21 Facts About Solomon Meredith

Solomon Meredith was an Indiana farmer, politician, and lawman who became a controversial Union Army general in the American Civil War.

Solomon Meredith was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, the youngest of twelve children born to David and Mary Farrington Meredith.

In 1836 Solomon Meredith married Anna Hannah, a daughter of Samuel Hannah, who later became the 6th Indiana State Treasurer.

Solomon Meredith was a Freemason and member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

In 1829, aged 19, Solomon Meredith left North Carolina, where Quakers faced increasing persecution for helping slaves escape, and walked to Wayne County, Indiana, where he found work chopping wood and working on a farm.

Solomon Meredith later clerked in a general store in Centerville, then opened a store in Milton, before moving to Cambridge City, the Wayne county seat.

Solomon Meredith owned a sprawling farm, "Oakland," near Cambridge City.

In 1834, Solomon Meredith won election as the Sheriff of Wayne County, and served for two years before winning election and re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives as a fervent Whig.

Solomon Meredith represented Wayne County in the Indiana House until 1849, when newly elected Whig President Zachary Taylor appointed him US Marshal for Indiana.

Solomon Meredith served four years, then again won election to represent Wayne County in the Indiana house, this time as a member of the new Republican Party.

Solomon Meredith supported the Whitewater Canal and worked with his brother-in-law, John S Newman, to raise funds for the Indiana Central Railroad, ultimately acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and later became president of the Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad Company.

Solomon Meredith went to Washington to rest and recuperate while his replacement, Lt.

However, Major General Joseph Hooker, who had commanded the I Corps at Antietam and was recovering from a wound sustained in that battle, was visited by Solomon Meredith requesting promotion to brigadier general.

Regardless of the Antietam fiasco and Gibbon's disdain for him, Solomon Meredith had powerful political connections in the form of Indiana Governor Oliver Morton.

Solomon Meredith led the brigade in combat for the first time at Fredericksburg, where he drew the ire of division commander Maj.

Solomon Meredith was wounded when he was struck in the head by shrapnel, fracturing his skull and giving him a severe concussion.

Solomon Meredith was disabled and unfit for any further field command.

Solomon Meredith performed administrative duty for the rest of the war, commanding garrisons protecting Union river ports along the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois, and Paducah, Kentucky.

Openly feuding with his opponent, Solomon Meredith beat Julian unconscious with a whip, but used his political influence to have charges of assault and battery dropped.

Solomon Meredith then retired to his farm and raised prize-winning longhorn cattle, sheep, and horses.

Solomon Meredith is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Cambridge City, Indiana.