James W . McMillan James Winning McMillan ( April 28 , 1825 – March 9 , 1903 ) was an American soldier who fought during the Mexican – American War and served as a Union Army general during the American Civil War . Early life and career . McMillan was born in 1825 in Clark County , Kentucky , and moved quite a bit throughout his early life . McMillan was in Illinois in 1846 , and volunteered for service during the Mexican – American War . By June 20 he was a sergeant in the 4th Illinois Infantry Regiment , and was discharged on October 13 . Afterwards in 1848 , McMillan enlisted as a private in the 3rd Battalion of the Louisiana Infantry on April 29 , and he was discharged on July 13 . After hostilities ended , McMillan moved to Indiana , where he engaged in various businesses all over the state . Civil War service . When the American Civil War began in 1861 , McMillan chose to follow the Union cause . The 21st Indiana Infantry was raised in Indianapolis , and McMillan was appointed its colonel on July 24 . The regiment participated in Maj . Gen . Benjamin F . Butler ' s Union occupation of New Orleans in early 1862 . His regiment then helped to successfully defend Baton Rouge on August 5 from attacks by Confederate forces commanded by Maj . Gen . John C . Breckinridge . In this fight McMillan had 126 men that were either killed or wounded , and he was himself wounded in his left arm and chest . After the action at Baton Rouge , McMillan ' s regiment was posted at Berwick Bay , near the end of the Atchafalaya River , until February 1863 . At that time the 21st Indiana converted to the 1st Indiana Heavy Artillery . McMillan had been promoted to brigadier general on November 29 of the previous year , and with this rank McMillan held brigade and at times divisional command in the XIX Corps from March 1863 to May 1864 . He then participated in the Red River Campaign in the spring of 1864 , fighting notably in the Battle of Mansfield on April 8 , as well as partaking in the Battle of Monett ' s Ferry on April 23 . During the Battle of Mansfield at De Soto Parish , Louisiana , McMillan and the rest of the 1st Division were able to provide a steady line to rally on for the near - panicking Union retreat . That July , the XIX Corps was sent east to the Valley of Virginia , ordered to join Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan ' s Army of the Shenandoah that was assembling there . During that campaign , McMillan and his division fought in the Battle of Winchester on September 19 , where he was wounded when a shell fragment hit him in the head . On October 19 , McMillan fought with distinction during the Battle of Cedar Creek , where he again arranged his men to rally fleeing Union soldiers , providing a place to regroup for the coming rout of Lt . Gen . Jubal A . Early ' s Confederate forces . After the campaign in the Valley , McMillan was ordered to lead a " provisional " or temporary division in March 1865 , with his headquarters in Grafton , West Virginia , until the end of the war that April . McMillan was appointed a brevet major general on March 5 for his war service , and resigned from the Union Army on May 15 . Postbellum . After resigning , McMillan relocated to Kansas . In 1875 he moved to Washington , D . C . , to begin serving as a member of the Pension Bureau review board , a post he held until 1903 . James McMillan died that on March 9 , 1903 in Washington , and was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia .