Isaac S . Catlin Isaac Swartwood Catlin ( July 8 , 1835 – January 19 , 1916 ) was an American lawyer and a decorated officer in the American Civil War . A native of Owego , New York , Catlin studied law in New York City before returning to Owego to begin his career . He joined the Union Army in the first days of the Civil War and rose to become commander of the 109th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment . Severely wounded during the Battle of the Crater , he remained on the field and led his regiment until being injured a second time , resulting in the loss of his leg . For this action , he was awarded the U . S . military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor . After the war , Catlin moved to Brooklyn and established himself as a criminal defense lawyer and district attorney . He was politically active but lost a race for Mayor of Brooklyn and declined several other opportunities to run for higher offices . Early life and family . Catlin was born on July 8 , 1835 , in Owego , New York , to Nathaniel and Jane ( Brodhead ) Catlin . After receiving his early education at Owego Academy , he attended Hobart College in Geneva for a single year . In 1856 , he moved to New York City to study law and was admitted to the bar the next year . Returning to Owego in 1859 , he joined his brother - in - law Benjamin F . Tracy ' s law firm , Tracy , Warner & Walker . Tracy , who had married Catlin ' s sister Delinda in 1851 , would also earn the Medal of Honor in the Civil War and would go on to become United States Secretary of the Navy . Catlin was elected mayor of Owego in 1860 and continued in that role until the outbreak of war . In 1862 in Brooklyn , Catlin married Virginia H . S . Bacon ; the couple had one son and one daughter . Military service . Immediately after President Abraham Lincoln ' s call for volunteers at the beginning of the Civil War , Catlin raised a company of infantry and was appointed its captain . The unit , said to be " the first full company which enlisted in the North , " was mustered in on May 14 , 1861 , as part of Frederick Townsend ' s 3rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment . Regarding the regiment ' s participation in the Battle of Big Bethel on June 10 , 1861 , Townsend remarked : " There was no braver officer on that field than Captain Catlin . " Following the battle , the unit was stationed at Fort McHenry in Maryland . Catlin resigned his position in the 3rd New York on March 14 , 1862 , and rejoined the Army five months later , on August 2 , with the 109th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment . He began his service with the 109th as a first lieutenant but was promoted to lieutenant colonel only weeks later . Promoted to full colonel on July 29 , 1864 , he led the 109th New York in the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg , Virginia , the next day . During the battle , he was seriously wounded but returned to the field and continued to lead his regiment until being struck a second time . The second wound necessitated the amputation of his right leg . For this action , he was given a brevet promotion to major general on March 13 , 1865 , and awarded the Medal of Honor several decades later , on January 13 , 1899 . Catlin ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : In a heroic effort to rally the disorganized troops was disabled by a severe wound . While being carried from the field he recovered somewhat and bravely started to return to his command , when he received a second wound , which necessitated amputation of his right leg . Catlin was mustered out of the volunteer army on June 4 , 1865 , and joined the regular army as a captain on May 6 , 1867 . On that same date , he was given the regular army brevet ranks of major , for his actions at the Battle of the Wilderness , and lieutenant colonel , for his actions at Petersburg . He retired from the military on May 6 , 1870 , and was simultaneously promoted to colonel . While on the retired list he was again promoted , to brigadier general , on April 23 , 1904 . Legal and political career . After the war , Catlin returned to the practice of law in Owego before moving to Brooklyn and establishing a legal career there . He was elected the district attorney of Tioga County in 1865 and six years later , in 1871 , formed a law partnership in Brooklyn with his brother - in - law , Benjamin F . Tracy . That same year , he became an Assistant Attorney for the Eastern District of New York . He worked as a criminal defense lawyer and served as legal counsel for the Kings County Sheriff for nine years . In 1877 he was elected Kings County District Attorney and was re - elected to that position in 1880 . Catlin was also involved in politics ; he was a Republican except for a period from 1888 to 1896 , when he identified as a " Cleveland Democrat " . He ran for Mayor of the City of Brooklyn in 1885 but was unsuccessful . He turned down nominations to run for Congress in 1893 and for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Democratic ticket in 1896 . At the outbreak of the Spanish – American War in 1898 , Catlin volunteered for military duty but was turned down due to his advanced age . He instead visited Cuba and the Philippines and wrote widely - published reports on the situations in those areas . His son , George de Grasse Catlin , served in the U . S . Army during the war and rose to the rank of captain . In his later years , Catlin split his time between homes in Brooklyn and Owego . He was a member of the New York Society of Colonial Wars . In January 1916 he suffered a stroke and died a week later , on January 19 , at his apartment in Brooklyn ' s Hotel St . George . Aged 80 at his death , he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County , Virginia .