DOB/DOD: June 15, 1841 (Killingly, CT) – July 30, 1922 (Washington, DC); 81 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Theodosia Davis (1848-1937) on June 7, 1865, in Washington, DC.
CHILDREN: Three daughters, Clara B. Whitaker Chapline (1866-1957), Theodosia B. Whitaker Bell (1869-1947), and Grace D. Whitaker Seibold (1869-1947).
ENLISTMENT: April 18, 1861, in Hartford, Connecticut.
FAMILY: One of 16 children born to George (1799-1870) and Mary Colegrove Whitaker (1806-1888). Eight brothers, George H. (1827-1909), Horace (1830-1910), Joseph (1831-1911), William (1833-1917), Daniel (1836-1863), Washington M. (1849-1895), Rozell J. (1850-1873), and Caleb A. (1853-1860). Seven sisters, Mary E. Whitaker Smith (1828-1918), Sarah C. Whitaker Brown (1832-1898), Bethiah A. Whitaker Pratt (1835-1930), Harriet Whitaker Hay (1838-1916), Adaline E. Whitaker James (1842-1936), Annah F. Whitaker Yoder (1844-1933), Emma J. (1846-1936). One grandson, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seibold, was killed in a plane crash in France during World War I. His mother, Grace D. Seibold, formed the Gold Star Mothers to support mothers who had lost sons and daughters to war.
OTHER: Member of the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame, Class of 2006.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Civil War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company E, 1st Connecticut Infantry
DATE OF ISSUE AND PRESENTATION: April 2, 1898 (34 years later)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 23
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain Edward Washburn Whitaker, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 29 June 1864, while serving with Company E, 1st Connecticut Infantry, in action at Reams’ Station, Virginia. While acting as an aide, Captain Whitaker voluntarily carried dispatches from the commanding general to General Meade, forcing his way with a single troop of Cavalry through an Infantry division of the enemy in the most distinguished manner, though he lost half his escort.
Location of the Medal: National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, DC
General Whitaker’s Medal of Honor. The inscription on the back reads, “The Congress To Bvt Brig. Gen. Edward W. Whitaker, U.S. Vols, Reams’ Station, June 29, 1864.” Photos courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration; Jane Fitzgerald, Archivist, Archival Operations, Washington, DC.
Edward Whitaker served as Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer’s Chief of Staff, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In this position, he bore the flag of truce at Appomattox, met with Lieutenant General James Longstreet, and made the negotiations which stopped the fighting. He was brevetted Brigadier General and, at age 23, became one of the youngest in the Civil War to hold the title of General. His brevet was recommended by Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sheridan “for gallantry and skill displayed in turning the enemy’s left flank at Waynesboro, March 2, 1865, and for gallantry and uniform good conduct at the battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865, and Appomattox Station, April 8, 1865, and throughout the entire campaign.” He later was appointed Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol Building and still later by President Grant, Postmaster of Hartford, Connecticut.
From Beyer, W. F., & Keydel, O. F. (2000). Deeds of valor: How America’s Civil War Heroes won The Congressional Medal of Honor. Smithmark Publishers.
A RIDE TO ALMOST CERTAIN DEATH
After its raid against the Danville and Southside Railway, the Third Cavalry Division, commanded by General James H. Wilson, on its return march to join the Army of the Potomac in front of Petersburg, found a large force of rebel infantry, cavalry, and artillery in position, barring its passage at Ream’s Station, Virginia, within five miles of army headquarters.
Captain E. W. Whitaker, who was serving on General Wilson’s staff, took in the whole position at a glance. Perceiving that it would be impracticable for this column, jaded and almost worn out by a week’s incessant marching, working, and fighting, to
force its way farther without assistance, he volunteered to take a squadron and charge through the rebel line and inform General Meade of the division’s perilous straits and that help must be sent at once.
General Wilson accepted Captain Whitaker’s offer and directed him to proceed immediately on his desperate mission. He was entirely ignorant of what had become of the Army of the Potomac, or where he should find it, or what perils he would encounter on the way. It looked as though he were starting on a ride to certain death.
Selecting Lieutenant Ford and forty troopers of the Third New York Cavalry, he explained to them the hazardous character of the undertaking and instructed them that whoever should survive should make his way as rapidly as possible to army headquarters and describe the position of the cavalry column he had left behind.
Not a man faltered, but the entire detachment dashed forward after their gallant leader, who, bearing to his left and striking the rebel right, broke through their line like a tornado and galloped on to headquarters, where he arrived at an early hour of morning with only eighteen of his gallant cavalrymen. They had cut through the enemy’s line, which one of General Wilson’s officers, after reconnoitering, had reported as “strong as a stone wall.”
Captain Whitaker gave the necessary information and at once volunteered to guide the Sixth Corps to the rescue, but its movements were so dilatory that it did not arrive until long after the cavalry column, despairing of help, had made a great detour by which it eluded the enemy, extricated itself and rejoined the army several days later.
Captain Whitaker was highly commended by General Wilson, immediately promoted to the rank of Major, and received the Medal of Honor for his services in this notable charge.
From the Evening Star (Washington, DC) July 31, 1922
TO BURY CIVIL WAR HERO IN ARLINGTON, VA
Brigadier General Whitaker, Who Carried Truce Flag to Enemy, Passes Away
One of the outstanding heroes of the Civil War will be laid at rest among his comrades at 1 o’clock Wednesday when last rites for Brigadier General Edward Washburn Whitaker will be held in Arlington National Cemetery. The veteran died yesterday at his home, 756 Rock Creek Church Road, aged eighty-one. Arterial sclerosis was the cause.
Of his many brilliant achievements through the four years of fighting between the North and South, none was more noteworthy than when he bore a flag of truce through the Confederate lines near Appomattox Courthouse and convinced General Robert E. Lee that further resistance merely meant the further slaughter of Confederate troops. For this and other acts, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the most coveted of American decorations.
Born in Killingly, Connecticut, in 1841, Whitaker was among the first to enlist when the call for men went out in 1861. He declined a commission and fought his way up until he was brevetted a brigadier general. He served in Connecticut and New York forces.
Since the Civil War, General Whitaker had made his home for the most part in Washington, his last post having been that of smoke inspector, and his labors active until a few months ago.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Thedosia Davis Whitaker; three daughters, Mrs. Charles T. Chapline, Mrs. Frank J. Bell, and Mrs. George G. Seibold, all of this city, as well as four sisters, Mrs. George L. James of Windsor, Connecticut; Mrs. Bertha Pratt, of Manchester Center, Connecticut; Mrs. Anne Yoder, of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Miss Emma Whitaker, of Poughkeepsie, New York.
General Whitaker was a member of Columbia Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar; Columbia Chapter, No. 1, Royal Arch Masons: Lafayette Lodge, No. 100 Free And Accepted Mason, at Hartford, Connecticut, and of John A. Rawlings Post, Grand Army of the Republic; the Loyal Legion, and the Sons of the American Revolution.
The funeral service will be read at his late home.
Also, in the same edition of The Evening Star
GEN WHITAKER, UNION NOTE BEARER IN APPOMATTOX SURRENDER, DIES
Enlisted as Private at First Call of Lincoln
Burial in Arlington for Connecticut Grand Army of the Republic Founder
Brigadier General Edward W. Whitaker, eighty-one years old, the Union officer who, as courier, bore the message which halted the prepared Union charge at Appomattox and which resulted in the immediate, unconditional surrender of the Confederate forces, died at his residence, 756 Rock Creek Church Road, yesterday morning after an illness of more than two years. The Civil War veteran of eighty-two battles died from the effects of hardened arteries.
The funeral will be held at his late home on Wednesday at 1 o’clock. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, his three sons-in-law and five grandsons acting as pallbearers. The sons-in-law are Charles T. Chapline, Frank J. Bell, and George G. Seibold. The grandsons are Edward G. Bell, F. Joseph A. Chapline, Frank J. Bell, Jr., Elmer T. Bell, and Louis E. Seibold.
He is survived by his wife, Theodosia Davis Whitaker, and three daughters, Mrs. Frank J. Bell. Mrs. Charles T. Chapline and Mrs. George G. Seibold, all of this city; and four sisters, Mrs. George L. James of Windsor, Connecticut; Mrs. Bethia Pratt of Manchester Center, Connecticut; Mrs. Anna Yoder of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Miss Emma J. Whitaker of New York.
Declines Commission.
Brig. Gen. Whitaker was one of the few surviving men who answered the first call of President Lincoln for volunteers in April 1861. He declined a commission and enrolled as a private, fighting his way up until he was breveted a Brigadier General.
He was at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox when Generals Gordon and Longstreet sent out a white flag of truce to General Custer, for whom General Whitaker was chief of staff. Being instructed by General Custer to advise the Confederate forces that he was not in sole command of the field. He entered the opposing lines and stated that it would be impossible to stop the prepared charge unless they gave an unconditional surrender. The Confederate forces accepted the message, thereby saving both forces many deaths.
At the conclusion of hostilities, General Whitaker came to Washington and took an active part in the improvement of the National Capital, serving as general superintendent of the board of public works. In 1874, he entered business for himself when there was a change in the form of government of the city. He was appointed as Postmaster at Hartford, Connecticut, by President Grant during his administration. Later, he served as smoke inspector in the health department of the city.
Organizer of Grand Army of the Republic
General Whitaker was a member of the Columbia Commandery. No. 2. of the Knights Templar, and Columbia Chapter, No. 1, of the Royal Arch Masons; also, a member of the La Fayette Lodge No. 100, F. A. A. M., at Hartford, Connecticut. He was the organizer of the first Grand Army of the Republic post in Connecticut, declining the position of provisional department commander when tendered to him. He was a member of the John A. Rawlings Post, Grand Army of the Republic, Loyal Legion, and Sons of the American Revolution.
On April 8, 1865, General Whitaker was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Lincoln for several acts of bravery.
The name of General Whitaker is known throughout the New England states, as well as Maryland and Virginia.
Reverend Dr. A. F. Anderson, assistant pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, will officiate at the religious service at 1 p.m. at his late residence. These services will be followed by services directed by the Columbia Commandery Knights Templar, also at the home, and military services at the grave.
Article from Military Images magazine article titled “Match His Record!” Text by Ronald S. Coddington, Military Images magazine; first two photos from the Buck Zaidel collection; all used with permission
Almost a half-century after the Civil War, an aged veteran wrote, “I will say to the whole world, match my old commander’s record if you can!”
The writer, a former sergeant in the 1st Connecticut Cavalry, referred to the Lieutenant Colonel of his regiment, Edward Washburn Whitaker.
Born a farmer’s son in Connecticut, Whitaker volunteered for the military just days after the fall of Fort Sumter. He enlisted as a corporal in the 1st Connecticut Infantry and fought at Bull Run, the first of 82 engagements credited to him. At the conclusion of the regiment’s three-month term, Whitaker joined a battalion that grew into the 1st Connecticut Cavalry.
Over the next three-plus years, Whitaker rose in rank from First Sergeant to Lieutenant Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General. Along the way, he and his comrades battled rebel forces in the Shenandoah Valley, endured the brutal 1864 Overland Campaign, and bore witness to the triumph at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
Whitaker’s leadership qualities caught the attention of senior commanders, who tapped him for various duties. As a Captain on Major General James H. Wilson’s staff, Whitaker volunteered to lead about 40 troopers to break through enemy infantry that barred Wilson’s main column from the rest of the army at Ream’s Station, Va., on June 29, 1864. According to one source, Whitaker and his force hit the rebel line “like a tornado, and galloped on to headquarters, where he arrived at an early hour of morning with only eighteen of his gallant cavalrymen.” Meanwhile, Wilson’s column detoured around the Confederates and reconnected with the main army.
Whitaker’s most memorable war experience occurred at Appomattox. During the morning of April 9, Confederate Capt. Robert M. Sims approached the Union line bearing a white towel and a request from Lieutenant General James Longstreet for a truce. The request made its way to the commander in this sector of the line, Major General George Armstrong Custer. He sent Whitaker, who had risen to Custer’s chief of staff, with Sims to Longstreet with a message that effectively arranged a temporary truce pending negotiations for the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army.
Whitaker came away with two trophies: the towel carried by Sims and the chair used by Lee during negotiations inside the McLean home. Whitaker cut the towel in two and gave half to his commander’s wife, Elizabeth Bacon “Libby” Custer. This piece of the towel and the Lee chair eventually made its way to the Smithsonian Institution.
Whitaker went on to serve in government posts in Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Connecticut and remained active in veterans’ affairs with the Grand Army of the Republic until his death in 1922 at age 81. His wife, Theodosia, and three daughters survived him. The old soldier’s remains rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Drive, Arlington, Virginia; Section 3, Grave 1324. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
END