Andrews, George Leonard, 1828-1899

Andrews, George Leonard, 1828-1899

ANDREWS, George Leonard, general, was born on August 31, 1828, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He graduated from West Point in 1851, first in his class. Andrews served with the Corps of Engineers on the construction of Fort Warren in Boston Harbor and as an instructor in civil and military engineering. In 1855 he resigned his commission to take a position with a manufacturing company in Manchester, New Hampshire, and in 1857 became a civil engineer with the Federal government. With the outbreak of war, he became lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteers and commanded the regiment during the Federal retreat from Strasburg to Winchester during General Nathaniel P. Banks's (q.v.) Shenandoah Valley campaign. Promoted to colonel on June 13, 1862, Andrews became a brigadier general of Volunteers in November 1862 and was commended for his service at Winchester, Cedar Mountain, and Antietam.

Ordered to the Department of the Gulf, Andrews commanded the defenses around New Orleans (2nd Division, XIX Corps) and, as Banks's chief of staff, fought at Fort Bisland and Port Hudson. His assignments also included command of the military district of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson. He later became provost marshal general for the Army of the Gulf, and was present during the Mobile campaign. Andrews concluded his wartime duties as General Edward R.S. Canby's (q.v.) chief of staff. As a cap to his service, he was promoted to brevet major general of Volunteers. Andrews's record seems unimpeachable. He fought in eighteen battles and several minor actions, and his steady rise in rank demonstrates that his superiors recognized his abilities.

From 1865 until 1867, Andrews was a planter in Washington County, Mississippi. In 1867, he became the U.S. marshal for Massachusetts. He held that post until February 1871, when President Ulysses S. Grant (q.v.) appointed him professor of French at West Point. Andrews retired on August 31, 1892, and spent his last years in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he died on April 4, 1899. Hewitt, Port Hudson; Sears, Landscape Turned Red.

Frank J. Wetta

Source: Hubbell, John T. and Geary, James W., eds. Biographical Dictionary of the Union: Northern Leaders of the Civil War. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1995.