Jesse Gove Jesse Augustus Gove ( December 5 , 1824 – June 27 , 1862 ) was an American soldier and lawyer , noteworthy for his military career and his role as a colonel in the American Civil War . After graduating from the Military Academy at Norwich , Vermont , Gove served in the Mexican - American War . After the war , he left the army and became a lawyer in New Hampshire , then returned to army service in 1855 . During the Civil War he was colonel of the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and was killed leading that regiment in the Battle of Gaines ' Mill . Early career . Gove was born in Weare , New Hampshire , and , electing to pursue a career in the army , he was educated at Norwich Military Academy . In 1847 he was appointed second lieutenant in the 9th United States Infantry . He served in the Mexican - American War during which he was promoted to first lieutenant . At the close of the war , the 9th U . S . Infantry was disbanded . Gove took up the study of law at the Concord , New Hampshire law offices of Pierce & Minot , of which Franklin Pierce ( soon to become President of the United States ) was the senior partner . Gove was admitted to the bar in 1851 . From 1850 to 1855 he was Deputy Secretary of State for New Hampshire . In 1855 , he returned to the regular army and was commissioned captain of Company I , 10th United States Infantry . In this capacity he served under Col . Albert Sidney Johnston during the Utah War ( an insurrection of Mormon settlers in Utah Territory against the U . S . government ) in 1857 and 1858 . At the outbreak of the Civil War , Gove ' s regiment was still garrisoned in Utah , however he returned to Washington in the summer of 1861 to seek a more active post . Civil War . On October 28 , 1861 , Gove replaced Col . Henry Wilson as commander of the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry . Gove was the only Regular Army officer to command that regiment . When Gove took command of the 22nd , the regiment was fresh from Boston , having arrived in Washington , D . C . just weeks before . Gove took advantage of the next four months to rigorously train his regiment while they were in winter camp at Halls Hill , Virginia just outside of Arlington . 1st Lt . John Parker , the regimental historian of the 22nd , wrote that Col . Gove : . . . soon became the idol of the regiment . A thorough tactician , with the bearing of a courageous soldier , he impressed the men with the idea that he was a leader it was an honor to follow . No order of his was ever questioned , much less disobeyed , because every man in his command believed that the colonel could not make a mistake and always meant what he said . The 22nd Massachusetts became part of the Army of the Potomac and left their winter quarters on March 10 , 1862 to participate in Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan ' s Peninsular Campaign . The unit saw its first action during the Siege of Yorktown in April 1862 . When Confederate forces finally evacuated Yorktown , Col . Gove , according to historian John Parker , was the first Union officer to climb over the earthworks surrounding the town . In June 1862 , during the Seven Days Battles , the Army of the Potomac was rapidly pushed away from the Confederate capitol of Richmond . On the third day of fighting , the 22nd Massachusetts was heavily engaged in the Battle of Gaines ' Mill on June 27 , 1862 . The regiment had been held in reserve , behind the other regiments of its brigade . After repelling many Confederate charges , the units in front of the 22nd finally retreated in the late afternoon . As the other regiments retired , the 22nd was quickly surrounded by advancing Confederates . Gove , at first , ordered the 22nd to about face and to march towards the rear . But , reluctant to give up the ground , he then ordered the regiment to halt , about face again , and prepare to receive the Confederate attack . Almost instantly after halting the regiment , Gove was shot and killed . The 22nd suffered their most severe casualties of the war ( numerically ) during the Battle of Gaines ' Mill . Gove ' s body was never recovered . Legacy . The 22nd Massachusetts greatly mourned the loss of Col . Gove . The following winter , the regiment named their winter quarters " Camp Gove . " The unit established a debating society known as the Gove Lyceum . After the war , veterans of the 22nd Massachusetts elected to hold their annual reunions on the date of Col . Gove ' s death .