Charles Francis Adams , Jr . Charles Francis Adams II ( May 27 , 1835 – May 20 , 1915 ) was a member of the prominent Adams family , and son of Charles Francis Adams , Sr . He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War . After the war , he was a railroad regulator and executive , an author of historical works , and a member of the Massachusetts Park Commission . Education and Civil War service . Adams was born into a family with a long legacy in American public life . He was the great - grandson of United States President John Adams , and the grandson of president John Quincy Adams . His father Charles Francis Adams , Sr . was a lawyer , politician , diplomat , and writer . Adams graduated from Harvard University in 1856 . Adams served in the Union Army during the American Civil War . He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry on December 28 , 1861 . He was promoted to captain on December 1 , 1862 . He fought with distinction during the Gettysburg Campaign , where his company was heavily engaged at the Battle of Aldie . He was mustered out of service on September 1 , 1864 . On September 8 , 1864 he was commissioned as the lieutenant colonel of the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry ( officially designated " 5th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry " ) . He was promoted to colonel and assumed command of the regiment on March 14 , 1865 , shortly before the end of the war . Adams resigned from the Army on August 1 , 1865 . On July 9 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Colonel Adams for the award of the rank of brevet ( honorary ) brigadier general , United States Volunteers , " for distinguished gallantry and efficiency at the battles of Secessionville , South Carolina and South Mountain and Antietam , Maryland and for meritorious services during the war " to rank from March 13 , 1865 and the U . S . Senate confirmed the award on July 23 , 1866 . Adams was a Veteran Companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States ( MOLLUS ) . Post Civil War activity . On May 8 , 1865 , he married Mary Elizabeth Ogden , daughter of Abram Ogden of New York City , NY . The couple had three daughters and twin sons : Mary Ogden ( " Molly " ) Adams , Louisa Catherine Adams , Elizabeth Ogden ( " Elise " ) Adams , John Adams ( 1875 – 1964 ) , and Henry Adams ( 1875 – 1951 ) , both of whom graduated Harvard in 1898 . Following the Civil War , he was appointed to the Massachusetts Railroad Commission . There he attempted to persuade ( rather than coerce ) railroads into compliance with accepted business norms . Thomas McCraw called Adams ' s approach to regulation " the Sunshine Commission " since the purpose of the commission was to expose the corrupt business practices in hopes that , once out in the open , the businessmen would be shamed into mending their ways . It was in this vein that he wrote " Chapters of Erie " . However , true to his regulatory philosophy , he favored the protection of businessmen over that of the consumers . He saw regulation as necessary to protect investors and other businessmen from the capriciousness of a hostile public or the machinations of other unscruplous stock jobbers . He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1871 . Union Pacific Railroad . Adams was president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1884 to 1890 , having previously become widely known as an authority on the management of railways . However , he left his office due to financial problems . Among his writings are " Railroads , Their Origin and Problems " ( 1878 ) . Massachusetts Park Commission . From 1893 to 1895 he was chairman of the Massachusetts Park Commission , and as such took a prominent part in planning the present park system of the state . Single Tax Supporter . In 1900 , he wrote a letter to the President of the Massachusetts Single Tax League , declaring himself a supporter of the reform Henry George had proposed . An excerpt of that letter appeared in The Outlook , December 15 , 1900 . Historical writings . After 1874 , he devoted much of his time to the study of American history , and in recognition of his work in this field was chosen president of the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1895 , and of the American Historical Association in 1901 . His writings and addresses both on problems of railway management and on historical subjects frequently gave rise to widespread controversy . Relations . His siblings include : older sister Louisa Catherine Adams , wife of Charles Kuhn , of Philadelphia ; older brother [ Hon . ] John Quincy Adams II , father of Charles Adams , III ; historian Henry Brooks Adams , ; Arthur Adams , who died young during their childhood ; Mary Adams , who married Henry Parker Quincy , of Dedham , MA ; and historian Peter Chardon Brooks Adams , of Beverly Farms , MA . who married Evelyn Davis . Death and burial . Charles F . Adams , Jr . died May 20 , 1915 , a week shy of his 80th birthday . He is buried in Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy , Massachusetts . His grave can be found in the Old Section , Lot 337 . Family tree . The following is a selective family tree of notable members of the Adams family relative to Charles Francis Adams , Jr . :