Samuel P. Heintzelman

Samuel Peter Heintzelman (September 30, 1805 – May 1, 1880) was a United States Army general. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, the Yuma War and the Cortina Troubles. During the American Civil War he was a prominent figure in the early months of the war rising to the command of a corps. The World War II Liberty ship SS Samuel Heintzelman, launched on 30 September 1942, was named in his honor. Early life and military service Heintzelman was born in Manheim, Pennsylvania, to Peter and Ann Elizabeth Grubb Heintzelman. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1826, 17th in a class of 41. and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry, July 1, 1826, then in the 2nd U.S. Infantry and served on the Northern frontier at Fort Gratiot, Fort Mackinac, and Fort Brady. On March 4, 1833, he was promoted to first lieutenant and served on quartermaster's duty in Florida during the Second Seminole War. On July 7, 1838, he was appointed captain in the Quartermaster's Department, remaining in Florida with the 2nd Infantry until the close of the war in 1842. In 1844, He married Margaret Stuart of Albany, NY. In 1847, during the Mexican–American War, he joined General Winfield Scott's army in Mexico, taking part in several engagements, for which he was appointed brevet major on October 9, 1847. In 1848–49 he accompanied his regiment around Cape Horn to California, and for several years served in California and the Arizona Territory. In December 1851, Major Heintzelman led the Yuma Expedition from the post of San Diego to put down the Yuma uprising, called the Yuma War. His expedition established Fort Yuma and peace was made in October, 1852. He received the brevet of lieutenant colonel for his conduct in the campaign against the Yuma Indians and on March 3, 1855, he was promoted to major of the 1st U.S. Infantry and served with that unit on the Texas frontier. In 1859, during the First Cortina War in Texas, he was largely responsible for the defeat of Juan Cortina's forces.