Born at New London, Connecticut, December 11, 1828, the son of Nathaniel Hazard and Lucretia Mumford Perry, he graduated from West Point in 1851, 13th in a class of 42, and was commissioned in the Artillery.
He served in the Seminole Indian War in Florida; taught math at West Point, and fought Indians in the West before serving at Fort Pickens, Florida, until July 18, 1861. He was promoted to Captain, Assistant Quartermaster, May 17, 1861, and was in charge of the Bureau of Clothing and Equipage in the Quartermaster General’s Office in Washington for the remainder of the war.
He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, August 20, 1862; Colonel, August 2, 1864; brevet Brigadier General, for war service. He continued in the Regular Army after the war and retired as a Colonel in 1892. He died at Washington, D.C. on March 26, 1913 and is buried in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery, beneath a private memorial which reads:
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
That they may rest from their labors
And their works do follow them
James Alexander, soldier, born in New London, Connecticut, 11 December, 1828, is the son of Nathaniel Hazard. He was graduated at the United States military academy in 1851, assigned to the 2d Artillery, and served against the Seminole Indians in 1852. He was assistant professor of mathematics at West Point in 1852-‘7, in frontier service in the northwest during hostilities with the Sioux and Chippewa Indians, and became Captain in the quartermaster’s department.
He served in the civil war as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of Florida, and participated in the relief and defense of Fort Pickens. On 20 April, 1862, he became Lieutenant Colonel of volunteers, and in 1864 he was made Chief of a bureau in the Quartermaster’s Department with the rank of Colonel. He was breveted Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and Colonel, on 13 March, 1865, and also Brigadier General, United States army, for faithful and meritorious services in that department. He was commissioned Major on 29 July, 1866, and Lieutenant Colonel on 3 March, 1875. Since 1869 he has served as chief quartermaster of various departments, and he is now (1888) Assistant Quartermaster General of the Division of the Pacific.
Alexander James Perry of Connecticut
- Appointed from Connecticut, Cadet, United States Military Academy, 1 July 1847 (13);
- Breveted Second Lieutenant, 2nd U. S. Artillery, 1 Julv 1851
- Second Lieutenant, 1 July 1852
- First Lieutenant, 27 September 1854
- Captain, Assistant Quartermaster, 17 May 1861
- Lieutenant Colonel, Quartermaster, 20 August 1862 to 15 January 1863
- Colonel, Quartermaster, 2 August 1864 to 1 January 1867
- Major, Quartermaster, 29 July 1866
- Lieutenant Colonel, Deputy Quartermaster General, 3 March 1875
- Colonel, Assistant Quartermaster General, 31 August 1883
- Breveted Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, 13 March 1865 for faithful and meritorious services during the war and Brigadier General, 13 March 1865 for faithful and meritorious service in the Quartermaster Department during the war
- Retired 11 December 1892
NOTE: The General’s son, Alexander Wallace Perry, Captain, United States Army, is buried in the General’s gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery.
PERRY – On January 21, 1917, at her residence 2003 I Street, Washington, D.C., JOSEPHINE ADAMS PERRY, widow of the late GENERAL ALEXANDER JAMES PERRY, U.S. Army, in the eighty third year of her age. Funeral will be held on Wedneday, January 24, 1917 at the Church of the Epiphany, G Street, between 13th and 14th Streets, Washington. Interment at Arlington.
PERRY, ALEXANDER J
- BRIG GEN U S A RET
- DATE OF DEATH: 03/26/1913
- BURIED AT: SECTION W SITE 21B
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
PERRY, JOSEPHINE A W/O ALEXANDER J
- DATE OF DEATH: 01/21/1917
- BURIED AT: SECTION W.DIV SITE 21-B
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard