James Birdseye McPherson (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Atlanta and was the highest ranking Union officer killed during the conflict.
McPherson was born near Clyde, Ohio. He attended Norwalk Academy in Ohio, and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1853, first in his class, which incl...
more
James Birdseye McPherson (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Atlanta and was the highest ranking Union officer killed during the conflict.
McPherson was born near Clyde, Ohio. He attended Norwalk Academy in Ohio, and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1853, first in his class, which included Philip H. Sheridan, John M. Schofield, and John Bell Hood; Hood would oppose him later in the Western Theater. McPherson was appointed to the Corps of Engineers with the rank of brevet second lieutenant. For a year after his graduation he was assistant instructor of practical engineering at the Military Academy, and was next engaged from 1854 to 1857 as assistant engineer upon the defenses of the harbor of New York and the improvement of Hudson River. In 1857 he superintended the building of Fort Delaware, and in 1857-61 was...
less
