David Sloan Stanley

Ed. note: The 22nd Infantry Regiment did not exist during the Civil War. After the War, in 1866 the 22nd Infantry was re-activated
from elements of the 13th Infantry. COL David Sloan Stanley was the 22nd's first Commander after the re-activation.

David Sloan Stanley was born on 1 June 1828 and entered service at Congress, Wayne County, Ohio. Commissioned in the 2nd Dragoons in 1852 as young officer Stanley spent considerable time in the west. The outbreak of the Civil War found Stanley in Missouri where in 1861 he participated in an early engagement at Wilson's Creek near Independence, Mo. Appointed a Brigadier General of Volunteers he commanded a cavalry division in the Stone River Campaign and was brevetted for gallantry at the Battle of Murfreesboro. Stanley led a corps in the Chickamauga Campaign.The year 1864 found Brigadier General Stanley serving as the Chief of Cavalry for the Army of the Cumberland. On November 30, 1864 at the Battle of Franklin, at a critical moment rode to the front of one of his brigades, reestablished its lines, and gallantly led it in a successful assault. He would later be awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallantry in action. Wounded in this action, he was brevetted a total of four times during the war.

After the war, Stanley returned to the west where he first served as the commander of the occupying force at San Antonio in 1866. He later served as the commander of the 22nd Infantry against hostile Indians. During this period while skirmishing against the Sioux he had an interesting encounter with another Civil War cavalry officer LTC George Armstrong Custer destined for a precarious place in US History. General Stanley had to officially reprimanded Custer while under his command for a series of offences including marching 15 miles away from the rest of a column without orders. In what was an almost farcical act, Custer was ordered to get rid of a cooking stove no less than six times by Stanley who became totally exasperated with him in much the same kind of way Custer's West Point superiors and fellow officers during the Civil War must have been.

In 1884, General Stanley was appointed commander of the Department of Texas with its Headquarters at Fort Sam Houston. During his tenure at Fort Sam Houston, the post was enlarged to become the second largest Army post in the US. General Stanley passed away in 1902. In October 1917, War Department General Order #134
designated Camp Stanley near San Antonio in his honor.

Two portraits of David Stanley as he looked during the Civil War

Pictured above are General Stanley and his family. The officer standing at the right is General Stanley's Aide Capt William A. Holbrook who not only married General Stanley's daughter Josephine but in 1918 as Major General Holbrook would occupy Pershing house himself.

The above photos and information were taken from the US Army Medical Department Center and School Website

David Sloan Stanley

STANLEY, David Sloan, soldier, born in Cedar Valley, Ohio, 1 June, 1828. He was graduated at the United States military academy in 1852, and in 1853 was detailed with Lieutenant Amiel W. Whipple to survey a railroad route along the 35th parallel. As lieutenant of cavalry from 1855 till his promotion to a captaincy in 1861. he spent the greater part of his time in the saddle. Among other Indian engagements he took part in one with the Cheyennes on Solomon's Fork, and one with the Comanches near Fort Arbuckle. At the beginning of the civil war he refused high rank in the Confederate army. In the early part of the war he fought at Independence, Forsyth, Dug Springs, Wilson's Creek, Rolla, and other places, and was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, 28 September, 1861. He led a division at New Madrid, and the commanding general reported that he was "especially indebted" to General Stanley for his "efficient aid and uniform zeal." Subsequently he was complimented for his "untiring activity and skill" in the battle of Island No. 10. He took part in most of the skirmishes in and around Corinth and in the battle of Farmington. In the fight near the White House, or Bridge Creek, he repelled the enemy's attack with severe loss, and he was especially commended by General William S. Rosecrans at Iuka. At Corinth he occupied the line between batteries Robinett and Williams, and was thus exposed to the severest part of the attack of the enemy, and, although other parts of the line gave way, his was never broken. General Stanley was appointed major-general of volunteers on 29 November, 1862. He bore an active part in most of the battles of the Atlanta campaign, and as commander of the 4th army corps he took part in the battle of Jonesboro'. After General George H. Thomas was ordered to Nashville, General Stanley was directed on 6 October to command the Army ot[ the Cumberland in his absence. Until he was severely wounded at Franklin, he took an active part in all the operations and battles in de-fence of Nashville. His disposition of the troops at Spring Hill enabled him to repel the assault of the enemy's cavalry and afterward two assaults of the infantry. A few days afterward, at Franklin, he fought a desperate hand-to-hand conflict. Placing himself at the head of a reserve brigade, he regained the part of the line that the enemy had broken. Although severely wounded, he did not leave the field until long after dark. When he recovered he rejoined his command, and, after the war closed, took it to Texas. He had received the brevets of lieutenant-colonel for Stone River, Tennessee, colonel for Resaca, Georgia, brigadier-general for Ruff's Station, Georgia, and major-general for Franklin, Tennessee, all in the regular army. He was appointed colonel of the 22d infantry, and spent a greater part of the time up to 1874 in Dakota. In command of the Yellowstone expedition of 1873, he successfully conducted his troops through the unknown wilderness of Dakota and Montana, and his favorable reports on the country led to the subsequent emigration thither. In 1874 he went with his regiment to the lake stations, and in 1879 moved it to Texas, where he completely suppressed Indian raids in the western part of the state. He also restored the confidence of the Mexicans, which had been disturbed by the raid that the United States troops made across the boundary in 1878. He was ordered to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1882, and placed in command of the district of New Mexico. While he was stationed there, and subsequently at Fort Lewis, complications arose at various times with the Navajos, Utes, and Jicarillas, all of which he quieted without bloodshed. The greater part of his service has been on the Indian frontier, and he has had to deal with nearly every tribe that occupies the Mississippi and Rio Grande valley, thus becoming perfectly acquainted with the Indian character. In March, 1884, he was appointed a brigadier-general in the regular army, and assigned to the Department of Texas, where he has been ever since.