T.B.W. Stockton

Thomas Baylis Whitmarsh Stockton (June 18, 1805 – December 9, 1890) was an American Colonel and Engineer who commanded the 16th Michigan Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War as well as being a major contributor to the infrastructure of Michigan and the original owner of The Stockton House at Flint, Michigan.

Biography Childhood Thomas was born on June 18, 1805, on Walton, New York as the final child of Charles and Elizabeth Stockton however his mother died at childbirth and his father refused to raise him, leaving him adopted by one of his mother's sisters, living with Dr. and Mrs. T. B. Whitmarsh until when Thomas left for the United States Military Academy in 1822.

Early military career and engineering Stockton graduated from the military academy in 1827 and was made a Brevet Second Lieutenant and in the next year, he was assigned to Fort Snelling. While stationed there he met Maria Garland Smith who would marry him in 1830 at Prairie du Chien, Michigan Territory. Due to Stockton's inheritance of land from his father-in-law in Flint, he resigned from the United States Army in 1836 The regiment would first see action in the Siege of Yorktown and was soon assigned to the V Corps, as part of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division. On June that year, Stockton was captured along with most of his regiment at the Battle of Gaines' Mill. He would be held as a prisoner of war at Libby Prison until he was released in a prisoner exchange in August. Stockton would continue to lead it during the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville before resigning in May 1863 due to his injuries and ill health.

Later years When Stockton returned to Flint, he opened up several businesses and began to modernize the downtown district. He would also construct the Stockton House in 1872 which would later become a hospital, a nursing home, and finally a museum and a Michigan Historic Site. Stockton would retire sometime in the 1880s before dying on December 9, 1890.