From Pvt. to Brig. Gen.: USA Brig. Gen. George McGinnis

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. George F. McGinnis (b. 1826, d. 1910) Even though George Francis McGinnis had been an officer during the Mexican War, it didn’t give him any initial rank privilege in the Civil War. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, March 19, 1826, McGinnis was raised by an aunt in Hampden, Maine. When he was 11, he moved with his father to Chillicothe, Ohio. In 1846, he joined the 2nd Ohio Volunteers for the Mexican War. He went into service as a lieutenant and mustered out July 25, 1848, as a captain. In 1850, McGinnis moved to Indianapolis as a hat manufacturer, his father’s profession. Still there April 15, 1861, McGinnis enlisted upon news of the shelling of Fort Sumter. He became a private in the 11th Indiana of Lew Wallace. A few days later, he was elected the unit’s lieutenant colonel. When the three-month regiment remustered, he was named the unit’s colonel in August of 1861. The regiment initially was sent to Western Virginia, but ended up headed to northern Tennessee in February of 1862. In the capture of Forts Henry, Heiman and Donelson, McGinnis earned praise from Wallace for his handling of the regiment. At Shiloh, April 7, 1862, McGinnis fought in Col. Morgan Smith’s 1st Brigade of Wallace’s 3rd Division and received favorable mention in Wallace’s battle report. McGinnis then participated in the Yazoo Pass expedition in the Vicksburg Campaign. During the Vicksburg Campaign, McGinnis commanded the 1st Brigade in the 12th Division of the XIII Corps of Maj. Gen. John McClernard. McGinnis received a promotion to brigadier general April 4, 1863, to rank from Nov. 29, 1862. After the conclusion of the Vicksburg Campaign, McGinnis was sent to the Department of the Gulf under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks. Sometimes, McGinnis commanded divisions in Banks’ command. At the end of the war, McGinnis was stationed at the mouth of the White River in Arkansas, with an infantry regiment, two companies of cavalry and an artillery battery. He was mustered out of service and returned to Indianapolis. From 1867-71, he served as county auditor. He later ran a fiduciary business as well as serving in various county and state offices. In 1900, he was appointed Indianapolis postmaster by President McKinley. McGinnis died in Indianapolis May 29, 1910. His ashes were buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

[Gil R.]

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