Marsena R . Patrick Marsena Rudolph Patrick ( March 15 , 1811 – July 27 , 1888 ) was a college president and an officer in the United States Army , serving as a general in the Union volunteer forces during the American Civil War . He was the provost marshal for the Army of the Potomac in many of its campaigns . Early life . Patrick was born in Hounsfield , Jefferson County , New York ( near Watertown ) . He worked on the Erie Canal and briefly taught school . He was appointed to the United States Military Academy in nearby West Point , and graduated in 1835 . Initially appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the infantry , he was promoted to first lieutenant in 1839 , serving in the Seminole Wars . Patrick served in the Mexican - American War and was again promoted , this time to captain , in 1847 . He was appointed brevet major in 1849 for " meritorious conduct while serving in the enemy ' s country . " However , Patrick decided to resign from the Army in 1850 and returned to New York . For a time , he was president of a local railroad , as well as becoming an expert farmer , studying and using the latest scientific advances to prosper . In 1859 , Patrick was appointed President of the New York State Agricultural College , serving in that role for two years before the outbreak of the Civil War , when Patrick enlisted in the New York state militia as inspector general in early 1861 . Civil War . In March 1862 , Patrick was appointed as a brigadier general of volunteers . His brigade was assigned to the division of Brig . Gen . Rufus King in the army of Maj . Gen . Irvin McDowell and sent to the Shenandoah Valley in northern Virginia , where Patrick ' s men occasionally fought against Confederates under Stonewall Jackson . He was subsequently appointed military governor of Fredericksburg , Virginia , in April 1862 . Transferred later in the year to the Army of the Potomac under Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , he commanded the 2nd Brigade , 3rd Division , I Corps in the defenses of Washington , D . C . . Patrick ' s brigade ( renumbered as the 3rd Brigade ) suffered hundreds of casualties in the Maryland Campaign , seeing action at the battles of South Mountain and Antietam . In the reorganization of the command structure following Antietam , Patrick was named as the provost marshal for the Army of the Potomac on October 6 , 1862 . To support his efforts , he had the equivalent of a brigade of troops , including at various times : Patrick tried vainly to stop vengeful Union soldiers from sacking and looting Fredericksburg in November , and had to fend off political officials who placed the blame on him , including numerous inquiries from Secretary of War Edwin M . Stanton . Nevertheless , Patrick continued in the role of provost marshal throughout 1863 . New army commander Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker had Patrick create the Bureau of Military Information , a network of intelligence agents . At the Battle of Gettysburg , Patrick oversaw the processing of thousands of Confederate prisoners of war . In early 1864 , when Ulysses S . Grant arrived in the Eastern Theater and assumed authority over multiple armies , Patrick was elevated to provost marshal for the combined forces operating against Richmond , Virginia . Postbellum career . Following the surrender of Robert E . Lee in April 1865 , Patrick remained in northern Virginia as provost of the District of Henrico in the Department of Virginia . Although appointed a brevet major general in the volunteer army , Patrick resigned from the Army a second time on June 12 , 1865 , preferring to return to civilian life rather than accept a role in the smaller postbellum regular army . In 1865 , he ran on the Democratic ticket for New York State Treasurer but was defeated by Republican Joseph Howland . Patrick moved to Manlius , NY , and from 1867 through 1868 , Patrick served as president of the New York State Agricultural Society , then spent the next two years as a state commissioner , a role he again held from 1879 through 1880 . He became a widely known public speaker , particularly on topics related to technological advances in agriculture . Interested in the care of former soldiers , Patrick moved to Ohio and became the governor of the central branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers . Marsena Patrick died in Dayton , Ohio , and was buried in the Dayton National Cemetery . His diary , frequently critical of the Army ' s commanders , was published in 1964 . In popular culture . Patrick appears briefly in the 2003 Civil War film " Gods and Generals " , portrayed by Ryan Cutrona . During scenes depicting the Battle of Fredericksburg , he is seen berating soldiers looting the town , and ordering his guard to put a stop to the vandalism .