He served as a general in the Union Army in the Western Theater of operations during the American Civil War .
John Wilson Sprague ( April 4 , 1817 -- December 27 , 1894 ) was an American soldier and railroad executive .
John Wilson Sprague served as a general in the Union Army in the Western Theater of operations during the American Civil War .
John Wilson Sprague ( April 4 , 1817 -- December 27 , 1894 ) was an American soldier and railroad executive .