William J . Landram William Jennings Landram ( February 11 , 1828October 11 , 1895 ) was a lawyer , publisher , and Union officer during the American Civil War . He served in many of the campaigns associated with the XIII Corps often in command of a brigade and occasionally in division command . His name is alternately spelled " Landrum " . Biography . Early life and education . Landrum was born February 11 , 1828 in Lancaster , Kentucky to Louis Landram and Martha A . George , the first of many children . Landram ' s father , a native of Virginia was an attorney who relocated to Scott County , Kentucky in the early 19th century . Landram ' s mother was a native of Garrard County , Kentucky and niece of George Robertson , a prominent Kentucky politician and jurist . Landram was educated in local private schools and in 1845 was appointed Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts for Garrard County . In 1849 , he married Sarah A . Walker , with whom he had nine children . Mexican War . On June 9 , 1846 , Landram enlisted as a private in Company A , 1st Kentucky Cavalry during the Mexican – American War . He was soon promoted to orderly sergeant . Landram fought in the Battle of Buena Vista February 22 – 23 , 1847 , where he received a saber wound in a shoulder . He mustered out of service June 8 , 1847 and returned to his previous position in Lancaster . Politics . From 1850 to 1851 , Landram read law and published the " Garrard Banner " , a local Whig newspaper . Landram was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court for Garrard County , and was admitted to the bar in 1854 . He was continually reelected to the position until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 . Landram was a staunch supporter of John Bell and Edward Everett in the election of 1860 . A supporter of emancipation , he voted in 1849 to abolish slavery in Kentucky . With the demise of the Whig party , Landram became a Republican . Civil War . On July 15 , 1861 , the War Department authorized General William " Bull " Nelson to establish a training camp and organize a brigade of infantry . At Camp Dick Robinson , Nelson commissioned Landram , colonel of the 1st Kentucky Cavalry , but he resigned after a few days , preferring instead a commission in the infantry . Landram was subsequently ordered by Brig . Gen . William T . Sherman , then in command of Kentucky , to Harrodsburg , Kentucky , where he recruited the 19th Kentucky Infantry , and was elected its colonel December 12 , 1861 . Landram proved to be a capable officer and he participated in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou , Arkansas Post , Champion Hill , Black River Bridge , the siege of Vicksburg , the siege of Jackson , and finally the Red River Campaign . While in command of a division at the Battle of Sabine Crossroads , Landram was captured on April 8 , 1864 , immediately paroled , and later exchanged July 22 , 1864 . On October 8 , 1864 , Landram was given command of the District of Baton Rouge . As a reward for meritorious service , Landram was promoted to brevet brigadier general of volunteers on March 13 , 1865 . When the war ended , he returned to his home in Lancaster . Later life . Landram was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the Eighth Kentucky District by President Andrew Johnson in 1867 , and was subsequently reappointed by President Ulysses S . Grant , holding the post until 1885 . He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church for 42 years and a prominent member of the Freemasons . Landram applied for a disability pension in 1890 . In a candid letter to U . S . Representative James B . McCreary dated October 27 , 1890 , Landram noted that he had contracted dysentery while on duty at Alexandria , Louisiana on April 25 , 1864 , which led to chronic hemorrhoids . He wrote , " I own but little property of any kind , and am dependent upon a meagre [ sic ] law practice in a small town for the support of myself and family , six in number . " Landram died on October 11 , 1895 and was buried in Lancaster Cemetery .