Edward McGarry ( soldier - politician ) Edward McGarry ( 1822 – 1867 ) , officer in the Mexican American War , California politician and officer of California Volunteers in American Civil War , leading cavalry at the Battle of Bear River , later Colonel , of the 2nd California Cavalry , and Commander of the District of California , and received a brevet promotion to Brigadier General of Volunteers . After the Civil War he rejoined the U . S . Army as a Lt . Colonel . Edward McGarry was a native of New York , who served as a Second Lieutenant in the Mexican American War with the U . S . 10th Infantry Regiment . He saw no action except as part of the garrison Army before the Peace took effect . McGarry left the Army and traveled to California after the end of he war and became involved in California politics serving as an Assemblyman from Napa County ' s 20th District from 1853 to 1854 . Subsequently from 1854 to 1855 , he was a State Senator from Napa , Solano and Yolo Counties . When the American Civil War broke out , he assisted in raising the 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry , serving first as a Major under Col . Columbus Sims . After marchng to Fort Ruby , in Nevada Territory , Sims was relieved of his command by the Department of the Pacific on August 19 , 1862 . He was replaced in command of the 2nd California Cavalry detachment by Major McGarry by Col . Patrick Edward Connor . Under Connor ' s command the 2nd Cavalry served in Nevada and Utah during the rest of the Civil War , fighting various native tribes . In the early 1860s , the Bannock and Shoshone Indians in southern Idaho were becoming increasingly aggressive toward passing wagon trains . Travelers reported instances of thievery and attacks . Major Edward McGarry was sent to investigate , and reportedly executed some Shoshone for their actions . McGarry ' s executions angered the Shoshone even more , prompting them to threaten to kill any white person they found above the Bear River . American forces , led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor , were sent to confront the Shoshone , but the Battle of Bear River turned into a massacre that left 250 Shoshone dead . On February 26 , 1864 , Edward McGarry was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and took command of Camp Union , from Lt . Colonel O . M . Brown , who went to Los Angeles . He was afterwards appointed Colonel and was given command of the 2nd California Cavalry from November 29 , 1864 to March 31 , 1866 . In this capacity Col . McGarry presided over the military commission that tried the Salvador Pirates and found them guilty in May 1865 . As popular officer and famed for his role in the Cache Valley victory , McGarry was appointed one of the judges that declared the first of three famous California races between the thourouhgbreds Norfolk and Lodi a dead heat . In June 1865 he was ordered to succeed Brigadier General George Wright , in command of the District of California . After the war ended McGarry rejoined the regular Army and was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the U . S . 32nd Regiment of Infantry , one of its newly organized regiments . In 1867 , he was commanding a garrison at Tubac , Arizona when he showed up for a dress parade in the plaza in a sad state of intoxication . Consequently , McGarry was reassigned to San Francisco , California , but no disciplinary action was taken against him . However , he had been drinking very heavily and on the night of his death , he manifested symptoms of mania a potu , and the staff in the Occidental Hotel confined him to his room . About 11 o ' clock he told the servant to clear out , locked the door and was found early the next morning , December 31 , 1867 , lying on the floor of his room in his own blood , his throat cut and an open pen knife by his side . No cause was found for his action , nothing was left in writing . It was supposed it was done in a temporary fit of insanity . McGarry was 45 years of age when he died . His funeral was held at the Unitarian Church . General H . W . Halleck , commander of the Military Division of the Pacific and a large number of other officers of the Regular Army , ex - Governor Low and several Judges of the State Courts attended . A military escort and many friends accompanied his body to the Cemetery .