William S . Tilton William Stowell Tilton ( February 1 , 1828 – March 23 , 1889 ) was an American businessman and soldier who led a regiment , and occasionally a brigade , in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War . He and his men were heavily engaged in the Battle of Gettysburg , where Tilton ' s performance created controversy . Early life . William Tilton was born in Newburyport , Massachusetts . He was educated in the local schools . He was a manufacturer and merchant in the years before the war . Civil War . Tilton enlisted in the army and became a first lieutenant in the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on September 12 , 1861 . He was promoted to the rank of major on October 2 of that year . Tilton served in the Peninsula Campaign in the army of Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , serving in the 1st Brigade , 1st Division , V Corps . He was wounded in the shoulder and captured on May 27 , 1862 , at the Battle of Gaines ' Mill . Tilton was exchanged on August 15 of that year . In the meantime , he had become lieutenant colonel of the regiment on June 28 . At that rank , he led the regiment in the 1st Brigade , which was led by Col . James Barnes at the Battle of Antietam . Tilton was made colonel of the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry on October 17 , leading the regiment at the Battle of Fredericksburg . In 1863 , Tilton continued leading the regiment in the First Brigade , First Division , under Barnes , who had recently become a brigadier general , including at the Battle of Chancellorsville . When Brig . Gen . Charles Griffin went on leave following Chancellorsville , Barnes became acting division commander . Tilton , by seniority , took charge of the First Brigade . He led the brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg . His command was deployed on the right flank of Col . Jacob B . Sweitzer ' s 2nd Brigade in between the Peach Orchard and the Wheatfield on July 2 , 1863 . What followed has remained controversial . When Barnes ' s division was under attack , he told both brigade commanders they could retreat . Sweitzer saw this as a peremptory command , but Tilton described this in his report as discretionary . Whatever the truth of this , Tilton said he reconnoitered and discovered a large Confederate force coming up on his left flank . This led him to order a retreat . This left a gap in the Federal line , and other veterans later criticized the actions of Tilton and Barnes . On July 3 , the 1st Brigade relieved Col . Strong Vincent ' s 3rd Brigade , which had passed to Col . James C . Rice after Vincent had been killed in the defense of Little Round Top . Tilton reported only 474 soldiers present for duty at Gettysburg and a loss of 109 from that number . Another estimate is that Tilton lost 125 of 655 men , a loss of 19 . 1 % , a low percentage compared to Sweitzer ' s 30 % reported by the same author . After Gettysburg , Tilton retained brigade command until August 18 , 1863 . He returned to regimental command until November 19 , when he again resumed brigade command . When the Army of the Potomac was reorganized in 1864 for Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant ' s Overland Campaign , Tilton was assigned to lead his regiment in Jacob Sweitzer ' s brigade of Griffin ' s division . He served in that role in the Battle of the Wilderness , the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House , and the Battle of Cold Harbor , as well as in the early stages of the Siege of Petersburg . Tilton remained in regimental command until June 18 , 1864 , when he again became acting brigade commander until August 22 . During this time he was engaged in action at the battles of Jerusalem Plank Road and Globe Tavern . Tilton was mustered out of volunteer service on October 17 of that year . On December 12 , 1864 , President Abraham Lincoln nominated Tilton for the award of the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general , United States Volunteers , to rank from September 9 , 1864 , for distinguished services during the war . The U . S . Senate confirmed the award on February 20 , 1865 . Postbellum activities . Tilton served as governor of the National Soldiers ' Home in Togus , Maine , from 1869 to 1883 . He retired to a home in Boston , Massachusetts . He died in Newtonville , Massachusetts , and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge , Massachusetts .