Wesley Merritt graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1860 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons, serving initially in Utah under John Buford.
22 Facts About Wesley Merritt
2.
Wesley Merritt became the adjutant for the unit when it was renamed the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
3.
In 1862, Merritt was appointed captain in the 2nd Cavalry and served as an aide-de-camp to Brig.
4.
Wesley Merritt served in the defenses of Washington, DC, for the rest of 1862.
5.
Wesley Merritt was slightly wounded in the Battle of Brandy Station; on June 29,1863, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers for his "gallant and meritorious service" at Brandy Station and Upperville.
6.
Wesley Merritt took over command of the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps following the death by typhoid fever of its commander, John Buford, in December 1863.
7.
Ulysses S Grant's Overland Campaign in 1864, so Merritt acted as commander in his place.
8.
Wesley Merritt received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel in the regular army for his actions at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, the engagement in which Confederate cavalry commander Maj.
9.
Philip Sheridan's Valley Campaigns of 1864, Wesley Merritt commanded the 1st Division, Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Shenandoah.
10.
Wesley Merritt was second-in-command to Sheridan during the Appomattox Campaign and was one of several commissioners for the surrender at Appomattox Court House.
11.
Wesley Merritt was brevetted major general in the regular army, in April 1865, for bravery at the Battle of Five Forks and the Appomattox Campaign.
12.
In June 1865, Wesley Merritt was appointed command of Cavalry Forces of the Military Division of the Southwest, commanded by Sheridan.
13.
Wesley Merritt led the 1st Division of Cavalry to march from Shreveport, Louisiana, to San Antonio, Texas, as part of the Union occupation forces on an arduous 33-day 600-mile march between July 9 and August 11,1865.
14.
On January 28,1866, Wesley Merritt was one of a number of brevetted generals mustered out of volunteer service and returned to their pre-war ranks in the regular army.
15.
Wesley Merritt was appointed lieutenant colonel of the newly raised US 9th Cavalry on July 28,1866, and in July 1867 was sent to command Fort Davis, Texas, garrisoned by six of the regiment's companies.
16.
Wesley Merritt was made colonel of the 5th Cavalry on July 1,1876, which he commanded in the Battle of Slim Buttes during the American Indian Wars.
17.
Wesley Merritt served on the frontier until being appointed superintendent of West Point, a post he filled from 1882 to 1887.
18.
Wesley Merritt was promoted to major general in the US Army in 1895.
19.
Wesley Merritt was a companion of the Illinois Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
20.
Wesley Merritt was placed in command of the newly created Eighth Army Corps.
21.
When Wesley Merritt arrived in Manila, he and Dewey made preparations for the attack on the city.
22.
The city fell to the Americans on August 13,1898, and Wesley Merritt became the first American military governor of the Philippines.