Newton Martin Curtis
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Newton Martin Curtis (May 21, 1835 – January 8, 1910) was a Union brigadier general during the American Civil War and a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.
Curtis was born in De Peyster, New York. Upon graduating from the Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary, Curtis became a teacher, lawyer, and postmaster of De Peyster. In the year prior to the Civil War, he was working as a farmer.
In 1861, he volunteered in the Union Army as a captain in the 16th New York Infantry. He fought in the Peninsula Campaign and was wounded in a minor engagement at West Point, Virginia. He became colonel of the 142nd New York Infantry and fought in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign. He took command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, X Corps during the siege of Petersburg. Curtis received a brevet promotion to brigadier general on October 28, 1864, for his actions at the Battle of New Market Heights.
His brigade became part of the expedition against Fort Fisher in December 1864. The first attack against Fort Fisher was defeated, but Curtis took part in the second attack in January 1865, in which his brigade played a key role in the Union victory. He was wounded at the head of his brigade and received a full promotion to brigadier general of volunteers and was also awarded the Medal of Honor. He remained in the army for less than a year after the fighting had ended, receiving a brevet to major general of volunteers.
After the war, Curtis was a collector of customs and then a Special Agent for the United States Treasury Department from 1867 until 1880. He was in the Department of Justice from 1880 until 1882. The Republican served as a New York state legislator (1884–1890) and a U.S. Congressman from New York's 22nd District (1891–97). He wrote a book titled From Bull Run to Chancellorsville, published in 1906. He died in New York City and is buried in Ogdensburg, New York, where a statue stands in his honor.
The General Newton Martin Curtis Camp #142 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was named for Curtis.
[edit] References
- Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J.: Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
