Major General Eugene Asa Carr of General Staff U.S. Volunteers Infantry Regiment, seated by a camp tent in uniform with sword. From the Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
During the Civil War, Carr's first combat was at the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861.[2] He was appointed colonel of the 3rd Illinois Cavalry six days later and received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel in the regular army.[1]
At the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas, on March 7, 1862, Carr led the 4th Division of the Army of the Southwest in the fighting around Elkhorn Tavern. He was wounded in the neck, arm, and ankle and was later awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions. According to the official citation, Carr had "directed the deployment of his command and held his ground, under a brisk fire of shot and shell in which he was several times wounded."[3] On April 30, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Carr brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from March 7, 1862.[4] The President had submitted the nomination to the U.S. Senate on April 11, 1862, and the Senate had confirmed the appointment on April 28, 1862[4] Carr briefly commanded the Army of the Southwest from October 7 to November 12, 1863. He commanded the 2nd Division of the Army of Southeast Missouri before he and his division were transferred to the Army of the Tennessee as the 14th Division in the XIII Corps.
During the Vicksburg Campaign, Carr led the attack on Confederate forces at the Battle of Port Gibson. He fought in subsequent battles at Champion's Hill and Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg, Carr was transferred back to Arkansas where he was placed in command of a division in the Army of Arkansas. Eventually, Carr commanded the Cavalry Division in the VII Corps during Frederick Steele's Camden Expedition. For the rest of 1864, he commanded the District of Little Rock. His final assignment of the war was to command of the 3rd Division of the XVI Corps in preparation for the Union campaign against Mobile, Alabama, where he subsequently fought in the Battle of Fort Blakeley. On March 11, 1865, President Lincoln nominated and the U.S. Senate confirmed Carr for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers to rank from March 11, 1865. Carr was mustered out of the volunteers on January 15, 1866.[4] On July 17, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Carr for appointment to the brevet grade of major general, USA (regular army), to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.[5]
Carr finally retired in 1893. His military nickname was "The Black-Bearded Cossack".[6] Carr died in Washington, D.C. in 1910 and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, New York.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Colonel, 3d Illinois Cavalry. Place and date: At Pea Ridge, Ark., March 7, 1862. Entered service at: Hamburg, Erie County, N.Y. Born: March 10, 1830, Boston Corner, Erie County, N.Y. Date of issue: January 16, 1894.
Citation:
Directed the deployment of his command and held his ground, under a brisk fire of shot and shell in which he was several times wounded.
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