Theophilus Hunter Holmes

The son of a North Carolina governor, Theophilus Hunter Holmes graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1829 and served on the frontier during the Trail of Tears. He fought in the Second Seminole War and in the U.S.-Mexican War. In 1859, he became the U.S. Army's chief recruiting officer and was assigned to Governors Island at New York City. Only days before resigning from the U.S. Army, he helped organize the naval expedition sent to relieve Fort Sumter from the Confederacy's blocka