Thornton F. Brodhead Explained

Thornton F. Brodhead
Birth Date: 1822
Birth Place:South New Market, New Hampshire, U.S.
Allegiance: United States (Union)
Branch:United States Army
Union Army
Branch Label:Branch
Serviceyears:1847–1862
Rank: Brevet Brigadier general
Unit:15th Infantry Regiment
Commands:1st Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
Battles:

Thornton Fleming Brodhead (1822 – August 31, 1862)[1] was a brevet brigadier general during the American Civil War.

Biography

Thornton Fleming Brodhead was born in South New Market, New Hampshire, on September 22, 1822. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in law. He then moved to Pontiac, Michigan. He soon was appointed prosecuting attorney and then deputy Secretary of State. At age 27, he became a state senator for Michigan. Brodhead enlisted in April 1847 as 1st Lieutenant and Adjutant in the 15th U.S. Infantry during the Mexican War, and he was brevetted to the rank of captain on August 20, 1847. He was made a full captain on December 2, 1847, and was mustered out on July 31, 1848, when the troops were disbanded. In 1852 he was appointed postmaster of Detroit.

At the beginning of the civil war he raised the 1st Michigan cavalry regiment,[2] at the head of which he served under Generals Banks, Fremont, and Pope. He died of wounds received at the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 31, 1862.

Personal life

Brodhead married Archange Macomb, a daughter of general Macomb and they had six children.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thornton Fleming Brodhead. Historic Elmwood Cemetery & Foundation . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223085730/https://www.elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org/biographies/thornton-fleming-brodhead/. 2017-12-23. 2017-12-23.
  2. Book: Kidd. James Harvey. Wittenberg. Eric J.. 2000. The Organization of the 6th Michigan Cavalry. One of Custer's Wolverines: The Civil War Letters of Brevet Brigadier General James H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry. https://books.google.com/books?id=Qot7IL6vj7QC&pg=PA7. Kent State University Press. 7. 0-87338-670-1. 2017-12-23. Google Books.