John B. Todd

John B. Todd

John Blair Smith Todd (April 4, 1814 to January 5, 1872) Service dates: 1837–56, 1861–62. Todd was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1837. As a Captain he was assigned to Company A of the 6th U.S. Infantry on November 22nd, 1843. He served as commissioned officer in the Seminole War and the Mexican-American War. He was stationed at Fort Ripley, Minnesota and at Ft. Pierre, in Dakota Territory during his career. Todd resigned his commission on September 16, 1856 to become a “sutler” near Fort Randall, Dakota. Todd was a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln and during the Civil War he was appointed by President Lincoln to the rank of brigadier general. After the war, he was elected the first delegate to congress from Dakota Territory. He died in Yankton County and is interred in Yankton Cemetery. Link to a Photo and detailed biography. [1]