Samuel P. Heintzelman
Union Army general (1805–1880)

Samuel Peter Heintzelman (September 30, 1805 – May 1, 1880) was a United States Army general. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, the Yuma War and the Cortina Troubles. During the early months of the American Civil War, he was a prominent figure, rising to the command of a corps.
The World War II Liberty ship SS Samuel Heintzelman, launched on 30 September 1942, was named in his honor.
Early life and military service
Heintzelman was born in Manheim, Pennsylvania, to Peter and Ann Elizabeth Grubb Heintzelman. His paternal grandparents were German immigrants to the American colonies, while his maternal side was of English and Scottish descent, with ancestors arriving during the colonial era in the 17th century. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1826, 17th in a class of 41. and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry, July 1, 1826, then in the 2nd U.S. Infantry and served on the Northern frontier at Fort Gratiot, Fort Mackinac, and Fort Brady. On March 4, 1833, he was promoted to first lieutenant and served on quartermaster's duty in Florida during the Second Seminole War. On July 7, 1838, he was appointed captain in the Quartermaster's Department, remaining in Florida with the 2nd Infantry until the close of the war in 1842.
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This entry incorporates text from “Samuel P. Heintzelman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.