At the start of the
American Civil War he quit private enterprise and enlisted in the
Union Army in May 1861. Upon joining the Army, he was commissioned as a
first lieutenant, and took duty as regimental quartermaster for the
1st New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to the rank of
captain in August 1861, and became a Divisional Quartermaster in March 1862. He eventually promoted to
lieutenant colonel and chief quartermaster of
II Corps in January 1863. During one of his missions in October 1863, the corps' supply units were bombarded by the enemy, and because of his leadership, his unit was able to successfully accomplish the mission without any loss of supplies. This feat would later earn him the
Medal of Honor, and he was promoted to
colonel with the title of Chief Quartermaster of the
Army of the Potomac the next year. Batchelder was mustered out of the volunteer service on June 8, 1865, and was transferred to the Regular Army, reverting to the rank of captain. On January 13, 1866,
President Andrew Johnson nominated Batchelder for appointment to the rank of
brevet brigadier general of Volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866. After the Civil War, Batchelder then served at various commands across the country under the quartermaster branch for 25 years before he was promoted to
brigadier general on June 26, 1890. With this promotion he was appointed as the 18th
Quartermaster General of the United States Army. As Quartermaster General of the Army he was also in charge of the creation of the emblem used to identify the Quartermaster Corps. He retired from the Army on July 27, 1896. General Batchelder was a member of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, the
Sons of the Revolution and the
Society of Colonial Wars. ==Medal of Honor Citation==