John Joseph Abercrombie Jr.. son of John Joseph Abercrombie and Sarah De Normandie, was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 4, 1798; died in Roslyn, New York, 3 Jan, 1877. He entered West Point from Tennessee where his family settled about 1816. He graduated from the US Military Academy in 1822, placing 37th of 40 (his classmates included future Union Generals J.K.F. Mansfield, David Hunter and George McCall, as well as future Confederate General Isaac R. Trimble). He served in the United States Army continuously from his graduation to the Civil War, and was one of the oldest field-grade officers to serve on the battlefield in the conflict.
From 1825 to 1833, John J. Abercrombie served as adjutant in the 1st Infantry, and was made captain in 1836. He served in the Florida war, and was brevetted major for gallant conduct at the battle of Okeechobee. He was engaged in frontier duty in the west until the Mexican war. For gallantry at the battle of Monterey, where he was wounded, he received the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel. He was at the siege of Vera Cruz and at Cerro Gordo, and served in 1847 as aide-de-camp to General Patterson.
When the civil war broke out he was stationed in Minnesota and was one of the few full-rank Colonels in the US Regular Army, being in command of the 7th United States Regular Infantry regiment.
On August 31, 1861 he was commissioned Brigadier General, US Volunteers and was assigned command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps in the Army of the Potomac. He took part in the Shenandoah campaign and was in command at the action of Falling Waters. He served through the peninsular campaign as brigadier-general of volunteers, was
Brigadier General John J. Abercrombie
