Romeyn B . Ayres Romeyn Beck Ayres ( December 20 , 1825 – December 4 , 1888 ) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War . Early life . Ayres was born at East Creek , New York , along the Mohawk River in Montgomery County . He was the son of a small - town doctor who urged all of his sons into professional careers . He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1847 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U . S . Artillery . Although graduating in time for the Mexican - American War , Ayres served only on garrison duty in Puebla and Mexico City until 1850 , seeing no fighting in the war . Between the wars , Ayres was stationed at various posts on the frontier and served at the Fort Monroe Artillery School from 1859 to 1861 . In 1849 he married Emily Louis Gerry Dearborn in Bangor , Maine . His second wife was Juliet Opie Hopkins Butcher , the daughter of Juliet Opie Hopkins , a woman who later became prominent establishing hospitals for Confederate soldiers in Richmond , Virginia . Civil War . After the start of the Civil War , Ayres was promoted to captain and commanded a battery in the 5th U . S . Artillery , which he led in the First Bull Run Campaign , and was heavily involved in the Battle of Blackburn ' s Ford , immediately before the larger First Battle of Bull Run . At First Bull Run , his battery , attached to the brigade of William T . Sherman , was held in reserve and he did not see action during the battle proper , but distinguished himself by providing cover for retreating Union Army troops pursued by Confederate cavalry . On October 3 , 1861 , Ayres was appointed chief of artillery for William F . " Baldy " Smith ' s division ( later designated the 2nd Division of the VI Corps ) of the Army of the Potomac . He served in that position in the Peninsula Campaign , the Seven Days Battles , and at the Battle of Antietam . Just before the Battle of Fredericksburg , he was promoted to chief of artillery of the VI Corps as a brigadier general , as of November 29 , 1862 . At Fredericksburg he commanded the corps artillery stationed across the Rappahannock River on Falmouth Heights . While recuperating from an injury caused when his horse fell , Ayres considered his military career and realized that artillery officers had a much slower rate of promotion than their colleagues in the infantry . Thus , he arranged for a transfer and became a brigade commander in the 2nd Division of the V Corps as of April 21 , 1863 . This division was known as the Regular Division because it consisted almost entirely of regular army ( versus state volunteers ) soldiers and he led its 1st Brigade in the Battle of Chancellorsville . On the first day of the battle ( May 1 , 1863 ) his brigade formed the left flank of Sykes ' division when it engaged Maj . Gen . Lafayette McLaws ' division on the Orange Turnpike . Sykes ' division was forced to retreat after being attacked on the right flank by Maj . Gen . Robert E . Rodes ' division . In the Gettysburg Campaign , as part of a general shuffling of senior officers when Maj . Gen . George G . Meade was promoted from commander of the V Corps to be commander of the Army of the Potomac and Maj . Gen . George Sykes took command of the corps , Ayres was promoted to command the Regular Division . He had risen to division command quickly for an officer with little infantry experience . At the Battle of Gettysburg , he did not have an opportunity to shine in his new assignment . His division arrived on the battlefield around midday on the second day of battle , July 2 , 1863 . After a brief rest in camp near Power ' s Hill , two brigades from his division were sent to reinforce Union troops from Maj . Gen . John C . Caldwell ' s division ( II Corps ) , which was counterattacking Confederate forces in the Wheatfield . Due to a great Confederate assault nearby at the Peach Orchard , Caldwell ' s division retreated so that his two brigades were at risk of being surrounded . They were forced to retreat as well , suffering heavy casualties . Nevertheless , Ayres received praise for his performance and he received a brevet promotion to major in the regular army for his actions at Gettysburg . After the battle , the Regular Division was sent in New York City to suppress the draft riots there . In March 1864 , the Army of the Potomac was reorganized , reducing the number of corps commanders , and subordinates down the chain of command were affected . Ayres was reduced to commanding the 4th Brigade of the 1st Division , V Corps . He led the brigade in Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant ' s Overland Campaign of 1864 . He received command of a new 2nd Division of the V Corps for the Richmond - Petersburg Campaign . On August 1 , 1864 , he received a brevet promotion to major general for his contributions in these campaigns ; he received particular commendations and brevet promotions for Weldon Railroad and Five Forks . Ayres continued to lead his division through the Appomattox Campaign and the Confederate surrender . By the summer of 1864 , the Regular Division no longer existed because it was hardly above brigade strength . Ayres was asked after the war if any of the regular troops he ' d commanded were still serving . He replied " I had a division of regulars once . I buried half of them at Gettysburg and the other half in the Wilderness . There ' s no regulars left . " Postbellum . After the war , Ayres commanded a division in the Provisional Corps , and then commanded the District of the Shenandoah Valley until April 30 , 1866 , when he was mustered out of the volunteer service . As part of the general reduction of ranks that was typical following many American wars , Ayres returned to the regular army with the rank of lieutenant colonel and he performed mostly garrison duty in a number of posts in the South , including Little Rock , Arkansas , Jackson Barracks , New Orleans , Louisiana , and Key West , Florida . In 1877 he commanded troops suppressing the railroad strikes in Maryland and Pennsylvania , and in 1879 he was promoted to colonel of the 2nd U . S . Artillery . Ayres died in Fort Hamilton , New York , and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Virginia , alongside his mother - in - law , Juliet Opie Hopkins .