View source for Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert

{{short description|American diplomat}}

{{Infobox military person
|name= Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert
|birth_date= {{birth date|1833|7|1}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1880|8|29|1833|7|1}}
|birth_place= [[Georgetown, Delaware]], U.S.
|death_place= [[Atlantic Ocean]] (off [[Cape Canaveral, Florida]])
|placeofburial= Avenue Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, [[Milford, Delaware]]
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|image= A T A Torbert.jpg
|caption= General Alfred Thomas Torbert
|allegiance= [[United States of America]]<br />[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]
|branch= [[United States Army]]<br />[[Union Army]]
|serviceyears= 1855–1866
|rank= [[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]]
|commands= [[1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry]]<br />[[First New Jersey Brigade]]
|unit= 
|battles= [[American Civil War]]
|awards= 
|laterwork= 
}}
'''Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert''' (July 1, 1833 &ndash; August 29, 1880) was a career [[United States Army]] officer, a [[Union Army]] [[General officer|General]] commanding both infantry and cavalry forces in the [[American Civil War]], and a U.S. diplomat.

==Early life==
[[File:Sheridan, Merritt, Gregg, Davis, Wilson, Torbert - HA.jpg|thumb|right|Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan and his generals in front of Sheridan's tent, 1864. Left to right: [[Henry Eugene Davies|Henry E. Davies]], [[David McM. Gregg]], Sheridan, [[Wesley Merritt]], [[Alfred Torbert]], and [[James H. Wilson]].]]

[[File:GenAlfredTorbert.jpg|thumb|Union cavalry general Alfred T. A. Torbert (seated center holding saber in front of him) and staff at their headquarters during the Shenandoah Valley campaign under Sheridan in 1864.]]
[[File:AlfredTorbert.jpg|thumb|Torbert in Autumn 1864 in the Shenandoah Valley]]
Torbert was born in [[Georgetown, Delaware]]. He graduated 21st in a class of 34<ref>Swank, p. 48.</ref> from the [[United States Military Academy]] in 1855 and was commissioned a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the [[2nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment]]. His West Point roommate was [[William Babcock Hazen|William B. Hazen]].<ref name=Townsend/>

==Civil War==
Just before the start of the Civil War, Torbert was appointed a [[first lieutenant#United States|first lieutenant]] in the [[Confederate States Army]] on March 16, 1861, but he refused the appointment and remained a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. By September 16, he was appointed [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] of the [[1st New Jersey Infantry]] and, by August 29, 1862, he was a [[brigade]] commander in the [[VI Corps (Union Army)|VI Corps]] of the [[Army of the Potomac]]. In the [[Maryland Campaign]] of 1862, he was wounded at Crampton's Gap in the [[Battle of South Mountain]]. He was promoted to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] on November 29, 1862. Torbert commanded his [[New Jersey]] brigade in the campaigns leading to the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]], the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]], and the [[Battle of Gettysburg]].

On April 10, 1864, Torbert was given command the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, following the death of [[Major general (United States)|Maj. Gen.]] [[John Buford]]. Torbert commanded during the [[Overland Campaign]], except when ill following the [[Battle of Spotsylvania Court House]]. During Maj. Gen. [[Philip Sheridan]]'s [[Valley Campaigns of 1864]], Torbert was the Chief of the Cavalry for the [[Union Army of the Shenandoah|Army of the Shenandoah]] and led the cavalry at important battles such as the Battle of Third Winchester and the Battle of Cedar Creek. Torbert's final campaign as cavalry chief in the Army of the Shenandoah was during a raid against the Virginia Central Railroad near Gordonsville, Virginia, also called the Luray Raid, from December 19 to 28, 1864. The campaign was plagued by intense cold, rain, snow, and hail, and hundreds of Torbert's men suffered from frostbite. Following this failed raid, Torbert went on extended leave through February 1865.

Following the Gordonsville raid, Torbert never again held Sheridan's confidence as a combat commander, and in late March, Torbert was ordered to remain in the Shenandoah Valley when Sheridan returned to Petersburg, Virginia. Torbert commanded the vestigial Army of the Shenandoah from April 22 to July 12, 1865, with his headquarters in Winchester, Virginia. Wesley Merritt commanded Torbert's former corps under Sheridan, which included two divisions, and would lead this command during the Appomattox campaign.

Torbert received brevet promotions in the [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] for his service at [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]], [[Battle of Haw's Shop|Haw's Shop]], [[Battle of Opequon|Third Winchester]], and [[Battle of Cedar Creek|Cedar Creek]]. Notably, Torbert was never promoted to the full rank of major general in the volunteers, even though he commanded a successful and prominent corps of cavalry at many important battles, suggesting that Sheridan was disappointed in Torbert's personal leadership during this time, despite any successes. From July through September 1865, Torbert commanded the District of Winchester, Virginia.

He later commanded the District of Southeastern Virginia, with his headquarters at [[Norfolk, Virginia]] from September through December 1865. He was mustered out of the volunteer service in January 1866 and placed on a leave of absence until October 31, 1866, when he resigned from the Army.<ref name=Townsend>{{cite journal|author=Townsend, George Alfred|author-link=George Alfred Townsend|title=The General Torbert Memorial|journal=Army and Navy Journal|date=November 13, 1883|volume=18|issue=15|pages=287–298|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmhFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA833}}</ref>

==Postbellum career==
After the war, Torbert served in a number of diplomatic posts: as [[Consulate general|U.S. Consul]] to [[El Salvador]] in 1869, U.S. Consul General in [[Havana]] in 1871, and U.S. Consul General in [[Paris]] in 1873.

On August 29, 1880, while en route to Mexico aboard the steamship ''Vera Cruz'', Torbert was washed off the deck during a violent [[1880 Atlantic hurricane season#Hurricane Five|hurricane]] off the coast of Florida near [[Cape Canaveral, Florida|Cape Canaveral]]. Accounts of his death indicate he had made it to shore alive, over 20 hours after the ship sank, but drowned in the surf shortly thereafter. His body was recovered August 31, 1880 and buried in [[Daytona, Florida|Daytona]] the next day. By September 23, he was disinterred and taken first to [[New York City]], then to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] and then to his final resting place in the Avenue Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, [[Milford, Delaware]], escorted by military units along the way. Memorial services were held in each of those three cities where, with hundreds attending, he was honored by officials from the U.S. government, military, and dignitaries from foreign countries.<ref name=Townsend/><ref name=HMdb>{{cite web|title=Torbert Memorial Statue|url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=38639|website=The Historical Marker database|accessdate=8 December 2016}}</ref>

==In memoriam==
In 2008, a statue honoring General Torbert was erected in Milford.<ref name=HMdb/><ref>[http://www.milfordbeacon.com/archive/x390625369/Statue-honoring-Milford-s-general-unveiled ''Milford Beacon'' article], July 4, 2008.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War|Politics}}
*[[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]]. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}.
* Longacre, Edward G. ''The Cavalry at Appomattox: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations During the Civil War's Climactic Campaign, March 27 &ndash; April 9, 1865''. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-8117-0051-1}}.
* Swank, Walbrook Davis. ''Battle of Trevilian Station: The Civil War's Greatest and Bloodiest All Cavalry Battle, with Eyewitness Memoirs''. Shippensburg, PA: W. D. Swank, 1994, {{ISBN|0-942597-68-0}}.
* {{cite news|title=The Wrecked Steamship: City of Vera Cruz|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1880/09/05/archives/the-wrecked-steamship-sinking-after-a-vain-struggle-with-the.html|work=New York Times|date=September 5, 1880}}

==Further reading==
* Wittenberg, Eric J. ''Glory Enough For All: Sheridan's Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station''. Washington, DC: Brassey's, Inc., 2001. {{ISBN|1-57488-468-9}}.
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4362 Memoirs of General P. H. Sheridan] Project Gutenberg Etext of Memoirs of General P. H. Sheridan

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Find a Grave|6141|accessdate=2008-02-12}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160109230617/http://generaltorbert.com/ General Torbert homepage]

{{S-start}}
{{S-dip}}
{{Succession box
 | title  = [[United States Ambassador to El Salvador|United States Minister Resident to El Salvador]]
 | before = [[Alpheus S. Williams]]
 | after  = [[Thomas Biddle]]
 | years  = October 27, 1869–May 10, 1871
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torbert, Alfred Thomas Archimedes}}
[[Category:1833 births]]
[[Category:1880 deaths]]
[[Category:Union army generals]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:People of Delaware in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People of New Jersey in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People who died at sea]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to El Salvador]]
[[Category:People from Georgetown, Delaware]]