Graham was born in Washington, D.C., the son of ColonelJames Duncan Graham and Charlotte Meade. His uncle and namesake, William Montrose Graham, was killed during the Mexican–American War while commanding the 11th U.S. Infantry at Molino del Rey. The junior Graham was commissioned into the 1st Regiment of Artillery in 1855, and earned two rapid promotions to captain with the outbreak of the Civil War. During the war, he was cited for gallantry during the Peninsula Campaign, for actions at Antietam, and for his actions at Gettysburg. Graham earned multiple brevet promotions for these actions, including major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel. His unit, 1st U.S. Light Artillery, Battery K, was, from 1863, part of the famed U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade. Graham served with the Regular Army until April 1865, when he accepted a commission as colonel of the 2nd District of Columbia Infantry Regiment. Awarded his final brevet of the war, to brigadier general in the Regular Army, he mustered out of the volunteers in September and returned to the regular service. He remained in the Army after the war, serving with the 4th and 5th Artillery, rising to the rank of brigadier general in the Regular Army. At the start of the Spanish–American War in May 1898, he was promoted to major general of U.S. Volunteers. After brief service in command of the Second Army Corps at Camp Alger and Camp Meade, he retired from the Regular Army on his 64th birthday, and was honorably mustered out of the volunteers on November 30, 1898. In 1898 he became a companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. He died in Wardour, Maryland, on January 16, 1916, and was buried at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Personal
Graham married Mary Brewerton Ricketts, daughter of Major General James Brewerton Ricketts, in 1860 at Fortress Monroe, VA. Mary was born Aroostine in honor of her Native American heritage and Aroostook County birth. Her family had her name legally changed to Mary due to her Father’s service in the Indian Wars. Graham and Mary AKA Aroostine had six children. They included Mary Ricketts Graham, who married Vice Admiral Guy Hamilton Burrage; Meeta Campbell Graham, who married Carroll Storrs Alden, head of the English, History and Government Departments at the US Naval Academy and author of several books about US naval history; Harriet Pierce Graham, who married Rear Admiral Archibald Henderson Scales, Superintendent of the US Naval Academy; and Lieut William Montrose Graham.
