Charles Champion Gilbert Charles Champion Gilbert ( March 1 , 1822 – January 17 , 1903 ) was a United States Army officer during the Mexican - American War and the American Civil War . Early life . Gilbert was born in Zanesville , Ohio . He graduated from West Point in the famed Class of 1846 , finishing 21st out of 59 students . His classmates included twenty future Civil War generals , including George B . McClellan , Stonewall Jackson , George Stoneman , Darius N . Couch , and George Pickett . He served in Veracruz and Mexico City during the Mexican - American War before serving in Texas for two years . He returned to West Point in 1850 as an instructor , then served on the Western frontier . He was also the first member of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity chapter at Ohio University ( Beta Kappa ) . Civil War . Early service . Shortly before the Civil War started , Gilbert was appointed captain in the 1st U . S . Infantry and commanded the post of Fort Cobb , Kansas . Once the war began , Gilbert rejoined the 1st Regiment and fought in the Battle of Wilson ' s Creek , where he was wounded . He was appointed inspector general in the Army of the Ohio during the Battle of Shiloh and the Siege of Corinth . Promotion to Major General . During the Confederate Heartland Offensive , Maj . Gen . William " Bull " Nelson was wounded in the battle of Richmond and his Army of Kentucky severely mauled . Department commander , Horatio G . Wright , needed to select a replacement for the wounded Nelson and the two ranking officers , namely brigadier generals Charles Cruft and James S . Jackson , refused the promotion . Therefore , at the recommendation of both Cruft and Jackson , Wright promoted Captain Gilbert of the regular army to fill the vacancy . Gilbert was elevated to acting major general pending the approval of the president . Several days later , on September 9 , President Abraham Lincoln promoted Gilbert to brigadier general of U . S . Volunteers . Wright ' s illegal promotion to major general , however , gave Don Carlos Buell enough leverage to appoint Gilbert to corps command in the Army of the Ohio over such generals as Jeremiah T . Boyle , Jefferson C . Davis , and Albin F . Schoepf . Buell later denied knowing Gilbert had not actually received an official appointment . Perryville . Proudly wearing two stars in his shoulders , Gilbert was temporarily placed in command of the Army of Kentucky in the absence of General Nelson . About the time Nelson was well enough to resume command , he was murdered in Louisville and Gilbert retained the command . The Army of Kentucky was assimilated into the Army of the Ohio becoming its III Corps . Maj . Gen . Don Carlos Buell , commanding the Army of the Ohio , assigned acting major general Gilbert to command the corps . A week later , Gilbert was engaged in the Battle of Perryville . His troops were successful in checking the last of the Confederate attacks and driving a Confederate brigade back through Perryville , but Gilbert was criticized for his slow action in battle and he was widely despised by the men in his corps for his actions as a martinet . Gilbert ' s only official appointment ( to brigadier general ) was not confirmed by the Senate and it expired on March 4 , 1863 . Some officers in the Army , including chief of staff James B . Fry , were surprised to find out Gilbert had not officially been promoted to major general . Despite this he was appointed major in the 19th U . S . Infantry and brevet colonel in the regular army . Later assignments . Maj . Gen . William S . Rosecrans took command of the Army of the Ohio and the subsequent reorganization ( as the Army of the Cumberland ) left Gilbert without a command . He commanded a provisional division in Tennessee at the battle of Harpeth River . The rest of his service was spent in administrative positions , holding the post of Assistant Provost Marshal General in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania and later Hartford , Connecticut , for the remainder of the war . Postbellum career . Gilbert served on the frontier until he retired in 1886 . He died in Baltimore , Maryland , and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville , Kentucky . He was the brother of Union Brig . Gen . Samuel A . Gilbert .