William Henry Acker

William Henry Acker
Acker c. 1861
5th Adjutant General of Minnesota
In office
April 13, 1860 – April 24, 1861
Preceded byAlexander C. Jones
Succeeded byJohn B. Sanborn
Personal details
Born(1833-12-05)December 5, 1833
Clyde, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 7, 1862(1862-04-07) (aged 28)
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, U.S.
Resting placeOakland Cemetery
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
RelationsEdmund Rice (brother-in-law)
Henry M. Rice (brother-in-law)
ParentHenry Acker (father)
NicknameBilly
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/serviceMinnesota Militia
Union Army
Years of service
1856–1862
Rank Brigadier General (1860–1861)
Captain (1861–1862)
Unit1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment
16th Infantry Regiment
CommandsCompany C, 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment
16th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars

William Henry Acker (December 5, 1833 – April 7, 1862) was an American lawyer and military officer who served as the fifth Adjutant General of Minnesota. Acker is considered an early reformer of the Minnesota National Guard due to his role in expanding and improving the role of the Minnesota state militia during his term as Adjutant General. Acker later served in the American Civil War where he was killed in action at the Battle of Shiloh.

Early life and education

Acker was born on December 5, 1833, in Clyde, New York, he was the son of Henry Acker and Amanda Pope.:52:396 Acker's family moved to Jackson County, Michigan where Acker's father served in the Michigan House of Representatives and later the Minnesota House of Representatives.:396 Acker received a commercial education before working in the mercantile trade in Michgan.:53

Acker moved to Minnesota Territory in the spring of 1854 where he worked as a law clerk for William Rainey Marshall.:53 Acker later worked for his brother-in-law Edmund Rice and his law firm Rice, Hollinshead & Becker.:53

Military career and death

Minnesota Pioneer Guard

In 1856, Acker organized the Pioneer Guard company of Minnesota militia.:53 Acker originally served as the militia's fourth Sergeant and drill instructor before being unanimously elected as the militia's Captain and leader in July 1858.:53

On March 19, 1860, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey appointed Acker as the Adjutant General of Minnesota with the rank of Brigadier General.:53:396 Acker pushed heavily for reforms within Minnesota's militia system and helped to organized three new companies of militia in the state by 1860.:54

At the outbreak of the American Civil War Acker resigned from his appointment as Adjutant General and assisted in organizing the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment for service in the Union Army.:12 Acker was unanimously elected as the Captain of Company C of the 1st Minnesota Infantry.:305 Acker was wounded in the head by buckshot during the First Battle of Bull Run on April 21, 1861.:58

Following the First Battle of Bull Run, Acker refused his commission in the 1st Minnesota, preferring instead to serve in the Regular Army.:305 Acker was commissioned as the Captain in the 16th Infantry Regiment on August 8, 1861. Acker was killed in action during the Battle of Shiloh on April 7, 1862, while leading his company. Acker was originally buried at the battlefield in Shiloh, his remains were later transported back to Saint Paul and were buried at Oakland Cemetery.:396

An editorial from May 6, 1862, by St. Paul Pioneer Press noted the following on Acker's death:

"No casualty of the war has caused more unaffected sorrow to the citizens of St. Paul than the death of Captain WILLIAM HENRY ACKER; and from the time the startling news was made public there has been general desire to honor his memory".:61

Personal life

Acker's sister Anna Maria Acker was married to Minnesota politician Edmund Rice, the brother of Henry M. Rice.:53

Acker was a personal friend and confidant of Elmer E. Ellsworth, both shared an interest in military drill and militia reform in their respective states in the years leading up to the American Civil War.:55

Legacy

Acker Post No. 21 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Saint Paul, Minnesota was named in honor of Acker. The post was founded on January 6, 1870, by Henry A. Castle.:8

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Castle, Henry A. (1890). History of Acker Post No. 21, G.A.R. St. Paul, Minn. Prepared and Read on its 20th Anniversary, April 10, 1890; Together With A Complete Roster of the Post and a Memoir of Capt. Wm. H. Acker (PDF). St. Paul: H. L. Collins Company.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Williams, J. Fletcher (1876). A History of the City of Saint Paul, and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota. Saint Paul: Society. pp. 396.
  3. 1 2 3 Moe, Richard (2001). The last full measure: the life and death of the First Minnesota Volunteers. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87351-406-8.
  4. 1 2 3 Van Cleeve, Horatio P. (1866). Annual Report of the Adjutant General, of the State of Minnesota, for the Year Ending December 1, 1866, and of the Military Forces of the State from 1861 to 1866. Saint Paul: Pioneer Printing Company. pp. 71.
  5. 1 2 "CAPT. ACKER'S DEATH". St. Paul Pioneer Press. July 23, 1896. p. 5. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  6. ↑ Gordon, Lesley J. (2021). "'Novices in Warfare': Elmer E. Ellsworth and Militia Reform on the Eve of Civil War". Journal of the Civil War Era. 11 (2): 194–223 – via JSTOR.