Editing James B. Weaver (section)

==Civil War==
[[File:Lt. James B. Weaver.png|thumb|left|Lieutenant James B. Weaver]]

After the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Battle of Fort Sumter|attack on Fort Sumter]], Lincoln called for 75,000 men to join the [[Union Army]].{{sfn|McPherson|1988|p=274}} Weaver enlisted in what became Company{{spaces}}G of the [[2nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], and was elected the [[Company (military unit)|company's]] [[first lieutenant]].{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=35}} The 2nd Iowa, commanded by [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Samuel Ryan Curtis]], a former Congressman, was ordered to Missouri in June 1861 to secure railroad lines in that [[border states (American Civil War)|border state]].{{sfn|Haynes|1919|p=27}} Weaver's unit spent that summer in northern Missouri and did not see action.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=36}} Meanwhile Clara gave birth to the couple's second child and first son, named James Bellamy Weaver after his father and Bellamy Storer.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=24}}

Weaver's first chance at action came in February 1862, when the 2nd Iowa joined [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s army outside the Confederate [[Battle of Fort Donelson|Fort Donelson]] in Tennessee.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=39}} Weaver's company was in the thick of the fight, which he described as a "holocaust to the demon of battles",{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=39}} and he took a minor wound in the arm.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=39}} The rebels surrendered the next day, the most important Union victory of the war to date.{{sfn|McPherson|1988|p=402}} The 2nd Iowa next joined other units in the area at [[Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee]], to mass for a major assault deeper into the South.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=40}} Confederate forces met them there, in the [[Battle of Shiloh]]. Weaver's regiment was in the center of the Union lines, in the area later known as the "hornets' nest", and retreated amid fierce fighting.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=40}} The next day, the Union forces turned the tide and forced the rebels off the field in what Weaver called a "perfect rout".{{sfn|Haynes|1919|p=41}} The carnage at Shiloh (some 20,000 killed and wounded on both sides) was on a scale never before seen in American warfare, and both sides learned that the war would end neither quickly nor easily.{{sfn|McPherson|1988|pp=413–414}}

After Shiloh, Weaver and the 2nd Iowa slowly advanced to [[Corinth, Mississippi]], where he was promoted to [[Major (United States)|major]].{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=42}} Rebel forces attacked the Union armies there in the [[Second Battle of Corinth]], where Weaver's courage in that Union victory convinced his superiors to promote him to colonel after the regiment's commanding officer was killed.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=43}} After Corinth, Weaver's unit took up garrison duty in northern Mississippi.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=44}} In the summer of 1863 they were redeployed to the Tennessee–Alabama border, again on occupation duty around [[Pulaski, Tennessee]].{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|pp=46–47}} They rejoined the action at the [[Battle of Resaca]], a part of the [[Atlanta Campaign]], then continued with [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[William Tecumseh Sherman]]'s [[Sherman's March to the Sea|march through Georgia]] to the sea in 1864.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|pp=46–47}} Weaver's enlistment ended in May 1864, and he returned to his family in Iowa.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|pp=46–47}} On October 12, 1864, he would be selected to lead a local militia in [[Davis County, Iowa|Davis County]] after it was reported that Confederate partisans were actively raiding the area. He remained in command of the militia until November 7 when the partisans surrendered.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.historyofdavisco00iowa/?st=image&r=-1.161,-0.196,3.322,1.725,0 | title=History of Davis County, Iowa: Containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of many of its leading citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of Iowa and the Northwest | publisher=State Historical Company }}</ref>  After the war ended Weaver received a promotion to [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] brigadier general, backdated to March 13, 1865.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=50}}{{efn|Weaver was [[List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)|one of many Union officers]] granted retroactive brevet promotions after the war ended as a reward for their service. Weaver was nominated for the appointment, to rank from March 13, 1865, by President [[Andrew Johnson]] on February 24, 1866, and the [[United States Senate]] confirmed the appointment on April 10, 1866.<ref>Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}. p. 760.</ref>}}