Edmund P. Gaines

Edmund Pendleton Gaines was born in Culpeper County, Virginia on March 20, 1777, the seventh of fourteen children born to James and Elizabeth (Strother) Gaines.[1] He was named after his great-uncle Edmund Pendleton, who was a political leader of Virginia during the Revolution. James Gaines had been a captain during the Revolutionary War and afterwards moved his family to North Carolina, where he was a delegate to the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution and became a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. The James Gaines family later moved to Kingsport, Tennessee; Edmund Gaines joined the army in 1799, and was commissioned as an ensign. He was discharged in 1800, but returned to service as a second lieutenant in 1801. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1802, and captain in 1807.

In the early 19th century, Gaines surveyed routes and boundaries in the Mississippi Territory including parts of the Natchez Trace. In 1800, he commanded ten companies of the 2nd Infantry Regiment in the construction of the federal post road from Nashville to Natchez. His experience led him to become a strong advocate of using the military to construct a national railroad system.[2]

In 1807, Gaines was the commandant of Fort Stoddert. During this time, he arrested former Vice President Aaron Burr in Wakefield, Alabama after Burr was alleged to be involved in a conspiracy to separate the western states from the rest of the country. Burr was detained by a military guard under Gaines's command and later turned over to federal authorities, who transported him to Richmond, Virginia. Burr was tried later that year, and Gaines testified at his trial, describing the circumstances that led to Burr's identification and arrest. Burr was acquitted on September 1, 1807.

From 1807 to 1808, Gaines surveyed the route that the Gaines Trace road between the Tennessee River near the mouth of the Elk River and the town of Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi. Afterwards, he took a leave of absence from the army to practice law.

The War of 1812 brought Gaines back to military duty and he was appointed major of the 8th Infantry Regiment. In July 1812, became lieutenant colonel in the 24th Infantry Regiment. In 1813, he was promoted to colonel and commanded the 25th Infantry Regiment with distinction at the Battle of Crysler's Farm. He became adjutant of the Army of the Northwest, commanded by General William Henry Harrison, and was with Harrison at the Battle of the Thames. He was promoted to brigadier general on March 9, 1814 and commanded the post at Fort Erie after the U.S. capture. General Jacob Brown was wounded at the Battle of Lundy's Lane and when the Army of the Niagara returned to the fort, command was passed to Gaines. At the Siege of Fort Erie Gaines was in command on the fortifications on 15 August 1814, when a British assault was bloodily repulsed.[3] For this victory – the First Battle of Fort Erie – Gaines was awarded the Thanks of Congress, a Congressional Gold Medal, and a brevet promotion to major general. General Gaines was seriously wounded by artillery fire and General Brown, having recovered, returned to command. Gaines' wound ended his active field for the rest of the war, and he was given command of Military District Number 6.

At the end of the War of 1812, Gaines was sent as commissioner to deal with the Creek Indians. When the U.S. Army's commanding general, Major General Jacob Brown, died in 1828, Gaines was one of two ranking generals who could have been considered for the post. However, since he and General Winfield Scott had both publicly quarreled with each other over seniority, an annoyed President John Quincy Adams appointed Alexander Macomb; Macomb had also been a brigadier general during the War of 1812, but agreed after the war to accept reduction in rank to colonel so that he could serve as chief of the Army Corps of Engineers.

In 1830, Gaines opposed President Andrew Jackson's policy of Indian removal.[4]

Gaines commanded the Western Military Department during the Black Hawk War. He was still in command of the department during the Second Seminole War in which he personally led an expedition. At the Battle of Ouithlacoochie in 1835, at the beginning of the Second Seminole War, he was wounded in the mouth. On February 20, 1836, Gaines and his men were the first U.S. soldiers to visit the scene of the Dade Massacre in Florida, where they identified and interred the bodies.

In 1836, he was placed in command of the Southwest Military District. He was given instructions to fortify the border of the Louisiana Territory and Texas in the case that the Mexican army might threaten U.S. territory. He was also given orders to post guards preventing any U.S. soldiers from crossing into Texas and fighting in the rebellion. When Alexander Macomb died in June 1841, he was still serving as the Army's commanding general. John Bell, the Secretary of War recalled the previous Scott-Gaines dispute over seniority; he quickly recommended Scott for the position in order to prevent the dispute from restarting. President John Tyler concurred, and Scott was appointed in July.

Gaines was in command of the Army's Western Division at the outbreak of the Mexican–American War. He was reprimanded by the U.S. government for overstepping his authority by calling up Louisiana volunteers for Zachary Taylor's army. He nevertheless called up volunteers from other southwestern states and received a court-martial but was able to successfully defend himself.

In the years during and following the Mexican-American War, Gaines was in command of a series of military districts. Though Gaines was the Army's senior brigadier general, several individuals were promoted to major general over him during the war, including Zachary Taylor, Gideon Johnson Pillow, and John A. Quitman.[5] He was in command of the Western Division when he died at New Orleans, Louisiana on June 6, 1849. He was interred in the Church Street Graveyard in Mobile, Alabama. He was a Freemason, having been raised in Phoenix Lodge, No. 8, A. F. & A. M, in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

A number of places in the United States were named in his honor, including Gainesvilles in Florida, Texas, Georgia, and New York; Gaines Township in Michigan; and Gainesboro in Tennessee. He was also the namesake of Gaines Streets in Tallahassee, Florida, and Davenport, Iowa; and Fort Gaines, a historic fort on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Gaines was married 3 times. His first marriage was to the daughter of Harry Toulmin, Frances Toulmin (1788–1811), who died giving birth to their only child. His second marriage was to Barbara Blount (1792–1836), daughter of Tennessee statesman William Blount.[6] His last marriage was to Myra Clark (1806–1885), daughter of Louisiana politician Daniel Clark.

• Ensign – January 10, 1799
• Second Lieutenant – March 3, 1799
• Discharged – June 15, 1800
• Second Lieutenant – February 16, 1801
• First Lieutenant – April 27, 1802
• Captain – February 28, 1807
• Major – March 24, 1812
• Lieutenant Colonel – July 6, 1812
• Colonel – March 12, 1813
• Brigadier General – March 9, 1814
• Major General (Brevet) – August 15, 1814

• List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients

• Elliott, Jack D. and Wells, Mary Ann. (2003). Cotton Gin Port : a frontier settlement on the Upper Tombigbee. Jackson, Mississippi: Quail Ridge Press for the Mississippi Historical Society. ISBN 0-938896-88-1
• Wyatt, Thomas. "Gen. E. P. Gaines." Memoirs of the Generals, Commodores, and Other Commanders Who Distinguished Themselves in the U.S. Army and Navy During the Wars of the Revolution and 1813, and Who Were Presented with Medals by Congress the second, for Their Gallant Services. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1848. (pp. 101–112) googlebooks.com Retrieved October 3, 2008

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edmund P. Gaines.

• Edmund P. Gaines at Find a Grave
• Edmund Pendleton Gaines at Handbook of Texas
• Gen. Edmund Pendleton Gaines at Historical Marker Database
• Works by or about Edmund P. Gaines at Internet Archive
• Works by or about Edmund P. Gaines in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Edmund Pendleton Gaines Papers finding aid at University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections via Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO)