Seth Barton
Seth Maxwell Barton (September 8, 1829-April 11, 1900) was a Union officer and later served as a General in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
Barton was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia to Thomas Bowerbank Barton on September 8, 1829. Accepted into West Point Academy, at the age of 15, he graduated in 1849 twenty-eighth in his class of forty-three. Following his graduation, Barton served in various frontier posts in New Mexico and Texas where he participated in campaigns against the Commanche in 1857. By 1861, Barton had become a Captain in the Union Army when he resigned his commission joining the 3rd Arkansas Infantry as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate Army. Serving under Gen. Robert E. Lee, Barton saw action at the Battles of Cheat Mountain and Greenbrier River, and later with Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson as chief engineer during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign in 1862.
Promoted to Brigadier General in March 1862, Barton was appointed brigade commander in east Tennessee for a short time until he he was transferred to Vicksburg, Mississippi where he was captured following the Siege of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.
Refrences
- Linedecker, Clifford L. Civil War: A-Z New York: Presidio Press, 2002.