McPherson, James

McPherson, James (Birdseye)

(1828–64) soldier; born in Sandusky County, Ohio. First in his class at West Point (1853), he served with the Corps of Engineers. He joined Gen. Ulysses Grant's staff as chief engineer in the Tennessee campaign (1862), then commanded successively a division, a corps, and an army in the western campaigns of 1862–64. Regarded as one of the more aggressive of the Union generals, he was killed during the advance on Atlanta on July 22, 1864.