John G . Mitchell ( general ) John Grant Mitchell ( November 6 , 1838 – November 7 , 1894 ) was an Ohio lawyer and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War . He was active in several important campaigns and battles in the Western Theater , including the Chickamauga , Atlanta , and Franklin - Nashville and Carolinas campaigns . He commanded a brigade of veteran infantry in many of these operations . Early life and career . Mitchell was born in Piqua , Ohio . He was educated in the common schools and then attended Kenyon College in Gambier , Ohio , as a young man . He graduated in 1859 and subsequently studied law in Columbus , Ohio , with the firm Swan , Andrews , and Noble . Civil War . Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War in early 1861 , Mitchell enlisted as a private in the first battalion of the Ohio Reserves . On July 27 , he was appointed as the first lieutenant and adjutant of the 3rd Ohio Infantry regiment . On December 21 , after reenlisting for three - years , he was advanced to captain and took command of his company . He participated in Ormsby M . Mitchel ' s campaign in Tennessee and Alabama . In the autumn of 1862 , Mitchell helped raise and recruit what became the 113th Ohio Infantry and was appointed as the regiment ' s lieutenant colonel on September 2 . On May 6 , 1863 , Mitchell continued his progression through the ranks , being elevated to colonel and leading his regiment during the Tullahoma Campaign . In September of that year , Mitchell took command of the 2nd Brigade , 3rd Division , of the Reserve Corps of the Army of the Cumberland . The following month , he became part of the XIV Corps , with which he was associated with for much of the rest of the war . During the Battle of Chickamauga , Mitchell led a brigade under James B . Steedman which arrived late on the second day and played a leading role in aiding George H . Thomas in holding onto his delaying position atop Horsehoe Ridge . At the Battle of Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga , Tennessee , Mitchell supported Maj . Gen . William T . Sherman ' s assault column . Later he moved to Ambrose Burnside ' s relief during the Siege of Knoxville . During the 1864 Atlanta Campaign , Mitchell led the advance on the enemy positions in the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge . His regiment suffered severely at the Battle of Resaca and played a prominent role in the battles of Dallas and New Hope Church . His old 113th lost over a hundred men in the assault on Kennesaw Mountain . Mitchell reported to Thomas and took command of the detached XIV Corps during the Battle of Nashville and the subsequent pursuit of the retreating Confederate army of John Bell Hood . On January 12 , 1865 , on the recommendation of General Sherman , the 26 - year - old Mitchell was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers , becoming one of the youngest civilian - soldiers to attain that rank without benefit of preparative military training . He participated in one of the war ' s final major campaigns , the Carolinas Campaign , in the late winter and early spring of 1865 . He commanded his brigade at the battles of Averasborough and Bentonville , where his actions halted a major Confederate advance . He was present during the surrender of Confederate General Joseph E . Johnston at Bennett Place in April . Mitchell then led his men in the Grand Review of the Armies through the streets of Washington , D . C . in early May . In the omnibus promotions following the war , Mitchell received a brevet citation and promotion to major general of volunteers backdated to March 13 . Postbellum career . Mitchell resigned from the Army on July 3 , 1865 , and returned home to Columbus , Ohio , to resume his legal career . In October 1862 , he married Laura Platt , the daughter of Fanny Hayes Platt and niece of fellow Civil War general ( and future Ohio Governor and U . S . President ) Rutherford B . Hayes . The couple eventually would have four children — three girls and a boy . Mitchell and Hayes remained good friends for the rest of their lives . Mitchell served as the Register in Bankruptcy , President of the Columbus City Council , and as the Ohio pension commissioner . John G . Mitchell died in Columbus on the day after his 56th birthday . After a large and well attended funeral , he was interred in Green Lawn Cemetery . His personal and military papers are archived in the collection of the library of the Rutherford B . Hayes Presidential Center . His only son , Grant Mitchell , became a leading character actor in Hollywood , California , in the early 20th century .