Overview
William Thomas Magruder (1829–1863) was a distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy (1850). After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army on frontier duty. At the start of the Civil War, he was promoted to Captain and fought in the First Battle of Bull Run. In 1862, he resigned his U.S. Army commission and joined the Confederate Army. Magruder was killed during Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.
Personal Facts
- Full Name: William Thomas Magruder
- Born: 1829, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Parents: Fielder Magruder and Matilda (Magruder) Magruder
- Education: United States Military Academy (1850)
- Occupation: Military officer
- Positions: Captain (USA), Captain (CSA)
- Spouse: None
- Died: July 3, 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- Buried: Unknown
Biography
Early Life and Education
William Thomas Magruder was born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, during the 1820s. He was the son of Fielder and Matilda Magruder.
Magruder attended the United States Military Academy from July 1, 1846, to July 1, 1850. He graduated eleventh in his class of forty-four cadets.
U.S. Army Officer
Upon his graduation, the army brevetted Magruder to second lieutenant and sent him to cavalry school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On October 9, 1851, officials promoted Magruder to the full rank of second lieutenant.
Magruder spent nearly the next decade campaigning against American Indians in the West, serving at Fort Snelling, Minnesota (1851-1853), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (1854), Fort Union, New Mexico (1854-1855), and Fort Tejon, California (1856‑58). Army officials promoted Magruder to first lieutenant on March 3, 1855.
Union Officer
As sectional tensions mounted and states began to leave the Union, officials promoted Magruder to captain with the 1st Dragoons on January 8, 1861. Soon after the American Civil War began, Magruder commanded a company at the First Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861). In 1861, the army officials re-designated the 1st Dragoons as the 1st U.S. Cavalry. They appointed Magruder as a captain in that regiment on August 3.
Change of Allegiance – Confederate Officer
Magruder served with the 1st Cavalry during Major General George B. McClellan‘s Peninsula Campaign from July 1 to August 3, 1862, when the army granted him a leave of absence. While away on leave, he changed his allegiance and resigned his commission on October 1, 1862, to join the Confederate Army. Magruder was one of four Union officers educated at West Point to switch sides after the Civil War began. The others were Manning M. Kimmel, Richard K. Meade, and Donald C. Stith.
Death During Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg
Upon joining the Confederate Army, Confederate officials commissioned Magruder as a captain, and he served as a staff officer with Brigadier General Joseph R. Davis’s Brigade in Major General Henry Heth‘s Division of the 3rd Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. On July 3, 1863, Magruder died on the battlefield while rallying his men during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The disposition of his remains is unknown.
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1829 — William Thomas Magruder was born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to Fielder and Matilda Magruder.
- 1846, July 1 — Magruder entered the United States Military Academy at West Point.
- 1850, July 1 — He graduated 11th in a class of 44 cadets and was brevetted to second lieutenant, beginning cavalry training at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
- 1851, October 9 — Magruder was promoted to second lieutenant.
- 1851–1858 — Magruder served on frontier duty, campaigning against American Indians at posts such as Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Fort Union, New Mexico; and Fort Tejon, California.
- 1855, March 3 — He was promoted to first lieutenant.
- 1861, January 8 — Magruder achieved the rank of captain in the 1st Dragoons.
- 1861, July 21 — Magruder commanded Union soldiers during the First Battle of Bull Run.
- 1861, August 3 — The 1st Dragoons were renamed the 1st U.S. Cavalry, and Magruder retained his captaincy.
- 1862, July 1–August 3 — Magruder served with the 1st U.S. Cavalry in the Peninsula Campaign under Major General George B. McClellan.
- 1862, October 1 — He resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and joined the Confederate Army, one of four West Point graduates to switch sides during the Civil War.
- 1862 — Magruder was commissioned as a captain in the Confederate Army and served as a staff officer in Brigadier General Joseph R. Davis’s Brigade within the Army of Northern Virginia.
- 1863, July 3 — Magruder was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg during Pickett’s Charge while rallying his brigade. His burial site remains unknown.
