Ferdinand Van Derveer

Who was Ferdinand Van Derveer?

Ferdinand Van Derveer was a lawyer and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Van Derveer was born in Middletown, Ohio. He was educated at Farmer's College, studied law, passed his bar exam and established his practice in Middletown. However, when the Mexican-American War erupted, he left his law office and enlisted in the military as a private in the 1st Ohio Volunteers. By the end of the war, he had risen to the rank of captain and commanded an assaulting column at the Battle of Monterey. While his regiment was being mustered out Van Derveer served as a second to Capt. Carr B. White in a duel with Lt. Fyffe over White's promotion to captain. Van Derveer returned home after the war and resumed his legal career. He served for a number of years as the Sheriff of Butler County, Ohio.

When the Civil War began, Van Derveer organized the 35th Ohio Infantry and became its first colonel. It originally consisted of 921 men, 750 of whom came from Butler County. Before disbanding in September 1864, the 35th Ohio Infantry fought at Mill Springs, Perryville, Stones River, Missionary Ridge, and Chickamauga, during which nearly half the men in the regiment were killed or wounded. In 1864, Van Derveer was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers and assigned to the IV Corps in Alabama in January 1865.