James T. Kirk's grave!

[First of Two]

Before you scream, it's not that James T Kirk, but it's a James T. Kirk.

Me mudder sent me this in an email. (It's good to have supportive parents.)

James T. Kirk
Birth: 1826
Death: 1886

Civil War Union Army Officer. He entered the Union Army very soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, receiving in June 1861 a commission of Captain and commander of Company D, 10th Pennsylvania Reserves (also known as the 39th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry), but was advanced to Lieutenant Colonel three weeks later. He helped drill the soldier of his command and took part in operations in Virginia in the Fall and Winter 1861 that culminated in the Battle of Dranesville, Virginia on December 20, 1861. When Colonel John S. McCalmont resigned in May 1862, he was promoted to Colonel and commander of the unit, which he led in the subsequent battles of the 1862 Peninsular Campaign. He was particularly distinguished during the Seven Days Battles, where he led the 10th Reserves in a charge at the Battle of Glendale. During the Battle of Second Bull Run in August 1862, he briefly assumed command of his brigade before he was wounded and put out of action. He missed the 10th Reserves part in the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam, and, when it became apparent that his Bull Run wounds would keep him permanently from re-taking command of his regiment, he resigned on October 18, 1862. (bio by: Russ Dodge)

Burial:
Washington Cemetery
Washington
Washington County
Pennsylvania, USA

I live near there.

Astonishing proof!

[Eric R.]

I guess i will have to make a road trip

[JALU3]

And a Full Bird (or as said on the news the other day "Iron Bird") colonel is equivalent to a Navy Captain, so I guess that is about right . . . and if he commanded a brigade briefly . . . and if he were to recieve a promotion for it (which he didn't) he would have been a Brigadier General (O-7) . . . which would be equivalent to a Rear Admiral (which the fictional Kirk was for a while).

Funny how art immatates life unintentionally . . . but that means that I am a giant toad at the end of a zone, and an emporer?

[Captain Otto]

It seems he had a very short lived military career.

I wonder if he was really competent. During the early stages of the war everyone with some decent education was given a commission whether he was able to lead men in to battle or not was usually omitted as both sides of the war were desperate to build their Armies from scratch with only few Career Soldiers on each side to serve as cadre.

But its no surprise to me that somebody, somewhere had to bear that name before.

JALU do you know what the "T" stands for in this Kirks name?

[First of Two]

It seems he had a very short lived military career.

He appears to have enlisted for the war. Not apparently a career soldier.

I wonder if he was really competent. During the early stages of the war everyone with some decent education was given a commission whether he was able to lead men in to battle or not was usually omitted as both sides of the war were desperate to build their Armies from scratch with only few Career Soldiers on each side to serve as cadre.

He managed to get promoted twice in under a year. That suggests at least some competence. The attrition rate wasn't that high among officers, was it?

[Captain Otto]

The attrition rate wasn't that high among officers, was it?

I'm not sure, great many Civil War Officers lead their men directly on the front, to encourage them... lead by example and many of them were on Horseback even when under Fire. I recall that both sides made extensive use of snipers targeting especially Officers to discourage the troops.
Military doctrine had the emphasis on massed fire then, not accuracy. The Troops would line up against each other and start to trade shots. As with the Muskets employed early in the war accuracy was terrible. A face off could last quite long, without a decisive outcome. Instead usually each side tried flanking maneuvers to outflank the enemy in order to break up the enemy lines. (A tactic unchanged since the first massed appearance of Muskets on the battlefield)
To get an Officer out of action would likely break the Spirit of the Troops and send them running in panic away from action.
In fact most Battles while bloody compared to other battles fought before where less about eliminating enemy troops but breaking their moral.

[Eric R.]

No, actually it was his wounds which forced him to get out, a reason many a good office left the service for, not any incomptence on his part. Actually many US armies always emphised aiming in drill and action (its the only only army that goes 'Ready, Aim, Fire' as compared to the European 'Ready, Fire' drill) Though I think the British added it to there drill eventually