Major General William H. French (USV)

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Corporal
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Location
Hangzhou, China (Wisconsin, USA)
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Major General William Henry French (USV)


William Henry French was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 13 January 1815. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1837 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery. He served in the Second Seminole War and was assigned to garrison duty along the Canada-U.S. border through 1838.

During the Mexican-American War, French was aide-de-camp to General Franklin Pierce. He also served on the staff of General Robert Patterson. He was engaged in the siege of Veracruz and received two brevet promotions for bravery.

In the early 1850s, he again fought the Seminole in Florida. One of his subordinates was Thomas Jackson, later “Stonewall”. The two disagreed often and the two filed numerous charges against each other with Army authorities. French then served on frontier duty until the Civil War. He co-authored Instruction for Field Artillery (1860) with William F. Barry and Henry J. Hunt.

Captain French and the 1st U.S. Artillery were stationed at Fort Duncan, Eagle Pass, Texas, at the outbreak of the Civil War. He refused to surrender to Confederate-aligned state authorities. He moved his men to the mouth of the Rio Grande and sailed to Key West. He was promoted to major and assumed command of Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West. With the Union Navy, he was instrumental in shutting off Key West to slave traders.

He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on 28 September 1861 and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He commanded a brigade in the II Corps during the Peninsula Campaign. He fought at the battles of Yorktown, Seven Pines, Oak Grove, Gaines’ Mill, Garnett’s & Golding’s Farm, Savage’s Station, Glendale, and Malvern Hill. French received praise in official reports for his actions and leadership and was promoted to division command during the Northern Virginia Campaign.

French commanded the 3rd Division of the II Corps at the Battle of Antietam, making the first attack on the Confederate position in the Sunken Road. He was promoted to major general on 29 November 1862. He led a division at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

During the Gettysburg Campaign, French commanded elements of the VIII Corps and the District of Harpers Ferry. He assumed command of the battered III Corps after Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles lost his leg on the second day of fighting at Gettysburg. During the Mine Run Campaign in November 1863, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade claimed French’s corps moved too slowly to exploit a potential advantage over Gen. Robert E. Lee. His reputation ruined, French was mustered out of the volunteer service on 6 May 1864 and the III Corps was reorganized out of existence.

He remained in the regular army serving on military boards in Washington, D.C. He ended the war colonel of the 4th U.S. Artillery. From 1865 to 1872, he commanded the 2nd Artillery on the Pacific Coast and commanded Fort McDowell in San Francisco Bay. In 1875, he was appointed to command Fort McHenry near Baltimore. In July 1880, he retired. French died on 20 May 1881 in Washington, D.C.

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