Joshua W. Sill
Joshua Woodrow Sill (1831-1862) - Born 6 Dec 1831, Chillicothe, Ohio. Died 31 Dec 1862, Battle of Stones River, outside of Murfreesboro, Tennesse.
West Point
He was appointed to the United States Military Academy, West Point in 1849 and graduated 3rd of 52 in the . Upon graduation, he was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in ordnance.
Early Military Career
His first assignment was at the Watervliet Arsenal, West Troy, New York. In 1855, he was recalled to West Point as an instructor. After two years there, he was assigned to the Pittsburgh Arsenal, where he was occupied with the testing of ordnance equipment
In May 1858, Sill was sent to Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory, to superintend the building of an arsenal. Difficulties with the British Government prevented the construction of this arsenal and he was reassigned to Watervleit Arsenal. A few months at this facility, he was ordered to Fort Leavenworth. Sill resigned his commission in 1860 and accepted the professorship of mathematics and civil engineering in the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute.
U.S. Civil War
At the beginning of the U.S. Civil War he was appointed him Assistant Adjutant General of the State in May 1861. There he was occupied in the organization of the Ohio forces. In August 1861 he was commissioned Colonel of the 33rd Ohio Volunteers and accompanied General Nelson in the Eastern Kentucky expedition. His regiment was then assigned to General Ormsby M. Mitchel's Division, and Sill was placed in command of a Brigade and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. This promotion was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 29, 1862. Shortly thereafter, Sill was made commanding general of a division. His leadership of this division in constant skirmishing with the enemy was outstanding, and he was noted for having accomplished his missions with very little loss. He was soon given command of a brigade in General Philip Sheridan's Division, and shortly thereafter he took part in the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War, the Battle of Stones River, just outside of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In the second day of this battle, December 31, 1862, while personally leading his men forward, Sill was killed by rifle fire. His body was found by the Confederate troops, who buried it in a battlefield cemetery near the scene of his death. A few years later his body was removed to the Grandview Cemetery in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Father: Joseph Sill (-)
Mother: Elizabeth Unknown (-)
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- (1849-1853) Cadet, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
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