Tag: McClurg (Alexander C.)

Wikipedia says: Alexander Caldwell McClurg (September 9, 1832 – April 15, 1901) was an American bookseller and military adviser from Pennsylvania. He was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his father owned a prosperous foundry. Graduating from Miami University, McClurg briefly studied law before moving to Chicago, Illinois, to join a bookselling house. During the Civil War, McClurg served as a captain with the 88th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. After his advisory skills were noticed by General Alexander McDowell McCook, McClurg spent the rest of the war as an adviser to various generals. His most prominent position was as Chief of Staff and Adjunct General to Major General Jefferson C. Davis and the XIV Corps. After the war, McClurg returned to his bookselling house as a junior partner. McClurg eventually became senior partner and the house became known as A. C. McClurg & Co.

…Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, McClurg enlisted as a private in Company D of the 16th Regiment Illinois State Militia. However, the regiment was deemed unnecessary and it was disbanded after a few months. McClurg briefly returned to S. C. Griggs & Co. before enlisting after a second call for troops. McClurg helped to raise a regiment called the Crosby Guards, which were merged into the 88th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as the Second Chicago Board of Trade Regiment. McClurg was named a captain under Col. Francis Trowbridge Sherman. Within a month, the regiment saw action at the Battle of Perryville.

When the regiment arrived at Nashville, Tennessee, McClurg was named a judge advocate of a general court martial. When Major General Alexander McDowell McCook noticed McClurg’s skill in the proceedings, he named McClurg his acting assistant adjutant general. McClurg assisted with planning the Tullahoma Campaign. Following a command reorganization following the Battle of Chickamauga, McClurg was reassigned to the staffs of Philip Sheridan, George Henry Thomas, and Absalom Baird. Baird named McClurg his adjutant general, assisting with the Chattanooga Campaign.

On April 14, 1864, he was named adjutant general to John M. Palmer, assisting with the Atlanta Campaign. After Palmer resigned his post, Major General Jefferson C. Davis requested the services of McClurg as adjutant general and Chief of Staff of XIV Corps and promoted to lieutenant colonel. With the war winding down, Major General George Stoneman offered McClurg a similar position with the Army of the Tennessee, but McClurg refused. On September 18, 1865, he was breveted brigadier general.