Everett Peabody, a native of Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard University in 1849 at the age of 18. By the time of the Civil War, he was a railroad engineer living in St. Joseph, Missouri.

In June 1861 Peabody was commissioned a major in Peabody’s Independent Reserve Corps Infantry; when his battalion was combined with other units to form the 13th Regiment Missouri Infantry, Peabody was promoted to colonel and commander on September 1, 1861; the regiment battled General Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard at Lexington before being forced to surrender on September 20, 1861. Peabody was taken prisoner and paroled on September 25, 1861.

After their parole, Peabody’s men and those of Majors VanHorn and Berry were reorganized as the 25th Missouri Infantry Volunteers.

In April 1862, Peabody was placed in command of a brigade of Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s army, then encamped at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. Alarmed by rumors of a Confederate advance on the morning of April 6, Peabody sent a portion of his brigade to investigate. The rumors were true. As the Battle of Shiloh began, Peabody’s men collided with General Albert Sidney Johnston’s Confederate Army of the Mississippi. Peabody was wounded four times that morning, the last wound proving fatal.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30677