William B. Gere

Name: William B. Gere Company: B, Field & Staff Veteran; enlisted as private in Company B January 17, 1862; promoted Captain Company B March 2, 1862; Major March 24, 1862; Lieutenant Colonel August 31, 1862; mustered as a Veteran February 12, 1864
Birth Date: January 29, 1830 Place: Pennsylvania	Mustered In Date: January 17, 1862 Rank: Private Age: 32 Residence prior to military service: Pennsylvania; Winona, Minnesota; Chatfield, Fillmore County, Minnesota Vocation prior to military service: pioneer, register of deeds, U.S. Marshal (1858-1861)
Death Date: After 1920 Place: Unknown (possibly Jefferson County, Alabama) Burial: Unknown	Mustered Out Date: September 6, 1865 Rank: Lieutenant Colonel Age: 35 Residence following military service: Sumter County and Jefferson Counties, Alabama Vocation following military service: Farmer, "lawyer ret," farmer, coal dealer

William B. Gere Biography and Civil War Narrative

William Beecher Gere was born January 29, 1830, in Pennsylvania, the third child and second son of George Morgan and Sarah Champlin (Parke) Gere/Geer.

By the winter of 1852, William "Beecher" Gere had gone west to La Crosse, Wisconsin. During the winter he went up the Mississippi River and selected a location on Wabasha prairie, staking his claim at Winona, Minnesota, later in 1852. About July 1, 1852, Beecher Gere's father also moved up from La Crosse to settle on Wabasha prairie. The elder Gere brought his family, including William's brother, Thomas P. Gere, and set up a boot and shoe shop. He built a 16'x32' one story shanty with a shingled roof on William's claim. William's uncle, Henry C. Gere, was also a claimant in the area--but not without conflict.

The next year, William B. Gere was a shareholder in a stock company designed to establish the town of Chatfield and designate it as the Fillmore County Seat. On October 11, 1853, Gere was elected the register of deeds for Fillmore County. At the same meeting, William's father, George M. Gere was elected as a Justice of the Peace. On more than one occasion William served as clerk of the board of county commissioners.

From 1858 to 1861, Gere served as a U.S. Marshal in Minnesota. At the time of the 1860 U.S. Census, 30-year-old William was living at Chatfield, Fillmore County, Minnesota. He lived with his parents, George (59-year-old Justice of the Peace) and Sarah (age 57), his older brother Edwin (age 32), his younger sisters Mary (age 25) and Helen (age 23), and his younger brother, Thomas (age 17).

William B. Gere enlisted in the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a private in Company B on January 17, 1862, along with his younger brother, Thomas P. Gere. William was promoted to be the first Captain of Company B on March 2, 1862. John S. Marsh (who later drowned near the Redwood ferry crossing) took over the position of Captain on March 24, 1862, when Gere was promoted to Major for the 5th Minnesota Regiment.

On August 31, 1862, Gere was again promoted -- this time to Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment. He filled the position vacated when Lieutenant Colonel Lucius F. Hubbard was made Colonel following the resignation of Colonel Rudolph Borgersrode. Captain Francis Hall of Company C filled the vacancy left by Gere in the position of Major.

By 1864, "Colonel Hubbard had for some time been in command of the Second Brigade as its senior colonel, and though always with the brigade or division to which it was attached, was not in the immediate command of the regiment (except while on its veteran furlough) at any time subsequently during the war. That command now devolved upon Lieut. Col. W. B. Gere."

As the practical leader of the 5th Minnesota, Lieutenant Colonel William B. Gere submitted a report concerning the action of the 5th Minnesota during the Battle of Nashville. This report was submitted on December 18, 1864, "for the information of the colonel commanding the brigade [namely, Colonel Lucius F. Hubbard of the 5th Minnesota]. His report includes accounts of fighting by the 5th Minnesota on both December 15 and 16. Although William Gere was not listed among the casualties of the Battle of Nashville, in the conclusion of his report to Colonel Hubbard, he states, "On the morning of the 17th . . . being unable to remain in the field, on account of physical disability and injuries received the day previous, I turned over the command to Major [John C.] Becht." In correspondence to Colonel Oscar Malmros, Adjutant General, Minnesota, on January 3, 1865, Gere also reported that his own horse was killed in the last charge on December 16.

William Gere married Augusta Marshall on June 22, 1869. She was born July 1839(?) in Alabama. In 1870, they lived in Sumter County, Alabama, in the same household as Matthew Marshal, a 67-year-old farmer who may have been Augusta's father. By 1880, 50-year-old William was farming in Sumter County, perhaps on the same land that Matthew Marshal had farmed. Between 1880 and 1900, William and Augusta moved to Jefferson County, Alabama, where William worked as a "coal dealer." Living in the Gere household in 1900 were William (age 70), Augusta (age 61), and three teen-aged "servants": Martha Gere (age 18, born February 1882 in Alabama), Jim Gere (age 16, born January 1884 in Alabama), and Joe(?) Gere (age 15, born February 1885). In 1910, a 9-year-old Martha Gere (born in Alabama) is listed as a member of the household, still in Jefferson County, Alabama. In the 1920 census, William Gere was listed as an 89-year-old "Roomer." Augusta was no longer with him.

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This page is maintained by Tim Bode (timbode@juno.com ). Page created 5/22/2008. Last modified on 9/12/2009.