Absalom Baird

On episode three hundred and thirty-seven, the story of Absalom Baird is told. All stories in July and August will be recipients from the American Civil War Be sure to visit our website for more information as the show goes on at: www.talesofhonorpodcast.com. Thanks for listening and be sure to share with friends and family!

Absalom was born on the 20th of August, 1824, in Washington, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh, and after finishing Washington College's preparatory department in 1841, he attended the US Military Academy. He graduated ninth in his class in 1849 and went on to be a mathematics instructor at the Academy for seven years.

Absalom was serving in Virginia when the Civil War began and he was brevet promoted to Captain before the First Battle of Bull Run. He went on to serve as an assistant inspector general before becoming the chief of staff for Major General Keyes during the Siege of Yorktown. In April of 1862, Absalom was promoted to Brigadier General and took command of the 27th Brigade, 7th Division, Army of the Ohio before commanding the 3rd Division, Army of Kentucky. His unit was merged with the Army of the Cumberland and became the 1st Division, XIV Corps. They fought in the Battle of Chickamauga, the Chattanooga Campaign, and the Atlanta Campaign, but it was his actions during the Battle of Jonesborough on the 1st of September, 1864, that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

Voluntarily led a detached brigade in an assault upon the enemy's works.

In reading about his rank around this time, it can easily be confusing because some of the officer ranks depended on if you were in the volunteer Army, similar to today's Reserve or National Guard, or the Regular Army, like today's Active Duty. Absalom was promoted by President Lincoln and Congress to the rank of Major General of volunteers after this battle, but a month later President Johnson promoted him down a rank to Brigadier General in the Regular Army, only to be brevet promoted to Major General in the regular Army a few months later. Regardless, Absalom was a Brevet Major General when he mustered out of volunteer service on the 1st of September, 1866, continued to serve and was appointed the Inspector General of the Army on the 11th of March, 1885, which gave him a full promotion to Brigadier General. He observed military maneuvers in France in 1887 before retiring from the Army on the 20th of August, 1888 after thirty-nine years of service and reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64. He received his Medal of Honor on the 22nd of April, 1896 and nine years later, on the 14th of June, 1905, Absalom Baird died at the age of 80 near Baltimore, Maryland. He, his wife Cornelia, and their son William, are buried in Arlington National Cemetery: Section 1, Grave 55.