Relative - Major General George Crockett Strong

One of my distant relatives - General George Crockett Strong - died during the Civil War after sustaining injuries and developing tetanus. He was the commander of the Union forces attacking Fort Wagner in South Carolina. One of the units making that attack was the Black 54th Massachusetts depicted in the movie Glory. The former Fort Strong in Boston Harbor was named after him.

George Crockett Strong was born October 16, 1832, in Stockbridge, Vermont. He was descended from Elder John Strong and his first wife, Margery (I'm descended from Elder John Strong and his second wife, Abigail.) He attended Union College, but switched to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1857, reportedly 5th in his class. He served as an ordnance officer on the staff of General McDowell at the First Battle of Bull Run. He later served on the staffs of Generals George B. McClellan and Benjamin Butler.

Strong took part in the capture of New Orleans, then commanded an expedition against Biloxi, Mississippi, in April 1862, and another sent against Ponchatoula. He was commissioned brigadier general of volunteers in November 1862. During the attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina he was wounded on July 18, 1863. That was the battle depicted in the movie Glory in which the Black unit, the Massachusetts 54th, lead the assault. Strong is even depicted in the movie!

He was shipped back to New York City because of his wounds, but died there of tetanus on July 30, 1863. He posthumously received a commission as major general. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, where there is even a monument dedicated to his memory.

Pax et bonum