Charles Henry Tompkins

Tompkins was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia, on September 12, 1830. Tompkins pursued private business interests until enlisting as a Private in the First Dragoons in January 1856, rising to the rank of sergeant before his enlistment ended in January 1861. He served on the western frontier and was recognized for his performance at the Second Battle of Pyramid Lake near Pyramid Lake, Nevada, in June 1860. Tompkins received his commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment in March 1861. It was in this unit that he gained fame for his heroism in action at the Battle of Fairfax Court House (June 1861) while a 1st lieutenant, to which he was promoted on April 30, 1861. Tompkins was reassigned to the 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment on August 3, 1861, and served as the regimental quartermaster. On April 24, 1862, he received a volunteer commission as colonel of the 1st Vermont Cavalry. He resigned his volunteer commission on September 9, 1862. During the war, he received brevets (honorary promotions) to major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier general. ==Medal of Honor citation==

"Twice charged through the enemy's lines and, taking a carbine from an enlisted man, shot the enemy's captain." Captain John Quincy Marr was the first Confederate soldier killed in combat during the Civil War. == Tompkins Stretcher ==

In 1866, Tompkins patented a stretcher he invented very late in the war. He then set off a major advertising campaign to promote wider adoption of his model. His marketing included his excerpt in Scientific American. It was featured in The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion’s treatment of medical evacuation. ==Postbellum==

Tompkins was appointed as one of the nine officers assigned to the military commission investigating the conspirators involved in President Lincoln's assassination. Because of a dispute with General Grant, between 1866 and 1881 he was posted to numerous remote and austere western posts. ==Personal life==

Tompkins married Ms. Augusta Root Hobbie of New York on December 17, 1862. They had seven children, four of whom reached adulthood. His eldest son, Selah Reeve Hobbie (“Tommy”) Tompkins, was an Army officer who became Colonel of the 7th Cavalry Regiment. His second son, Colonel Frank Tompkins, also served as a career army officer including notable participation as a major in the 13th Cavalry in both the raid on Columbus, New Mexico by Pancho Villa and the Punitive Expedition that followed for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. ==See also==