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Hancock was sent to assume command on July 1, after the death of Reynolds.
I saw this question and it was enlightening in what was not said, rather than the observations made.
No mention was made of the general from whom command was changed. The only reference is that Hancock has no battle experience commanding a corps let alone several corps. No one asked why Meade might not have wanted MG OO Howard, who assumed command of the two corps at Gettysburg on July 1.
In retrospect, Howard never proved himself as Corps commander of the 11th Corps. The Corps was split up fairly shortly after Gettysburg and Howard and the rest of his corps were transferred to the western army in Tennessee.
That was Howard's problem. He commanded the worst corps in the Army of the Potomac. If one considers the ramifications of keeping Howard as a wing commander, one must seriously look at who would then command the 11th Corps. Howard put Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz in command of the 11th Corps. If that Howard's best choice, it was one Meade would not abide.
Meade had one politicial general too many already commanding a corps - Sickles.
I do not think one can discuss the appointment of Hancock over Howard without discussing the 11 Corps and the effect of moving MG Schurz to a higher command.
From what I've read on Howard and the 11th Corp, and honestly it's not as much as I've read on other units and officers, a few reasons may be stigma, the 11ths recent history and Howard's physical condition. If I remember right, and I could be wrong...it's happened plenty of times before, the 11th Corp was made up of many men of foreign/European decent and U.S. citizens had and in cases today still have a certain biased opinion towards immigrants. Also, his corp broke at Chancellorsville. Howard also lost an arm during the war. Maybe Meade thought that he would possibly not have the stomach to put himself/troops at risk or to take overall command. That being said, he and from what I've read in The Iron Brigade Hancock began to secure Cemetary Ridge for the Union Army on the afternoon and night of July 1st. Just a thought. Like I've said, I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again, but I hope it helps or leads to discussion and the right answer.
Bart
__________________ "Thank You....Noooo."
Major Charles Emerson Winchester III M.A.S.H. 4077th
The problem with XI Corps wasn't the men, who in the more egalitarian West were able to show their mettle and prove their worth, but in lots of other things. Primary among them was the leadership it received during the earlier parts of the war (up to and including Gettysburg). also telling was the perception by the rest of the soldiers in the East as to the unfitness of the 'Germans' as soldiers, and lastly this xenophobic view of the 'Germans' is shared by the War Department and Army Brass if not explicitly (and that was the case with General in Chief Halleck) then implicitly. They were definitely considered second line troops by Stanton, Halleck, and other Eastern commanders and treated as such when it came to supplies, attention, assignments, etc.
At Chancellorsville, the almost criminally heedless Howard and Hooker and his staff as well received ample and numerous warnings from alert men and subordinate commanders of the XI Corps about a massive Confederate flank attack. But these reports were dismissed as frightened vaporings by fey foreigners. And of course when the attack broke and caused the Union loss at Chancellorsville, it was the 'Germans's' fault!!
Then at Gettysburg, Howard attempting to redeem the Corps' (actually his own) honor, became unnerved with Reynolds's death and subsequent passing of command to him and bungled those critical hours of Ewell's flank attack north of Gettysburg by trying to maintain an untenable line. He did have the foresight to dig in on Cemetery Hill and refuse to send forward the brigade holding it.
As to Meade's sending Hancock to command at Gettysburg, remember Meade was very new (only 4 days) to overall command in a very fluid situation. He was still trying to piece his army together in a defensive posture that allowed for movement at a defensible place (Pipe Creek). The commander he trusted most in the Army he was now receiving reports had just been killed in an engagement that was escalating and drawing the army to it, and Lee was just on the other side of the fight defining at Gettysburg. Who now was at Gettysburg?? A very competent cavalry division commander, an elevated infantry division commander (Doubleday), and Howard of questionable Chancellorsville credentials. He had to ignore 'the book', and go with his instincts and his trust. He trusted Hancock and so sent Hancock to take over if it was true that Reynolds was dead. Hancock was to assess the ground, the fight, and the situation, take command of the battlefield, and make a decision whether the Army should keep moving to Gettysburg or pull back to a defensible place. The Union was blessed this day in having a succession of Union commanders- Buford, Reynolds, Howard, and now Hancock who saw the ideal defensive nature of Gettysburg and unhesitatingly brought the forces of the Army to bear here. Meade to his credit as well once he learned from his commanders that Gettysburg should be the place to fight Lee threw himself entirely into the task on the word of his subordinates. But in the end, on subordinates he trusted, and in the end, that trust moved mountains.
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
No one ever see any mention of MG Carl Schurz, the seemingly unknown general at Gettysburg.
No one in my readings ever seemed to notice that MG Schurz was commander of the the 11th Corps, that collided with Ewell's Corps on July 1.
Meade, if he kept Howard in command of the corps at Gettysburg, would be forced to accept Schurz as a corps commander. Howard and Schurz were sort of joined at the hip.
Schurz was not well thought of by the professionals and he got one of the most interesting, Texas two-steps, after the 11th Corps was transferred to the army in the west in Tennessee.
While I can see Hancock over Howard, on a heads up decision, I don't see Howard-Schurz exercising greater command, when Meade had Hancock in the "theatre wings."
No one ever mentions Schurz and his part of the replacement of Howard by Hancock on July 1, before Meade's arrival.
Good point about Schurz, Whitworth. The man just doesn't and didn't at the time either seem to get any regard, though I can see nothing he ever did poorly. As a Latin farmer who had participated in the 1848 german Rebellion, he had military experience. It seems however, he was caught up like most of the other German officers in the prejudice against the 'Dutch' and foreigners at the time. After all, the Civil War was not long after the heyday of the Know-Nothings and a substantial nativist feeling persisted and seemed to pervade the officer corps. Schurz was one of those 'German' XI Corps leaders who knew Jackson's flank attack was coming at Chancellorsville and prepared his men to meet it. He as far as I can tell performed well at Gettysburg, even given his orders were to hold off a basically un-hold-off-able flank attack north of Gettysburg town.
From what I can gather, Schurz was considered a political general who held his post due to his strong support and campaigning for the Republican Party and that he seems to have had a bit of an arrogant and abrasive nature. He also appears to be one of those clear thinking men who understands wars are fought to advance your political objectives and who is not distracted from the fact. A very worthy man in my estimation, and one who receives little 'press' even now.
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
MG Schurz was a political general who rose beyond his capability and he was one of a number of political generals who got moved from line command in 1864 and 1865.
Meade wanted to break up the 11th Corps soon after Gettysburg and transferred within about a month, one of the German divisions permanently to South Carolina.
Schurz was transferred to the army in the west and was subject to a court of inquiry, questioning his command during the Battle of Wauhatchie. Not convicted, he lost his division command when the 12th and 11th Corps were combined.
He spent the rest of the war getting shuffled from Sherman to Grant in the east and lastly to Sherman in North Carolina. Schurz never regain line command after his replacement in command of his old division of the 11th Corps.
By 1864, the professionals started running the war, and most of the political general were replaced, unless they proved competent.
By 1864, the professionals started running the war, and most of the political general were replaced, unless they proved competent.
Whitworth, you say that by '64, the professional soldiers were running the war, and that is true. What you don't say is that these 'Latin Farmers'- the German emigrees from the failed 1848 revolution- who rose to command in American were for the most part professional soldiers. Schurz wasn't, but had military experience in Germany. These men unfortunately mostly suffered from discrimination here, and that includes Schurz. regards, ed
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
Schurz wasn't, but had military experience in Germany. These men unfortunately mostly suffered from discrimination here, and that includes Schurz. regards, ed
Ed, I apologize in advance for looking for jumping on any excuse to avoid anything I really ought to be doing this moment. If Shurz had commanded the entire Prussian army he would still be a political general in this country. Not to say there was no ethnic discrimination, but in the case of political generals, it was more the lack of a West Point commission.
Ole
I think Lincoln shrewd. It wasn't so much the matter of getting warm immigrant bodies to fill the ranks as it was to gain the support of a huge immigrant population whom, I would suspect, were looking for a little peace for a while. Of his political assignments, he certainly made worse choices than Shurz.
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Ole- you said what I meant to add to my post but didn't, so thanks in advance . The German generals were not given commissions primarily for their education, experience, and achievements, but for political reasons- the support of the German Americans who were almost universally Republican and ardent proponents of the Union. However, the German leaders's education, experience, and achievements were indeed important to the German Americans and their men in the ranks.
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
That was Howard's problem. He commanded the worst corps in the Army of the Potomac.
This is another interesting point brought up by whitworth in his original post. From its' beginnings, the XI Corps would be a 'hard luck' outfit. It was originally brought together under General JC Fremont in the West Viriginia mountains. He was given many of the 'foreign' and German units because he was one commander in the Federal ranks who liked them and who in turn was liked by them. And also as a way of 'getting rid of them' and killing two birds with one stone by the War Department. They were neglected from the beginning. Though the admiration between Fremont and his men was mutual, Fremont was not a first rate organizer; he was in a military back channel, and his men did not receive the pick of the Army's supplies and attention or very much of them. With General Sigel in command, it was viewed with suspicion by the rest of the Army- men, brass, and War Department, and kept on the back burner. It was given no major assignments in Pope's campaign, Antietam, and Fredericksburg campaigns. This neglect was enough for Sigel, who beleiving himelf and the Corps slighted, asked to be and was relieved of command.
Here is where suspicion and hard luck descend into a vicious cycle. Believing the Corps needed 'reform' and 'discipline', the War Department sent possibly the worst officer in terms of temperament to supply these supposed delinquencies. Freedom loving and free thinking Germans were a very poor mix for the rigid Christian and the martinet division commanders he imported, displacing officers the Corps knew and liked. Distrust was heightened between the men and junior oficers and the senior officers who commanded them- a very potent, and foreboding, brew.
Until the Corps moved on to Tennessee, it was all down hill from there. There was nothing wrong with this corps attention and respect could not have helped, like with the rest of the Army. Sigel should have been retained in command. Unfortunately for him and the Corps, his very high rank made him the second in command in the Army of the Potomac and that frightened his fellow commanders and Halleck, the overall commander, who himself possessed a large and blatant nativist streak. No corps in the Army, even crack outfits like the II or III Corps, would have been able to overcome a heedless commander at Chancellorsville and a hesitant and injudicious one at Gettysburg. It was the XI Corps bad luck to be so plagued by circumstance at both places. If the XI Corps was the worst corps in the Army, it was made that way and it was not the inherent quality of the corps.
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
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Why Hancock? 
. The German generals were not given commissions primarily for their education, experience, and achievements, but for political reasons- the support of the German Americans who were almost universally Republican and ardent proponents of the Union. However, the German leaders's education, experience, and achievements were indeed important to the German Americans and their men in the ranks.
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