Overview
Erastus Bernard Tyler (1822–1891) was a soldier and public official from New York. He pursued higher education at Granville College in Ohio before establishing himself as a Fur Trader in Ohio. By the 1850s, he was active in the local militia as a Brigadier General. At the start of the Civil War, he helped recruit the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and led forces in major campaigns, including the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Fredericksburg, and Monocacy. He was promoted to Major General in 1865 and later served as Postmaster in Baltimore.
Personal Facts
- Full Name: Erastus Bernard Tyler
- Born: April 24, 1822, West Bloomfield, New York
- Parents: Asahel and Maria (Bernard) Tyler
- Education: Granville College (now Denison University)
- Occupation: Furrier
- Positions: Brigadier General (USVA), Brevet Major General (USVA)
- Spouse: Emily M. Tyler
- Died: January 9, 1891, Baltimore, Maryland
- Buried: Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland
Biography
Early Life
Erastus Bernard Tyler was born in West Bloomfield, New York, on April 24, 1822. He was the son of Asahel Tyler and Maria Bernard Tyler. In 1830, Tyler’s family moved to Ravenna, Ohio. Tyler attended local schools before graduating from Granville College (now Denison University). As a young man, Tyler worked as a hatmaker in Ravenna and as a fur trader in western Virginia.
Civil War Union Officer
While living in Ravenna, Tyler was a member of the local militia, rising to the rank of brigadier general. When the American Civil War began, he helped to recruit the 7th Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which included a company known as Tyler’s Raiders. The unit’s officers held Tyler in such high esteem that they elected him as the regiment’s first colonel.
Battle of Kessler’s Cross Lanes
The army sent the 7th OVI to western Virginia in August 1861, where Tyler and his men suffered an unfortunate introduction to combat. On August 26, Confederate Brigadier General John B. Floyd launched a surprise attack against Tyler’s encampment and inflicted a sound defeat upon the Yankees at the Battle of Kessler’s Cross Lanes.
Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862
On May 14, 1862, Tyler became a brigadier general and assumed command of the 3rd Brigade of Major General James Shields’s 1st Division of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Potomac. In that capacity, Tyler saw action throughout most of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, including the First Battle of Kernstown and the First Battle of Winchester. He was the principal Union field commander during the Federal loss at the Battle of Port Republic, the last engagement of the campaign.
Maryland Campaign
In September 1862, Tyler was present at the Battle of Antietam, but his brigade remained in reserve.
Wounded at Fredericksburg
In December, Tyler led his brigade in a series of unsuccessful assaults against Marye’s Heights during the Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg. During the battle, Tyler received wounds to his head and torso by shrapnel from an exploding shell. After recuperating, Tyler ended the campaign season by taking part in Major General Ambrose Burnside‘s infamous Mud March in January 1863.
Chancellorsville Campaign
When campaigning resumed in 1863, Tyler’s brigade helped to stabilize the right flank of the Union line at the Battle of Chancellorsville until the Rebels prevailed. Soon after the battle, three of Tyler’s four regiments mustered out of the service because their enlistments had expired.
8th Army Corps Commander
Left without a command, Tyler traveled to Washington D.C., to await the assignment. In June, officials placed him in command of the defenses of Baltimore, Maryland. While there, he briefly succeeded Robert C. Schenck as commander of the 8th Corps from September 28, 1863 to October 10, 1863.
Battle of Monocacy
In July 1864, Tyler successfully defended the Jug Bridge on the Baltimore Pike with two regiments of inexperienced recruits during the Battle of Monocacy. President Abraham Lincoln later reportedly remarked that the Union was “more indebted to General Tyler than any other man for the salvation of Washington,” crediting the general for preventing Confederate General Jubal Early from entering the nation’s capital.
Post-War Life
When the war ended, officials brevetted Tyler to the rank of major general dating from March 1865. He mustered out of the service on August 24 of that year and took up residence in Baltimore, Maryland, where he served as the postmaster in 1877.
Death
On January 9, 1891, Tyler died in Baltimore of intestinal complications from the wounds he received at Fredericksburg. He was buried at Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore. After Tyler’s death, Congress awarded his wife, Emily M. Tyler (who Tyler had met and married in Baltimore following the war), a pension for the general’s service.
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1822, April 24 — Erastus B. Tyler was born in West Bloomfield, New York.
- 1830s–1840s — He graduated from Granville College (now Denison University) and worked as a hat maker and fur trader in Ohio.
- 1850s — Tyler became an active member of the local militia in Ravenna, Ohio, eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general.
- 1861, Spring — He helped recruit the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at the start of the Civil War and was elected as its first Colonel.
- 1861, August 26 — Tyler was defeated by Confederate Brigadier General John B. Floyd at the Battle of Kessler’s Cross Lanes.
- 1862, May 14, 1862 — He was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to command the 3rd Brigade of Major General James Shields’s division in the Army of the Potomac.
- 1862, March–June — Tyler saw action throughout the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, including the Battles of Kernstown I, Winchester I, and Port Republic (where he was the principal Union field commander).
- 1862, September — He was present at the Battle of Antietam, but his brigade was held in reserve.
- 1862, December — Tyler led his brigade in repeated assaults on Marye’s Heights during the Battle of Fredericksburg, suffering head and torso wounds from shrapnel.
- 1863, January — He participated in General Ambrose Burnside’s failed Mud March.
- 1863, May — Tyler helped stabilize the Union’s right flank at the Battle of Chancellorsville before Confederate forces won the engagement.
- 1863, June — He was assigned to command the defenses of Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1863, September 28–October 10 — Tyler briefly succeeded Robert C. Schenck as Commander of the 8th Corps.
- 1864, July 9 — He defended the Jug Bridge on the Baltimore Pike with inexperienced recruits during the Battle of Monocacy and was credited with delaying Confederate General Jubal Early’s advance toward Washington, D.C.
- 1865, March 13 — Tyler was brevetted to major general for his service during the war.
- 1865, August 24 — He mustered out of military service.
- 1891, January 9 — Tyler died in Baltimore from complications of his Fredericksburg wounds and was buried at Greenmount Cemetery.
