Roy Stone
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Roy Stone (October 16, 1836 – August 5, 1905) was an army officer during the American Civil War. He is most noted for his stubborn defense of the McPherson Farm during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Stone was born in Plattsburg, New York, to Ithiel V. and Sarah Stone. His family had been among the early settlers of the region, and his father owned a large estate. As a young man, he was an engineer and lumberman before the Civil War. Stone married Mary Elizabeth Marker at the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh on August 14, 1862. They would have two children, a son, Richmond and a daughter, Margaret.
Stone first served as major of the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves, a regiment that saw action at several early war battles, including Antietam. Stone returned to Pennsylvania to help recruit new regiments; he was commissioned as colonel of the newly raised 149th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in 1863. He commanded a brigade in the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Gettysburg Campaign. On July 1, 1863, on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, his brigade, composed of green troops that had not seen previous combat, was instrumental in holding back several assaults by the Confederates until the Iron Brigade and other Federal units fell back. Stone's men were the among last to withdraw from their sector. Stone was severely wounded in the hip and arm in the fighting on McPherson's Ridge, and he returned home to recuperate.
After his return to active duty, Stone served briefly as a brigade commander in James Wadsworth's fourth division V Corps. He was removed from command during the 1864 Overland Campaign of Ulysses S. Grant. Stone then commanded the Alton Military Prison in Alton, Illinois late in the war. Stone was brevetted Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers on September 7, 1864, for "gallant services during the war, and especially at Gettysburg".
After the war, Stone became a leading advocate for good roads in America. His contributions led to major changes and improvements in highway construction and design. Returning to active military duty, he served in the Spanish American War.
Stone Avenue in the Gettysburg National Military Park is named in his honor and memory.
