom his services are we'll
known, that Colonel Merriam will be
advanced to the grade of brigadier gen
eral on the retirement of General Wheaton
on May 8.
Colonel Merriam has for eight years
been in command of the important mill
tsry post of Fort Logan near Denver.
His entire regiment, together with two
troops of the Second cavalry, is concen.
trated there.
The subject of this sketch is a native
of Maine, and his first commission was
with Maine troops. He was born at
Houlton in November, 1887. He was in
college at the beginning of the war, but
left college in his junior year in 1862, and
organized company of volunteers which
was mustered into the Twentieth Maine
commanded by Colonel Adelbert Ames,
one of the most gallant soldiers sent
from New England to the defence of the
Union.
Colonel Merriam distinguished himself
at the battle of Antietam, September II,
1862, where he received the brevet OF
lieutenant colonel for gallantrY in action
He remained with the army of the Poto'
mac until after the battle of Fredericks
burg, where he again distinguished him.
self in the hopeless charge in front OF
| Stonewall.
Early in '63 he resigned his commission
10 the Twentieth Maize and undertook
the arduons task of organizing the col.
ored troops. In this service he was
eminently successful and earned the high.
est praise from his commanders as an
organizer and tactician. The close of
the war found him in command of the old.
est colored regiment in the service.
Colonel Merriam with his regiment took
part in the siege and assault upon Port
Hudson where the colored troops won
their first laurels in the gallant and
bloody assault of May ~, 1913. The acts
of the regiment on this occasion are cele.
brated in G. II. Bowken's famous poem,
'The Charge of the Black Regiment"
Colonel Merriam won additional laurels
for himself and his regiment at the as
sault of Fort Blakely, April 8, 1865, which
resulted in the capture of the works with
more than 5000 prisoners and the occu-
patton of the city of Mobile with its de
lenses and outlying works. This was
the last battle of the war and it was
fought on the day that Lee surrendered at
Appomatox. For his action on this occa-
sion, Colonel Merriam received the brevet
OF colonel in the regular army "for con.
spicuous gallantry in the capture of Fort
Blakely."
But the honor most highly priced by
the soldier is little medal of bronze
granted by congress only in cases of
most conspicuous gallantry. This
"medal of honor" was granted Colonel
Merriam "for conspicuous gallantry IN
the assault on Fort Blakely, Ala, April
9, 1865, voluntarily and successfully
leading his regiment over the works in
advance of orders, permission being
given him at his own request"
At the close of the war Colonel Mer.
riam was mustered out of the volunteer
service and commenced the study of law.
| In 1866 he received an appointment as
major Of the Thirty -eighth u. 8. infantry.
His first command after the close of the
war was the infantry reserve battalion of
Ouster's command In the Indian cam.
paign in Kansas from April to June, 1867.
Ia the summer of 1857 he pursued and on
the 18th of July '67, defeated band Of
Kiowa Indians under Santanta on the up
per Arkansas. From 81 to SO he was in
command of Fort Bayard, N. NJ, and 10
80 commanded an expedition against the
Apache Indians, capturing their village
in the Mogollon mountains, June 1869.
Upon the consolidation of the infantry
regiments, Colonel Merriam was trans.
ferred to the Twenty fourth infantry and
from 1869 to 1872 commanded successive
" Forts Bliss, McKavett and Duncan in
the southwest during the period of the
Mexican revolution. He was iE COM
msud of Fort Ringgold in 1873 and led
an expedition against border marauiers
| on the lower Rio Grande at Fort Brown
the same year. His next command was
Fort Mcintosh on the Texas border.
During the last Mexican revolution in
1876, he engaged the Mexican federal
forces of Colonel Pablo Qointana, April
loy Aoso, IoureooiuB oueruk0o nSniueu
American citizens. In August Of the
same year he crossed the Rio Grande to
rescue the United States commercial
agent, Haines, who had been captured by
q band of revolutionists under Estrada.
For these services Colonel Merriam was
recommended by Major.General Ord,
then commanding the department of
Texas, for the brevet of brigadierg gen.
sral.
In September, 1876, he again CROSSED
the Rio Grande and took possession Of
the town of Nuevo Laredo and held mill
tary possession of it to secure the safety
of Americans and other foreign residents
for seven days, relinquishing 1t when as.
surances wers given by responsible Mex
loans Of the safety Of foreigners.
He was promoted July 10, 1875 to the
enant-colonelcy of the Second in
fautry, and served In the department. of
the Columbia during the Nez Peren war
Ia 1877.
Colonel Merriam located and built the
military posts OF Fort Sherman, Idaho,