Everett Peabody

Everett Peabody (June 13, 1830 – April 6, 1862) was a Harvard graduate and civil engineer working for various railroads in Massachusetts and Missouri. He is best remembered for his service as a colonel in the Union army during the Civil War, in particular his role in the Battle of Shiloh. Biography Peabody was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1830. He first attended Burlington College before transferring to and graduating from Harvard University in 1849. He started working in the railroad industry in Massachusetts before taking a position with the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. This new job brought him to reside in St. Joseph, Missouri. By 1859, he was chief engineer of Platte County Railroad. Civil War When the Civil War began Peabody, living in the highly divided state of Missouri, made his devotion to the Union known. He was first appointed major in the 13th Missouri Volunteer Regiment and then on September 1, 1861 he was appointed colonel of the regiment. The regiment was posted to garrison duty at Lexington, Missouri. There Colonel Peabody took an active part in the First Battle of Lexington where he was hit by a spent bullet in the chest. Painful, but not serious, Peabody was being carried off the field on a stretcher when he was hit a second time in the foot. The combination of the two wounds would incapacitate him for several weeks. Peabody and the rest of the garrison were taken prisoner after the Union surrender on September 20, 1861. He was officially exchanged in December 1861. Due to his regiment's capture it was removed from the official roster of Missouri regiments and another "13th Missouri" had meanwhile been created in its place. Peabody went about rebuilding his regiment which was now designated the 25th Missouri. Shiloh In March, 1862, Peabody and the 25th Missouri were ordered to join the Army of the Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing as part of the Sixth Division under Brig. Gen. Benjamin Prentiss. Being the ranking officer Peabody assumed command of the 1st Brigade of almost entirely green recruits (Peabody being an exception as a combat veteran at Lexington).