The Biographical Dictionary of America/Bates, John Coalter

​BATES, John Coalter, soldier, was born in St. Charles county, Mo., Aug. 26, 1842. He studied at Washington university and on May 14, 1861, entered the Union army as 1st lieutenant in the 11th infantry. He was promoted captain, May 1, 1863, and was on the staff of General Meade from the beginning of the battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, till the close of the war, participating also in the battles of Petersburg, Weldon Railroad and Hatcher's Run. He was brevetted major, Aug. 1, 1864, for "faithful and meritorious services in the field," and lieutenant-colonel, April 9, 1865, for "gallant and meritorious services during the operations resulting in the fall of Richmond, Va., and the surrender of the insurgent army under Gen. R.E. Lee." He was transferred to the 20th infantry, Sept. 21, 1866, was promoted major of the 5th infantry. May 6, 1882; transferred to the 20th infantry. May 24, 1882; promoted lieutenant-colonel of the 13th infantry, Oct. 19, 1886; transferred to the 20th infantry, Dec. 10, 1890, and promoted colonel of the 2d infantry, April 25, 1892. He was stationed in the Indian country, was president of the board on drill and firing regulations, and a member of the board which adopted the Krag-Jorgensen rifle. He was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers. May 4, 1898, and commanded a separate brigade in the battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill, July 1-2. 1898; was promoted major-general, July 8, 1898; commanded the new military department at Cieufuegos, Cuba, Jan. 1 to May 1, 1899, and was sent to negotiate a treaty with the ​sultan of the Sulu Archipelago in September 1899. He became commander of the department of Southern Luzon in April 1900. and was promoted brigadier-general in the U.S. army in 1901.

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.