George A. "Sandy" Forsyth

Major George A. "Sandy" Forysth

Civil War Photograph Collection RG98S - US Army Military History Institute

Quick Facts

Place of Birth:

Muncy, Pennsylvania

Date of Birth:

November 7, 1837

Place of Death:

Rockport, Massachusettes

Date of Death:

September 12, 1912

Place of Burial:

Arlington, Virgnia

Cemetery Name:

Arlington National Cemetery

Unit: Staff of Philip H. Sheridan               

Rank:  Major (at Cedar Creek)

Enlisted: April 19, 1861

Muster Out: March 1890 as Bvt. Brig. General

Photo Credit/Donated by:     

Civil War Photograph Collection RG98S  

US Army Military History Institute

Description:

George Alexander Forsyth was born on November 7, 1837 in Muncy, Pennsylvania. Forsyth enlisted into the Chicago Dragoons in April 1861 as a private. Later he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant of the 8th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry.

Forsyth served with the Army of West Virginia and the Army of the Shenandoah, where he was assigned to Gen. Philip Sheridan’s staff during the 1864 Valley Campaign. Forsyth accompanied Sheridan to and back from Washington D.C. from October 15-18.

When Sheridan started his famous ride back to Cedar Creek on the morning of the battle, Forsyth rode along, encouraging the retreating men to turn around. When the war ended in April 1865, Forsyth continued his military career by being appointed Major of the 9th U.S. Cavalry and sent to the west for frontier duty.

In 1868, he would serve under his old friend, Philip Sheridan, (then Commander of the Missouri) and was ordered to “recruit a party of fifty first class hardy frontiersman” to scout the area of modern day Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. This eventually lead to Forsyth’s men being attacked by more than 1,000 Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapo Native Americans on September 17, 1868. Forsyth himself would be wounded three times and his second in command Lt. Frederick G. Beecher would die. After being under siege for nine days a company of black troopers of the 10th U.S. Cavalry came to assist Forsyth and his men. This would later be known as the Battle of Beecher’s Island. This action earned Forsyth a promotion to Brvt. Brigadier General and transferred to the 4th U.S. Cavalry and he served in the Apache wars.

He was with Sheridan in 1869 and served as his Military Secretary until 1873, and as his Aide-de-Camp from 1878-1881. After his military service Forsyth would publish The Story of the Soldier  in 1900 and Thrilling Days of Army Life in 1902. Forsyth would pass away in Rockport, Massachusetts on September 12, 1912 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Sources:

·  Arlington National Cemetery. Accessed April 2, 2013. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/gforsyth.htm

·  Forsyth, George A. Thrilling Days in Army Life. N.p.: Harper and Brothers, 190