Famous Corps Commander

[MikeyB]

In a Stillness at Appomattox, Catton says:
"There had been one notable occasion this past winter when a famous corps commander got drunk, walked full-tilt into a tree in front of his tent and was with difficulty restrained from court-martialing the officer of the guard on charges of felonious assault."

Anyone know offhand which famous corps commander this was?

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

If I had to venture a guess, it would be Maj. Gen. William H. "Old Blinky" French, a noted and notorious drunk who assumed command of the Third Corps on July 10, 1863. It's fair to say that the only aggressive move that Old Blinky ever made was on a bottle of whiskey.

Old Blinky was senior to pretty much everyone in the Army of the Potomac, so the only way for Meade to get rid of him was to merge the Third Corps into the Second and Fifth Corps during the early spring of 1864. Nobody missed him.

 

[Belfoured]

In a Stillness at Appomattox, Catton says:
"There had been one notable occasion this past winter when a famous corps commander got drunk, walked full-tilt into a tree in front of his tent and was with difficulty restrained from court-martialing the officer of the guard on charges of felonious assault."

Anyone know offhand which famous corps commander this was?

Given who the corps commanders were in the winter of 63-64, the odds would seem heavily stacked in favor of French. Newton, Warren, Sykes, and Sedgwick don't seem to be "the type". But I could be wrong.

 

[Belfoured]

If I had to venture a guess, it would be Maj. Gen. William H. "Old Blinky" French, a noted and notorious drunk who assumed command of the Third Corps on July 10, 1863. It's fair to say that the only aggressive move that Old Blinky ever made was on a bottle of whiskey.

Old Blinky was senior to pretty much everyone in the Army of the Potomac, so the only way for Meade to get rid of him was to merge the Third Corps into the Second and Fifth Corps during the early spring of 1864. Nobody missed him.

Great minds .....

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

Great minds .....

Indeed. That one's pretty obvious.

 

[Belfoured]

Indeed. That one's pretty obvious.

"the only aggressive move that Old Blinky ever made was on a bottle of whiskey"

You didn't say who won that fight ...

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

"the only aggressive move that Old Blinky ever made was on a bottle of whiskey"

You didn't say who won that fight ...

I'm thinking that the hangover was the winner.....

 

[Lubliner]

On waking up the next day, "Is it over yet?"
Lubliner.