James M . Warner James Meech Warner ( January 29 , 1836 – March 16 , 1897 ) was a New England manufacturer and a brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Early life . Warner was born in Middlebury , Vermont , the son of Joseph and Jane Anne ( Meech ) Warner . He graduated from Kimball Union Academy in Meriden , New Hampshire in 1854 , and attended Middlebury College for two years , until he was accepted as a cadet in the United States Military Academy on July 1 , 1855 . He graduated from West Point on July 1 , 1860 , standing 40th in a class of 41 . brevet 2nd Lieutenant Warner was assigned to the 10th U . S . Infantry , and , on February 28 , 1861 , was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and transferred to the 8th U . S . Infantry . He was then promoted to 1st Lieutenant May 31 , 1861 , and assigned to Fort Wise , Colorado Territory . Lieutenant Warner probably received a first - rate education in North - South politics while stationed at Fort Wise . Among the officers there at the start of the war were Maj . John Sedgwick , future commander of the Sixth Corps ; William S . Walker , a Pennsylvanian who went with the Confederacy , probably because of his marriage to a Floridian ; Richard Riddick , who would fall leading his 34th North Carolina at Gaines ' Mill and William D . DeSaussure , who died at Gettysburg leading his 15th South Carolina ; Edward Newby , of Virginia and James McIntyre , of Tennessee , both of whom would stay with the Union ; and the redoubtable James Ewell Brown " J . E . B . " Stuart , who would become the bane of many a Union cavalry trooper . Civil War . The State of Vermont asked for Warner ' s services to lead a volunteer regiment , which was agreed to , and he was appointed colonel on September 1 , 1862 , and assigned to command the 11th Vermont Infantry ( also known as the 1st Artillery , Vermont Volunteers ) . His regiment was assigned to the northern defenses of Washington , D . C . , from September 1862 until May 1864 , when Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant called for more troops to support his Overland Campaign . The 11th Vermont joined the Vermont Brigade after the Battle of the Wilderness , and first saw action at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House . In his first engagement , on May 18 , 1864 , Warner was severely wounded , but refused to leave the field until the end of the day . He was sent home on furlough to recover . He returned from convalescence leave on July 8 , 1864 , and was assigned to command the 1st brigade , Hardin ' s division , XXII Corps , in the defenses of Washington . He returned to his regiment later that month , but was reassigned to command the 1st Brigade , 2nd Division , VI Corps in September 1864 . He commanded that brigade until it was disbanded in May 1865 . Warner was brevetted Brigadier General , Volunteers , August 1 , 1864 , " for gallant and meritorious service " at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House , and at the battles of Winchester , Fisher ' s Hill and Cedar Creek . The regular army promoted him to captain , 8th U . S . Infantry , on October 8 , 1864 . He also received brevets as major , lieutenant colonel and colonel , U . S . Army , on March 13 , 1865 , " for gallant and meritorious service during the war . " On April 9 , 1865 , he was brevetted Brigadier General , U . S . Army , " for gallant and meritorious services in the field during the war . " Finally , he was promoted to brigadier general , volunteers , on May 8 , 1865 . He mustered out of voluntary service on January 1 , 1866 , and resigned his regular army commission on February 13 . Postwar activities . After the war , Warner moved to Albany , New York , where he engaged in paper manufacturing as president of the Albany Card and Paper Company . On December 19 , 1889 , he was appointed postmaster of Albany by President Benjamin Harrison ' s administration . Warner died March 16 , 1897 , in New York City , and his remains were returned to Middlebury , Vermont , for interment . James Warner married Matilda Elizabeth Allen , daughter of George Allen and Sophia Sargent , in early June 1863 , while he was stationed in the northern defenses of Washington .