John Joseph Abercrombie John Joseph Abercrombie ( March 4 , 1798 – January 3 , 1877 ) was a career United States Army officer who served in numerous wars , finally reaching the rank of brigadier general during the American Civil War . Early life and career . Abercrombie was born and baptized in Baltimore , Maryland , although some accounts suggest he was a native of Tennessee . The son of John Joseph Abercrombie , Sr . and Sarah DeNormandie , their family was living in Nashville , Tennessee when the younger John entered the United States Military Academy in 1818 . Graduating 37th of 40 from the United States Military Academy in 1822 , Abercrombie ' s class included future Union Army generals Joseph K . Mansfield , David Hunter , and George A . McCall , as well as future Confederate Army general Isaac R . Trimble . Abercrombie began his long military career with garrison duty at Baton Rouge , Louisiana , until 1825 . He became the adjutant of the 1st U . S . Infantry and was assigned administrative duty at regimental headquarters . He was promoted to first lieutenant in September 1828 and served in the Black Hawk War against the Sauk Indians in 1832 . He was then on garrison duty in Illinois and Wisconsin . Seeing additional combat action as a captain during the Seminole Wars , Abercrombie was brevetted a major for gallantry at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee . Serving on frontier duty throughout the 1830s and 40s within the South and Northwest , Abercrombie fought again during the Mexican - American War , where he gained distinction at the Battle of Monterrey and was promoted to lieutenant colonel . Following the war , he married Mary Engle Patterson , the daughter of General Robert Patterson , a wealthy Philadelphia merchant . They would have nine children . He founded Fort Abercrombie in what is now North Dakota in 1857 , selecting the site and supervising construction of the wooden fort . He then commanded the garrison until promoted and reassigned to duty in Minnesota . Civil War service . By the start of the Civil War , at the age of 63 , Abercrombie was one of the oldest field officers in both the Union and Confederacy . He served as the commanding officer of the U . S . 7th Infantry in Minnesota with the full rank of colonel in the Regular Army . Promoted to brigadier general of Volunteers in the Union Army on August 31 , 1861 , Abercrombie commanded troops under his father - in - law Robert Patterson in the Shenandoah Valley and at the Battle of Falling Waters . He was reassigned as commander of the I Corps ' 2nd Brigade , attached to the Army of the Potomac . He led the brigade throughout the Peninsula Campaign in 1862 , during which he was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines . During the Battle of Malvern Hill , his command assisted in repulsing the Confederate attack against Union forces . His unit later participated in several skirmishes during the Federal retreat to Harrison ' s Landing . After the conclusion of the Peninsula Campaign , Abercrombie was replaced as commander in favor of younger officers and spent the next year involved in the defense of Washington , D . C . , and , in 1864 , headed various Union supply depots in Virginia during the Overland Campaign . Abercrombie commanded the troops that defended a depot in Fredericksburg , Virginia , in June 1864 against an attack by Hampton ' s Legion . On March 13 , 1865 , Abercrombie was brevetted a brigadier general in the Regular Army in recognition of his long service . Abercrombie retired from active duty on June 12 after commanding Fort Schuyler in New York . Postbellum . In his retirement , Abercrombie stayed associated with the U . S . Army . He served on court - martial duty for the next 3 years . Abercrombie died at the age of 78 in Roslyn , New York . He was buried in The Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania .