Régis de Trobriand Philippe Régis Denis de Keredern de Trobriand ( June 4 , 1816 – July 15 , 1897 ) was a French aristocrat , lawyer , poet , and novelist who emigrated at a young age to the United States . During the American Civil War he was a general in the Union Army . Early life . Trobriand was born at Chateau des Rochettes , near Tours , France , the son of a baron who had been a general in Napoleon Bonaparte ' s army . In his youth he studied law and wrote poetry and prose , publishing his first novel in 1840 . He was an expert swordsman who fought a number of duels . In 1841 , to answer a dare , he emigrated to the United States at the age of 25 and immediately became popular as a " bon vivant " with the social elite of New York City . He married an heiress named Mary Jones , and although the wedding was in Paris and they lived in Venice for a time , socializing with the local nobility , they returned to the United States and took up permanent residence in New York . In the 1850s he earned a living writing and editing for French language publications . He was the publisher of " Revue du Nouveau Monde " and the editor of " Le Courrier des Etats - Unis " . Civil War . After the Civil War broke out , Trobriand became a naturalized citizen of the United States and on August 28 , 1861 , he was given command of the 55th New York Infantry , the predominantly French - immigrant regiment known as the " Gardes Lafayette " . He and his regiment were attached to Peck ' s Brigade of Couch ' s Division , Keyes ' s IV Corps of the Army of the Potomac in September 1861 and took part in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign , seeing first combat on May 5 , 1862 , at the Battle of Williamsburg . Soon after , he was debilitated with a malady diagnosed as " swamp fever " , missed the remainder of the campaign , and was unable to return to duty until July . His regiment ' s next engagement , part of the brigade of Brig . Gen . J . H . Hobart Ward , III Corps of the Army of the Potomac , was at the Battle of Fredericksburg , but they were held in reserve and escaped the terrible bloodshed of the Union defeat . In December 1862 the 55th and 38th New York were merged and Trobriand became the colonel of the now - named 38th . He led his new regiment at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 , but was not heavily engaged . After the III Corps was reorganized following its severe casualties at Chancellorsville , Trobriand was given command of a new brigade . Trobriand ' s military career is best known for the Battle of Gettysburg , where he first saw significant action . He arrived on the second day of battle , July 2 , 1863 , and took up positions in the area known as the Wheatfield . His brigade put up a spirited defense against powerful assaults by Confederate Maj . Gen . John Bell Hood ' s division , particularly a Georgia brigade under Brig . Gen . George T . Anderson and a South Carolina brigade under Brig . Gen . Joseph B . Kershaw . They were able to successfully hold out until relieved by units of Maj . Gen . John C . Caldwell ' s division of the II Corps , but it came at a terrible price — every third man in Trobriand ' s brigade was a casualty . After the battle , his division commander , Maj . Gen . David B . Birney , wrote : Despite the recommendation and his excellent performance at Gettysburg , Col . Trobriand would not receive his promotion to brigadier general until his appointment to that grade by President Abraham Lincoln on April 10 , 1864 , to rank from January 5 , 1864 , after the U . S . Senate had confirmed the appointment on April 7 , 1864 . He finally assumed command of a brigade to match his rank when Brig . Gen . J . H . Hobart Ward was dismissed from the Army for intoxication . Late in the war , he occasionally led a division during the Petersburg Campaign and the Appomattox Campaign , especially when Gershom Mott was wounded in the latter campaign . On January 13 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated de Tobriand for the brevet grade of major general to rank from April 9 , 1865 and the U . S . Senate confirmed the nomination on March 12 , 1866 . De Trobriand was mustered out of the volunteer service on January 15 , 1866 . On December 3 , 1867 President Johnson nominated him for the brevet grade of brigadier general in the regular army , to rank from March 2 , 1867 and the U . S . Senate confirmed the award on February 14 , 1868 . Postbellum service . After the war , Trobriand continued to serve with the Army . He served as the commander of Fort Stevenson in Dakota Territory from 1867 to 1870 , and then as part of the occupation forces in the South , particularly New Orleans , during Reconstruction . He resided in New Orleans from 1875 , but did not retire from the Army until March 20 , 1879 . During his retirement he wrote a number of books including " Quatre ans de campagnes à l ' Armée du Potomac " , published in 1867 ( English translation , " Four Years with the Army of the Potomac " , 1889 ) , " Vie militaire dans le Dakota , notes et souvenirs ( 1867 – 1869 ) " ( published posthumously in 1926 , with its English translation , " Army Life in Dakota " ) , and " Our Noble Blood " ( posthumous , 1997 ) . He spent his summers with his daughter on Long Island . Trobriand died in Bayport , New York , and is buried in St . Ann ' s Episcopal Cemetery , Sayville , New York .