The mysterious relief of Brig. Gen. George Maney of Cheatham's Division

novushomus

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A while back, I read Tennessee's Forgotten Warriors: Frank Cheatham and His Confederate Division by Christopher Losson. As an aficionado of the war in the Western Theater and the Army of Tennessee, I was familiar with the reputation and commanders of Cheatham's division, Benjamin "Frank" Cheatham and John C. Brown, from battles such as Perryville and Franklin.

As Cheatham was one of the senior commanders in the Army of Tennessee, he was frequently elevated to command corps, commanding Hood's corps at the battles of Peach Tree Creek and Bald Hill, and Stewart's corps following the Battle of Ezra Church when Stewart was wounded. Following this elevation, Cheatham took a leave of absense and thus missed the Battle of Jonesboro.

At all of these occasions, Brig. Gen. George Maney assumed command as the senior brigadier in the division. Maney was experienced, serving in West Virginia and the Western Theater, and had commanded a brigade since Shiloh. When Cheatham was elevated to take Hood's old corps, Maney was a natural replacement. He commanded Cheatham's division at Peach Tree Creek, Bald Hill, and was at the head of Cheatham's division when it marched on to the Jonesboro battlefield on August 31. His division was deployed as Cleburne's reserve line (as Cleburne commanded Hardee's corps, as Hardee commanded the field), and when Cleburne attacked, Maney moved his division to fill a gap that opened between Bate's division (Brown) and Cleburne's division (Lowrey) as they advanced. Cleburne ordered Maney to strike and roll up the Federal flank of the troops opposing Brown. However, Maney found that his entire line was overlapped by the Federals and instead began his deploying his division in two lines to assault the Federal line at place where it was wooded and where he was viewed as having the most chance of success. Before Maney could attack however, he was recalled as both Cleburne's and Lee's corps had been checked in their attacks.

This is where the details get fuzzy. Losson states that mysteriously, Maney was either relieved or requested to be relieved and the next day Brig. Gen. John C. Carter assumed command of the division. According to Losson, Maney remained with the division, but did even return to his brigade, which was given to Carter after Atlanta fell. The impression I get from Losson is that Maney accompanied the division through Hood's Tennessee Campaign and wound up with Johnston in North Carolina, holding no command for the rest of the war. However, I find this questionable. Cheatham's division (re-designated Brown's for John C. Brown) suffered catastrophic losses at Franklin, including every general officer killed, wounded, or captured. In the aftermath, Hood appointed Brig. Gen. Mark P. Lowrey of Cleburne's division to assume command of the remnants. It seems implausible that Hood would appoint another general to take the division if Maney were still hanging around unattached, given that none of his actions during the Atlanta Campaign seem censurable.

Gleaming the web, I get several contradicting accounts. Most attribute Maney's relief to wounds Maney suffered either at Chattanooga or at Jonesboro (though Maney mentions no wounds at the latter in his report). Cursory searches mention wounds or being captured and released (also not mentioned by Maney in his report). Regardless, at 9 p.m. Carter simply reports that he assumed command. Wiki states that Maney remained with Hardee in Georgia and that Hardee recommended Maney for a promotion to major-generalship.

So what happened that Maney would relinquish command not only of Cheatham's division, but his own brigade as well?
 
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So what happened that Maney would relinquish command not only of Cheatham's Division, but his own brigade as well?

Good question and good luck figuring out the answer. @EricAJacobson in his book, For Cause & For Country, encourages a look at J.D. Welsh's Medical Histories of Confederate Generals for insight. I don't have Welsh's book and don't know what he's produced.

This is all I've got on the issue, sorry.
 
I have looked into this for a long time. Maney suffered a complicated arm wound at Missionary Ridge. His wound continued to plague him again and again during the course of the Atlanta Campaign. Six months later, on May 27th at a fight at Ellsbury Mountain, Georgia, he was observed “with his arm bandaged and in a sling from wounds received at Missionary Ridge...”

This arm wound continued to nag him throughout the campaign. It appears that sheer pain caused him to voluntarily relinquish his command to Carter on the evening of the 31st of August. I don't think there is any foundation to the possibility of him being relieved for any reason - especially regarding Jonesboro. He was to act in a reserve capacity, and help to exploit any breach that the lead divisions may have caused. That simply didn't happen, and his men were rightfully kept from reinforcing disaster.

He was given a twenty day leave on September 4th with a Surgeon's certificate, and when that ran out, he was extended for another thirty days on September 24. I have read first hand accounts that mention him on the Tennessee campaign. It appears he was too unwell to command, but probably acted on a staff or as an advisor to Cheatham. On January 18, 1865 at Tupelo, Mississippi he was granted sixty days leave by special order. This was undoubtedly due to the wound or complications resulting from it as well.
 
I have looked into this for a long time. Maney suffered a complicated arm wound at Missionary Ridge. His wound continued to plague him again and again during the course of the Atlanta Campaign. Six months later, on May 27th at a fight at Ellsbury Mountain, Georgia, he was observed “with his arm bandaged and in a sling from wounds received at Missionary Ridge...”

This arm wound continued to nag him throughout the campaign. It appears that sheer pain caused him to voluntarily relinquish his command to Carter on the evening of the 31st of August. I don't think there is any foundation to the possibility of him being relieved for any reason - especially regarding Jonesboro. He was to act in a reserve capacity, and help to exploit any breach that the lead divisions may have caused. That simply didn't happen, and his men were rightfully kept from reinforcing disaster.

He was given a twenty day leave on September 4th with a Surgeon's certificate, and when that ran out, he was extended for another thirty days on September 24. I have read first hand accounts that mention him on the Tennessee campaign. It appears he was too unwell to command, but probably acted on a staff or as an advisor to Cheatham. On January 18, 1865 at Tupelo, Mississippi he was granted sixty days leave by special order. This was undoubtedly due to the wound or complications resulting from it as well.


Thank you very much! So it was a wound that forced him to relinquish command. That would also explain the most perplexing mystery to me, that Hood would choose Lowrey to take Cheatham's old division when Maney was in reserve (not that Lowrey wasn't capable, but Maney I think had a good war record and had experience leading the division).
 
Does anyone know which arm it was that was wounded? And the extent of the injury? I really need to know. I'm assuming that during the assault at Franklin, he did not participate at all?
 
Apparently, Maney intended to rejoin his command and lead it as normal at some point. After Carter's brigade was consolidated with Maney's, the brigade retained the name "Maney's" brigade. It was at least hoped that he might recover enough to rejoin and lead his brigade.

It is a shame that his recovery was hampered. After Franklin, the division needed someone like Maney. Mark P. Lowrey was a good commander, but the assignment away from his own brigade and division led to his resignation.
 
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