Rosecrans, William Starke (1819-1898), was a Union general in the American Civil War (1861-1865). He commanded forces in western Virginia in 1861, and at Corinth and Luka, Mississippi, in 1862. He became commander of the Army of the Cumberland in 1862. He fought in the Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro), and later forced the Confederates out of Chattanooga. But he was defeated at Chickamauga in 1863. He was then assigned command of the Department of the Missouri.
Rosecrans was born in Delaware County, Ohio, on Sept. 6, 1819. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1842. He was minister to Mexico in 1868 and represented California in Congress from 1881 to 1885. He died on March 11, 1898.
