Canby, Edward Richard Sprigg, 1817-1873

Edward Richard Sprigg Canby was Union general during the Civil War who oversaw several military departments in the south during Reconstruction.

Born on November 9, 1817, in Piatt’s Landing, Kentucky, Canby attended Wabash College before transferring to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated in 1839 and was commissioned as an officer in the Second U.S. Infantry Regiment. Canby served during the Second Seminole War in Florida and the Mexican-American War, from 1846 to 1848. He was promoted three times for bravery for his actions in Mexico, rising to the rank of brevet (honorary) lieutenant colonel. During the late 1840s and early 1850s, he served in New York and in California, often within the adjutant general’s office, handling administrative duties. During the latter part of the 1850s, Canby had assignments in Utah Territory, including campaigns during the U.S. Army’s engagements with Mormon settlers in the Utah War.

Canby was in New Mexico Territory in 1861, when the Civil War broke out. Placed in command of the Department of New Mexico, his first military campaign was against Confederate forces—commanded by one of his former subordinates, Henry Sibley—for the future of the territory. Despite losing the Battle of Valverde in February 1862, Canby scored a crucial victory at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. He was promoted to brigadier general and transferred to the east where he took command of the defenses of New York City’s harbor. After several months there, Canby received an appointment as an aide to the Secretary of War. In 1864, he was promoted to major general and received a field command, relieving Union general Nathaniel P. Banks in Louisiana. Although wounded by Confederate gunfire while aboard the gunboat USS Cricket on a river in Arkansas, Canby remained in active service and successfully led Union troops during operations at Mobile, Alabama, in early 1865.

Although criticized by some of his colleagues, such as Ulysses S. Grant, for being too cautious as a battlefield commander, Canby was widely recognized as an excellent administrator. He oversaw federal military control of Louisiana at the end of the war, and then saw a series of departmental commands, including over Washington, D.C., Maryland, Texas, and Virginia.

Canby’s final assignment was in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1870s, dealing more with Native Americans than post-Civil War Reconstruction. He labored to resolve a conflict between the U.S. government and the Modoc tribe, which had been relocated from California to Oregon. Choosing diplomacy, since his predecessor’s military efforts had not succeeded, Canby offered to meet with Modoc representatives on April 11, 1873, near the border of California and Oregon. Although warned that the Modoc representatives could be violent and that he should not attend the meeting without a large military guard, Canby was determined to make a sincere peace effort with a limited escort. During the meeting, Modoc representatives asked Canby to allow them to return to their preferred homeland. When he admitted that he could not guarantee their request, two Modoc men attacked Canby, shooting him twice in the head and cutting his throat. The Modocs also killed a peace commissioner that had accompanied Canby. The assassination electrified the American public against the Modocs. The U.S. Army captured the assailants and executed most of them, while the Modoc tribe was sent to reservations.

Canby’s body was sent east and buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was married to Louisa Hawkins and had one child who did not survive to adulthood. (Wikipedia; FindaGrave)