Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar (1841 - 1905)

Born 25 Jul 1841 in Bristol, Bucks, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Helen Renouf (Brewer) Blackmar — married 17 Nov 1880 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Died 16 Jul 1905 at age 63 in Boise, Idaho, United States

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Captaim Wilmon Blackmar served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: Aug 22, 1862
Mustered out: Aug 30, 1862
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry Company K (aka 160th Pennsylvania Colunteers of "Anderson Cavalry"

Biography

Wilmon Blackmar was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Wilmon Blackmar is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Army 1862-1865
Captain

Realizing that the Union Army was in trouble during the Battle of Five Forks, Virginia, on April 1, 1865, Blackmar took the initiative to order his men and other Union troops to rapidly form a line and charge the enemy, an action which forced the Confederate troops to disperse.^[1][2]

Birth and Early Years

Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar was born in 1841 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Rev Joseph and Eliza Jane (Philbrick) Blackmar.

He moved with his parents to Boston.

He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, until he enlisted in the war.

War Years

On August 22, 1862, at the age of 21, he officially mustered in for duty at Carlisle in Cumberland County on August 30 as a private with Company K of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry (also known as the 160th Pennsylvania Volunteers or "Anderson Cavalry").^[3] He then participated in various operations associated with the Army of the Potomac.^[4]

He advanced to rank of sergeant on May 5, 1863.^[3] He then participated with the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign from August 21 to September 20, 1863, engaging in a well-publicized charge on Confederate States Army troops at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and also fighting in the Battle of Chickamauga (September 18–20).^[5]

He was assigned to the staff of Brigadier General William Henry Powell during the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Blackmar received a commendation from his superiors, "for having saved, by a most hazardous ride, [his] brigade from capture by the forces of General Jubal A. Early", according to Grand Army of the Republic records.^[6]

Blackmar participated in the opening battles of the Appomattox Campaign, and then performed the act of valor for which he was personally brevetted in the field as a captain.^[7]

Post War

Blackmar returned to Phillips, and then completed legal studies at Harvard Law School in 1868. He practiced law for a period of time.

He married Helen Brewer 17 Nov 1880.^[8] They divided their time between Boston and Hingham.

He joined the Grand Army of the Republic in 1867. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War until his death.

He died in Boise, Idaho on July 16 1905, while engaged in a lengthy series of visits to Grand Army of the Republic posts which he had scheduled in his capacity as the G.A.R.'s Commander-in-Chief. His remains were returned to Boston and public tribute was paid to him at the State House. Blackmar was then interred at the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester, Massachusetts.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Congressional Medal of Honor Society
2. ↑ Unofficial Proceedings in Connection with the Thirty-Eighth National Encampment, Grand Army of the Republic, held in Boston, week August 1520, 1904; issued under the direction of the Executive Committee ... Boston, Griffith Stillings Press, 1907. 4 p.l., [iii] iv p., 1 l., [7], 216 p.; plates, portraits. Publication committee: Lucius Field, Silas A. Barton, and William M. Olin. Compiler and editor: Edward P. Preble; at his death, the work was completed by Alfred S. Roe. LC call number: E462.1.A179.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Vol. IV: "One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment (15th Pennsylvania Cavalry)", p. 940.
4. ↑ Pennsylvania States Archives. Civil War Veterans' File, 1861-1866
5. ↑ Unofficial Proceedings p. 213.
6. ↑ Unofficial Proceedings p. 214.
7. ↑ West Virginia Medal of Honor Precipients
8. ↑ History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts (The Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, 1893) Vol II, p.93.
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 October 2020), memorial page for Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar (25 Jul 1841–16 Jul 1905), Find A Grave: Memorial #23129, citing Cedar Grove Cemetery, Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.

• Wilmon W. Blackmar, Commander-in-Chief 1904-1905" (biographical sketch), in Unofficial Proceedings in Connection with the Thirty-Eighth National Encampment of the G.A.R.,