Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert

Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert (July 1, 1833 – August 29, 1880) was a career United States Army officer, a Union Army General commanding both infantry and cavalry forces in the American Civil War, and a U.S. diplomat.

Early life Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan and his generals in front of Sheridan's tent, 1864. Left to right: Henry E. Davies, David McM. Gregg, Sheridan, Wesley Merritt, Alfred Torbert, and James H. Wilson.

Union cavalry general Alfred T. A. Torbert (seated center holding saber in front of him) and staff at their headquarters during the Shenandoah Valley campaign under Sheridan in 1864.

Torbert was born in Georgetown, Delaware. He graduated 21st in a class of 34 from the United States Military Academy in 1855 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment. His West Point roommate was William B. Hazen.

On October 11, 1865, Tobert was elected as a companion of the Commandery of Pennsylvania of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS). He was assigned MOLLUS insignia number 52.

Postbellum career After the war, Torbert served in a number of diplomatic posts: as U.S. Consul to El Salvador in 1869, U.S. Consul General in Havana in 1871, and U.S. Consul General in Paris in 1873.

On August 29, 1880, while en route to Mexico aboard the steamship Vera Cruz, Torbert was washed off the deck during a violent hurricane off the coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral. Accounts of his death indicate he had made it to shore alive, over 20 hours after the ship sank, but drowned in the surf shortly thereafter. His body was recovered August 31, 1880 and buried in Daytona the next day. By September 23, he was disinterred and taken first to New York City, then to Philadelphia and then to his final resting place in the Avenue Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, Milford, Delaware, escorted by military units along the way. Memorial services were held in each of those three cities where, with hundreds attending, he was honored by officials from the U.S. government, military, and dignitaries from foreign countries.

In memoriam In 2008, a statue honoring General Torbert was erected in Milford.