Gershom Mott Gershom Mott ( April 7 , 1822 – November 29 , 1884 ) was a United States Army officer and a General in the Union Army , a commander in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War . Early life . General Mott was born in Lamberton , New Jersey , a town outside of Trenton . He was the grandson of American Revolutionary War Captain John Mott , who guided General George Washington ’ s army down the Delaware River to the celebrated victory at the Battle of Trenton . The reliability of this claim has recently come under question . His parents were Gershom and Phebe ( or Phoebe ) Rose Scudder Mott . Gershom Mott was the youngest of five children . He received his education at the Trenton Academy , which is now the Trenton Public Library ( Main Branch ) . Gershom Mott began to work when he was only fourteen years old as a sales clerk in a dry goods store in New York City . He became a second lieutenant in the 10th U . S . Infantry during the Mexican - American War . On August 8 , 1849 , Gershom Mott married Elizabeth Smith . They had one child , Kate , who recorded and published the family genealogy in later years . From 1849 to 1861 , Mott held a variety of jobs in New Jersey with the Lamberton Port , Bordentown , Delaware & Raritan Canal Co . , and the Bordentown Bank . Civil War . In the summer after the start of the Civil War , Mott was appointed the lieutenant colonel of the 5th New Jersey Infantry , part of the Army of the Potomac . His regiment fought in the Peninsula Campaign and shortly after the Battle of Williamsburg he was promoted to colonel and command of the 6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry . He was commended for bravery in the Battle of Seven Pines , but he and his regiment saw little action in the Seven Days Battles . During the Second Battle of Bull Run , Mott was severely wounded in the arm and for his bravery was promoted to brigadier general on September 7 , 1862 . He was forced to recuperate during the Battle of Antietam and returned to the Army just after the Battle of Fredericksburg . Mott led a brigade in the III Corps at the Battle of Chancellorsville , but was again seriously wounded and missed the subsequent Gettysburg Campaign . His brigade was commanded by Colonel George C . Burling during that engagement . Mott returned to duty in the fall of 1863 and led his brigade in the Bristoe and Mine Run campaigns . He commanded the 4th Division of the II Corps during the 1864 Overland Campaign . At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House his division suffered such heavy losses during an assault on the Mule Shoe that they were dispersed and the division discontinued despite Mott ' s protests . In addition , Mott and his division , once the proud command of Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker , were thought unreliable by Winfield S . Hancock and Francis C . Barlow . Mott continued as a brigade commander under Maj . Gen . David B . Birney and was restored to division command ( 3rd Division , II Corps ) in July , performing well during the Siege of Petersburg and the Appomattox Campaign . He was one of the few Union officers to be commended for his actions in the disastrous Battle of the Crater , for which he was given a brevet promotion to major general . Three days before the Confederate surrender at Appomattox , Mott was wounded in the leg at the Battle of Amelia Springs . ( Régis de Trobriand served as acting division commander for the remainder of the campaign . ) He attained by war ' s end a reputation for competency and bravery . On December 1 , 1865 , he was promoted to major general , effective May 26 , 1865 . Postbellum . Mott resigned his volunteer commission on February 20 , 1866 . In 1868 he was offered a commission as colonel in the regular army , but chose to remain in civilian life . He served briefly as an executive with the Camden & Amboy Railroad and as a banker , but spent the remainder of his life in various offices in the state government of New Jersey : state treasurer , warden of the New Jersey State Prison , and major general and commander of the New Jersey National Guard ( 1873 – 1884 ) . He died in New York City and was given a full military funeral . He is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Trenton . Namesake . For Gershom Mott ' s dedication to New Jersey and his country the residents of the city of Trenton renamed the Sixth Ward School Gershom Mott Elementary School in 1896 .