Barstow, Simon Forrester

Simon Forrester Barstow, born on Dec. 16, 1817 to a prominent Salem family. His mother Nancy was cousin to Nathaniel Hawthorne and he was named after her father Capt. Simon Forrester. He graduated from Harvard Law School and established a successful legal practice.

In the civil war, he rendered service predominately on the staffs of various general officers. Beginning as a Volunteer Aide-de Camp to Brigadier General Frederick W. Lander in August of 1861 he had additional service as an Assistant Adjutant General on the staffs of such generals as Irvin McDowell and George G. Meade. He served thought out the war and was acknowledged for his competent service with several brevets. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers, for "faithful and meritorious services." On the conclusion of the war, Barstow continued in the United States Army and made it a career. He was honorably retired as a Captain in 1879.