John C . Robinson John Cleveland Robinson ( April 10 , 1817 - February 18 , 1897 ) had a long and distinguished career in the United States Army , fighting in numerous wars and culminating his career as a Union Army brigadier general of volunteers and brevet major general of volunteers in the American Civil War . In 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated and the U . S . Senate confirmed Robinson ' s appointment to the brevet grade of major general in the regular army . He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in action in 1864 near Spotsylvania Courthouse , Virginia , where he lost a leg . When he retired from the U . S . Army on May 6 , 1869 , he was placed on the retired list as a full rank major general , USA . After his army service , he was elected as Lieutenant Governor of New York and served two terms as the president of the Grand Army of the Republic . Early life and career . Robinson was born on April 10 , 1817 in Binghamton , New York . He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York , July 1 , 1835 . He was expelled from the academy on March 14 , 1838 ( for insubordination ) , and went on to study law . After a year as a civilian , he rejoined the army in October 1839 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th U . S . Infantry Regiment . Robinson traveled to Corpus Christi , Texas , in September 1845 to join Gen . Winfield Scott and the Army of Occupation as a regimental and brigade quartermaster . In June 1846 , Robinson was promoted to first lieutenant and served in the Mexican - American War , fighting with distinction in the Battle of Monterey . He also was in action at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma . He served as regimental or brigade quartermaster between March 28 , 1847 and September 1 , 1847 and between January 27 , 1849 and August 12 , 1850 . Robinson was commissioned as a captain on August 12 , 1850 and then served in various garrisons . He led troops in several engagements against hostile Indians in Texas in 1853 - 54 . In 1856 , Robinson went into combat again , serving in Florida during the Third Seminole War , where he furthered his military record of bravery and efficient services . He led a series of expeditions against the Seminoles in the Everglades and Big Cyprus Swamp . At the close of the Seminole War , he was assigned command of Fort Bridger and sent to the Utah Territory . In 1857 - 58 , he served at Camp Floyd during the Utah War . Camp Floyd had the largest concentration of US Troops at any post prior to the Civil War . While stationed in the desolate Utah Territory he and others petitioned the Freemason ' s Grand Lodge of Missouri to establish a Masonic Lodge in the Utah Territory . It was granted the March 6 , 1859 , Rocky Mountain # 205 under dispensation from Missouri , and Captain Robinson became the first Worshipful Master of the first Masonic Lodge in Utah . In the late 1850s , he was ordered back east to assume command of Fort McHenry in Baltimore , Maryland . Civil War . With the outbreak of the Civil War , Maryland was a border state , remaining loyal to the Union despite being a slave state . Secessionists planned to seize Fort McHenry , but Robinson made it appear that reinforcements were imminent for his small 60 - man garrison , and was able to retain control of the fort . Robinson was soon sent to Detroit as an army recruiting officer , and for a short time , assisted Governor William Dennison in raising troops in Columbus , Ohio . In September 1861 , he was appointed as colonel of the 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry , a regiment he helped recruit . That autumn , he was also promoted to major of the 2nd U . S . Infantry in the regular army , concurrent with his assignment in the volunteer army . Within a few months , he was commanding a brigade of volunteers at Newport News , Virginia in preparation for the Peninsula Campaign . With his vast combat experience and with the growing need in the expanding army for senior officers , he was promoted again by President Lincoln on April 30 , 1862 , to rank from April 28 , 1862 , to brigadier general of volunteers . He was transferred soon afterwards to the Army of the Potomac , where he assumed command of a brigade in the division of Philip Kearny in the III Corps . He served with distinction during the Peninsula Campaign , particularly at the Seven Days Battles . General Kearny lavishly praised Robinson in his official report . Robinson also fought that year during the Northern Virginia Campaign at the Second Battle of Bull Run . He was wounded at Broad Run , Virginia on August 27 , 1864 . He missed the Maryland Campaign as his brigade was not present . He next fought at the Battle of Fredericksburg . He was transferred to command of second division I Corps in time to participate in Chancellorsville in 1863 . During the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 , Robinson commanded a division in the I Corps north of the borough of Gettysburg . He and his men fought well on July 1 , but eventually had to retire through the streets of the town under the pressure of overwhelming numbers . For his valor and meritorious performance at Gettysburg , he was brevetted as a lieutenant colonel in the regular army . He was again brevetted , this time to colonel in the regular army , for his efforts during the Mine Run Campaign and the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness . In the latter battle , Robinson commanded the 2nd Division in the reorganized V Corps , which was composed of his old division plus a brigade of Maryland troops . Robinson presided over the court - martial of Brig . Gen . Thomas A . Rowley for his conduct at Gettysburg . After the war he received a Medal of Honor for his actions during a preliminary action to the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House , the fight at Alsop ' s farm at Laurel Hill , Virginia , on May 8 , 1864 . According to the official citation , Robinson " placed himself at the head of the leading brigade in a charge upon the enemy ' s breastworks ; was severely wounded " . On December 12 , 1864 , President Lincoln nominated Robinson for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers to rank from June 27 , 1864 and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14 , 1865 . However , having been shot through the left knee and permanently disabled following its amputation at the thigh , Robinson never returned to field duty after Alsop ' s Farm . He performed administrative duty as a district commander in the Department of the East for the rest of the war . Postbellum . Robinson remained in the army following the cessation of hostilities and was assigned command of the Freedman ' s Bureau in Federally - occupied North Carolina . On April 10 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Robinson for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general in the regular army , to rank from March 13 , 1865 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the nomination on May 4 , 1866 . In July 1866 , he was promoted to full colonel in the regular army . On July 17 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Robinson for appointment to the brevet grade of major general in the regular army , to rank from March 13 , 1865 and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23 , 1866 . Robinson was mustered out of the volunteer army on September 1 , 1866 . In 1867 , Robinson was assigned to command of the Military Department of the South . The following year , he was again reassigned , this time to lead the Department of the Lakes . Robinson retired from the U . S . Army on May 6 , 1869 , receiving a commission to the full grade of major general in the regular army on the date of his retirement . Robinson , as with many leading political and social figures of his day , was a Freemason , becoming a member of Binghamton Lodge # 177 and rising through its ranks . Robinson , long a popular figure in New York , was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1872 , serving under Republican Governor John A . Dix . Robinson was active in veterans affairs , and became the president of the national Grand Army of the Republic from 1877 to 1879 . A decade later , he was elected as president of the Society of the Army of the Potomac . In his elder years , Robinson lost his eyesight and became totally blind . He died at home on February 18 , 1897 at the age of 79 and was buried at Spring Forest Cemetery in Binghamton , Broome County , New York . A bronze statue of Robinson stands in Gettysburg National Military Park near Oak Ridge . Medal of Honor citation . 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