Darius N . Couch Darius Nash Couch ( July 23 , 1822 – February 12 , 1897 ) was an American soldier , businessman , and naturalist . He served as a career U . S . Army officer during the Mexican - American War , the Second Seminole War , and as a general officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War . During the Civil War , Couch fought notably in the Peninsula and Fredericksburg campaigns of 1862 , and the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns of 1863 . He rose to command a corps in the Army of the Potomac , and led divisions in both the Eastern Theater and Western Theater . Militia under his command played a strategic role during the Gettysburg Campaign in delaying the advance of Confederate troops of the Army of Northern Virginia and preventing their crossing the Susquehanna River , critical to Pennsylvania ' s defense . He has been described as personally courageous , very thin in build , and after Mexico of frail health . Early life and career . Couch was born in 1822 on a farm in the village of South East in Putnam County , New York , and was educated at the local schools there . In 1842 he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point , graduating four years later 13th out of 59 cadets . On July 1 , 1846 , Couch was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant and was assigned to the 4th U . S . Artillery . Couch then saw action with the U . S . Army during the Mexican - American War , most notably in the Battle of Buena Vista on February 22 – 23 , 1847 . For his actions on the second day of this fight , he was brevetted a first lieutenant for " gallant and meritorious conduct . " After the war ended in 1848 Couch began serving in garrison duty at Fort Monroe in Hampton , Virginia . The following year he was stationed at Fort Pickens , located near Pensacola , Florida , and then in Key West . Couch next participated in the Seminole Wars during 1849 and into 1850 . Returning to garrison duty , later that year Couch was sent to Fort Columbus in New York Harbor , and in 1851 Couch was involved in recruiting at Jefferson Barracks located on the Mississippi River at Lemay , Missouri . Later in 1851 he returned to Fort Columbus , and then was ordered to Fort Johnston in Southport , North Carolina , staying there into 1852 , and next in garrison at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia until 1853 . Couch then took a one - year leave of absence from the army from 1853 to 1854 to conduct a scientific mission for the Smithsonian Institution in northern Mexico . There , he discovered the species that were known as Couch ' s Kingbird and Couch ' s Spadefoot Toad . Upon his return to the United States in 1854 , Couch was ordered to Washington , D . C . , on detached service . Later that year he resumed garrison duty in Fort Independence at Castle Island along Boston Harbor , Massachusetts . Also in 1854 he was stationed at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , and would remain there into the following year . On April 30 , 1855 , Couch resigned his commission in the U . S . Army . From 1855 to 1857 he was a merchant in New York City . He then moved to Taunton , Massachusetts , and worked as a copper fabricator in the company owned by his wife ' s family . Couch was still working in Taunton when the American Civil War began in 1861 . American Civil War service . At the outbreak of the Civil War , Couch was appointed commander of the 7th Massachusetts Infantry on June 15 , 1861 , with the rank of colonel in the Union Army . That August he was promoted to brigadier general with an effective date back to May 17 . He was given brigade command in the Military Division then Army of the Potomac that fall , and Couch was given divisional command in the VI Corps in the following spring . From July 1861 to March 1862 he helped train and then maintain the defenses of Washington , D . C . . He participated in the Peninsula Campaign , fighting in the Siege of Yorktown on April 5 – May 4 and the Battle of Williamsburg the following day . Seven Pines . Couch led his division during the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 and June 1 , 1862 . In this engagement his corps commander , Brig . Gen . Erasmus D . Keyes , ordered Couch ' s division and that of Brig . Gen . Silas Casey forward of the Union defensive line , Couch ' s men right behind those of Casey . This placed the IV Corps in an isolated position , vulnerable to attack on three sides ; however poorly coordinated Confederate movements allowed Couch and Casey to partially prepare entrenchments for impending the assault . As the fighting continued throughout May 31 both Couch and Casey were slowly driven back , with their right flank units in the most peril . At this time Couch counterattacked with his old 7th Massachusetts Infantry and the 62nd New York Infantry in an attempt to bolster that side , however he did not succeed and was forced back , as was the rest of the Union IV Corps by nightfall . Couch continued to lead his division during the 1862 Seven Days Battles that followed , fighting in the Battle of Oak Grove on June 25 and the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1 . Later in July Couch ' s health began to fail , prompting him to offer his resignation . The army commander , Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , refused to send it to the U . S . War Department , and instead Couch was promoted to major general , to date from July 4 . Couch was involved in the Maryland Campaign that fall , although absent from the Battle of Antietam on September 17 . Fredericksburg . On November 14 , 1862 , Couch was assigned command of the II Corps , and he led it during the Battle of Fredericksburg as part of Maj . Gen . Edwin V . Sumner ' s " Right Grand Division " . In this fight Couch ' s corps contained three divisions , led by Brig . Gens . Winfield S . Hancock , Oliver O . Howard , and William H . French . Early on December 12 infantry from his corps attempted to support the Union engineers ' efforts to lay pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock River and into the town . When Confederate fire repeatedly prevented this , and a heavy artillery bombardment failed as well , the decision was made to send small groups of soldiers in pontoon boats across to dislodge the defenders . This amphibious assault was executed by one of Couch ' s brigades under Col . Norman J . Hall ( 3rd Brigade , 2nd Division - 19th & 20th Massachusetts , 7th Michigan , 42nd & 59th New York , & 127th Pennsylvania ) which finally succeeded in driving out the Confederates . As the Union soldiers entered a smoldering Fredericksburg they began to sack the city , forcing Couch to order his provost guard to the bridges and collect the loot . The next day his corps was ordered to attack the Confederate position at the base of Marye ' s Heights above Fredericksburg . To better watch his men ' s progress Couch entered the town ' s courthouse and climbed its cupola , where he could see French ' s division advancing . As they approached the Confederate defenses , Couch could see his men taking very heavy fire and easily repulsed , described " as if the division had simply vanished . " Hancock ' s division followed that of French , meeting the same fate with high casualties as well . Howard , who was to go in next , was with Couch as Hancock ' s division attacked . Briefly through the smoke they could see the mounting casualties , and Couch reportedly said " Oh , great God ! See how our men , our poor fellows , are falling . " Couch ordered Howard to march his division toward the right and possibly flank the Confederate defenses his other two divisions had failed to dislodge . However the terrain did not permit any force marching from Fredericksburg towards Marye ' s Heights to attack anywhere other than at the stone wall along its base . When Howard ' s men attacked they were crowded back to the left , meeting the same resistance and were repulsed . As other Union soldiers followed the II Corps in , Couch ordered his artillery to move into the field and blast the Confederates at close range . When his own artillery chief protested exposing the gun crews in this fashion , Couch stated that he agreed but it was necessary to slow the Confederate fire in some way . The cannon stopped about 150 yards from the stone wall and opened fire , but quickly lost most of their crews and did little to slacken the enemy fire . During this Couch moved slowly along his line of men , who were on the ground firing as best they could until nightfall . Recounting the attack on the heights on December 13 , Couch wrote after the war : In the attack Couch ' s force suffered heavily , as did the rest of the Right Grand Division . He reported the II Corps sustained over four thousand casualties during the Fredericksburg Campaign . French ' s division lost an estimated 1 , 200 soldiers and Hancock around 2 , 000 . Howard lost about 850 men , 150 of which were hit on December 11 supporting the engineers at the river . That night the Union wounded remained in the field , and Couch wrote after the war what he saw : " It was a night of dreadful suffering . Many died of wounds & exposure , and as fast as men died they stiffened in the wintry air , & on the front line were rolled forward for protection to the living . Frozen men were placed for dumb sentries . " Chancellorsville . Following the Union defeat at Fredericksburg and the inglorious Mud March in January 1863 , the commander of the Army of the Potomac — Couch ' s immediate superior — was again replaced . Maj . Gen . Ambrose Burnside was relieved and Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker named to his place . Hooker reorganized the army and drew up plans for a new campaign against the Army of Northern Virginia . He wished to avoid attacking the Confederate defenses at Fredericksburg and flank them out of position , thereby fighting on more open ground . After the reorganization Couch continued to lead the II Corps , with his divisions commanded by Hancock and French ( both now major generals ) and Brig . Gen . John Gibbon at the head of Howard ' s former division , a total of about 17 , 000 soldiers . During the ensuing Chancellorsville Campaign Couch was the senior corps commander , making him Hooker ' s second - in - command . In late April , Hooker began moving his corps across the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers , ordering two of Couch ' s divisions to entrench and defend the Banks ' s Ford crossing of the Rappahannock and detach Gibbon ' s 5 , 000 men to remain at the Union camp back at Falmouth on April 29 . The following day Couch had cleared the ford and was marching toward Chancellorsville . In the afternoon of May 1 Hooker — normally quite aggressive — cautiously slowed his marching army , and soon he stopped their movement altogether , despite some success against the Confederates and the loud protests of his corps commanders . Couch sent Hancock ' s division to bolster the Union men already engaged and informed Hooker they could handle the enemy in front of them . However , Hooker ' s orders stood ; march back into the positions they held the previous day and assume a defensive posture . Couch complied and ordered Hancock ' s division to form a rear guard as they withdrew . As Hancock formed his men , Couch could see Confederate artillery aiming for the massed Union columns , and he told his staff " Let us draw their fire . " The group of mounted officers clustered around a clearing where the enemy cannon could easily view them , thus attracting their fire and sparing the marching infantry ; Couch and his staff also went unharmed . By nightfall the Union soldiers were busy fortifying the ground . Couch formed his divisions behind the XII Corps in roughly the center of Hooker ' s line . By late afternoon on May 2 , Hooker ' s line was hit on the right ( the XI Corps led by Howard ) by Confederates under Lt . Gen . Thomas Jonathan " Stonewall " Jackson , and despite resisting the XI Corps was routed and ran toward Chancellorsville . The remaining corps tightened into a " U " shaped formation by May 3 , and Confederate artillery began shelling their positions , including Couch ' s men . At about 9 a . m . that day Hooker was stunned by enemy fire when a shell hit the pillar he was leaning on , temporarily incapacitating him within an hour . At that time Hooker turned command of the army over to Couch , and through consulting with a " groggy " Hooker it was decided to withdraw the army to defensive lines to the north , with the other commanders ( except an embarrassed Howard ) strongly advocating an attack instead . Gettysburg . Couch requested reassignment after quarreling with Hooker . He commanded the newly created Department of the Susquehanna during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863 . Fort Couch in Lemoyne , Pennsylvania , was constructed under his direction and was named in his honor . Assigned to protect Harrisburg from a threatened attack by Confederates under Lt . Gen . Richard S . Ewell , Couch directed militia from his department to skirmish with enemy cavalry elements at Sporting Hill , one of the war ' s northernmost engagements . Couch ' s militia then joined pursuing Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland after the Battle of Gettysburg . Confederates again invaded Couch ' s Department of the Susquehanna in August 1864 , as Brig . Gen . John McCausland burned the town of Chambersburg . In December , Couch returned to the front lines with an assignment to the Western Theater , where he commanded a division in the XXIII Corps of the Army of the Ohio in the Franklin - Nashville Campaign and for the remainder of the war . Couch finished his military service after the Carolinas Campaign in 1865 . Postbellum career and death . Couch returned to civilian life in Taunton after the war , where he ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1865 . He later briefly served as president of a mining company in West Virginia . Couch moved to Connecticut in 1871 , where he served as the Quartermaster General , and then Adjutant General , for the state militia until 1884 . In 1888 he joined the Aztec Club of 1847 by right of his service in the Mexican War . He also joined the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1890 . He died in Norwalk , Connecticut . He was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Taunton .