Editing Adam Jacoby Slemmer

{{Infobox Biography
| subject_name   =Adam Jacoby Slemmer
| image_name     =Slemmer.jpg
| image_size     =225px
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| date_of_birth  =[[January 24]], [[1828]]
| place_of_birth =Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
| date_of_death  =[[October 7]], [[1868]]
| place_of_death =Fort Laramie, Wyoming
| occupation     =United States Army officer
| religion       =
| spouse         =
| parents        =
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}}
'''Adam Jacoby Slemmer''' was a United States Army officer known for his decision at the outbreak of the [[Civil War]] in [[1861]] to consolidate Union troops at [[Fort Pickens]] and mount a defense. His decision allowed the Union to effectively control Pensacola's valuable harbor for the duration of the war.

==Early life==
Slemmer was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Upon his graduation in [[1850]] from the [[Wikipedia:United States Military Academy|United States Military Academy]] at West Point, New York, Slemmer was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was assigned to duty with the First United States Artillery near Tampa Bay, Florida. He also served at Fort Yuma, California and Fort Moultrie, California before returning to West Point as an instructor in [[1855]].<ref name="auge">Auge, Moses (1879). ''Lives of the Eminent Dead: and Biographical Notices of Prominent Living Citizens of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.''</ref>

In [[1860]], Slemmer was ordered to Florida.

==[[Civil War]]==
===At Pensacola===
In January 1861, at the onset of the [[Civil War]], then-First Lieutenant Slemmer was stationed with Company G, 1st United States Artillery at [[Barrancas Barracks]], near [[Fort Barrancas]]. The company's commanding officer, Captain [[Wikipedia:John H. Winder|John H. Winder]], as well as his executive officer, First Lieutenant A. R. Eddy, were absent on leave, leaving First Lieutenant Slemmer in command.<ref name="withslemmer">J. H. Gilman. "With Slemmer in Pensacola Harbor." ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War''. Century Company, 1887.</ref> On [[January 10]], Florida became the third state to secede from the Union. Shortly thereafter, Lieutenant Slemmer decided to abandon Forts Barrancas and [[Fort McRee|McRee]] and consolidate Union forces at [[Fort Pickens]]. Slemmer explained his decision as strategically necessary:
{{cquote|I called on Commodore [[James Armstrong|[James] Armstrong]] (Union Commanding Officer of the [[Navy Yard]]) ... He had received orders to cooperate with me.  We decided that with our limited means of defense we could hold but one fort, and that should be [[Fort Pickens]], as it commanded completely the harbor and the forts and also the navy yard.|20px|20px|"Pensacola in the Civil War." ''Florida Historical Quarterly'', Vol. IX, No. 2, 1978.}}

Slemmer's men destroyed over 20,000 pounds of gunpowder at Fort McRee, spiked the guns at Fort Barrancas, and evacuated 51 soldiers and 30 sailors to Fort Pickens.<ref name="PICW">"Pensacola in the Civil War." ''Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. IX, No. 2, 1978.</ref> On [[January 12]], rebel troops from Alabama and Florida occupied the Navy Yard and Forts Barrancas and McRee. Lt. Slemmer thereafter held Fort Pickens until reinforcements arrived in April, refusing three demands for surrender from rebel Colonel [[William H. Chase]]. Slemmer's decision to hold Fort Pickens prevented the Confederacy from taking advantage of Pensacola's excellent harbor.

Slemmer was lauded as a hero in the North, and after being relieved in April 1861 he attended receptions in his honor in New York and Philadelphia. In May, he was promoted two full grades, to Major.<ref name="auge" />

===Remainder of the war===
Slemmer was badly injured in the [[Wikipedia:Battle of Stones River|Battle of Stones River]] in December 1862 but recovered.<ref name="auge" />

==Postbellum life and death==
After the war, Slemmer was brevetted a brigadier general. He died of typhoid fever while in command of [[Wikipedia:Fort Laramie National Historic Site|Fort Laramie]] in Wyoming.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Union officers|Slemmer, Adam Jacoby]]