Lyman M. Ward
Union Army general (1836-1909)
Lyman Munson Ward (October 6, 1836 – January 19, 1909) was an American farmer, Republican politician, and Union Army colonel in the American Civil War. He served four years in the Michigan House of Representatives, and received an honorary brevet to brigadier general after his service in the war.
Early life
Ward was born in Cattaraugus County, New York, on October 6, 1836, the 4th of six children born to Reverend Abel Ward and his wife Esther (née Dibble). He moved with his family to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1851. He was educated at common schools in Genesee County, New York, and attended high school and a private academy in Fond du Lac. He then went on to study law in the law offices of David E. Wood, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the American Civil War. Ward had been an active member of a Wisconsin chapter of the Wide Awakes, a militant youth organization which supported the election of Abraham Lincoln and were enthusiastic for the Union cause.
Civil War service
1st Wisconsin Infantry (Summer 1861)
Ward was among the first volunteers for the Union Army, responding to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers. He was enrolled in Company I of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, and marched to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in June 1861. They attached to the brigade of John Joseph Abercrombie, and engaged in skirmishing with Confederate forces under T. J. Jackson at Martinsburg, Virginia, in early July 1861.
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