Alpheus P. French

This photo of Alpheus P. French is available to view and purchase at the Minnesota Historical Society web site. Click on the image to go directly to it.

Name: Alpheus P. French Company: I First Sergeant April 30, 1862; Second Liutenant May 13, 1862; First Lieutenant December 31, 1862; wounded at Nashville December 16, 1864; resigned.
Birth Date: February 2, 1840 Place: Zanesville, Ohio	Mustered In Date: April 30, 1862 Rank: Sergeant Age: 22 Residence prior to military service: Ohio; St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota (after 1848)
Death Date: Unknown Place: Unknown Burial: Unknown	Mustered Out Date: May 1865 Rank: Captain Age: 25 Residence following military service: Alabama

Alpheus P. French Biography and Civil War Narrative

Alpheus Perry French was born February 2, 1840, in Zanesville, Ohio. His parents were Alpheus R. French, a U.S. soldier (and saddle and harness maker) born 1808 in New York, and Mary Ann Henry, born 1818 in Pennsylvania. Alpheus R. and Mary Ann (Henry) French had been married at Fort Snelling in 1838. When Alpheus P. was just an infant, the family moved to St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River in Iowa Territory, in the vicinity of the future city of Minneapolis.

When 22-year-old Alpheus P. French enlisted in Company I of the 5th Minnesota Regiment on April 30, 1862, it was a family affair. His father, Alpheus R. French, enlisted and served as the regiment Adjutant from March 24, 1862 to March 19, 1863. His older brother, Edward R. French (age 24), had also enlisted in Company I on March 19, 1862, and would serve in that company until he was transfered to Company G on February 24, 1863, in which he served until the company was mustered out on September 6, 1865.

Alpheus P. French was promoted quickly in his company. Just two weeks after enlisting he was promoted from First Sergeant to Second Lieutenant on May 13. During his time as Second Lieutenant, A. P. French participated in the Siege of Corinth (May 26-30, 1862), the Battle of Iuka (September 19, 1862), and the Battle of Corinth (October 3-4, 1862). Then on December 31, 1862, he was promoted First Lieutenant when Patrick Ryan resigned; Sergeant Milton H. Pember replaced French as Second Lieutenant.

On April 3, 1863, Alpheus P. French was made Captain of Company I. He was 23 years old. While Captain A. P. French led Company I, the 5th Minnesota participated in the Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 to July 4, 1863), the Meridian Campaign (February 3 to March 2, 1864), the Red River Campaign (March 10 to May 22, 1864), the Battle of Pleasant Hill (April 9, 1864), the defeat of Marmaduke at Old River Lake (June 6, 1864), a grueling march through Arkansas and Missouri in pursuit of Confederate General Price (September 17 to November 15, 1864), the Battle of Nashville (December 15-16, 1864), the Siege and capture of Spanish Fort and Fort Alexis (April 8, 1865), and the assault and capture of Fort Blakely (April 9, 1865).

Captain Alpheus P. French was wounded severely in the shoulder as he led his company during the attack on Shy's Hill on the December 16, 1864, the second day of the Battle of Nashville. But by early April 1865, Captain French was in full action during the siege and capture of Spanish Fort near Mobile, Alabama. Brevet Brigadier General Lucius F. Hubbard, commanding the 2nd Brigade reports that Captain A. P. French was given command over a detail of 250 sharp shooters. Hubbard describes their service throughout the week-long siege as "very effective," and further states: "Captain French is entitled to much credit for the efficient management of his command." At 2:00 am on April 8, Captain French was directed to move his command forward as skirmishers--it appeared that the enemy might be evacuating their post. They captured the confederate pickets posted outside the fort without opposition, and they found the fort to be abandoned. As the Forty-seventh Illinois occupied the fort, Captain French and his skirmishers moved through the fort to the bank of the Fish River at the point where the confederates were still crossing. French's skirmishers captured many prisoners and one piece of artillery that had been abandoned near the bridge.

Captain Alpheus P. French left Company I when he resigned and was mustered out in May 1865.

After the war, Alpheus married Mary Lee Ann Drake in 1867 in Drakes Landing, Hale County, Alabama. Alpheus and Mary had six children: Oster, Alpheus, Edward Ross (born August 1870 in Greensboro, Hale County, Alabama), Mary Catherine (born 1873), Annie Ross (born December 10, 1875, in Drakes Landing, Hale County, Alabama), and Clara Margaret (born November 1879).

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