Content deleted Content added
update link |
rm trivia |
||
| (16 intermediate revisions by 12 users not shown) | |||
Line 9:
| death_date = {{death date and age|1886|2|9|1824|2|14}}
| death_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Montgomery Cemetery]] ([[West Norriton Township, Pennsylvania
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Almira Russell|1850}}
Line 42:
| name = Winfield Scott Hancock
}}
'''Winfield Scott Hancock''' (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a [[United States Army]] officer and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[President of the United States]] in [[1880 United States presidential election|1880]]. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the [[Mexican–American War]] and as a [[Union Army|Union]] [[General (United States)|general]] in the [[American Civil War]]. Known to his Army
Hancock's reputation as a war hero at Gettysburg, combined with his status as a Unionist and supporter of states' rights, made him a potential presidential candidate. When the Democrats nominated him for
==Early life and family==
Line 87:
Hancock's most famous service was as a new corps commander at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]], July 1 to 3, 1863.<ref name=Tagg/> After his friend, Maj. Gen. [[John F. Reynolds]], was killed early on July 1, Maj. Gen. [[George G. 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 Corps (Union Army)|I]], II, [[III Corps (Union Army)|III]], and [[XI Corps (Union Army)|XI Corps]]. This demonstrated Meade's high confidence in him, because Hancock was not the most senior Union officer at Gettysburg at the time.<ref>Jordan, p. 81.</ref> Hancock and the more senior XI Corps commander, Maj. Gen. [[Oliver O. Howard]], argued briefly about this command arrangement, but Hancock prevailed and he organized the Union defenses on [[Cemetery Hill]] as more numerous Confederate forces drove the I and XI Corps back through the town. He had the authority from Meade to withdraw, so he was responsible for the decision to stand and fight at Gettysburg.<ref>Tucker, pp. 131–34</ref> At the conclusion of the day's action, Maj. Gen. [[Henry Warner Slocum]] arrived on the field and assumed command until Gen. Meade arrived after midnight.
On July 2, Hancock's II Corps was positioned on [[Cemetery Ridge]], roughly in the center of the Union line, while Confederate [[Full General (CSA)|Gen.]] [[Robert E. Lee]] launched assaults on both ends of the line.<ref name=jordan89>Jordan, pp. 89–94.</ref> On the Union left, [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|Lt. Gen.]] [[James Longstreet]]'s assault smashed the III Corps and Hancock sent in his 1st Division, under Brig. Gen. [[John C. Caldwell]], to reinforce the Union in the [[Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day#Wheatfield|Wheatfield]]. As Lt. Gen. [[A.P. Hill]]'s corps continued the attack toward the Union center, Hancock rallied the defenses and rushed units to the critical spots.<ref name=jordan89/> First, he sent the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Division, under Col. George Willard, into the fray to stop the advance of Confederate Brigadier General William Barksdale's Brigade.<ref>{{cite book |title=Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock |last=Hancock |first=Almira |publisher=Digital Scanning, Inc. |year=1999 |isbn=1-58218-056-3 |location=Scituate, Massachusetts |pages=198}}</ref> In one famous incident, he sacrificed a regiment, the [[1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry|1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], by ordering it to advance and charge a Confederate brigade four times its size, causing the Minnesotans to suffer 87% casualties.<ref name=jordan93>Jordan, p. 93.</ref> While costly, this sacrifice bought time to organize the defensive line and saved the day for the Union Army.<ref name=jordan93/> Following the action toward his right, he sent the [[13th Vermont Infantry|13th Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment]] of the 1st Corps, which had come from Cemetery Hill to help quell the crisis, to recover some artillery pieces the Confederates had captured and were pulling away. The Vermonters were successful.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gettysburg: The Second Day |last=Pfanz |first=Harry |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1987 |isbn=0-8078-1749-X |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gettysburgsecond00pfan/page/422 422] |url=https://archive.org/details/gettysburgsecond00pfan/page/422 }}</ref> Having stabilized his line, he turned his attention to the sound of fighting on East Cemetery Hill. There, with darkness falling, Confederates from Maj. Gen. [[Jubal Early]]'s Division had gotten into Union batteries and were fighting the cannoneers hand-to-hand.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill|last = Pfanz|first = Harry|publisher = University of North Carolina Press|year = 1993|isbn = 0-8078-2118-7|location = Chapel Hill, North Carolina|pages = 269}}</ref> Hancock sent the First Brigade of his Third Division, under Colonel Samuel S. Carroll, to the fighting.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill|last = Pfanz|first = Harry|publisher = University of North Carolina Press|year = 1993|isbn = 0-8078-2118-7|location = Chapel Hill, North
On July 3, Hancock defended his position on Cemetery Ridge and thus bore the brunt of [[Pickett's Charge]].<ref>Jordan, pp. 96–99.</ref> During the massive Confederate artillery bombardment that preceded the infantry assault, Hancock was prominent on horseback, reviewing and 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."<ref>Foote, p. 545.</ref> During the infantry assault, his old friend, [[Brig. Gen. (CSA)|Brig. Gen.]] [[Lewis A. Armistead]], now leading a brigade in [[Maj. Gen. (CSA)|Maj. Gen.]] [[George Pickett]]'s division, was wounded and died two days later. Hancock could not meet with his friend because he had just been wounded himself, a severe wound caused by a bullet striking the pommel of his saddle, entering his inner right thigh along with wood fragments and a large bent nail.<ref>Jordan, p. 98.</ref> Helped from his horse by aides, and with a [[tourniquet]] applied to stanch the bleeding, he removed the saddle nail himself and, mistaking its source, remarked wryly, "They must be hard up for ammunition when they throw such shot as that."<ref>Foote, p. 561.</ref> News of Armistead's mortal wounding was brought to Hancock by a member of his staff, Capt. [[Henry H. Bingham]]. Despite his pain, Hancock refused evacuation to the rear until the battle was resolved. He had been an inspiration for his troops throughout the three-day battle. Hancock later received the thanks of the [[U.S. Congress]] for "... his gallant, meritorious and conspicuous share in that great and decisive victory."<ref Name=Eicher/>
Line 108:
===Service on the Plains===
After the executions, Hancock was assigned command of the newly organized [[Middle Military Division|Middle Military Department]], headquartered in [[Baltimore]].<ref>Jordan, p. 182.</ref> In 1866, on Grant's recommendation, Hancock was promoted to major general and was transferred, later that year, to command of the military [[Department of the Missouri]], which included the states of [[Missouri]] and [[Kansas]] and the territories of [[Colorado]] and [[New Mexico]].<ref>Jordan, pp. 183–84.</ref> Hancock reported to [[Fort Leavenworth]], Kansas, and took up his new posting.
Soon after arriving, he was assigned by General [[William Tecumseh Sherman|Sherman]] to lead an expedition to negotiate with the [[Cheyenne]] and [[Sioux]], with whom relations had worsened since the [[Sand Creek massacre]].<ref>Jordan, pp. 185–89.</ref> The negotiations got off to a bad start, and after Hancock ordered the burning of an abandoned Cheyenne village in central Kansas, relations became worse than when the expedition had started.<ref>Jordan, p. 194; Walker, p. 296.</ref>
Line 170:
===Campaign against Garfield===
[[File:1880DemocraticCampaignPoster.png|thumb|Hancock-English election poster]]
The Republicans [[1880 Republican National Convention|nominated]] [[James A. Garfield]], a Congressman from [[Ohio]] and a skillful politician, as well as a former general from the Civil War. Hancock and the Democrats expected to carry the [[Solid South]], but needed to add a few of the Northern states to their total to win the election. The practical differences between the parties were few, and the Republicans were reluctant to attack Hancock personally because of his heroic reputation.<ref>Jordan, pp. 292–96; Walker, p. 307.</ref> The one policy difference the Republicans were able to exploit was a statement in the Democratic platform endorsing "a [[Tariff in American history|tariff]] for revenue only."<ref>Jordan, p. 297.</ref> Garfield's campaigners used this statement to paint the Democrats as unsympathetic to the plight of industrial laborers, a group that would benefit by a high protective tariff. The tariff issue cut Democratic support in industrialized Northern states, which were essential in establishing a Democratic majority.<ref>Jordan, pp. 297–301.</ref> In the end, the Democrats and Hancock failed to carry any of the Northern states they had targeted, with the exception of [[New Jersey]]. Hancock lost the election to Garfield. Garfield polled only 39,213 more votes than Hancock, the popular vote being 4,453,295 for Garfield and 4,414,082 for Hancock. The electoral count, however, had a much larger spread, as Garfield polled 214 electoral votes and Hancock only 155. Garfield would be shot four months into his
==Later life==
Hancock took his electoral defeat in stride and attended Garfield's inauguration.<ref>Walker, p. 311.</ref> Following the election, Hancock carried on as commander of the Division of the Atlantic. He was elected president of the [[National Rifle Association]] in 1881, explaining that "The object of the NRA is to increase the military strength of the country by making skill in the use of arms as prevalent as it was in the days of the Revolution."<ref>Kopel, ''National Review''.</ref> Hancock was a Charter Director and the first president of the [[Military Service Institution of the United States]] from 1878 until his death in 1886.<ref>''Constitution, by-laws and register: together with memoranda relating to the history and work of the institution'', Military Service Institution of the United States, Governor's Island, N.Y.H., Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford co., 1906.</ref> He was commander-in-chief of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]] veterans organization from 1879 until his death in 1886. He was the author of ''Reports of Major General W. S. Hancock upon Indian Affairs'', published in 1867.<ref name=Eicher/> Hancock's last major public appearance was to preside over the funeral of President Grant in 1885, although he also made a less publicized trip that year to Gettysburg.<ref>Jordan, pp. 312–13.</ref>
Hancock died in 1886 at Governors Island, still in command of the Military Division of the Atlantic, the victim of an infected [[carbuncle]], complicated by [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetes]].<ref name=Tagg/><ref name=Cluff/> He is buried in [[
In 1893, Republican General [[Francis Amasa Walker|Francis A. Walker]] wrote,<blockquote>Although I did not vote for General Hancock, I am strongly disposed to believe that one of the best things the nation has lost in recent years has been the example and the influence of that chivalric, stately, and splendid gentleman in the [[White House]]. Perhaps much which both parties now recognize as having been unfortunate and mischievous during the past thirteen years would have been avoided had General Hancock been elected.<ref>They Also Ran, Irving Stone, p. 188.</ref></blockquote>
Line 182:
[[File:General Winfield Scott Hancock leading Ulysses S Grant's funeral procession.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|General Winfield Scott Hancock leading Ulysses S. Grant's funeral procession in New York City]]
The last public act performed by Hancock was his oversight of the funeral of Ulysses S. Grant in 1885, and his organizing and leading of Grant's nine
==Legacy==
Line 252:
* [http://www.civilwarhome.com/hancockgettysburg.htm Hancock's report of the Battle of Gettysburg]
* [http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12319 Hancock Park in New York City]
*[[Septimus Winner|Septimus Winner]] wrote the march [https://imslp.org/wiki/Gen._Hancock's_Grand_March_(Winner%2C_Septimus) Gen. Hancock's Grand March] in 1864.
{{s-start}}{{s-ppo}}
Line 266 ⟶ 267:
{{s-npo|nra}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Henry A. Gildersleeve]]
}}
{{s-ttl
Line 296 ⟶ 297:
[[Category:Candidates in the 1876 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1880 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Deaths from diabetes in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in New York (state)]]
| |||