Toy Recall Update!
It looks like toy maker Mattel Inc. will pay millions of dollars to 39 states for not being more quality control conscious. The toy giant trusted Chinese manufacturers to make toys that, it turns out, were tainted with dangerous levels of lead. Here is the latest as of Dec. 16, 2008. Mattel will pay $12 million to 39 states to settle investigations launched by State Attorneys General in the United States over alleged dangerously constructed toys made in China for Mattel and shipped to the U.S. in[...]
Source: on-line-tribune-family-life.blogspot.com
Almira Russell Hancock
Wife of Union General Winfield Scott Hancock
Almira Russell was the daughter of a prominent merchant in St. Louis. Winfield Scott Hancock was born on February 14, 1824, in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania – a small hamlet northwest of Philadelphia – the son of Benjamin Franklin and Elizabeth Hoxworth Hancock. Descended from a long line of American soldiers, he was christened with the name of America's greatest living soldier – General Winfield Scott, the hero of the War of 1812.
Winfield had a twin brother, Hilary, who showed some talent in his early years as a geologist, artist and cartoonist, but later became an alcoholic and skid row bum. After teaching school, Benjamin moved his family to Norristown, PA, where he practiced law. Winfield attended Norristown Academy, later transferring to a public school.
Almira Russell Hancock
In 1840, young Hancock received a coveted appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hancock was then barely sixteen, short and weak; four years later, he was 6' 2" and strong. Hancock was popular and respected by his friends and peers at West Point, who included future Civil War generals: Stonewall Jackson, George B. McClellan, James Longstreet, Ulysses S. Grant, Ambrose Burnside, George Pickett, Don Carlos Buell, and Dana Harvey Hill. Hancock graduated on June 30, 1844, 18th in a class of 44, probably one of the youngest graduates of that year.
Hancock's first years in the army were spent along the Red River in Texas, and on the frontier fighting Indians. The Indian fighting years were spent hunting more wild game than Indians. When war broke out with Mexico in 1846, Hancock requested an assignment in a fighting unit, but he had few achievements to recommend him. Finally, on July 13, 1847, the young officer was transferred to Vera Cruz to serve under his namesake, General Winfield Scott, in the fight against the forces of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. He was there long enough to get commendations for bravery in four different battles. On August 20, 1847, Winfield Scott Hancock was breveted First Lieutenant.
Regimental headquarters returned to St. Louis, and West Point classmate Don Carlos Buell introduced Hancock to Almira (Allie) Russell, the daughter of a prominent St. Louis merchant. After a short courtship, they were married on January 24, 1850. The couple had two children, Russell (1850-84) born in St. Louis, and Ada Elizabeth (1857-75) born in Fort Myers, Florida.
On November 5, 1855, Lieutenant Hancock was appointed Assistant Quartermaster with the rank of captain, and ordered to Fort Myers, Florida, during the Seminole Wars of 1856-7. Hancock's young family accompanied him to his new posting, where Allie was the only woman on the post. It was difficult and arduous service, but Hancock performed his quartermaster duties with apparent ease and competence. He was quickly becoming indispensible in that capacity although, according to Allie, "he very much disliked quartermaster duties."
In 1857, Hancock served at Fort Leavenworth during the violence of Bleeding Kansas, observing firsthand the bitterness and enflamed feelings that the twin issues of slavery and States' Rights had brought to that frontier. Of his own loyalties, he would say: "I shall not fight on the principle of State-rights, but for the union, whole and undivided. I do not belong to a country formed of principalities."
Hancock was stationed in southern California in November 1858, and remained there, joined by Allie and the children, serving as a captain under future Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston. In California, Hancock became friends with several officers from the South. He became especially close to Lewis Armistead from Virginia.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Armistead and the other Southerners were , while Hancock remained in the service of the United States. On June 15, 1861, Hancock and Allie hosted a party for their friends – who were scattering because of the war. No one knew when – or if – they would see each other again. Lewis Armistead gave his Bible and personal effects to Allie for safekeeping – to be opened only if he died in battle. Allie said later that Hancock's men at the Battle of Gettysburg killed three of the six future Confederates who attended that party.
Winfield Scott Hancock headed East to offer his services in the defense of the Union. Arriving in the City of Washington in September, Hancock was summoned to the Headquarters of Major General George B. McClellan, who appointed Hancock, Brigadier General Of Volunteers on September 23, 1861, and an infantry brigade to command in the division of Brigadier General William F. Smith, Army of the Potomac.
Hancock's first action was during the Peninsula Campaign, where he commanded a brigade at the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862. McClellan telegraphed to Washington that "Hancock was superb today, " and Hancock the Superb was born.
General Winfield Scott Hancock
At the Battle of Antietam, Hancock took command of the First Division in the II Corps, after the mortal wounding of Major General Israel B. Richardson in the horrific fighting at Bloody Lane. Hancock made a dramatic entrance onto the battlefield, galloping between his troops and the enemy, parallel to the Sunken Road. His men assumed that Hancock would order counterattacks against the exhausted Confederates, but he carried orders from McClellan to hold his position.
General McClellan was replaced with General Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac about that time, and he was replaced by Hooker in the spring of 1863. Hancock was promoted to major general of volunteers on November 29, 1862, and led his division in the disastrous attack on Marye's Heights in the Battle of Fredericksburg the following month, and he was wounded in the abdomen.
In May 1863, Hancock's division was instrumental in covering the withdrawal of Federal forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville – another terrible Union defeat – and he was wounded again. When General Darius Couch asked to be transferred out of the Army of the Potomac in protest of the actions General Hooker took in the battle, Hancock assumed command of II Corps, which he would lead until shortly before the war's end.
The Battle of Gettysburg
Hancock would provide his most important service at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After hearing that General John Reynolds was killed early on July 1, Major General George Gordon Meade, the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, sent Hancock ahead to take command of the units on the field and assess the situation. Hancock thus was in temporary command of the left wing of the army, consisting of the I, II, III, and XI Corps.
At 3:30 PM, on July 1, 1863, Hancock arrived at Gettysburg, and found the commander of the Union XI Corps, Major General Oliver Otis Howard, attempting to establish a defensive position. Federal positions had collapsed both north and west of town, and General Howard had ordered a retreat to the high ground south of town at Cemetery Hill.
General Hancock offered to show General Howard the orders from Meade giving him command of the field, but Howard did not wish to see them and told Hancock to "go ahead." Hancock then went to work establishing the Union battle line that would be known as the Fish Hook, and placed Union forces in a strong defensive position on Cemetery Ridge. Hancock's determination had a morale-boosting effect on the retreating Union soldiers, but he played no direct tactical role on the first day.
The Town of Gettysburg in 1863
On the second day of the battle, General Robert E. Lee attacked both Yankee flanks simultaneously, when US Major General Dan Sickles attempted to move his III Corps forward into the Peach Orchard. Sickles' action exposed the Federal left flank just as CSA General James Longstreet launched his attack toward the Round Tops.
Seeing the trouble, Hancock sent his First Division under Brigadier General John Caldwell to aide Sickles. The second brigade of that division was the famed Irish Brigade. Prior to marching to the relief of Sickles, Father William Corby, the chaplain of the Irish Brigade, gave the soldiers general absolution for their sins.
An officer described the scene as surreal:
The brigade stood in a column of regiments, closed in mass. Father Corby, addressing the men, said that each one would receive the benefit of absolution by making a sincere Act of Contrition, and firmly resolving to embrace the first opportunity of confessing his sins, and reminded them of the high and sacred nature of their trust as soldiers. Then, stretching his right hand toward the brigade, Father Corby pronounced the words of absolution. The service was more than impressive, it was awe-inspiring.
As General Longstreet's divisions slammed into the Union III Corps, it was virtually destroyed as a combat unit, and Sickles' leg was amputated after it was shattered by a cannonball. Caldwell's division was decimated in the Wheatfield. In the evening, the Confederates reached the crest of Cemetery Ridge, but couldn't hold the position in the face of counterattacks from the II Corps, including an almost suicidal counterattack by the First Minnesota against a Confederate brigade, ordered in desperation by Hancock.
Day Three
On the third day at Gettysburg, General Meade placed Hancock in command of the I and III Corps, along with his own II Corps. Hancock was then commanding three-fifths of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.
CSA General Robert E. Lee had not succeeded in his flank attacks, and believed that the Federals might have weakened their center to strengthen their flanks. Therefore, Lee planned to have Longstreet command Pickett's Virginia division plus six brigades from A. P. Hill's Corps in an infantry attack on General Hancock's II Corps position at the right center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Prior to the attack, Confederate artillery would try to weaken the Union line.
Hancock's Ride
General Hancock rides the Federal line on Cemetery Ridge, preceding Pickett's Charge.
By artist, Dale Gallon
Around 1 PM, between 150 to 170 Confederate guns began an artillery bombardment that was probably the largest of the war. After waiting about 15 minutes, about 80 Federal cannons added to the din. During the artillery attack, Hancock rode along his line encouraging his men to hold their ground. A soldier who witnessed Hancock that day stated, "His daring heroism and splendid presence gave the men new courage."
During the massive Confederate artillery bombardment that preceded the infantry assault, Hancock was prominent on horseback encouraging his troops. When one of his subordinates protested, "General, the corps commander ought not to risk his life that way." Hancock is said to have replied, "There are times when a corps commander's life does not count."
At about 3 PM, the cannon fire subsided, and 12, 500 Southern soldiers stepped from the ridgeline and began to cross three-quarters of a mile of open ground, under intense fire from Union artillery massed on Cemetery Ridge, in what would be forever known as Pickett’s Charge.
In addition to the musketry and canister fire from Hancock's II Corps, the Confederates suffered fierce flanking artillery fire from Union positions north of Little Round Top. The II Corps stymied the attack on their position, with only a few Confederate soldiers breaking through their line.
Although the Federal line wavered and broke temporarily at a jog called the Angle, at a low stone fence just north of a patch of vegetation called the Copse of Trees, reinforcements rushed into the breach, and the Confederate attack was repulsed.
Hancock was not idle during the attack; he seemed to be everywhere on the battlefield, directing regiments and brigades into the fight. As he approached the Vermont Brigade commanded by Brigadier General George Stannard, Hancock suddenly reeled in his saddle and began to fall to the ground. Two of Stannard's officers sprang forward and caught Hancock as he fell.
It was discovered that Hancock had suffered a severe injury, when a bullet struck the pommel of his saddle and penetrated eight inches into his right groin, carrying with it some wood fragments and a large bent nail from the saddle. His aides applied a tourniquet to stanch the bleeding; Hancock removed the nail himself, and is said to have remarked wryly, "They must be hard up for ammunition when they throw such shot as that."
During the infantry assault, General Hancock's old friend, now Confederate General, Lewis Armistead was leading his brigade of Pickett's division, waving his hat from the tip of his saber. He and his men reached the stone wall near the Copse of Trees, which was the charge's objective. Armistead's brigade got farther in the charge than any other, but they were quickly overwhelmed by a Union counterattack. This event has been called the High Watermark of the Confederacy – the closest they ever came to winning Southern independence. Nearly half of the attackers did not return to their own lines.
General Armistead was shot three times just after crossing the stone wall. When he went down, he gave a Masonic sign asking for assistance. A fellow Mason, Captain Henry Bingham, a member of Hancock's staff and later a very influential Congressman, rushed to Armistead and offered to help. Bingham told Armistead that his old friend Hancock had just been wounded a few yards away. This scene is featured in Michael Shaara's novel, The Killer Angels, in which Armistead is a principal character.
Captain Bingham took the news of Armistead's wounding to Hancock, but Hancock couldn't go the aid of his friend because of his own wound, and they would not be reunited. Armistead's wounds weren't believed to be fatal, because he had been shot in the fleshy part of the arm and below the knee. According to the surgeon that tended him, none of the wounds caused bone, artery, or nerve damage.
Armistead was taken to a Union field hospital at the Spangler Farm, where he died two days later. Armistead's biographer, Wayne Motts, believes that Armistead died most likely from a pulmonary embolism, while others have argued that it was a combination of septic shock and heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
General Hancock refused to leave the field until his troops had repulsed the Confederate attack. Though in much pain, he continued to direct and encourage his men. He had been with his soldiers throughout the three-day battle, and he refused to leave them now. The Union victory was largely the result of the leadership of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. Gettysburg marked the zenith of Hancock's military career.
Recovery and Recruitment
After the repulse of the Confederate attack, Hancock was taken to a field hospital, and eventually to his father's home in Norristown, Pennsylvania to recover. He was received at Norristown by his fellow citizens, and borne to his home on a stretcher, on the shoulders of soldiers of the Invalid Corps. His recovery was gradual but sure. Hancock's Norristown friends gave him a service of nine pieces of gold and silver plate ornamented with the trefoil badge of the Second Corps, and valued at $1600.
When Hancock had recovered enough to travel to West Point, he was honored with public receptions there, in New York, and at St. Louis, where he went to see his family, and where he also received from the Western Sanitary Fair a superb sword. The US Congress would vote a letter of thanks, to Hancock, "…for his gallant, meritorious and conspicuous share in that great and decisive victory."
Ordered to Washington, December 15th, 1863, Hancock promptly obeyed, although his wound was not yet healed, and was detailed to recruit new soldiers for the army. He soon raised 50, 000 men for his corps (headquartered at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) with good success — the great cities of New York, Albany, and Boston, offered him every public and private facility for his use.
At Philadelphia, a public reception was given him; resolutions were offered by the city government, and Independence Hall was thrown open to his use, and on the February 22, he reviewed the volunteer troops of the city. In New York City, the Governor's Room in the City Hall was placed at his disposal. At Albany, the Legislature tendered an official testimonial of respect, as did the Legislature of Massachusetts and the merchants of Boston.
In March, 1864, Hancock was again ordered to the front, and he led his old corps through General Ulysses S. Grant's spring 1864 Overland Campaign, from the Rapidan to Petersburg. Grant was committed to a war of attrition, in which the superior Union forces would bleed Lee's army dry. Union casualties would be high, but the Union had greater resources to replace lost soldiers and equipment.
Hancock served with distinction in the strenuous and bloody series of battles that began in the Wilderness in early May, and continued through Yellow Tavern, North Anna, Old Church, Cold Harbor, Trevilian Station, and finally to the ten-month siege at Petersburg, Virginia.
At Spotsylvania Court House, May 12, 1864, Hancock led a magnificent pre-dawn charge at the head of his whole corps of 20, 000 men. The target was the Mule Shoe – a salient in the Confederate trenches. In less than an hour, the II Corps broke through the Rebel lines, thanks in part to the absence of Confederate artillery support and wet powder caused by the rainfall the night before. Hancock took close to 4, 000 prisoners, destroying a whole division of the Confederate Second Corps.
General Winfield Scott Hancock
Seated, surrounded by Generals Francis Barlow, David Birney, and John Gibbon
At Spotsylvania Court House
Hancock sent a brief despatch to General Grant: "General, I have captured from thirty to forty guns. I have finished up Johnson, and am now going into Early, " (Confederate Generals Edward "Allegheny" Johnson and Jubal Early). For those heroic efforts, Hancock earned the rank of major general, but in June, his Gettysburg wound reopened, but he soon resumed command, sometimes traveling by ambulance.
Second Battle of Reams Station
Hancock's only significant defeat occurred during the Siege of Petersburg. Soon after the Union success at the Battle of Weldon Railroad, Hancock's II Corps was ordered to move south along that rail line, destroying track as it went. The intent was to stretch even farther the distance by which General Lee had to move his supplies. By late August 24, 1864, the II Corps was three miles south of Reams Station, when Hancock was informed that CSA General A.P. Hill's infantry and General Wade Hampton's cavalry were moving out of Petersburg's defenses to meet this threat.
During the morning of August 25, Hampton started driving Hancock's troops back up the Halifax Road toward Reams Station. Hill's attacks in the early afternoon only took some outlying trenches from the Union. Hill determined that a large frontal assault was needed to drive the Union forces off the railroad. It was 5:00 pm before the Confederates were ready for their second assault, and it began with a heavy barrage from the artillery.
By 6:00 pm, the assault had lost its momentum, and in return Hancock reminded the Confederates why he was a worthy adversary. Regrouping the II Corps, Hancock sent his men back down the lost trenches and across the field to Oak Grove Church. Initially successful, the counterattack soon failed. In the midst of this, Hancock told a staff officer, "Colonel, I do not care to die, but I pray to God I may never leave this field!"
Hampton and Hill were finally able to coordinate an attack upon the Union position, and under this pressure, overran the Union position, capturing 9 guns, 12 colors, and many prisoners. The II Corps was shattered, and swept from the field by 7:00 pm. Hancock withdrew to the main Union line near the Jerusalem Plank Road, bemoaning the declining combat effectiveness of his troops. Hancock realized his greatest defeat as a corps commander, losing nearly 3, 000 soldiers as casualties or as prisoners.
Hancock had some measure of success at Burgess Mill on October 27, 1864, when the II Corps stood their ground and beat off each attack, though they paid a heavy price for doing so. When night fell, Hancock decided to withdraw, but because of a lack of ambulances, he had to leave many of the most seriously injured soldiers behind.
For his corps' participation in the assaults at Deep Bottom in August 1864, General Hancock was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army, but it didn't make him feel any better. He never quite recovered from Reams Station, where he had lost so many of his men, his friends.
Farewell to the II Corps
In Grant's campaign against Lee, Hancock and his famed II Corps had been repeatedly called upon to plunge into the very worst of the fighting, and the casualties had been terrible. At the beginning of May 1864, the II Corps numbered 30, 000 officers and men. Casualties since then had topped 26, 000 killed, wounded or missing. These were men he had become fond of, had interacted with on a daily basis, had fought with for months, even years. He felt their losses deeply.
Reinforcements had flowed in regularly, but the damage to the II Corps could not be measured by numbers alone. The new men in the ranks were for the most part inexperienced, and many were bounty men or draftees, distrusted by the surviving combat veterans. Though he but had achieved many significant military victories, the II Corps wasn't Hancock's corps anymore.
General Winfield Scott Hancock asked to be relieved of command of the II Corps on November 25, 1864. With his old wound constantly troubling him – he had never regained full mobility and his youthful energy – and the loss of so many of his men contributed to his decision to give up field duty.
Hancock's farewell message to his soldiers, November 26, 1864:
Conscious that whatever military honor has fallen to me during my association with the Second Corps has been won by the gallantry of the officers and soldiers I have commanded… in parting from them, I am severing the strongest ties of my military life.
Hancock's first assignment after leaving field duty was to command the ceremonial First Veterans Corps, a largely ceremonial post. For the next three months, Hancock was at Washington organizing wounded veterans for service – as much as his health would permit. He did more recruiting, commanded the Middle Department, and relieved General Philip Sheridan in command of forces in the now-quiet Shenandoah Valley.
By spring 1865, the war had ended at Appomattox Court House, and General Hancock - who for three years had been one of the most conspicuous figures in the Army of the Potomac - was not there to take part in the final triumph.
Execution of Lincoln Assassination Conspirators
In April 1865, General Hancock was summoned to Washington to take charge of carrying out the execution of the Lincoln Conspirators. Lincoln had been assassinated on April 14, 1865, and by May 9, a military commission had been convened to try the accused. The actual assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was already dead, but the trial of his co-conspirators proceeded quickly, resulting in convictions. President Andrew Johnson ordered the executions to be carried out on July 7.
Although Hancock was reluctant to execute some of the less-culpable conspirators, especially Mary Surratt. He wrote to Judge Clampitt, Surratt's legal counsel:
I have been on many a battle and have seen death, and mixed with it in disaster and in victory. I have been in a living hell of fire, and shell and grapeshot, and, by God, I’d sooner be there ten thousand times over than to give the order this day for the execution of that poor woman. But I am a soldier, sworn to obey, and obey I must.
Hancock hoped that Mary Surratt would receive a pardon from President Johnson, so hopeful that as commander of the Middle Military District, he posted messengers all the way from the Arsenal to the White House, ready to relay the news to him at a moment's notice, should the pardon be granted. It wasn't.
Hancock remained in the postwar army as brigadier general. In 1866, U.S. Grant had him promoted major general in the regular army, and he served at that rank for the rest of his life. He was sent west, to command the Military Department of Missouri, based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, but his time there was brief.
On November 29, 1868, President Andrew Johnson named him to replace Philip Sheridan as military governor of Louisiana during Reconstruction. It was in this position, that he would issue General Order Number 40, that would essentially allow the civilian government to quickly replace the military government. Hancock's refusal to use military authority to assist Republican radicals strengthened his ties to Democrats and angered Grant.
With the death of General George Gordon Meade, in 1872, Hancock became the senior major general in the US Army, and was assigned to take Meade's place as commander of the Division of the Atlantic, and moved to Governor's Island. The fine living there made Hancock grow fat. He eventually weighed over 250 pounds.
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock
In old age
Winfield and Almira Hancock were devastated by the deaths of their children and grandchildren – their 18-year-old daughter Ada died of typhoid fever in 1875 in New York City. She was buried in Norristown in the same tomb her father would be buried in years later. On July 13, 1880, their four-month-old grandson, also named Winfield Scott Hancock, died. Son Russell, who was always weakly, was married and had three children – Ada, Gwyn, and Almira – when he died on December 30, 1884, in Mississippi.
Presidential Candidate
Democratic strategists had considered Hancock a potential presidential nominee as early as 1864, and his name resurfaced during subsequent presidential campaigns as the military hero who might best challenge Republican claims to a monopoly on patriotism. When Grant entered the White House in 1869, Hancock was ordered to the Department of Dakota, an assignment he regarded as punishment for political disagreement.
Hancock finally received the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1880. He stayed on active duty at Governor's Island in New York harbor. He and Almira found the constant flow of political visitors maddening. The Republicans nominated James A. Garfield, a longtime Ohio congressman, and attacked Hancock's complete lack of political experience.
Neither candidate for the 1880 Presidential Election inspired voters to shift political allegiance, and the outcome hinged upon Republican organization overwhelming Democratic disharmony. Garfield's majority was less than ten thousand votes; the electoral vote (214-155) would have gone the other way had New York's Tammany Democrats not betrayed Hancock at a cost of thirty-five electoral votes. But Hancock was the first Northerner to carry the Southern states in a Presidential election , since the war.
After Ulysses S. Grant died on July 23, 1885, President Grover Cleveland ordered Hancock to oversee the funeral of the former President and General of the United States Army. He organized and led the enormous New York City funeral procession for Grant on August 8, 1885.
In November 1885, Hancock visited Gettysburg and enjoyed reliving the experience with younger soldiers. In January 1886, he went to Washington and was bothered by a boil on the back of his neck. He went home earlier than planned, and by February the boil had turned into a carbuncle – a painful localized bacterial infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue.
Hancock had refused to be examined by his doctor, despite the illnesses that plagued him late in life, maybe because the field surgeons at Gettysburg had caused horrible suffering in trying to remove the bullet and bone fragments from his wound. For several days, his doctors didn't realize that he had severe diabetes, which made the situation deadly. He became delirious on the evening of February 5.
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock died on February 9, 1886, at 2:35 PM, five days before his sixty-second birthday, at Governor's Island, still in command of the Military Division of the Atlantic. After a brief funeral service at Trinity Church in New York City February 12, 1886, General Hancock's remains were taken to his boyhood home of Norristown, PA, and placed in a mausoleum that he had designed alongside his daughter, Ada.
When General Hancock died, he left his wife, Almira, almost no money. She didn't even have her own home. Granted, there were many financial burdens on him [his brother Hilary, and the constant (and necessary) expense of entertaining guests] – but given his contacts and his intelligence, he should have made arrangements for her to be taken care of during her declining years.
Almira Russell Hancock received many requests to write about her husband and his military experiences and his correspondence. She wrote her memoirs, Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock, which was published in 1887 by Mark Twain's publishing firm, Webster & Company. Afterward, she burned Hancock's letters.
New York Times Article, April 20, 1893:
Mrs. Almira Russell Hancock, widow of General Winfield Scott Hancock, is seriously ill at her home, The Gramercy, 34 Gramercy Park. She is suffering from a complication of diseases, but with her splendid constitution has made a brave fight, and it is hoped that she will safely pass through the crisis which will come within the next twenty-four hours.
Almira Russell Hancock died in April 1893, and was buried near her family in St. Louis, Missouri. Although she outlived both of her children, she was survived by the three grandchildren fathered by her son, Russell.
New York Times Article, April 23, 1893:
The funeral of Mrs. Almira Russell Hancock, widow of General Winfield Scott Hancock, who died at her home, the Gramercy, 34 Gramercy Park Thursday afternoon, took place yesterday at noon at the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration on East Twenty-ninth Street.
Equestrian Statue of General Winfield Scott Hancock
Bronze by Sculptor Frank Edwin Ewell
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Winfield S. Hancock was a very able military commander. He successfully commanded the II Corps, Army of the Potomac, during some of the most critical battles of the Civil War. He cared about his men, and would most often be seen, leading from the front, such as when he was wounded at Gettysburg.
To the North, he was known as Hancock The Superb. To the South – The Thunderbolt of the Army of the Potomac. The Sioux and the Cheyenne called him Old Man of the Thunder. A man of great charisma and a commanding physical presence, he was a soldier's soldier, something of an artist, amateur scientist, botanist, and he even wrote some verse.
From Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs:
Hancock stands the most conspicuous figure of all the general officers who did not exercise a separate command. He commanded a corps longer than any other one, and his name was never mentioned as having committed in battle a blunder for which he was responsible. He was a man of very conspicuous personal appearance... His genial disposition made him friends, and his personal courage and his presence with his command in the thickest of the fight, won for him the confidence of troops serving under him. No matter how hard the fight, the II Corps always felt that their commander was looking after them.
SOURCES
Reams Station
Battle of Gettysburg
Winfield S. Hancock
Hancock the Superb
Biography of a Soldier
Winfield Scott Hancock
The Hero of Gettysburg
Battle of Boydton Plank Road
Wikipedia: Winfield Scott Hancock
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock, Major General, USA
Winfield Scott Hancock – U.S. Major General
Source: feedproxy.google.com
Cremora (Belle) Cave Kemper
Wife of Confederate General James Lawson Kemper
Cremora Cave was born in 1834, the daughter of Cremora and Belfield Cave. James Lawson Kemper was born on June 11, 1823, to William and Maria Allison Kemper in Madison County, Virginia. He was the sixth of eight children, and his childhood was spent at the two-story family home called Mountain Prospect, which also included 600 acres of land. His immediate family as well as four of his father's sisters, his maternal grandmother, and several domestic servants also lived there.
The first education that James Lawson Kemper received was in a field school built near his home. The Hill and Kemper families hired a teacher to teach their children in this building. One of Kemper's grade school friends, who became a friend for life, was Ambrose Powell Hill, better known as General A.P. Hill.
James was accepted to Locust Dale Academy when he was 13 years old, where he stayed from 1830-1840. He enrolled at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), and received a Bachelor of Arts and graduated first in his class in the spring of 1842, and received a Master's Degree in 1845.
After graduating from Washington College , Kemper decided to study law. Under the supervision of Judge George W. Summers of Charleston, Kanawha County, Virginia, he read the law and then successfully took the bar exam, and began practicing law a year later. At the outbreak of the Mexican War in 1846 Kemper was commissioned a captain in the Virginia volunteers, but did not see active service.
Returning to Virginia and his law practice, in 1853 Kemper was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates for the first of five terms, the last (1861-1863) as Speaker of the House. Early letters (pre-1861) illustrate Kemper's growing law practice and his involvement in politics.
In 1850, at about the age of twenty-seven, James began to court Cremora Conway Cave, affectionately called Belle by her future husband. She was sixteen years old at the time. Despite the age difference, on July 4, 1853, they were married by Reverend J. Earnest at the Madison Court House, and they were to have seven children.
General James Lawson Kemper
Harper's Weekly, January 17, 1874
At the beginning of the Civil War, James Kemper was a member of the Virginia State Legislature and helped organize Virginia troops for the Confederate forces. Rising through the ranks, he fought at Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and was promoted Brigadier General in June, 1862. He was the youngest of the brigade commanders, and the only nonprofessional military officer in the division that led Pickett's Charge, in which he was wounded and captured.
After a gallant performance at the Battle of Seven Pines during the Peninsula Campaign, Kemper was promoted to brigadier general on June 3, 1862, and briefly commanded a division in Longstreet's Corps. Upon the return to duty of wounded Major General George Pickett, Kemper reverted to brigade command.
In 1863, Kemper's brigade was assigned to Pickett's division in Longstreet's Corps, and missed the Battle of Chancellorsville while the corps was assigned to Suffolk, Virginia. But the corps returned in time for the Gettysburg Campaign, and Kemper rejoined Lee's army as a brigade commander in Pickett's division.
At Gettysburg, Kemper arrived with Pickett's division late on the second day of battle, July 2, 1863. His brigade was one of the main assault units in Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863, advancing on the right flank of Pickett's line. After crossing the Emmitsburg Road, Kemper's brigade was hit by flanking fire from two Vermont regiments, driving it to the left and disrupting the cohesion of the assault. Kemper rose on his spurs to urge his men forward, shouting "There are the guns, boys, go for them!"
This bravado made him a more visible target, and he was severely wounded by a bullet in the abdomen and thigh and captured by Union forces. Kemper was rescued by Confederate forces and carried back to Confederate lines on Seminary Ridge, but was too critically injured to be transported during the retreat from Gettysburg, and was left behind to be treated and recaptured. Newspaper accounts at the time claimed he was killed in action, and Robert E. Lee sent condolences to his family.
There exists a letter from Major General Ethan A. Hitchock, explaining to Kemper's wife Belle that she could not see her captured and badly wounded husband because Confederate authorities had refused the same courtesies to a Union family.
For three months, Kemper was a prisoner in a Federal hospital, and was exchanged September 19, 1863, on a certificate of the Federal surgeons that he could not live long. A long furlough enabled him to recover sufficiently to don his uniform again. For the rest of the war, he was too ill for combat – the bullet that struck him could not be removed surgically, and he suffered from groin pain for the remainder of his life.
From June 1864 until the Confederate surrender, Kemper was in command of the local forces around Richmond. He was promoted to Major General on September 19, 1864. After Appomattox he was paroled by United States military authorities on May 2, 1865.
After the war ended, General Kemper returned to Madison County to practice law and focus on rebuilding the state. He was concerned about Belle's health. Her condition began to decline – she had not been physically strong before. She came down with an eye infection that deteriorated her sight to the point of blindness within a few years.
Although he was involved with legal matters much of the time, James managed to take time to spend with his family. Depending mostly on income from his legal practices, he managed to make a decent living for himself and his family. Every year, James and Belle would take a vacation to the mineral springs.
James L. Kemper Residence
The land on which the Kemper Mansion sits was originally a 52 acre parcel on the north end of the Town of Madison, Virginia. Kemper bought the house and lot in 1868, after he came home to discover that his old house had been destroyed in a raid led by General George Armstrong Custer. It was built with an antebellum frame structure that was becoming very popular at the time (circa 1852) - the Greek Revival style. He practiced law in a small log cabin office behind the home after the war.
In 1870, Belle became very ill. Just when they thought she was going to recover, her condition made a turn for the worse. At the time, she was pregnant with their seventh child, and on September 8, she gave birth to their son, Reginald Heber Johns. The birth complicated things even more and within a month, Cremora (Belle) Cave Kemper died at the age of thirty-three. James couldn't stand to live in the house anymore, and spent his nights in his office on the grounds.
James Kemper was elected the first Governor of Virginia after Reconstruction, serving from 1874 to 1878. He became well known for his honesty and integrity, his initiation of the public school system, improvements on the public transportation system, and his strong position on civil rights.
As governor, Kemper fought for full civil rights and protection for the freedmen. He also supported a new constitution and the restoration of Virginia to normal relations with the United States. After he served his last term as governor, Kemper was offered the position as US Senator, but declined, thus ending his political career.
Kemper was worn out physically and emotionally. In 1882, he moved into a new home at Walnut Hills in Orange County, Virginia. Walnut Hills was a mid-sized farm in a secluded area, where he retired to enjoy sheep farming and practicing law. The home overlooked the Rapidan River and had a lovely Blue Ridge view.
At the time, there were six of his seven children still living.
Eventually, James Lawson Kemper's health deteriorated, and he died in his sleep at Walnut Hills on April 7, 1895, and was buried in the family cemetery there.
SOURCES
James L. Kemper
Marriage and Family
James Lawson Kemper
Early Life and Education
A Guide to the Papers of James Lawson Kemper
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Intuition - The Gift everyone has!
You can harness your Intuition in order to create miracles and successes in your life. The following is an interview with Self-improvement Trainer Julia Nestler conducted by Anna Johnson. Anna Johnson is the editor and publisher of weekly motivational newsletter, "Success Accelerator." To subscribe or view past issues click the link at the end of this interview. Q: What is intuition? A: Intuition is a wonderful ability we all are gifted with as human beings. It is often called our Inner Guide, [...]
Source: on-line-tribune-mind-stuff.blogspot.com
Irene Rucker Sheridan
Wife of Union General Philip Sheridan
Irene Rucker, born in 1853 at Fort Union, New Mexico, and spent all her life connected to the military. She was the daughter of Brigadier General Daniel H. Rucker, who was Quartermaster General of the US Army. Her mother, Flora McDonald Coodey, was the daughter of Joseph Coodey, a half-blood Cherokee, and granddaughter of Jane Ross, a sister of the celebrated Cherokee Chief John Ross. Joseph Coodey was a well to do citizen who owned and operated a grist mill on Bayou Menard near the crossing of the old stage coach road between Fort Gibson and Tahlequah. Irene spent most of her girlhood in Washington, DC, and at various Army posts.
Philip Henry Sheridan was born in Albany, New York, on March 6, 1831, but grew up in Ohio. He attended West Point and, after a one-year suspension for assaulting a fellow cadet with a bayonet. He fell only seven demerits short of being expelled, and finished 34th out of 49. Several other members of his class of 1853 also became well-known, including John Schofield, John Bell Hood, and James McPherson – first in the class of 1853.
Irene Rucker Sheridan
An obscure lieutenant serving in Oregon when the American Civil War began, Sheridan rose to the command of the Union's cavalry by the time the Confederacy surrendered. He saw action in Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and in Virginia, where his campaign through the Shenandoah Valley laid waste to an important source of Confederate supplies.
Sheridan started the Civil War as Chief Quartermaster of the Army of Southwest Missouri. Feeling that he would be a better field commander than a support officer, Little Phil, 5' 5" tall, persisted until he got an appointment as a colonel with the Second Michigan Volunteer Cavalry. A month later he commanded his first forces in combat.
At the Battle of Booneville, July 1, 1862, he held back several regiments of General James R. Chalmers' Cavalry. His actions so impressed his superiors that they promoted him to Brigadier General and assigned him command of the 11th Division, Third Corps, Army of the Ohio.
In the spring of 1862, just after Booneville, one of his fellow officers gave him the horse that he would ride throughout the war. At the time, the regiment was stationed at Rienzi, Mississippi, and Sheridan named the horse Rienzi. Sheridan was always able to control him by a firm hand and a few words. He was as cool and quiet under fire as any veteran trooper in the Cavalry Corps. At the battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, the name of the horse was changed to Winchester, the name of the town made famous during Sheridan's ride through the Shenandoah Valley.
On October 8, 1862, Sheridan again distinguished himself during the Battle of Perryville. He pushed two Arkansas brigades across Bull Run but was ordered back by Third Corps commander, Major General Charles Gilbert. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.
On December 31, 1862, the first day of the Battle of Murfreesboro, Sheridan held back the Confederate advance until his ammunition ran out and he was forced to withdraw. For his actions, he was promoted to Major General, and put in charge of the Second Division, 4th Corps, Army of the Cumberland. In six months, he had risen from captain to major general.
At the Battle of Chickamauga, September 19 and 20, 1863, Sheridan along with the rest of the army was forced to withdraw after two days of heavy losses. At the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863, Sheridan took the initiative and broke through the Confederate lines. General Ulysses S. Grant, newly promoted to be general-in-chief of all the Union armies, decided he wanted Sheridan when he went east.
Philip Henry Sheridan
By William F. Cogswell
In March, 1864, Grant assigned him to command the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. During the Overland Campaign, Sheridan fought at the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864), and Spotsylvania Court House (May 8-21, 1864). From May 9-24, 1864, Grant sent him on a raid toward Richmond. The raid was less successful than hoped, although his soldiers killed CSA General J.E.B. Stuart at Yellow Tavern (May 11, 1864). Rejoining the Army of the Potomac, Sheridan's cavalry excelled at Haw's Shop (May 28, 1864), seized Cold Harbor (June 1-12, 1864) and withstood a number of assaults until reinforced.
Army of the Shenandoah
All during the war, the Confederacy sent armies out of Virginia through the Shenandoah Valley to threaten Washington, DC, and a raid throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania. CSA General Jubal Early attacked Union forces near Washington and raided several towns in Pennsylvania. In August 1864, General Grant organized the Army of the Shenandoah. He put Sheridan in charge to drive Early out of the Shenandoah and close it as a route to Washington.
Sheridan went at it with vigor. He beat Early at Third Winchester and Fisher's Hill. In the final battle, at Cedar Creek, Sheridan rallied the troops who were retreating after a surprise attack – Early was defeated. Sheridan ordered total destruction in the Shenandoah Valley – his troops destroyed crops and livestock, seized stores and equipment, and burned what they couldn't remove. Sheridan said, "If a crow wants to fly down the Shenandoah, he must carry his provisions with him."
The destruction presaged the scorched earth tactics of US General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea through Georgia – deny an army a base from which to operate and bring the effects of war home to the population supporting it.
Sheridan again joined the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg in March, 1865. At Waynesboro on March 2, he trapped the remainder of Early's army and 1500 soldiers surrendered. On April 1, he cut off CSA General Robert E. Lee's lines of support at Five Forks, forcing Lee to evacuate Petersburg.
President Abraham Lincoln sent General Grant a telegram on April 7, 1865: "General Sheridan says, 'If the thing is pressed, I think that Lee will surrender.' Let the thing be pressed." Sheridan wrote in his memoirs, "Feeling that the war was nearing its end, I desired my cavalry to be in at the death."
Sheridan's finest service of the Civil War was demonstrated during his relentless pursuit of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, effectively managing the most crucial aspects of the Appomattox Campaign for General Grant. His aggressive and well-executed performance at the Battle of Sayler's Creek on April 6 effectively sealed the fate of Lee's army, capturing over 20% of his remaining men.
At Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865, Sheridan blocked Lee's escape, forcing him to surrender later that day. After the surrender of Lee in Virginia and of General Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina, the only significant Confederate field force remaining was in Texas, under General under Edmund Kirby Smith.
Sheridan was supposed to lead troops in the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington, DC, but Grant had appointed him commander of the Military District of the Southwest on May 17, 1865, six days before the parade. With orders to defeat Smith without delay and restore Texas and Louisiana to Union control, Sheridan headed south, but Smith surrendered before Sheridan reached New Orleans.
In March 1867, with Reconstruction barely started, Sheridan was appointed military governor of Texas and Louisiana. He severely limited voter registration for former Confederates, and then required that only registered voters (including black men) be eligible to serve on juries.
An inquiry into the deadly riot of 1866 implicated numerous local officials, and Sheridan dismissed the mayor of New Orleans, the Louisiana attorney general, and a district judge. He later removed Louisiana Governor James Wells, accusing him of being "a political trickster and a dishonest man." He also dismissed Texas Governor James Throckmorton, a former Confederate, for being an "impediment to the reconstruction of the State, " replacing him with the Republican who had lost to him in the previous election.
General Philip Henry Sheridan's Ride from Winchester
By Thure de Thulstrup
Sheridan had been feuding with President Andrew Johnson for months over interpretations of the Military Reconstruction Acts and voting rights issues, and within a month of the second firing, the president removed Sheridan, stating to an outraged General Grant that, "His rule has, in fact, been one of absolute tyranny, without references to the principles of our government or the nature of our free institutions."
Within six months, Sheridan succeeded William Tecumseh Sherman as commander of the Division of the Missouri, which encompassed the entire plains region from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi. There he immediately shaped a battle plan to crush Indian resistance on the southern plains. Following the tactics he had employed in Virginia, Sheridan sought to strike directly at the material basis of the Plains Indian nations.
Sheridan believed that attacking the Indians in their encampments during the winter would give him the element of surprise and take advantage of the scarce forage available for Indian mounts. He was unconcerned about the likelihood of high casualties among noncombatants, once remarking, "If a village is attacked and women and children killed, the responsibility is not with the soldiers but with the people whose crimes necessitated the attack."
The first demonstration of this strategy came in 1868, when three columns of troops under Sheridan converged on what is now northwestern Oklahoma to force the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, and Cheyenne onto their reservations. The key engagement in this successful campaign was George Armstrong Custer's surprise attack on Black Kettle's village along the Washita, an attack that came at dawn after a forced march through a snowstorm.
Many historians now regard this victory as a massacre, since Black Kettle was a peaceful chief whose encampment was on reservation soil, but for Sheridan the attack served its purpose, helping to persuade other bands to give up their traditional way of life and move onto the reservations.
In March 1869, after Ulysses S. Grant became president and General Sherman became General of the Army, Sheridan was appointed lieutenant general with headquarters in Chicago. Returning to Chicago, he presided over the Great Chicago Fire of October 7-8, 1871. He brought troops into the city to stop looters and directed fire fighting and reconstruction. Although Sheridan's personal residence was spared, all of his professional and personal papers were destroyed.
While a bridesmaid at a wedding in Chicago, in 1874, Irene Rucker met General Sheridan, while his headquarters was there. Her father, General Daniel Rucker, Assistant Quartermaster United States Army, was on General Sheridan's staff. For the next few months, he courted her steadily, and contemporaries still recall the hero of the Civil War and "Miss Rucker riding down Wabash avenue in an open carriage."
On June 3, 1875, Irene Rucker married Philip Sheridan at the residence of her parents on Wabash Avenue in Chicago. She was a pretty brunette of 22; he was 44. The bride's dress was a white grosgrain silk softened by a tulle veil fastened with orange blossoms. The bride's accessories included a gold necklace with solitaire pendant, diamond solitaire earrings, and gold bracelets, all gifts of the bridegroom. General Sheridan and all the Army Officers appeared in full dress uniform.
After the wedding, the couple moved to Washington, DC, where they lived in a large house at Rhode Island Avenue and Seventeenth street N, bought for them by Chicago citizens who were grateful to General Sheridan for his work following the great Chicago fire in 1871. Irene quickly became one of the most popular members of Washington society, often entertaining as many as 300 callers a day. The Sheridans had four children: Mary, born in 1876; twin daughters, Irene and Louise, in 1877; and Philip, Jr., in 1880.
Sheridan Monument – Somerset, Ohio
In front of Perry County Courthouse
Sheridan refined his tactic of massive force directed in surprise attacks on Indian encampments, and mounted successful campaigns against the tribes of the southern plains in 1874-1875, and against those of the northern plains in 1876-1877, forcing them onto reservations with the tactics of total war. Although some of his generals in these campaigns, such as Nelson Miles, expressed a soldierly respect for the Indians they were fighting, Sheridan was notorious for his supposed declaration that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian, " which he steadfastly denied saying.
On November 1, 1883, Phil Sheridan succeeded William T. Sherman as Commanding General of the US Army, a position he held until shortly before his death. He was promoted to the rank of General of the Army of the United States by Act of Congress June 1, 1888, which is equivalent to a four-star general in the modern US Army. This is the nation's highest military office – which he achieved at the comparatively young age of fifty-two. He was the fourth man in US history to be so honored, the others being Washington, Grant, and Sherman.
In 1887, Sheridan had built a summer cottage in Nonquit, Massachusetts, overlooking Martha's Vineyard. The following year, he suffered a series of massive heart attacks, two months after sending his memoirs to the publisher. Although only 57 years old, hard living and hard campaigning and a lifelong love of good food and drink had taken their toll. Thin in his youth, he then weighed over 200 pounds.
General Philip Sheridan died August 5, 1888, at their vacation cottage, leaving Irene with four young children. His body was returned to Washington, DC, and lay in state at St. Matthew's Church until August 11, when he was laid to rest on a hillside facing the capital city near Arlington House, which helped elevate the Arlington National Cemetery to prominence.
General Philip Sheridan's Personal Memoirs (two volumes) were published soon after his death. Irene never remarried, saying, "would rather be the widow of Phil Sheridan than the wife of any man living." Curiously, Irene Rucker and his family are never mentioned in his memoirs.
Sheridan's famous horse Rienzi, renamed Winchester after it carried Sheridan on his desperate ride from there to Cedar Creek, was later stuffed and displayed at the Army museum on Governors Island in New York Harbor. In 1922, the museum was damaged by fire and it was decided that Winchester should be sent to the Smithsonian. The few remaining veterans of the city did not let Sheridan's war-horse leave without a fitting goodbye. They held a little goodbye ceremony, and the grandson of one of the veterans who attended read Thomas Buchanan Read's poem, Sheridan's Ride.
Fort Sheridan Centennial Legacy Statue
Depicts the General astride his mount Rienzi at the height of the Battle of Five Forks April, 1865.
A Time magazine article of May 1930 about Irene Sheridan stated:
Before the Senate last week came bill No. 319 to increase the pension of Irene Rucker Sheridan. Her present pension: $2, 500 per year. Proposed the bill: $5, 000. The Senate pensions committee recommendation: $3, 600. Up rose Colorado's Senator Phipps, a man of wealth and generosity, and said:
"The action of the committee reducing the amount is a mistake. Mrs. Sheridan is the widow of General Phil Sheridan who had a wonderful record. Mrs. Sheridan is well along in years and in all human probability, she will not enjoy the advantages of a pension for many years to come. I ask that the bill be approved in the original amount."
The Senate snubbed its pensions committee, and unanimously voted the widow of one of the nation's five generals $5, 000 per year. The bill must be acted upon by the House before she gets the money. Today Mrs. Sheridan, now living in retirement in Washington, is almost 80.
Since General Sheridan's death in 1888, Irene had divided her time between her home in Washington and the summer home in New England. She had not been active in Washington affairs since about the time of World War I. No one connected the wrinkled little old lady who gazed at Phil Sheridan's statue near her home with the great beauty of the 1870s.
Irene Rucker Sheridan died at her home at 2211 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC, in 1936, at the age of 83. Funeral services were held in St. Matthew's Church, the same church in which Cardinal Gibbons performed the last rites for General Sheridan. Irene was survived by her three daughters, Mary, Irene, and Louise Sheridan, and two grandchildren, Carolina and Philip Sheridan III.
I don't usually make personal comments about the subjects of my posts, but this time I can't resist. While Sheridan was at times an able Civil War cavalry commander, he is one of my least favorite Civil War generals. First, because he had absolutely no regard for the lives of noncombatants. The second reason has to do with my Native American heritage. Regardless of his bigotry and carelessness, he seems to have had a wonderful wife.
SOURCES
Widow's Pension
Philip H. Sheridan
Scrappy Phil Sheridan
General Phil Sheridan
About Famous People
Irene Rucker Sheridan
General Daniel Henry Rucker
General Philip Henry Sheridan
Perry County Historical Society
Philip Henry Sheridan 1831 – 1888
Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan
Source: feedproxy.google.com
Get Your Ex Lover Back! Free eBook!
Finally, a Free and very Special Report on "How to Get Your Ex Back." I put this 27 page ebook together just for my readers who may be suffering from a broken relationship. Just click the ebook cover and it's yours. No email or signup required. Read More & Leave Comment>>>[...]
Source: on-line-tribune-family-life.blogspot.com
Helen Burden McDowell
Wife of Union General Irvin McDowell
Helen Burden, born June 27, 1826, was the daughter of Henry and Helen McOuat Burden, who came to America from Scotland via Quebec. The family settled first in Albany, NY, then Troy, NY, where Helen's father owned the Burden Iron Works, which made horseshoes.
Irvin McDowell, born 1818 near Columbus, Ohio, entered the West Point Military Academy in 1834, when he was 16 years old. He graduated from West Point in 1838, and served on the Northern frontier during the Canada border disturbances, on the Maine frontier pending the disputed Territory controversy, and in the Mexican war under General John Ellis Wool. Helen met McDowell through General Wool, who was also from Troy, NY.
Helen Burden married Captain Irvin McDowell at the Second Presbyterian Church in Troy on November 13, 1844. He hailed from Ohio and was assistant adjutant general in Washington in April 1861. They had four children: Irvin, Helen, Elsie, and Henry Burden McDowell.
General Irvin McDowell
When the Civil War began, Irvin McDowell was a brevet major, a man of physical energy, wide interests, and strong opinions. He was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army on May 14, 1861, and given command of the Army of Northeastern Virginia, never having commanded troops in combat. The promotion was partly because of the influence of his mentor, Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase.
On May 29, 1861, McDowell was given command of the Army of the Potomac, which consisted of about 30, 000 men, who were almost entirely raw recruits. In response to the demand for some immediate action, on July 16 he was ordered to march against the Confederate army that was posted at Manassas Junction under General P.G.T. Beauregard, McDowell's classmate at West Point.
McDowell's plan of campaign had been carefully studied, and its principal feature was to turn the enemy's left flank while threatening the front, which was well posted behind Bull Run on an elevation that overlooked the entire plateau. His strategy during the First Battle of Bull Run was imaginative, but his troops were not experienced enough to carry it out effectively. His plans were admittedly excellent, but nothing could check the demoralization of the green troops.
On the morning of the July 21, 1861, the Federal army crossed the run and succeeded in throwing the enemy's left into such confusion that the presence of Generals Beauregard and Johnston was necessary to rally their troops, who then re-formed in a line on the crest of the hill. A severe struggle for this position ensued, and it was lost and won three times, and about three o'clock in the afternoon it remained in the control of the National forces. But soon after that hour, fresh Confederate reinforcements arrived and completely turned the tide of battle. The judgment of time attributes the defeat less to General McDowell's lack of ability than to the operation of forces that no man of his inexperience could have overcome.
McDowell's men, who had been on their feet since two o'clock in the morning, who had marched twelve miles to the field and been engaged in heavy fighting since ten o'clock, were now exhausted by fatigue and want of food and water. Unable to withstand the fierce attack of fresh troops, they broke and retired in confusion down the hillside and made a disorderly retreat to Washington. Thus the first great battle of the Civil War was fought and lost.
Soon thereafter, General George B. McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac, and McDowell was retained at the head of one of its divisions. In March 1862, he was promoted to major general and placed in command of the First Corps, which became the Army of the Rappahannock, stationed to guard Washington.
In the summer of 1862, there were four independent Union commands in Virginia, and in quick succession they were attacked with such force that concentration became necessary, and the Army of Virginia was formed under General John Pope and the command of the Third Corps was given to General McDowell. The campaign of northern Virginia followed, and with his command he participated in the Battle of Cedar Mountain, the action of Rappahannock Station, and the Second Battle of Bull Run in late August 1862.
Criticized for his performance at Second Bull Run, McDowell was relieved of his command, and removed from duty in the field on September 6, 1862. Regarding this action of the War Department a direct reflection upon his military service, he asked for an investigation, the result of which was favorable to him. A court of inquiry reported "that the interests of the public service do not require any further investigation into the conduct of Major General McDowell." No further field command was entrusted to him during the Civil War.
McDowell was probably unfortunate in the roles that fell to him. His first ever independent command was the Army of the Potomac. His only major failing before First Bull Run was the slowness of his movements, hardly a unique failing amongst Union commanders at that time. The disaster at Second Bull Run was largely due to Pope's misreading of the situation. McDowell was simply one of many commanders to be promoted above their capacity early in the war.
McDowell remained in active service in the army, but not in the field. He was an able staff officer and a brilliant desk general, but like most of the early Union command choices, he was not suited for the battlefield because of his limited experience.
In 1863-64, he was President of the Court for investigating cotton frauds and of the board for retiring disabled officers. From July, 1864, to June, 1865, McDowell was in command of the Department of the Pacific, with headquarters in San Francisco, and held that office until July 27, 1865.
After the war, McDowell remained in the army, and had command of the Department of California until March 31, 1868. He was mustered out of the volunteer service September 1, 1866. In July 1868, he was assigned to the command of the Department of the East.
In November 1872, he was promoted to Major General in the regular United States Army. Soon after, he succeeded General George G. Meade as commander of the Division of the South, and remained until June 30, 1876, after which he returned to San Francisco in charge of the Division of the Pacific until his retirement from the army on October 15, 1882.
General McDowell had great fondness for landscape gardening, and during the last years of his life was Park Commissioner of San Francisco, in which capacity he constructed a park out of the neglected Presidio and laid out drives that command fine views of the Golden Gate. The last years of his life were spent in California.
General McDowell was not popular as a public man, but in private life he made a great many friends. He was hospitable and greatly enjoyed music, painting, and entertaining his friends. His family relations were pleasant, and his private life was beyond reproach. He bore his misfortunes with dignity and composure.
General Irvin McDowell died of a heart attack at San Francisco May 4, 1885, at age 67. He had been in failing health for some time. He was buried at the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio with full military honors by the Local Grand Army of the Republic.
Major General Irvin McDowell Gravestone
Helen Burden McDowell died December 7, 1891, in New York City.
SOURCES
History of War
Irvin McDowell
Civil War Bookshelf
Ohio History Central
Civil War Encyclopedia
General Irvin McDowell
Wikipedia: Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell (1818-1885)
Biography of Irvin McDowell
Virtual American Biographies
First Manassas - First Bull Run
Report of Brigadier General Irvin McDowell Regarding First Bull Run
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How To Be A Closer Family
Family should always be first, but it's easy to forget what matters most in today's hectic world. The greatest gift we can give our children is being part of a healthy, loving family as it is their foundation and security especially in times of need.Children will always need a safe haven and the home should provide that for them. Creating a happy and safe environment is easier than most people think. I hope the following will help get you started. Give your children the opportunity to speak openly and[...]
Source: on-line-tribune-family-life.blogspot.com
"Because" Just Isn't A Good Answer
Regardless of the age of children, it's imperative that when setting forth the rules and expectations in your home, your child understands there is no room for questioning the rules you set forth and the consequences of breaking the rules. Children are inquisitive by nature. When they are younger, it's usually because they want to better understand something. When they are older, it's because they want to better understand why you think something is important and why they should also feel the same way.[...]
Source: on-line-tribune-family-life.blogspot.com
Positive Thinking, Paradigms, and the Devil
I've already written about positive thinking and paradigms in another article where the point was that the effectiveness of positive thinking is undermined if we simultaneously hold unconscious thought paradigms that are in opposition. But how can we uncover what's in our unconscious if it's unconscious? An example of just such an opposing paradigm in my own life stemmed from the 1974 cult classic, "Phantom of the Paradise". I saw this movie some time before my tenth birthday. I was way too young[...]
Source: on-line-tribune-mind-stuff.blogspot.com
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