Joshua W. Sill
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Joshua Woodrow Sill (December 6, 1831 – 31 December 1862) was an officer in the United States Army, before and during the American Civil War.
[edit] Early life and career
Joshua W. Sill was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. He was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Sill, who had resided there since the year 1814. Joshua's early education was obtained largely from his father, who took the time from his legal practice to instruct his son in the basic subjects. Joshua was an apt pupil and before reaching adulthood he mastered many of the difficult sciences and achieved particular skill in Mathematics. He was also proficient in Latin and Greek and was conversant with English and French literature.
Although his father desired him to study law, he was, at his own request, appointed in 1849 to the U.S. Military Academy, from the Chillicothe Congressional district. During his four years at West Point, he ranked among the best scholars and graduated third in his class. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in ordnance, and 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 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. In the spring of 1860, Sill gave notice of resignation of his commission and accepted the professorship of mathematics and civil engineering in the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute.
[edit] Civil War
Following the bombardment of Fort Sumter, he resigned his teaching position and offered his services to the Governor of Ohio, who 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.
In 1869 his classmate, General Sheridan, officially established a military post in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma, which he named in memory of his West Point classmate, Joshua W. Sill. Fort Sill today is the largest Artillery Center in the world.
In recent years an interesting incident concerning General Sill has come to light. On the eve of the Battle of Stone's River, Sill was in conference with his chief, General Sheridan. When it came time to leave this conference, Generals Sill and Sheridan mistakenly put on each others coat. Sill was thus wearing Sheridans' coat at the time he was killed. The story goes that the riflemen therefore mistook him for Sheridan and shot him. Whether this is true is difficult to say. The story comes via a sister of General Sheridan, Nelly Sheridan Wilson.
Perhaps the best epitaph that has been written concerning General Sill came in a letter from one of his officers, who wrote, "No man in the entire army, I believe, was so much admired, respected, and beloved by inferiors as well as superiors in rank as was General Sill".
