(1841 - 1918)
Home State: Ohio
Command Billet: Company Commander
Branch of Service: Infantry
He enlisted and served as a Private in the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry April - July 1861, then accepted appointment as 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th US Infantry in October.
On the Campaign
He was in command of Company C of the 4th at Antietam.
The rest of the War
He was made 1st Lieutenant after Antietam, in November 1862. He took a commission as Major (16 Aug 1864) in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery, and was made Lieutenant Colonel at Wars' end (1 June 1865). He mustered out of the Volunteer service 26 August, and was appointed Captain in the 4th US Infantry on 23 Sept 1865.
After the War
He was assigned to the 23rd Infantry 31 Dec 1870, and served with them in the West for more than 20 years until he was promoted to Major 15 Jan 1891 and returned in that rank to the 4th Infantry. He had commanded the Indian Scouts under Brigadier General George Crook in the Yellowstone and Big Horn Expeditions of 1876. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 8th Infantry 1 Mar 1894, then Colonel of the 17th US in the Spanish-American War (8 Aug 1898). A month later he transferred back to the 8th US. He had a commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers (4 May 1898 - 12 Apr 1899, 20 Jan 1900) and served in command of the Department of Alaska. He was appointed Brigadier General, USA on 6 Feb 1901. He had stateside duty including command at Vancouver, Washington, then completed his career in command of the Department of Luzon in the Philippines from 1903-1905. He retired on 8 October 1905.
During his long service he was awarded six brevets: Captain (17 Sept 1862) for Antietam, Major (2 Apr 1865) for Petersburg, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel of Volunteers (26 Mar 1865) for the attack on Ft Stedman, Lieutenant Colonel (27 Feb 1890) for actions against Indians at Turret Mountain, Arizona 27 Mar 1873 and Diamond Butte, Arizona 22 Apr 1873, and Colonel (27 Feb 1890) for "action against Indians near Pinal, Arizona 8 Mar 1874" and "distinguished service during the campaign against Indians in Arizona in 1874".
References & notes
The troopship USS General George M. Randall (AP-115), in service from 1944-1962, was named in his honor. [images, history].
Service information above from Heitman1, command role from Reese2. His photograph is in the collection of the US Army Military History Institute (USAMHI), and was digitized and posted online by the reenactors of Co. K, 4th US. His gravesite is online from find-a-grave,
08/10/1841; Conneaut, OH
06/14/1918 Denver, CO; burial in Oak Hill Cemetery, Janesville (Rock County), WI
1 Heitman, Francis Bernard, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army 1789-1903, 2 volumes, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1903, pg. 814 [AotW citation 865]
2 Reese, Timothy J., Sykes' Regular Infantry Division, 1861-1864: A History of Regular United States Infantry Operations in the Civil War's Eastern Theater, Jefferson (NC): McFarland&Company, Inc., 1990, pg. 386 [AotW citation 866]