Force, Manning Ferguson, 1824-1899

Manning Ferguson Force was a general in the Union Army during the Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for bravery.

Born on December 17, 1824, in Washington, D.C., Force was the son of the D.C. mayor. He received an offer to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, but turned it down to attend Harvard College. He received a degree from that institution in 1845 and then graduated from Harvard Law School in 1848. Force then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and began practicing law. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Force volunteered for the Union army and served as an officer in the Twentieth Ohio Infantry Regiment. He saw combat in the western theater, including the Vicksburg campaign in Mississippi and then William Tecumseh Sherman’s campaign for Atlanta. On July 22, 1864, during fighting outside of Atlanta, Force led Union troops in an assault upon a Confederate position and was seriously wounded in the face. He recovered, and participated in Sherman’s march across Georgia and into the Carolinas. Force proved to be a very capable officer, receiving several promotions, including a brevet (honorary) promotion to major general by the end of the war.

Following the Civil War, Force initially served occupation duty in Mississippi. He eventually left the army and returned to the legal profession in Cincinnati. He was placed upon the Superior Court of Cincinnati and became a noted scholar, writing and lecturing extensively on legal topics. In 1892, Force was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 22, 1864, at Atlanta—twenty-eight years after that battle and his serious wound.

Force died on May 8, 1899, in Cincinnati. He was married to Frances Dabney Horton and had two children, only one of whom survived to adulthood. Force is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

(Wikipedia; FindaGrave)

Manning Ferguson Force belonged to the following social groups: