Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/655

Rh when he was appointed territorial governor of Kansas, which office he held one year. He then returned to Pennsylvania, and at the beginning of the civil war raised the 28th Pennsylvania volun- teers. He commanded in several engagements, and won distinction at Bolivar Heights, where he was wounded. He occupied Leesburg, Va., in March, 1862, and routed Gen. Hill. On 25 April, 18(32, he received the commission of brigadier-general of U. S. volunteers. He was severely wounded in the arm at Cedar Mountain, 9 Aug., 1862, and in con- sequence could not take part in the battle of An- tietam. At the battles of Chaneellorsville and Gettysburg he led the 2d division of the 12th corps. The corps to which Gen. Geary's regiment was at- tached jomed the Army of the Cumberland, under Gen. Hooker's command, to aid in repairing the disaster at Chickamauga, and he took part in the battles of Wauhatchie and Lookout Mountain, in both of which he was distinguished. He com- manded the 2d division of the 20th corps in Sher- man's march to the sea, and was the first to enter Savannah after its evacuation, 22 Dec, 1864. In consideration of his services at Fort Jackson he was appointed military governor of Savannah, and in 1865 he was promoted to be major-general by brevet. He was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 1866, and held this office until two weeks before his death. During his administration the debt of the commonwealth was reduced, an effort to take several millions from the sinking fund of the state bonds was prevented, a disturbance at Williams- port quelled, and a bureau of labor statistics es- tablished by the legislature, 12 April, 1872. Gov. Geary possessed great powers of application and perception, force of will, and soundness of judg- ment, and was popular among his troops. The gen- eral assembly has erected a monument at his grave in Harrisburg. See " Gov. Geary's Administra- tion in Kansas," by John H. Gihon (Philadelphia, 1857).— His son, Edward Ratcllford, b. in West- moreland county. Pa., 14 Sept., 1845 ; killed in the battle of Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain, 28 Oct., 1868. left the sophomore class in Jefferson college in 1861 to enlist as a private in the 28th Pennsyl- vania regiment. He became captain of Hampton battery, and subsequently a lieutenant in Knapp's battery, which post he held at the time of his death. He was engaged at Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chaneellorsville, and Gettysburg.

GEDDES, George, engineer, b. in Pairmount, Onondaga co., N. Y., 14 Feb., 1809 ; d. in New York state, 8 Oct., 1883. He studied engineering and surveying in Middletown, Conn., and law in Skaneateles, N. Y. In 1830 he returned to his home and assumed charge of the farm. He was a member of the senate of the state of New York in 1847, and re-elected in 1849. He made an exhaust- ive report in favor of a railroad law that would enable persons to construct and operate railroads without special legislation, and a bill of this kind was passed in the senate in 1851. He had charge of lowering the canal of Seneca river, from 1853 till 1856. In 1861 he was president of the New York state agricultural society, and in 1865-'71 su- perintendent of Onondaga salt springs. He was a contributor to newspapers and magazines.

GEDDES, James, engineer, b. near Carlisle, Pa., 22 July, 1763 ; d. in Geddes, Onondaga co., N. Y., 19 Aug., 1838. He obtained a limited edu- cation while working on a farm, and in 1794 re- moved to Onondaga county, where the town of Geddes was named in his honor. He organized a company for the manufacture of salt in that coun- ty in 1794. lie was prominent in urging the pro- ject for a canal from Lake Erie to Hudson river, and in 1808 was appointed to make the ^Jreliminary surveys of the route. He was elected a magistrate in 1800, a member of the State legislature in 1804 and 1812, an associate county justice in 1809, and judge of the common pleas in 1812. From 1813 till 1815 he represented New York in congress. In 1816 he became engineer of the Erie canal, and two years later was appointed chief engineer of the Champlain canal. He was appointed to make surveys for a canal from Ohio river to Lake Erie in 1822. In 1827 he was employed to locate the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, and in 1828 was engi- neer for the canals of Pennsylvania.

GEDDES, James Lorraine, soldier, b. in Edin- burgh, Scotland, 19 March, 1827 ; d. in Ames, Storv CO., Iowa, 21 Feb., 1887. In 1837 he was brought by his father, Capt. Alexander Geddes, to Canada. At the age of sixteen he returned to Scotland, but soon sailed for India, where, after studying for two years at the British military academy in Calcutta, he enlisted in the Royal horse artillery, serving seven years under Sir Hugh Gough, Sir Charles Na- pier, and Sir Colin Campbell. He passed through the Punjaub campaign, was present at the battle of Kyber Pass, and ascended the Himalayas with the last-named officer in the expedition against the hill tribes. For his services he was rewarded with a metlal and clasp. At the end of ten years he returned to his home in Canada, and was commis- sioned colonel of a cavalry regiment ; but he soon resigned from the army, emigrating to Iowa in 1857, and settled at Vinton, Benton co. At the beginning of the civil war he gave up his place as a teacher, and in August, 1861, enlisted as a pri- vate in the 8th Iowa regiment. He was rapidly promoted captain, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel, being ultimately brevetted brigadier-general in the volunteer service, 5 June, 1865. At Shiloh he was wounded and fell into the hands of the enemy, re- maining a prisoner until early in 1863, when he was exchanged, and again saw service under Gen. Grant at Vicksburg and undei- Gen. Sherman at Jackson, Miss. In October. 1863, he was placed in command of a brigade and ordered to Browns- ville, Texas. Subsequently he was made provost- marshal of Memphis, and by his exertions the city was probably saved from capture by the Confed- erate Gen. Forrest. During the Mobile campaign he commanded a brigade, and to him is due the capture of Spanish Fort. The defences of that work were considered impregnable ; but on one side ran a ravine, beyond which was a bluff. This vulnerable point was soon discovered by Gen. Geddes, who pushed his men up the ravine, over the bluff, and into the enemy's works, being actu- ally in possession before the commandant of the fort had learned the fact, or it had become known to Gen. Geddes's superior officer. After the war he had charge of the blind-asylum at Vinton for several years, took part in the organization, and for fifteen years shared in the management of the Iowa college of agriculture at Ames, Story co., serving at different times as vice-president, pro- fessor of military tactics, treasurer, and land-agent. Gen. Geddes wrote several war-songs, which were set to music and became widely popular. Among them were "The Soldier's Battle-Prayer" and "The Stars and Stripes."

GEDDES, John, governor of South Carolina, b. in Charleston, S. C., about 1773 ; d. there, 5 March, 1828. He was the son of a merchant, and was educated at the College of Charleston, He studied law. and was admitted to the bar in 1797. He was elected to the house of representatives of