Richard Sherwood Satterlee

Richard Sherwood Satterlee was a Brigadier General in the Union Army.

Biography

Satterlee was born on December 6, 1796 in Fairfield, New York. His father, William, had served in the American Revolutionary War.^[1] Sattlerlee obtained his medical license in 1818 and began practicing in rural Seneca County, New York. He married Mary S. Hunt, sister of a Michigan Supreme Court Justice. Satterlee passed away on November 10, 1880 in New York City.

Career

Satterlee joined the Army in 1822. He was stationed at Fort Niagara in Porter, New York, Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Fort Mackinac in Mackinac Island, Michigan. In 1831 he transferred to Fort Winnebago in Portage, Wisconsin. While there he would take part in the Black Hawk War.

Following a second tour of duty at Fort Howard, Satterlee was sent to Florida to assist in a campaign against the Seminole. During his time there, he was given an official commendation by his commanding officer, future U.S. President Zachary Taylor.

After a tour of duty at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, Satterlee was sent to serve in the Mexican-American War. Serving under Winfield Scott, Satterlee took part in the Battle of Molino del Rey and the Battle of Chapultepec. Following his service in the war, he returned to Fort Adams in 1848. In 1853 he survived the sinking of a steamboat he was on-board that was carrying an artillery regiment.

He served throughout the American Civil War, during which time he was brevetted a Brigadier General and was a candidate for the command of the Medical Corps following the dismissal of Clement Finley. The command eventually went to William Alexander Hammond. Satterlee retired in 1869.

References