Samuel Beckley Holabird was born on June 16, 1826, in Canaan, Connecticut, to Horatio Nelson Holabird and Amanda Beckley. He attended school in Winchester, Connecticut, and Amenia, New York, before enrolling at the United States Military Academy. He graduated in 1849 and received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 1^st United States Infantry.

 

He married Mary Grant around 1849, and they had at least three children: Mary, born around 1852; William, born around 1854; and Agnes, born around 1864. Holabird spent most of the 1850s stationed in Texas, and he earned a promotion to 1^st lieutenant in May 1855. He served as the adjutant of the United States Military Academy from 1859 until 1861, and he was promoted to captain in May 1861. By 1860, he owned $4,000 of real estate and $1,200 of personal property.

 

He served as a quartermaster during the Civil War. He was stationed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1861, then in Frederick, Maryland, from August 1861 until July 1862. He served with the Army of the Potomac during the Maryland campaign, and he became chief quartermaster of the Department of the Gulf in December 1862. He fell ill during the summer of 1863, and the army placed him on sick leave. During his recovery, he translated Antoine-Henri Jomini’s Treatise on Grand Military Operations into English. He returned to duty in October 1865 and spent the next five months as chief quartermaster of the Department of Louisiana.

 

Holabird served as chief quartermaster of the Department of Dakota from March 1867 until May 1872, then as chief quartermaster of the Department of Texas from June 1872 until August 1875. He spent the next three years stationed in Missouri, and he became the army’s Assistant Quartermaster General in 1879. He was promoted to Quartermaster General in July 1883, and he held the position until he retired from the army in June 1890. He then settled in Evanston, Illinois, before moving to Washington, D.C. He died there on February 3, 1907.

 

Image: Samuel Beckley Holabird (courtesy Wikicommons)

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