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Union Officers
George G. Meade
George Gordon Meade was born December 31, 1815, in Cadiz, Spain. His father,
a wealthy American merchant, was financially ruined by his adherence to the cause of Spain
during the Napoleonic wars. While his sisters and brothers married into high stations both
in the North and South, Meade was found an appointment to West Point.
After preparatory work at Mount Hope Institution in Baltimore, he entered the Military
Academy in 1831 and was graduated four years later, ranking nineteenth in a class of
fifty-six members. At this time he had no desire to remain in the army, and after some
service in Florida and at the Watertown (Massachusetts) Arsenal, he resigned in 1836 to
pursue a career in civil engineering. In 1842, however, he sought restoration to the army
and on May 19 was appointed a second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers.
From then until 1861, with an interlude of Mexican War service, Meade was continuously
employed as a military engineer in the construction of lighthouses and breakwaters and in
coastal and geodetic survey work. During the war with Mexico he was present at Palo Alto,
Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey and was awarded the brevet of first lieutenant.
Soon after the beginning of the Civil War on August 31, 1861, Meade, by then a captain in
his corps, was made a brigadier general of volunteers at the instance of Governor Andrew
G. Curtin of Pennsylvania and was given command of one of the three Pennsylvania brigades
then organized. After a winter spent in work on the Washington defenses, he joined George
B. McClellan on the Peninsula in June and fought during the Seven Days battles at
Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, and Glendale where he was severely wounded in two places
almost simultaneously. Partially recovered, he led his brigade in Irvin McDowelI's corps
at Second Manassas; at South Mountain and Sharpsburg he commanded a division in Hooker's I
Corps, succeeding John F. Reynolds who had been ordered to Harrisburg to enlist and train
men for defense against the threatened invasion of the state. At Fredericksburg Reynolds
commanded the I Corps and Meade its 3rd Division in Franklin's "Left Grand
Division." A few days later Meade was appointed to the command of the V Corps which
he led at Chancellorsville.
After this Federal debacle the administration decided not to risk another battle under
Joseph Hooker, who had replaced Ambrose E. Burnside after Fredericksburg. Meade was given
command of the Army of the Potomac on June 28, 1863, after Reynolds had taken himself out
of competition for the position, Darius N. Couch had been transferred at his own request,
and John Sedgwick and Henry W. Slocum had agreed that they would willingly serve under
their junior. Meade was immediately confronted with Robert E. Lee's ragged and hungry'
legions who were fanned out over the Pennsylvania countryside. In the ensuing Gettysburg
campaign, the Army of the Potomac prevailed under his leadership even though on the first
day Reynolds was killed and the I and XI Corps were badly mauled and driven through the
town to the heights beyond. On July 2 and 3 successive Confederate assaults on the right,
left, and center were repulsed with the infliction of frightful losses on attackers and
attacked alike. Nevertheless, the decimated Southerners were compelled to retire toward
the Potomac on July 5; they crossed the river on the night of July 13. That they were
permitted to "escape" brought a torrent of criticism upon the head of Meade,
including a message from Henry W. Halleck indicating President Lincoln's
"dissatisfaction." Meade at once offered to resign, but the administration beat
a hasty retreat, and he was appointed a brigadier general in the Regular Army on July 7,
1863, to rank from July 3. He was awarded the thanks of Congress by resolution the
following January 28.
In the next six months there occurred in the eastern theater of war only the rather
indecisive campaigns of Bristoe Station and Mine Run - neither showered any particular
glory on either Meade or Lee. The following spring U. S. Grant, newly appointed lieutenant
general and general-in-chief, elected to make his headquarters with the Army of the
Potomac. Since Burnside had been restored to the command of his old IX Corps, which was to
operate with the Army of the Potomac, an awkward arrangement developed: Grant gave orders
to Meade governing the movements of his army but separately to Burnside, who ranked Meade
by seniority, although he was only a corps commander. From this time until Lee's surrender
at Appomattox Court House, Meade was Grant's subordinate, although nominally in command of
the Army of the Potomac until the end. He fought the army through the Wilderness,
Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the long months in front of Petersburg. He was finally
rewarded with the grade of major general, U. S. Army, after both W. T. Sherman and Philip
Sheridan, the latter his subordinate, had been appointed.
At the close of the war he was assigned, successively, to the command of departments and
divisions in the East and South and was in charge of the Military Division of the
Atlantic, headquarters at Philadelphia when he died on November 6, 1872, from pneumonia.
He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.
William Tecumseh Sherman
He never commanded in a major Union victory and his military career had
repeated ups and downs, but William T. Sherman is the second best known of Northern
commanders. His father had died when he was nine years old, and Sherman was raised by
Senator Thomas Ewing and eventually married into the family. Through the influence of his
patron, he obtained an appointment to West Point. Only five cadets of the class of 1840
graduated ahead of him, and he was appointed to the artillery. He received a brevet for
his services in California during the Mexican War but resigned in 1853 as a captain and
commissary officer.
The years until the Civil War were not filled with success. Living in California and
Kansas, he failed in banking and the law. In 1859 he seemed to have found his niche as the
superintendent of a military academy which is now Louisiana State University. However, he
resigned this post upon the secession of the state and went to St. Louis as head of a
streetcar company and then volunteered for the Union army.
His assignments included: colonel, 13th Infantry (May 14, 1861); commanding 3rd Brigade,
1st Division, Army of Northeastern Virginia June-August 17, 1861); brigadier general, USV
(August 7, 186 1, to rank from May 17); commanding brigade, Division of the Potomac
(August 17-28, 1861); second-in-command, Department of the Cumberland (August 28 - October
8, 1861); commanding the department (October 8 - November 9, 1861); commanding District of
Cairo, Department of the Missouri (February 14 - March 1, 1862); commanding 5th Division,
Army of the Tennessee (March 1 - July 21, 1862); major general, USV (May 1, 1862);
commanding 5th Division, District of Memphis, Army of the Tennessee July 21 - September
24, 1862); commanding lst Division, District of Memphis, Army of the Tennessee (September
24-October 26, 1862); also commanding the district July 21 - October 26, 1862); commanding
District of Memphis, 13th Corps, Army of the Tennessee (October 24 - November 25, 1862);
commanding Yazoo Expedition, Army of the Tennessee (December 18, 1862 January 4, 1863);
commanding 2nd Corps, Army of the Mississippi January 4-12, 1863); commanding 15th Corps,
Army of the Tennessee January 12 - October 29, 1863); brigadier general, USA July 4,
1863); commanding Army and Department of the Tennessee (October 24, 1863 - March 26,
1864); commanding Military Division of the Mississippi (March 18, 1864 - June 27, 1865);
major general, USA (August 12, 1864); lieutenant general, USA July 25, 1866); general, USA
(March 4, 1869); and commander-in-chief, USA (March 8, 1869-November 1, 1883).
Appointed to the colonelcy of one of the regular army's newly authorized infantry
regiments, he led the brigade of volunteers of the lst Division which crossed Bull Run to
aid the 2nd and 3rd divisions after the attack on the enemy left had begun. Despite being
caught up in the route-he already had a low opinion of volunteers-he was named a brigadier
general the next month. Briefly commanding a brigade around Washington, he was then sent
to Kentucky as deputy to Robert Anderson. He soon succeeded the hero of Fort Sumter in
command of the department but got into trouble over his overestimates of the enemy
strength. The newspapers actually reported him as being insane.
Removed from command, he was given another chance by his friend Henry W. Halleck in
Missouri. But again, while inspecting troops in the central part of the state, he allowed
his overactive imagination to run away with him. During the campaign against Forts Henry
and Donelson he was stationed at Paducah, Kentucky and charged with forwarding
reinforcements to Grant. Forming a good working relationship with the future
commander-in-chief, Sherman offered to waive his seniority rights and take a command under
him.
Commanding a division, he was largely responsible for the poor state of preparedness at
Shiloh but redeemed himself during the defensive fighting of the first day and was
wounded. The next day his command played only a minor role. Praised by Grant, he was soon
made a major general of volunteers. He was instrumental in persuading Grant to remain in
the army during his difficulties with Halleck during the advance on Corinth, Mississippi.
During the early operations against Vicksburg he ordered a doomed assault at Chickasaw
Bluffs and a few days later was superseded by John A. McCiernand who accepted Sherman's
proposal to attack Arkansas Post. Grant initially criticized this movement as unnecessary
but declared it an important achievement when it succeeded and he learned that Sherman had
suggested it. Sherman's corps did little fighting in the advance on Vicksburg in May until
the disastrous assaults were made.
Following the fall of the river city he was named a brigadier general in the regular army
and led an expedition against Jackson. That fall he went to the relief of Chattanooga
where he failed to achieve his objectives in the assault against Tunnel Hill at the end of
Missionary Ridge. Nonetheless, he was highly praised by Grant who then sent him to relieve
the pressure on Burnside at Knoxville, Back in Mississippi, he led the Meridian expedition
and then succeeded Grant in overall command in the West, Facing Joseph E. Johnston's army,
he forced it all the way back to Atlanta where the Confederate was replaced by John B.
Hood who launched three disastrous attacks against the Union troops near the city.
Eventually taking possession of Atlanta, Sherman ordered the population evacuated and the
military value of the city destroyed. Sending George H. Thomas back to Middle Tennessee to
deal with Hood, he embarked on his March to the Sea.
Taking Savannah, he announced the city as a Christmas gift to the president and the
country. Marching north to aid Grant in the final drive against Richmond, he drove through
the Carolinas and accepted Johnston's surrender at Durham Station. His terms were
considered too liberal and touching upon political matters and they were disapproved by
Secretary of War Stanton. This led to a long-running feud between the two. Terms were
finally arranged on the basis of the Appomattox surrender.
During the last two campaigns Sherman had earned a reputation for destruction and for the
lack of discipline of his troops-his marauding stragglers being known as "Sherman's
bummers." Especially resented by Southerners was the burning of Columbia, South
Carolina. But there are indications that the fires had spread from cotton set ablaze by
the retreating Confederates under Wade Hampton.
On August 12, 1864, Sherman had been promoted to major general in the regular army, and he
vacated his volunteer commission. Also, he was the only man to twice receive the Thanks of
Congress during the Civil War-first for Chattanooga and second for Atlanta and Savannah.
After the war he remained in the service, and was promoted to full general, replacing
Grant as commander-in-chief. One of his most important contributions after the war, was
the establishment of the Command School at Ft. Leavenworth. He retire from the Army on
February 8, 1884.He was noted for his absolute refusal to be drawn into politics. In 1886
he made his home in New York City, where he died on February 14, 1891. He is buried in
Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis.
George Henry Thomas
Unlike his fellow Virginian Robert E. Lee, George Thomas remained loyal to
the Union. During Nat Turner's bloody slave revolt, Thomas had led his family to safety
and subsequently attended West Point (1840). A veteran of the Seminole and Mexican wars
and an artillery and cavalry instructor at the academy, he was a major in the 2nd, soon to
be the 5th Cavalry at the time of the secession crisis.
His war assignments included: lieutenant colonel, 2nd Cavalry (April 25, 1861); colonel,
2nd Cavalry (May 3, 1861); commanding 1st Brigade, in the 1st Division, Department of
Pennsylvania (June-July 25,1861), in the Department of the Shenandoah July 25-August 17,
1861), and in Banks' Division, Army of the Potomac (August 17-28, 1861); brigadier
general, USV (August 3,1861); commanding Camp Robinson, Ken., Department of the Ohio
(October-December 2, 1861); commanding lst Division, Army of the Ohio (December 2, 1861 -
April 30,1862 and June 10 - September 29,1862); major general, USV (April 25,1862);
commanding Army of the Tennessee (April 30-June 10, 1862); second in command of the Army
of the Ohio (September 29-October 24, 1862); commanding Centre, 14th Corps, Army of the
Cumberland (November 5, 1862 - January 9, 1863); commanding the corps January 9 - October
28,1863); brigadier general, USA (October 27,1863); commanding the army (October 28, 1863
- September 26, 1864); commanding Department of the Cumberland (October 28, 1863 June 27,
1865); and major general, USA (December 15, 1864).
After brief service in the East, Thomas was sent to Kentucky and commanded at Mill
Springs. After arriving too late for the fighting at Shiloh, he commanded the Army of the
Tennessee, replacing Grant who was shelved by being made second in command to Halleck.
After participating in the slow drive on Corinth, Thomas returned to Kentucky and fought
at Perryville and later at Stones River and in the Tullahoma Campaign. At Chickamauga,
after most of the army had fled the field, Thomas stubbornly held out on the second day at
Snodgrass Hill, earning the nickname "The Rock of Chickamauga."
After the defeat the army was besieged at Chattanooga, and Grant was promoted to overall
command in the West and sent with reinforcements. He was given duplicate orders, one
leaving General Rosecrans in command of the Army of the Cumberland and the other giving
Thomas the post. Grant chose the latter although he resented Thomas for being replaced
after Shiloh. Thomas' men broke through the Confederate lines at Missionary Ridge and
later took part in the capture of Atlanta.
With Hood's Army of Tennessee threatening Tennessee, in Sherman's rear, Thomas was
detached with two corps to deal with him. This was effectively the end of the Army of the
Cumberland. After being briefly besieged at Nashville, Thomas, who was about to be removed
for being too slow, attacked and routed the rebels. For this, one of the most decisive
battles of the war, Thomas became one of 13 officers to receive the Thanks of Congress.
Hood's command was no longer a real threat to anyone. With most of his forces sent to
other theaters of operations, Thomas remained in command in Tennessee until 1867, when he
was assigned to command on the Pacific coast until his death in 1870.
Daniel Edgar Sickles
In his pre- and post-Civil War careers, as well as during the conflict, Daniel E. Sickles
proved to be one of the most controversial of Union corps commanders. Prewar, the New York
City native had already become the first man acquitted of a murder charge on the grounds
of temporary insanity. Sickles, a congressman, shot down Philip Barton Key-the son of the
composer of the "Star Spangled Banner"-in LaFayette Park,across the street from
both Sickles' home and the White House. Key had been having an affair with Sickles' wife,
whom Sickles had married while serving as secretary of the U.S. legation in London.
Defense attorney Edwin M. Stanton gained the innovative verdict. Sickles then publicly
forgave his wife, outraging the public, which had applauded his role in the shooting, and
apparently ending his political career. just then the Civil War broke out and he saw his
chance to get a new start.
Offering his services, his assignments included: colonel, 70th New York (June 20, 1861);
brigadier general, USV (September 3, 1861); commanding 2nd ("Excelsior")
Brigade, Hooker's Division, Army of the Potomac (October 3, 186 1-March 13, 1862);
commanding 2nd ("Excelsior") Brigade, 2nd Division, 3rd Corps, Army of the
Potomac (May 24 - July 16, 1862); commanding the division (September 5, 1862 - January 12,
1863); major general, USV (November 29, 1862); and commanding the corps (February 5 - May
29 and June 3 - July 2, 1863).
When authorized to raise a regiment he proceeded to recruit enough men for a brigade and
was soon rewarded with a brigadier's star. Frequently absent from his command seeking
advancement in Washington, he nonetheless commanded his brigade at Seven Pines and during
the Seven Days.
In charge of the division, he fought at Fredericksburg and received the regular army
brevet of brigadier general in 1867. His prewar reputation as a womanizer and heavy
drinker returned to him during his career as a brigade and division commander, and his
brigade was considered a rowdy bunch. But his heyday came when Joseph Hooker took command
of the army.
Many officers complained that Hooker, Sickles, and Daniel Butterfield had converted the
army headquarters into a combination of bar and brothel. Sickles' own headquarters were
considered to be even worse. After fighting at Chancellorsville, Sickles retained charge
of the 3rd Corps even after Hooker's removal. Then on the second day of Gettysburg he did
not like the sector assigned to his men along Cemetery Ridge. It was too long and low to
his liking and he unilaterally decided to advance to the Peach Orchard. If he had survived
the battle unscathed he probably would have been court-martialed. But some claim that his
advanced position absorbed the shock of Longstreet's assault before it could reach the
ridge. This theory claims that if the assault had hit the ridge in full strength it would
have broken the Union line. This is, however, highly debatable since his movement put the
left flank of the 2nd Corps in the air as well as both of his own.
Always courageous on the field of battle, he was struck in the leg by a shell as his
command was beginning its withdrawal. The leg was amputated within half an hour. In 1867
he was brevetted regular army major general for his role in the battle and three decades
later was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He donated his leg to an army medical
museum and in later years is said to have visited it.
During his recovery he engaged in a feud with Meade over his generalship and who had won
the battle. As a result he was denied further field command and was assigned a series of
special missions by the War Department. Made colonel, 42nd Infantry, in the 1866 regular
army reorganization, he was mustered out of the volunteer service as a major general
(since late 1862) on January 1, 1868.
The next year, he was retired with the advanced rank of major general in the regular
establishment. Appointed U.S. minister to Spain by Grant, he furthered his reputation as a
ladies' man. In the 1890s he served a term in Congress. For 26 years-until forced out in a
financial scandal-he chaired the New York State Monuments Commission.
George Brinton McClellan
A brilliant engineer and highly capable organizer, George B. McClellan just
wasn't an army commander. In that position he proved the weakness of West Point in its
early years; the academy was simply geared to the production of engineers and company
officers for a small, pre-Civil War regular army. The Philadelphia native had entered the
academy from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1846 in the second position
of his class. Accordingly he was assigned to the engineers. He earned two brevets under
Winfield Scott in Mexico and later served at his alma mater. The slow promotions in the
regular army prompted him to take a captaincy in the cavalry in the 1855 expansion of the
service. He was dispatched to study European armies and filed an extensive report
centering on the Crimean War siege operations at Sebastopol. This experience would later
influence his decisions on the Virginia Peninsula. During the rest of his year overseas he
travelled widely and altered the Prussian and Hungarian cavalry saddles into the
"McClellan Saddle" that was used until the army abolished its mounted arm. He
resigned his commission on January 16, 1857, and entered railroad engineering. He worked
for the Illinois Central-as chief engineer and vice president and just before the Civil
War became a division president for the Ohio & Mississippi. Despite his success in the
private field he was happy to reenter the military in 1862.
His assignments included: major general, Ohio Volunteers (April 23, 1861); commanding Ohio
Militia (April 23 - May 13, 1861); commanding Army of Occupation, West Virginia,
Department of the Ohio and the department (May 13-July 23, 1861); major general, USA (May
14, 1861); commanding Military Division of the Potomac (July 25 - August 15, 1861);
commanding Army and Department of the Potomac (August 15, 1861 - November 9, 1862); and
commander-in-chief, USA (November 5, 1861 - March 11, 1862).
Initially appointed by Ohio's Governor William Dennison, he was soon made second only to
Scott by a former attorney for the Illinois Central-Abraham Lincoln. Letting his rapid
rise from retired captain to major general go to his head, he issued comical denials of
any desire to become a dictator. By then he had won some minor victories in western
Virginia, receiving the Thanks of Congress on July 16, 186 1, although much of the credit
belonged to his subordinates there and in Kentucky. He was called to take charge at
Washington after the disaster at Ist Bull Run, but his behavior toward Scott and the civil
authorities was unpardonable. Now called "The Young Napoleon," he actively
worked for Scott's retirement and was named in his place. His engineering and
organizational skills shined bright in the creation of the Army of the Potomac, a mighty
machine. But he did not advance and refused to divulge his plans to the civilians over
him. He even refused to see the president on one occasion. In December 1861 he was downed
by typhoid and this prolonged the delays. By the time he did advance on Manassas, Joseph
E. Johnston's army had withdrawn.
McClellan then planned an advance on Richmond by way of the Peninsula between the James
and York Rivers. It was a good plan despite Lincoln's fears for Washington. But McClellan
did not have the ability to direct it. The movement started well but-remembering
Sebastopol-he begin siege operations at Yorktown which allowed Johnston to move in
reinforcements. When Johnston withdrew McClellan followed, fighting at Williamsburg, to
within sight of the Confederate capital. He then stopped. He was constantly overestimating
the strength of the enemy facing him. It was these constant delays which prompted Lincoln
to suspend him from command of all the armies on March 11, 1862, so that he could
concentrate on the Army of the Potomac and Richmond.
He survived the Confederate counterattack at Seven Pines, principally through confusion in
the Confederate army and the actions of his own subordinates. When Lee attacked him in the
Seven Days in late June he failed to take the opportunity to strike at Richmond along the
weakly defended south side of the Chickahominy River. Instead he panicked and ordered a
dangerous change of base from the York to the James River in the facing of Lee's attacks.
Most of the battles fought in the movement were Union successes but the overall outcome of
the campaign was negative as a result of McClellan's weaknesses. Safely entrenched at
Harrison's Landing he began condemning the War Department, Lincoln, and Stanton, blaming
them for the defeat. Finally it was decided in Washington to abandon the campaign and
transfer most of McCiellan's men to John Pope's army in northern Virginia. There were
charges that McClellan-now called by the press "Mac the Unready" and "The
Little Corporal of Unsought Fields"was especially slow in cooperating.
With Pope defeated at 2nd Bull Run and his men streaming back to the Washington
fortifications, McClellan was restored to active command of his reconstituted army and was
welcomed by his men who affectionately called him "Little Mac." In the Maryland
Campaign he advanced to confront Lee in the western part of the state and moved
uncharacteristically fast when some of his command found a copy of Lee's orders for the
movement of his troops. Lee fought several delaying actions along South Mountain in order
to reconcentrate his army. His caution returning, McClellan slowed down, and Lee was able
to get most of his men in line at Antietam. McClellan attacked piecemeal and his attacks
failed to crush Lee who was heavily outnumbered with his back to the Potomac River.
Lincoln was extremely upset by the escape of Lee and his army but nonetheless used the
"victory" to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Continuing his dilatory tactics, McClellan resorted to constant demands for more men and
called for massive reequipping and fresh mounts for his cavalry. Then for the second time
JEB Stuart's cavalry rode completely around the Army of the Potomac, Under orders from the
War Department, McClellan relinquished command on November 9, 1862, and repaired to his
Trenton, New Jersey, home to await new directives destined never to arrive. The Democratic
candidate for president in 1864, he was hampered by the party's plank calling for an end
to the war, which was labeled a failure. He himself denounced the plank and was for the
rigorous pursuit of victory. At first it appeared that he would defeat Lincoln, but Union
victories in the field diminished the public's war weariness. Winning in only three
states, he resigned from the army on election day. Active in state politics, he served as
New Jersey's governor in the late 1870's and early 1880's. He died on October 29, 1885, at
Orange, New Jersey, and is buried in Riverview Cemetery, Trenton |
