Clinton Albert Cilley (1837 - 1900)

Born 16 Feb 1837 in Rockingham County, New Hampshire

Ancestors

Husband of Emma Sophia (Harper) Cilley — married 9 Sep 1868 in Caldwell County, North Carolina

Died 9 May 1900 at age 63 in Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina

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Clinton Cilley was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Clinton Albert Cilley was born in 1837, the son of Daniel Plumer and Adelaide Ayers (Haines) Cilley, in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. Clinton was raised to adulthood in Boston, Massachusetts. He was well-educated. He attended the Boston Latin School in 1852 where he was awarded the Franklin Medal for exceptional scholarship. He then attended Harvard and upon graduating in 1859 went to Minnesota to teach.

By 1861 Clinton had become a college Professor and President of the new Free Will Baptist Seminary in Wasioja, Minnesota. This coincided with the outbreak of the Civil War. Clinton made an impassioned speech the day after the firing on Ft. Sumter, and said, “Would it were God’s will that peace prevailed, but now we can do no other than serve our Union cause. Are you with me?" And a large number of students and citizens from Wasioja, Minnesota, volunteered to fight for the Union. Out of this came the formation of Company C of the 2nd Minnesota Infantry with Clinton Cilley as one of its leaders. The 2nd began operations in the Western Theater of the war and then moved east with the Army of the Cumberland into Georgia. It was during the Battle of Chickamauga that Clinton earned the Medal of Honor serving as First Lieutenant in Company C of the 2nd Minnesota Infantry. His citation, awarded on June 12, 1895, reads, “Seized the colors of a retreating regiment and led it into the thick of the attack.”

The 2nd then participated in the Siege of Atlanta, the March to the Sea, and finally turned north and fought through the Carolinas when the war ended. The 2nd also took part in the Grand Review on May 24, 1865, in Washington D.C.

Clinton's rise in rank:

Enrolled on May 29, 1861 in Company C of the 2nd Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers as a Sergeant. Promoted to Second Lieutenant in said company and regiment December 4, 1861 Promoted to First Lieutenant in said company and regiment April 16, 1862 Promoted to captain in said company and regiment July 10, 1864 Made assistant adjutant-general with rank of Captain July 14, 1864 Promoted to Major and assistant adjutant-general March 21,1865 Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel March 13, 1865 Brevet Colonel March 18, 1865 Honorably mustered out September 1, 1866

While still in the army after the war, Clinton was assigned to General Schofield’s headquarters in North Carolina where he worked in the Freedman's Bureau. This is when he met and eventually married Emma Sophia Harper, the daughter of Col. James Clarence Harper and Louisa C. (McDowell) Harper, in Caldwell County, North Carolina. Emma's father would soon become a member of the United States Congress as a Representative from North Carolina in the 42nd U.S. Congress.

Clinton and Emma would initially settle in Caldwell County and then relocate to Lenoir County, North Carolina, and have the following children:

Albert Harper Cilley (1870–1873)

John Harper Plumer Cilley Sr. (1871–1947)

Gordon Harper Cilley (1874–1938)

James Lenoir Cilley (1876–1965)

Katherine Adelaide Cilley (1878–1878)

After his work with the Freedman's Bureau, Clinton continued to champion first education for blacks and publicly supported education. Yet he quickly became a prominent attorney and citizen, a leader of efforts to promote economic development and cultural progress. Even in his later years as a crippled war veteran, he gained widespread popularity as a public speaker and guest columnist for the Charlotte Observer. His success was attributed to his willingness to get along with the white majority in the South and ability to find or create common ground, but also the existence of common values between the New England values he was raised with and those of the leading citizens in the North Carolina mountains, hidden beneath the sectional bitterness of postwar decades.

Clinton lived to be 63 years of age, passing away in 1900, while Emma lived on until 1922 when she died at 77 years old. Their bodies are buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina.

Sources

• Minnesota Medal of Honor Memorial Organization - Biography on Clinton A. Cilley (1837-1900) [1]

• "United States Census, 1850", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWZF-QGV : Mon Jul 17 22:48:03 UTC 2023), Entry for Daniel P Cilley and Adelaide Cilley, 1850.

• "Massachusetts State Census, 1855," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQWN-XKN : 9 March 2018), Clinton A Cilley in household of Daniel P Cilley, Ward 01, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States; State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 953,958.

• United States Park Service Civil War Database Soldier Details on Clinton A. Cilley [2]

• "North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V61T-GNL : 11 March 2018), Clinton A Cilley, 1862-1870; citing NARA microfilm publication M843 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,616,856.

• "North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V61R-RDB : 11 March 2018), Clinton A Cilley, 04 Jan 1865; citing NARA microfilm publication M843 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,616,847.

• "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP95-BGS2 : 9 March 2021), Clinton Albert Cilley and Emma Sophia Harper, 9 Sep 1868; citing Caldwell, North Carolina, United States, p. , North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm.

• "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MW8H-NQ6 : 29 May 2021), Clinton A Cilley, 1870.

• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC66-V9M : 14 January 2022), A. Clinton Cilley, Lenoir, Caldwell, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .

• "United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N422-QPN : 24 March 2016), Clinton A. Cilley, 1882.

• "United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K83J-QK9 : 8 March 2021), Clinton A Cilley, 1890; citing NARA microfilm publication M123 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 338,217.

• Find a Grave Memorial for COL Clinton Albert Cilley [3]

See Also:

• Wikipedia Short Biography on Clinton A. Cilley [4]

• Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Compatriots awarded the Medal of Honor [5] states "Clinton A. Cilley became a member of the New Hampshire SAR in 1894. His National number is 7521 and his Society number is 21. His SAR patriot ancestor was Joseph Cilley who was “appoint Major in Enoch Poor’s Regiment on May 24, 1775 under recommendation of the Committee on Safety.” Later, Colonel Joseph Cilley was appointed to the command of the 1st Massachuesetts Continental Regiment. Joseph Cilley survived both the battles of the American campaign in Canada and the smallpox epidemic, fought and escaped with his regiment in the Battle of Long Island; tasted victory at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, was assigned to General Sullivan’s Brigade and participated in the Battles of Saratoga."