Edmund P . Gaines Edmund Pendleton Gaines ( March 20 , 1777 – June 6 , 1849 ) was a United States army officer who served with distinction during the War of 1812 , the Seminole Wars and the Black Hawk War . Early life . Gaines was born in Culpeper County , Virginia on March 20 , 1777 . He was named after his greatuncle Edmund Pendleton , who was the political leader of Virginia during the Revolution . Edmund ' s father , James , had been captain of a company in the American forces during the Revolutionary War , and after the war his family moved to North Carolina where his father became a state representative . He enlisted in the army in 1799 and was a first lieutenant by 1807 . Mississippi Territory . In the early 19th century , Gaines surveyed routes and boundaries in the Mississippi Territory including parts of the Natchez Trace . In 1807 , Gaines was the commandant of Fort Stoddert . During this time , he arrested Aaron Burr at Wakefield , Alabama and testified at his trial . Gaines also surveyed the route that would become the portion of the Gaines Trace from the Tennessee River to Cotton Gin Port , Mississippi . He afterwards took a leave of absence from the army to practice law . War of 1812 . The War of 1812 brought Gaines back to the army and was appointed major of the Eighth U . S . Infantry and in July , 1812 , was made a lieutenant colonel in the Twenty - Fourth U . S . Infantry . In 1813 , he was promoted to colonel and commanded the Twenty - Fifth Infantry with distinction at the Battle of Crysler ' s Farm . He became adjutant general and was with General William Henry Harrison ' s army at the Battle of the Thames . He was promoted brigadier general of regulars on March 9 , 1814 and commanded the post at Fort Erie after the U . S . capture . General Jacob Brown was wounded at the Battle of Lundy ' s Lane and when the U . S . Army of the Niagara returned to the fort , command was passed to Gaines . At the Siege of Fort Erie Gaines was in command on the fortifications on 15 August 1814 , when a British assault was bloodily repulsed . For this victory - the First Battle of Fort Erie - Gaines was awarded the " Thanks of Congress " , an Act of Congress Gold Medal ( outranking a Congressional Medal of Honor , according to the Smithsonian ) , and a brevet promotion to major general . General Gaines was seriously wounded by artillery fire and General Brown , having recovered , returned to command . Gaines ' wound ended his active field career for the rest of the war , and he was given command of the Military District Number 6 . Indian affairs . At the end of the war , Gaines was sent as commissioner to deal with the Creek Indians . The U . S . commanding general , Jacob Brown , died in 1828 ; and Gaines was one of two ranking generals who could have been considered for the post . However , he and the other general , Winfield Scott , had both publicly quarreled with each other , and Alexander Macomb was promoted over both of them . He commanded the Western Military Department during the Black Hawk War . He was still in command of the department during the Seminole Wars in which he personally led an expedition . At the Battle of Ouithlacoochie he was wounded in the mouth . 1n 1830 , Gaines opposed President Andrew Jackson ' s policy of Indian removal . On February 20 , 1836 , Gaines and his men were the first U . S . soldiers to revisit the scene of the Dade Massacre , where they identified and interred the bodies . Southwest Frontier . In 1836 , he was placed in command of the Southwest Military District . He was given instructions to fortify the border of the Louisiana Territory and Texas in the case that the Mexican army might threaten U . S . territory . He was also given orders to post guards preventing any U . S . soldiers from crossing into Texas and fighting in the rebellion . He was in command of the Army ' s Western Division at the outbreak of the Mexican - American War . He was reprimanded by the U . S . government for overstepping his authority by calling up Louisiana volunteers for Zachary Taylor ' s army . He nevertheless called up volunteers from other southwestern states and received a court - martial but was able to successfully defend himself . Later life . In the years during and following the Mexican - American War , Gaines was in command of a series of military districts . He was in command of the Western Division when he died at New Orleans , Louisiana on June 6 , 1849 . He was interred in the Church Street Graveyard in Mobile , Alabama . He was a Freemason , having being raised in Phoenix Lodge , No . 8 , A . F . & A . M , in Fayetteville , North Carolina . Legacy . A number of places in the United States were named in his honor , including Gainesville s in Florida , Texas , and Georgia ; Gaines Township in Michigan ; and Gainesboro in Tennessee . He was also the namesake of Gaines Streets in Tallahassee , Florida , and Davenport , Iowa ; and Fort Gaines , a historic fort on Dauphin Island , Alabama . Gaines was married to Barbara Blount , daughter of Tennessee statesman William Blount .