Hussar Yeomanry
Sergeant
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
- Location
- UK
This is Part Four:
It continues from Part Three https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...at-first-bull-run-manassas-part-three.153549/
Part Two can be found here https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...a-at-first-bull-run-manassas-part-two.153437/
Part One can be found here https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...n-virginia-at-first-bull-run-manassas.153357/
Having previously looked at quantity we now have to look at the much more subjective issue of quality.
First, the commanders for this is an army that can only find space to assign William T Sherman – yes that William T Sherman – a brigade command. Therefore logically its Divisional and Army command should be as the colossi themselves.
They aren't.
I don't think anyone can object to that statement and to begin with I will look at Sherman's line of command. He reports to the First Division Commander who is Brigadier General Daniel Tyler. Tyler of course reports to McDowell. Personally and for competence as displayed by their future actions I would argue Sherman should have the army, McDowell the division and Tyler the brigade.
After all I personally believe McDowell to be a solid C+, B- kind of commander. Kind of sort of adequate in a push but absolutely devoid of that spark that makes a great general. I do accept he is in an appalling position and he comes very close to winning at First Bull Run but his future performance will be... uninspiring.
As to the five Divisional Commanders... well... Tyler will have at best a mixed war. Heavily blamed for the loss at Bull Run he will however get another Divisional Command. This time at the siege of Corinth. There he seems to just about do well enough to come back east and command troops at Harpers Ferry... which Jackson captures during the Antietam campaign. He does not get any future commands though this may be a little harsh on him for he was a subordinate commander at Harpers Ferry.
Colonel Hunter commands the Second Division and for the rest of the war will mainly have administrative roles (Frequently as the ranking officer on various Courts of Inquiry/ Court Martial's). He does occasionally get secondary field commands but his performance in these is mixed at best and frequently controversial (Advocating arming slaves, his Scorched Earth policy in the valley).
Colonel S P Heintzelman has the Third Division. He will at least gain Corps Command in the AoP but this is done over McClellan's head and Heintzelman will be relieved after Second Bull Run and a minor injury at Glendale. After these series of fairly average performances he commanded Washington's defences but does seem to have had the best post Bull Run career of any of the Divisional commanders.
(Brigadier General) T Runyon has the Fourth (Reserve) Division. He is a New Jersey Militiaman entirely leading men from New Jersey and will never receive a commission in the US volunteers. Neither will he ever see any action.
Colonel Dixon S Miles of the Fifth Division will go on to match his poor performance at Bull Run where he is claimed to be drunk with later failures. Indeed he will initially be in command at Harpers Ferry when it is surrendered to Jackson (the largest surrender of Union troops of the war) though he will not live to see this happen. He was mortally wounded just before from what some claim was a deliberate act by his own side... and again there are allegations that during the 'siege' he was drunk.
So, not exactly a stellar cast of Divisional Commanders.
Why were they chosen? We can only speculate. Seniority? Expediency? Runyon certainly seems to be a case of the latter. Politics? I can't prove this but wouldn't be surprised. A mix of the above? While they are men whose loyalty is not in doubt they would not be my first choice commanders.
The Brigade Commanders are however a very different breed.
William. T. Sherman – enough said.
Israel Richardson will become one of the most promising divisional commanders in the AoP and destined for bigger things when he is killed at the Sunken Lane at Antietam.
Oliver Otis Howard will get Corps Command in the AoP and indeed effectively Army command out west. It will be a mixed performance but at times he will shine.
Erasmus Keyes will get Corps Command in the AoP – admittedly not very successfully, especially as he may have alienated both McClellan and his later commander General Dix.
Robert Schenck is a political appointee. Pure and simple. With no prior military experience but a leading supporter of Lincoln he will go on to meet Stonewall Jackson again. It will not go well.
Andrew Porter will become a Brigadier General and Provost Martial of the AoP and this is a position he retains until after Antietam. I cannot tell precisely when he loses this position but it looks like he may have been one of the casualties when Hooker reorganised the army as by Gettysburg he has certainly gone. He then receives some minor administrative duties before mustering out of the army in 1864 due to health reasons.
Ambrose E Burnside. Books could and have been written about this man. I see no reason to repeat them.
William B Franklin will get Corps Command in the AoP but will suffer in the furore around Porter's Court Martial and will be blamed by Burnside for his failure at Fredericksburg. Reassigned to the Trans-Mississippi he will find himself caught up in the Red River debacle. He will be wounded during it and later captured by the Confederates. Despite escaping and being U.S. Grant's choice for Cavalry Corps Commander of the AoP rather than Sheridan he will never have a major command again.
Orlando B Wilcox will rise through the AoP to very briefly get Corps Command at Fredericksburg. He will later get Divisional Command in Grant's Overland Campaign. He will be present at Petersburg and will get a reasonable if unexceptional reputation as a commander.
L. Blenker and T A. Davis are the Brigade Commanders in the uncommitted Fifth Division
In other words its a very mixed bag but compared with most of the Divisional Commanders a vast improvement. There is also definitely some real talent here.
Regimental Commanders will include A.H. Terry, A. McCook, H. W. Slocum, G. Sykes.
Whilst commanding artillery batteries will be Henry Hunt, R.B Ayres, C. Griffin, J. B. Ricketts
All these will be heard from again and I may well have missed some which means that amidst this very uneven army there are some very competent individuals. Possibly in the wrong places but definitely there.
(In Part Five which will probably be the last part we will look at the even more subjective topic of the quality of the troops and unlike this part I think it will be far more controversial/ argued with)
Your thoughts?
It continues from Part Three https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...at-first-bull-run-manassas-part-three.153549/
Part Two can be found here https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...a-at-first-bull-run-manassas-part-two.153437/
Part One can be found here https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...n-virginia-at-first-bull-run-manassas.153357/
Having previously looked at quantity we now have to look at the much more subjective issue of quality.
First, the commanders for this is an army that can only find space to assign William T Sherman – yes that William T Sherman – a brigade command. Therefore logically its Divisional and Army command should be as the colossi themselves.
They aren't.
I don't think anyone can object to that statement and to begin with I will look at Sherman's line of command. He reports to the First Division Commander who is Brigadier General Daniel Tyler. Tyler of course reports to McDowell. Personally and for competence as displayed by their future actions I would argue Sherman should have the army, McDowell the division and Tyler the brigade.
After all I personally believe McDowell to be a solid C+, B- kind of commander. Kind of sort of adequate in a push but absolutely devoid of that spark that makes a great general. I do accept he is in an appalling position and he comes very close to winning at First Bull Run but his future performance will be... uninspiring.
As to the five Divisional Commanders... well... Tyler will have at best a mixed war. Heavily blamed for the loss at Bull Run he will however get another Divisional Command. This time at the siege of Corinth. There he seems to just about do well enough to come back east and command troops at Harpers Ferry... which Jackson captures during the Antietam campaign. He does not get any future commands though this may be a little harsh on him for he was a subordinate commander at Harpers Ferry.
Colonel Hunter commands the Second Division and for the rest of the war will mainly have administrative roles (Frequently as the ranking officer on various Courts of Inquiry/ Court Martial's). He does occasionally get secondary field commands but his performance in these is mixed at best and frequently controversial (Advocating arming slaves, his Scorched Earth policy in the valley).
Colonel S P Heintzelman has the Third Division. He will at least gain Corps Command in the AoP but this is done over McClellan's head and Heintzelman will be relieved after Second Bull Run and a minor injury at Glendale. After these series of fairly average performances he commanded Washington's defences but does seem to have had the best post Bull Run career of any of the Divisional commanders.
(Brigadier General) T Runyon has the Fourth (Reserve) Division. He is a New Jersey Militiaman entirely leading men from New Jersey and will never receive a commission in the US volunteers. Neither will he ever see any action.
Colonel Dixon S Miles of the Fifth Division will go on to match his poor performance at Bull Run where he is claimed to be drunk with later failures. Indeed he will initially be in command at Harpers Ferry when it is surrendered to Jackson (the largest surrender of Union troops of the war) though he will not live to see this happen. He was mortally wounded just before from what some claim was a deliberate act by his own side... and again there are allegations that during the 'siege' he was drunk.
So, not exactly a stellar cast of Divisional Commanders.
Why were they chosen? We can only speculate. Seniority? Expediency? Runyon certainly seems to be a case of the latter. Politics? I can't prove this but wouldn't be surprised. A mix of the above? While they are men whose loyalty is not in doubt they would not be my first choice commanders.
The Brigade Commanders are however a very different breed.
William. T. Sherman – enough said.
Israel Richardson will become one of the most promising divisional commanders in the AoP and destined for bigger things when he is killed at the Sunken Lane at Antietam.
Oliver Otis Howard will get Corps Command in the AoP and indeed effectively Army command out west. It will be a mixed performance but at times he will shine.
Erasmus Keyes will get Corps Command in the AoP – admittedly not very successfully, especially as he may have alienated both McClellan and his later commander General Dix.
Robert Schenck is a political appointee. Pure and simple. With no prior military experience but a leading supporter of Lincoln he will go on to meet Stonewall Jackson again. It will not go well.
Andrew Porter will become a Brigadier General and Provost Martial of the AoP and this is a position he retains until after Antietam. I cannot tell precisely when he loses this position but it looks like he may have been one of the casualties when Hooker reorganised the army as by Gettysburg he has certainly gone. He then receives some minor administrative duties before mustering out of the army in 1864 due to health reasons.
Ambrose E Burnside. Books could and have been written about this man. I see no reason to repeat them.
William B Franklin will get Corps Command in the AoP but will suffer in the furore around Porter's Court Martial and will be blamed by Burnside for his failure at Fredericksburg. Reassigned to the Trans-Mississippi he will find himself caught up in the Red River debacle. He will be wounded during it and later captured by the Confederates. Despite escaping and being U.S. Grant's choice for Cavalry Corps Commander of the AoP rather than Sheridan he will never have a major command again.
Orlando B Wilcox will rise through the AoP to very briefly get Corps Command at Fredericksburg. He will later get Divisional Command in Grant's Overland Campaign. He will be present at Petersburg and will get a reasonable if unexceptional reputation as a commander.
L. Blenker and T A. Davis are the Brigade Commanders in the uncommitted Fifth Division
In other words its a very mixed bag but compared with most of the Divisional Commanders a vast improvement. There is also definitely some real talent here.
Regimental Commanders will include A.H. Terry, A. McCook, H. W. Slocum, G. Sykes.
Whilst commanding artillery batteries will be Henry Hunt, R.B Ayres, C. Griffin, J. B. Ricketts
All these will be heard from again and I may well have missed some which means that amidst this very uneven army there are some very competent individuals. Possibly in the wrong places but definitely there.
(In Part Five which will probably be the last part we will look at the even more subjective topic of the quality of the troops and unlike this part I think it will be far more controversial/ argued with)
Your thoughts?