John C. Tidball
John Caldwell Tidball (January 25, 1825 – May 15, 1906) was a career United States Army artillery officer who served in the United States Horse Artillery Brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. After the war, he served as the Commander of the Department of Alaska, the military governor of the region. Early life and antebellum career Tidball was born near Wheeling, Virginia, in Ohio County, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), to parents: James Squires Tidball and Maria Caldwell. He grew up on a farm in eastern Ohio. He graduated eleventh of thirty-eight cadets in the United States Military Academy Class of 1848, and entered the United States Army as a brevet second lieutenant in Battery E, 3rd U.S. Artillery. He was commissioned second lieutenant on February 14, 1849, when he was transferred to Battery M, 2nd U.S. Artillery. Promoted to first lieutenant on March 31, 1853, he transferred again to Battery B, 2nd U.S. Artillery. He served in the Third Seminole War fought against the indigenous Seminole tribe, and accompanied an exploring expedition to California in 1853–1854. In 1859 he was sent on the Army's expedition to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, to suppress John Brown's raid. Civil War Tidball served all through the Civil War, receiving five brevet commissions for gallant and meritorious conduct on the field, and being complimented personally by President Abraham Lincoln for his work at the Battle of Gettysburg, where he was in command of the Second Brigade Horse Artillery under Major General Alfred Pleasonton. He served in most of the major campaigns in the Eastern Theater, from the First Battle of Bull Run through the Siege of Petersburg. At the outbreak of hostilities, he ranked as a first lieutenant and section chief in Captain William F. Barry's Battery A, 2nd U.S. Artillery. After Barry's promotion, on May 14, 1861, Tidball was promoted to captain and became the company commander. Tidball served with his "flying" battery as part of the famed U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade from its inception in 1861 until June 1863. In 1862, he was credited with introducing the custom of sounding "Taps" to conclude a military funeral. With slow advancement in the ranks of the Regular Army (United States) (especially in the artillery branch), Tidball sought higher responsibilities elsewhere, by accepting a commission in the U.S. Volunteers. He was appointed colonel of the 4th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, August 28, 1863. He commanded Brigade 4 of the Defenses South of the Potomac XXII Corps (Union Army), September 2, 1863–November 5, 1863, transferring to the command of Brigade 3, November 5, 1863, to March 26, 1864. Tidball commanded the artillery of the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Overland Campaign, including the Battle of the Wilderness, April 1864–July 6, 1864. He was commandant of cadets at West Point from July 10, 1864, to September 22, 1864. He then returned to the field, leading the artillery of the IX Corps from October 8, 1864, until