David Hammond Vinton

Vinton was born in Providence, Rhode Island on 3 May 1803, a son of silversmith and Masonic lecturer David Vinton and Mary (Atwell) Vinton. Vinton's family included several prominent members, among them his brother Francis Vinton, an engineer and clergyman. Francis Vinton's son Arthur Dudley Vinton, an author and attorney, was Vinton's nephew. Another nephew, engineer and army officer Francis Laurens Vinton, was the son of Vinton's brother John Rogers Vinton. Grandnephews Francis L. V. Hoppin and Howard Hoppin were prominent architects and the sons of Vinton's niece Louise. Vinton's sister Elizabeth was the wife of army officer George S. Greene, and Vinton was the uncle of their sons Francis Vinton Greene, a US Army officer, and Samuel Dana Greene, an officer in the United States Navy. Vinton was raised and educated in Providence, and in 1818 he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1822 ranked 14th of 40 and was appointed a second lieutenant by brevet. Among his notable classmates who joined the Confederate States of America during the Civil War were Walter Gwynn and Isaac R. Trimble. ==Start of career==

Initially assigned to the 1st Artillery Regiment, Vinton was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Artillery Regiment, which was performing duty in Florida. He served as an Ordnance officer with the 4th Artillery from August 1822 to June 1823. Vinton performed temporary recruiting duty for the rest of 1823 and was then assigned to the 6th Infantry Regiment at Fort Atkinson, Iowa. He was promoted to first lieutenant in April 1825 and performed Ordnance duty with the 6th Infantry from September 1825 to April 1826. He was then posted to the 3rd Artillery Regiment and assigned to take the course at the Fort Monroe, Virginia Artillery School, where he remained until 1828. Vinton served at Fort Independence, Massachusetts from 1828 through 1833, including Ordnance duty beginning in March 1831. In January 1834, he was assigned to the garrison at Fort Monroe where he remained until 1836, including a posting as Engineer officer. From 1836 to 1839, he served in Florida as a Quartermaster officer during the Creek War of 1836 and the Seminole Wars, including assignment as Florida Territory's quartermaster general from November 1837 to July 1838. He served on Quartermaster duty in Brownville and Sackets Harbor, New York from 1838 to 1840, during Canada's Patriot War. He was promoted to captain in July 1838. ==Continued career==

Vinton performed Quartermaster duty at Fort Wayne, Michigan from 1840 to 1842, then returned to Brownville to settle his Patriot War accounts. ==Later career==

At the start of the American Civil War, the Confederate States Army occupied the garrison in San Antonio; Vinton was taken prisoner and held until paroled, after which he departed for the Union states. As part of the Union Army, he served throughout the war as chief of the New York City Quartermaster Depot, where he was responsible for supplying troops with clothing and equipment. In February 1870, he retired fully, after which he resided in Stamford, Connecticut. He died in Stamford on 21 February 1873 and was buried at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. ==Family==

In July 1829, Vinton married Pamela Brown, a daughter of Major General Jacob Brown and sister of Brigadier General Nathan W. Brown. She died in 1845, and in 1848 he married Eliza Arethusa Arnold, to whom he remained married until his death. With his first wife, Vinton's children included: Alexander Vinton became a clergyman and served as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. ==Dates of rank==

Vinton's dates of rank were: • Second Lieutenant (Brevet), 1 July 1822 • Second Lieutenant, 1 July 1822 • First Lieutenant, 7 April 1825 • Captain, 7 July 1838 • Major, 3 March 1847 • Lieutenant Colonel, 3 August 1861 • Colonel (Brevet), 13 March 1865 • Brigadier General (Brevet), 13 March 1865 • Colonel (ex officio), (United States Volunteers), 2 August 1864 • Colonel, 29 July 1866 • Major General (Brevet), 30 June 1867 (to date from 13 March 1865) ==References==