Alexander S . Webb Alexander Stewart Webb ( February 15 , 1835 – February 12 , 1911 ) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg . After the war , he was president of the City College of New York for thirty - three years . Early life . Alexander Webb was born in New York City to a prominent family with a strong military lineage . His father was the well - known newspaper owner and diplomat ( minister to Brazil in 1861 ) , James Watson Webb , a former regular army officer . His grandfather , Samuel Blatchley Webb , was wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill and served on George Washington ' s staff during the American Revolutionary War . Webb graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1855 , ranking 13 out of 34 . He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U . S . Artillery and was sent to Florida to serve in the Seminole War . After serving his duty in Florida , he was given an appointment to serve as an instructor of mathematics at West Point . Civil War . At the outbreak of the Civil War , Webb took part in the defense of Fort Pickens , Florida , was present at the First Battle of Bull Run , and was aide - de - camp to Brig . Gen . William F . Barry , the chief of artillery of the Army of the Potomac , from July 1861 to April 1862 . During the Peninsula Campaign , he served as Gen . Barry ' s assistant inspector general and received recognition for his assembling an impregnable line of artillery defense during the Battle of Malvern Hill ; Brig . Gen . Daniel Butterfield wrote that Webb saved the Union Army from destruction . During the Maryland Campaign and the Battle of Antietam , recently promoted to lieutenant colonel , he served as chief of staff in Maj . Gen . Fitz John Porter ' s V Corps . After Antietam , he was ordered to Washington , D . C . , where he served as Inspector of Artillery . In January 1863 he was again assigned to the V Corps , now commanded by Maj . Gen . George G . Meade , and served again as chief of staff . During the Battle of Chancellorsville , Meade gave Webb temporary command of Brig . Gen . Erastus B . Tyler ' s brigade and thrust him into battle . He performed well and Meade in his report on the battle paid particular detail to Webb ' s " intelligence and zeal " . On July 1 , 1863 , President Abraham Lincoln appointed Webb brigadier general , to rank from June 23 , 1863 . Three days before the Battle of Gettysburg , Brig . Gen . John Gibbon arrested the Philadelphia Brigade ' s commander , Brig . Gen . Joshua T . Owen , and Webb was given command of the brigade ( the 2nd Brigade , 2nd Division , II Corps ) . Initially , the brigade resented having the meticulously groomed and well - dressed Webb as their commanding officer , but he soon earned their respect through his attention to detail , his affability , and his discipline . Gettysburg . Webb ' s most memorable military service was at Gettysburg . His brigade was posted on Cemetery Ridge with the rest of the II Corps on the morning of July 2 , 1863 . The brigade repulsed the assault of Brig . Gen . Ambrose R . Wright ' s brigade of Georgians as it topped the ridge late in the afternoon , chasing the Confederates back as far as the Emmitsburg Road , where they captured about 300 men and reclaimed a Union battery . Soon after , Webb sent two regiments to assist in counterattacking the assault of Maj . Gen . Jubal A . Early ' s division on Cemetery Hill . On July 3 , Webb ' s brigade happened to be in the center of the Union line to defend against Pickett ' s Charge , in front of the famous " Copse of Trees . " As the Confederates launched a massive artillery barrage to prepare for their infantry assault , Webb made himself conspicuous to his men , many of whom were unfamiliar with their new commander . He stood in front of the line and leaned on his sword , puffing leisurely on a cigar while cannonballs whistled by and shells exploded all around . Although his men shouted at him to take shelter , he refused and impressed many with his personal bravery . As Maj . Gen . George Pickett ' s Virginia division approached to within a few yards , two companies of Webb ' s 71st Pennsylvania fell back , and Webb feared the personal disgrace and the results of a breakthrough in his line . He shouted to his neighboring 72nd Pennsylvania to charge , but they refused to budge . He attempted to grab their regimental colors and go forward with them himself , but apparently the standard bearer did not recognize him , because he fought Webb for the colors before he went down , shot numerous times . Webb ultimately gave up on the 72nd and strode directly in front of the chaos as Brig . Gen . Lewis Armistead ' s Confederate brigade breached the low stone wall , over to his 69th Pennsylvania regiment . Webb was wounded in his thigh and groin by a bullet , but kept going . With the help of two of Col . Norman J . Hall ' s New York regiments , and Brig . Gen . William Harrow ' s men , who ran over in a mass to get in their shots , Webb and his men brought the Confederate assault to a standstill , inflicting heavy casualties . Webb received the Medal of Honor on September 28 , 1891 , for " distinguished personal gallantry in leading his men forward at a critical period in the contest " at Gettysburg on July 3 , 1863 . President Lincoln nominated Webb for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers for his service at Gettysburg , to rank from August 1 , 1864 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14 , 1865 . Later in the war . After Gettysburg , Webb received command of the division six weeks later and led it through the fall campaigns . His division played a prominent role in the Battle of Bristoe Station . When Gibbon returned to command in the spring of 1864 , Webb went back to brigade command for the Overland Campaign . At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House , in May , he was hit by a bullet that passed through the corner of his right eye and came out his ear , but did not impair his mental abilities . The wound resulted in a false report that he had been killed and his death was reported in the " New York Times " on May 9 . He returned to the army on January 11 , 1865 and was chief of staff of the Army of the Potomac from that date until June 28 , 1865 . Webb was the assistant inspector general of the Military Division of the Atlantic between July 1 , 1865 and February 21 , 1866 . Webb was mustered out of the volunteer force on January 15 , 1866 . On April 10 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Webb for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general , USA ( regular army ) , to rank from March 13 , 1865 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on May 4 , 1866 . On December 11 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Webb for appointment to the brevet grade of major general , USA ( regular army ) , to rank from on March 13 , 1865 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment February 23 , 1867 , recalled the confirmation on February 25 , 1867 , and reconfirmed it on March 2 , 1867 . Postbellum life . General Webb stayed with the Army until 1870 , assigned as a lieutenant colonel to the 44th U . S . Infantry Regiment , July 28 , 1866 , and the 5th U . S . Infantry Regiment , March 15 , 1869 . He became unassigned , March 24 , 1869 . During his final year , he served again as an instructor at West Point . He was discharged on December 5 , 1870 with the final permanent rank of lieutenant colonel . From 1869 to 1902 , General Webb served as the second president of the City College of New York , succeeding Horace Webster , another West Point graduate . The College ' s curriculum under Webster and Webb combined classical training in Latin and Greek with more practical subjects like chemistry , physics , and engineering . General Webb was a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and a founder and first Commander General of the Military Order of Foreign Wars . Legacy . Webb was an articulate and graphic author who wrote extensively about the Civil War , including his book published in 1881 , " The Peninsula : McClellan ' s Campaign of 1862 " . A full - length bronze statue of him stands at Gettysburg Battlefield , overlooking the approach of Pickett ' s Charge . A full - length statue of General Webb , in full military uniform , also stands in his honor on the campus of the City College of New York . Col . Charles S . Wainwright , chief of artillery of the I Corps , a friend and social peer of Webb in New York City , wrote that he was one of the " most conscientious , hard working and fearless young officers that we have . " Meade ' s aide Theodore Lyman considered him " jolly and pleasant , " although he was put off by Webb ' s " way of suddenly laughing in a convulsive manner , by drawing in his breath , instead of letting it out — the way which goes to my bones . " But Lyman regarded Webb as a " thorough soldier , wide - awake , quick , and attentive to detail , " despite this annoying quirk . Webb died in Riverdale , New York . He is buried in West Point National Cemetery . A statue of Gen Webb was dedicated in the Gettysburg National Military Park in 1915 . Civil War Historian , Brian Pohanka had brief and uncredited appearance as Webb in the 1993 film of the Gettysburg battle .