Granville O. Haller - Civil War and Later Career

Civil War and Later Career

After the Civil War started, Haller commanded George B. McClellan's headquarters guard during the Peninsula Campaign and again in the Maryland Campaign. In May 1863, he returned to his native York to recover from illness contracted in the field. In June, Maj. Gen. Darius N. Couch appointed Haller to command the defenses of Adams and York counties in south-central Pennsylvania. During the Gettysburg Campaign, Haller retreated from Gettysburg to Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, where his militia and that of Col. Jacob G. Frick burned the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge to prevent passage over the Susquehanna River by a Confederate brigade under John B. Gordon.

Accused by naval officer Lt. Clark Henry Wells of disloyal conduct and sentiments after the Battle of Fredericksburg, Haller was dismissed from the service in July 1863. He eventually returned to the American West and became prominent in Seattle business and industry. Congressional friends convinced the Army in 1873 to convene a court of inquiry, which exonerated him. President Rutherford B. Hayes helped him secure the regular army rank of colonel. Haller built a mansion in Seattle's fashionable First Hill neighborhood. After his death at the age of 78, he was buried in Seattle's Lake View Cemetery.

Haller Lake in Seattle is named for Haller's son, Theodore Haller.