BRIG. GEN. TIDBALL DEAD.
He Served in the Army Nearly Sixty
Years, and Did It Gallantly.
Brig. Gen. John Caldwell Tidball, Unit-
ed States Army, retired, one of the few
remaining leading army officers in the
civil war, died yesterday afternoon at his
residence, 210 Walnut Street, Montclair,
at the age of 81. Gen. Tidball was born
near Wheeling, West Va. He was gradu-
ated from the Military Academy in 1848.
He served in the Florida hostilities against
the Seminole Indians, and accompanied
an exploring expedition to California in
1853-4. In 1859 he was sent on the expe-
dition to Harper's Ferry to suppress
John Brown's raid. He served all through
the civil war, being brevetted five times
for gallant and meritorious conduct on
the field, and being complimented person-
ally by President Lincoln for his work at
Gettysburg, where he was in command of
the Second Brigade Horse Artillery. He
became a Brigadier General in 1865.
After the civil war Gen. Tidball was in
active service for forty years, and was
assigned to almost every army post from
Alaska to Texas. He was the first Gov-
ernor of Alaska, and lived there for six
years. He was Commandant at West
Point for many years, and was Comman-
dant at the Artillery School at Fort Mon-
roe, Va., and reorganized and brought
that institution to a high state of perfec-
tion.
Gen. Tidball was married twice. His
first wife was Miss Mary Davis, daugh-
ter of Capt. Davis, United States Army.
He afterward married Mary Langdon
Dana, daughter of Gen. N.J.T. Dana,
United States Army. He is survived by
two daughters, Miss Mabel Tidball and
Mrs. Robert S. Potter of Brownsville,
New York, and two sons, Prof. John S.
Tidball of the Columbus (Ohio) State Uni-
versity and Lieut. William Tidball of the
Artillery Corps. He will be buried at
Wast Point.
Maintained by Sue Greenhagen.
E-mail:
greenhsh@morrisville.edu