Although not fully identified, it is likely that Rosecrans was William Starke Rosecrans, officer in the U.S. Army and major general in the Union Army. William Starke Rosecrans was born on September 6, 1819 and died on March 11, 1898. He was an inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, and politician, as well as an officer in the U.S. Army and major general in the Union Army.

A few days after Fort Sumter fell, Rosecrans offered his services and was appointed as a volunteer aide-de-camp in Ohio. He was later promoted to the rank of colonel and then promoted to brigadier general in the regular army on May 16, 1861. In May of 1862, he received the command of two divisions of the Army of the Mississippi and then received command of the entire army in June. In October, he was given command of XIV Corps, which later joined his command of the Department of Cumberland. The two armies became one and were renamed the Army of the Cumberland. Rosecrans was later promoted to major general, becoming retroactive to March 21, 1862.

In late December, Rosecrans began his march against Bragg's Army of Tennessee in the battle now known as the Battle of Stones River. Bragg withdrew his army to Tullahoma, effectively ceding control of Middle Tennessee. The Tullahoma Campaign occurred from June 24 to July 3, 1863 and forced Bragg to retreat to Chattanooga. The Confederate government then merged the Department of East Tennessee with Bragg's department of Tennessee, thus extending his command responsibilities to the Knoxville area. With the bulk of Rosecrans' army crossing Chattanooga by September 4, Bragg decided to evacuate the city and was out by September 8. On September 19, Rosecrans engaged in the Battle of Chickamauga with Bragg and ended up losing, effectively damaging his military career. Rosecrans was transferred to the Department of Missouri for the year of 1864. He was also considered as a vice presidential running mate for Abraham Lincoln in the same year.

Rosecrans got out of volunteer service in January 1866, and in June, was nominated by President Johnson to be appointed as brevet major general in the regular army, to rank from March 13, 1865. His rank was confirmed in late July. Rosecrans resigned from the regular army in March 1867. He was elected to congress in 1880, representing California, and was reelected in 1882. He did not run for reelection in 1884. By an act of Congress in February 1889, Rosecrans was re-appointed a brigadier general in the regualr army and was then placed on the retired list in March. From 1885 to 1893, he served as the Register of the Treasury under President Cleveland. On March 11, 1898, he died at his home in California. In 1908, his remains were moved to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.