Jacob Gartner Lauman Jacob Gartner Lauman ( January 20 , 1813 – February 9 , 1867 ) was a prominent American businessman from Iowa and a controversial general in the Union Army during the American Civil War . He commanded an infantry brigade in the Army of the Tennessee in several campaigns in the Western Theater , and then led a division during the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign , where his inadequate performance in the Siege of Jackson led to his being sent home for the rest of the war without a subsequent command . Early life and career . Lauman was born in Taneytown , Maryland . He grew up in York , Pennsylvania , and was educated at the York County Academy . In 1844 , he moved to Burlington , Iowa , and became a successful businessman engaged in commerce . Civil War service . Following the outbreak of the Civil War , Lauman was actively engaged in recruiting volunteers to join several new military companies he was raising . He received a commission from the Governor of Iowa , Samuel J . Kirkwood , as the colonel of the 7th Iowa Infantry on July 11 , 1861 . He first saw action in the Western Theater and served under Maj . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant in Missouri . Lauman was severely wounded in his left thigh during the Battle of Belmont on November 7 . His 7th Iowa was distinguished for gallant conduct during the fighting , and it suffered greater loss than any other regiment taking part in the engagement , amounting to more than 400 killed , wounded and missing . He returned to his regiment in time for the next campaign , but then was given brigade command . He was appointed to lead the 4th Brigade , 2nd Division during Grant ' s attack on Fort Donelson in Tennessee , and was among the first troops to storm and enter the Confederate works . In recognition of his service at Fort Donelson , Grant promoted him to brigadier general in the Union Army on March 21 , 1862 . Subsequently , Lauman commanded a brigade in Maj . Gen . Stephen A . Hurlbut ' s division at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6 – 7 , 1862 . Lauman commanded his brigade in the Battle of Hatchie ' s Bridge in rural Tennessee , an action on October 6 , 1862 . Maj . Gen . Edward O . C . Ord led a detachment of the Army of West Tennessee on an expedition aimed at destroying Confederate Maj . Gen . Earl Van Dorn ' s Army of West Tennessee as it retreated from Corinth , Mississippi . In 1863 , Lauman led the 4th Division of the XVI Corps during the Siege of Vicksburg . He was relieved of duty by the order of Maj . Gen . William T . Sherman shortly after the capture of Jackson , Mississippi , on July 16 , 1863 . He failed to properly execute orders on how to deploy his troops from his immediate superior , Ord , who accused him of wanton disregard for the orders that led to a heavy loss in casualties . Lauman subsequently returned to Iowa to await his next assignment . Orders were never forthcoming , and Lauman sat out the rest of the war . However , in the omnibus promotions following the war , he received a brevet promotion to major general in the Union Army , dating from March 13 , 1865 . He formally mustered out of the volunteer service on August 24 . Postbellum . Lauman resumed his commercial ventures , but he suffered ill health from his lingering Belmont wound . He tried without success to clear his name , blaming his failure on a misunderstanding . Lauman died in Burlington , Iowa , in February 1867 . He was buried in Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington .