05761 - Maj. Gen. Emory Upton; Age 25 (Brigadier General at 24) [LC-DIG-cwpb-05761]
Just twenty-one when the war started, Upton graduated West Point on May 6, 1861, just a few weeks ahead of Custer. Ranked near the top of his class he joined the artillery and served during First Bull Run (First Manassas) where he was wounded. After he recovered he continued in the artillery including Seven Days and Antietam. In October of 1862 he was promoted to Colonel and led a regiment at Fredericksburg that December.
His most telling achievement came at Spotsylvania commanding infantry troops. Till this time troops would commonly line up and march toward a defended position. Along the way they would stop and trade fire with the enemy. This resulted in large numbers of casualties, but it was the preferred military tactic taught at West Point. Upton developed a new tactic that had his troops rush a small portion of the enemy line in order to breech it. With the enemy overwhelmed additional troops could be brought to reinforce the position.
While the tactic was successful at Spotsylvania, additional support was not available and ultimately his men had to retreat. Wounded again, Upton was promoted to Brigadier General in May of 1864, at the age of 24. By March of the following year he was promoted to Major General and was noted for having commanded outstandingly in all three branches of the army.
Following the war he continued in the Army becoming Commandant of Cadets at West Point just nine years after graduating. During this time he taught artillery, infantry and cavalry tactics. Following the Franco-Prussian war Sherman sent Upton to Europe to study military tactics. Upon his return he wrote a 54 page document recommending the Army create advanced schools, evaluation reports and promotion exams among other things. As part of his recommendations the U.S. tactics of frontal assault that had been in use since the Napoleonic wars was replaced by ones that he had championed at Spotsylvania.
By 1881 he had been promoted back to the rank of Colonel in the regular army and took command the artillery at the Presidio in San Francisco. Suffering greatly from headaches (possibly from a brain tumor) he committed suicide in March of that year and is buried in Auburn, New York.
![05761 - Maj. Gen. Emory Upton; Age 25 (Brigadier General at 24) [LC-DIG-cwpb-05761]](/img/s/v-10/p34889735-3.jpg)