Generals who rose from the ranks of the 14th Infantry

Brigadier General Aaron S. Daggett Years of Service: 1845-1849

Daggett was born in Greene, Maine on June 14,1837 to Yankee parents, whose Puritan ancestors came to New England as part of the Puritan migration from England in 1630. Both of Daggett's grandfathers served in the Revolutionary War.

Daggett attended Bates College (then called the Maine State Seminary) in Lewiston, Maine, in 1860.  He also attended the Monmouth Academy and Maine Wesleyan Academy.

Daggett enlisted as a private in the 5th Maine Volunteers on April 1861, and became a second lieutenant in May 1861.  He fought at the First Battle of Bull Run, and became a captain in August 1861.  Daggett went on to fight at West Point, Gaines' Mill, Golding's Farm, White Oak Swamp, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Rappahannock Station, and Fredericksburg.

He became the major of the 5th Maine in January 1863 and fought at Second Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Wilderness and Cold Harbor, where he was wounded.  In March 1865, he was appointed a brevet colonel and then brigadier general of U.S. Volunteers for "gallant and meritorious services during the war."

Daggett believed in the abolition of slavery of slavery and fought alongside African-American soldiers during the Civil War with the 5th Maine.  He was also a strong supporter of the temperance movement and gave public lectures on the topic.  Daggett was a member of the Presbyterian church.

After the war, Daggett became a captain in the 16th U.S. Infantry in 1866.  He had also been brevetted as a major in the Regular Army for gallant and meritorious services at Rappahannock Station and lieutenant colonel for services at the Wilderness.

Aaron Daggett went on to fight in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War and in China, and the Philippines and received the Purple Heart and the Gold Star.  Daggett was temporarily promoted to the rank of brigadier general of the volunteers during the Spanish American War and was present at the Battle of San Juan Hill. 

In 1900, Colonel Daggett, in command of the 14th Infantry Regiment during the China Relief Expedition, led the regiment against the city of Peking, where the gallant actions of Calvin P. Titus (Hero of Peking) led to the breech of the outer walls and the 14th Infantry's rapid advance into the Forbidden City and the rescue of the foreign legations and citizens held hostage there.  For detailed information about the 14th Infantry in China, see American Relief Expedition to China.

In 1900, in recognition of his outstanding leadership of the regiment, he became a brigadier general of the regular Army before retiring to Auburn, Maine.  Daggett died at the age of 100 at his home in West Roxbury, Massachusetts on May 14, 1938, making him the last surviving general of the Civil War.

Aaron S. Daggett is author of America In The China Relief Expedition, available from Amazon

Acknowledgements:
Generals who rose from the ranks of the 14th Infantry:  Major General John Adams Dix
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Last modified: July 25, 2024