David S . Stanley David Sloane Stanley ( June 1 , 1828 – March 13 , 1902 ) was a Union Army general during the American Civil War . After taking part in the liberation of the Upper Mississippi , and serving at Corinth and Stones River , he was made a corps commander under Sherman and sent to Tennessee to oppose John Bell Hood . At a critical moment in the Battle of Franklin ( November 1864 ) , he saved part of George D . Wagner ’ s division from destruction , earning America ' s highest military decoration , the Medal of Honor . Later he explored the Yellowstone River , and his favourable reports encouraged settlement of this region . Early life . Stanley was born in Cedar Valley , Wayne County , Ohio . He graduated from West Point in 1852 and went to the Western frontier to survey railroad routes . He engaged in Indian fighting and was promoted to captain in March 1861 , shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War . Stanley was on duty at Fort Washita in Indian Territory when war broke out . He led his men to Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . Civil War . He fought at several battles in Missouri , including the Battle of Wilson ' s Creek , where he guarded the supply trains . He quickly rose in rank to brigadier general . President Lincoln appoint Stanley as brigadier general September 28 , 1861 , although the U . S . Senate did not confirm the appointment until March 7 , 1862 . Fighting in the Western Theater , he participated in the operations against New Madrid , Missouri and the Battle of Island Number Ten . He was involved in numerous major battles , including the Second Battle of Corinth , where he commanded a division of infantry of the Army of the Mississippi , and the Battle of Stones River , in which he led the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland . On March 11 , 1863 , Stanley was appointed major general to rank from November 29 , 1862 . Stanley also led the Union cavalry in the Tullahoma Campaign . He fell ill late in 1863 and missed the Battle of Chickamauga . In 1864 , he fought under William Tecumseh Sherman as a division commander in the IV Corps of the Army of the Cumberland during the Atlanta Campaign , and he was promoted to command of the corps when Maj . Gen . Oliver O . Howard was named commander of the Army of the Tennessee . After the capture of the city , instead of employing him marching to the sea , Sherman dispatched Stanley and his IV Corps to Tennessee to help protect the state from invasion by John Bell Hood ' s Army of Tennessee . For leading one of his brigades in a successful counterattack during a critical moment in the fighting at the Battle of Franklin on November 30 , 1864 , the President of the United States on behalf of the United States Congress presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor on March 29 , 1893 . Two of his divisions having been reassigned to the defensive lines of the XXIII Corps before the battle , Stanley had no actual command . Two brigades of the remaining division , under Brig . Gen . George D . Wagner , were overwhelmed by the initial Confederate assault , having been left in an exposed position . It was for his role in the counterattack by the 3rd Brigade of Wagner ' s division that Stanley was awarded the medal . He was wounded in the neck at the same time and had his horse shot out from under him . Maj . Gen . Jacob Cox , commanding the defenses , provided Stanley a remount with which to seek medical attention , and Stanley did not participate further in the battle . He returned to corps command only after the Battle of Nashville . Postbellum career . After the war , Stanley was appointed colonel of the 22nd U . S . Infantry , primarily serving in the Dakota Territory until 1874 . He commanded the Yellowstone Expedition of 1873 , successfully conducting his troops through several unmapped areas , and his favorable reports on the country led to subsequent settlement of the region . In 1879 , Stanley and his regiment were reassigned to Texas to suppress Indian raids in the western portion of the state . He was ordered to Santa Fe , New Mexico , in 1882 , and placed in command of the District of New Mexico . In March 1884 , he was appointed a brigadier general in the regular army , and assigned command of the Department of Texas . He retired in 1892 . Stanley was interred at the United States Soldiers ' and Airmen ' s Home National Cemetery in Washington , D . C . - Plot : Section O - 20 . He was a First Class Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and a Hereditary Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars . His son - in - law , Willard Ames Holbrook , also served as a major general in the U . S . Army . His grandson , Willard Ames Holbrook , Jr . , served as a brigadier general . His only son , David Sheridan Stanley , served as a colonel . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and Organization : Citation :