Born to Daniel Miles and Mary Curtis near Westminster, Massachusetts, Nelson Appleton Miles (1839-1925) was educated at John R. Galt’s academy before working as a store clerk in Boston. During the Civil War, he enlisted in the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment as a first lieutenant and was eventually promoted to be an aide-de-camp to General Oliver Otis Howard. In 1865, Miles was promoted to major general and received a medal of honor for gallantry. Following the war, he was assigned to Fort Monroe, Virginia, and managed the Freedmen’s Bureau. In 1868, Miles married Mary Hoyt Sherman, with whom he had two children. A year later, he was appointed a colonel in the 5th Infantry Regiment in the U. S. Army, later leading an expedition against Native Americans in the Texas Panhandle in 1874, and fighting in the Red River War. Miles later defeated Crazy Horse as well as the Nez Percé tribe in 1877. After advancing to the position of brigadier general three years later, he instigated Geronimo’s defeat in 1886 and became major general of the Division of the Missouri in 1889. Miles was promoted to general-in-chief in 1895, commanding the army during the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Source:
Steinbach, Robert H.
A letter and photograph comprise the Nelson A. Miles Items, 1874, undated, chronicling his activities as a colonel of the 5th Infantry Regiment in the Texas Panhandle. Written to General George W. Baird, the letter discusses supplies for the 8th Cavalry Division and the camp at Canadian, Texas, while a photograph depicts Miles.
This collection is open for research use.
Nelson A. Miles Items, 1874, undated, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s