179-602: Edward Porter Alexander (May 26, 1835 – April 28, 1910) was an American military engineer, railroad executive, planter, and author. He served first as an officer in the United States Army and later, during the American Civil War (1861–1865), in the Confederate Army , rising to the rank of brigadier general . Alexander was the officer in charge of the massive artillery bombardment preceding Pickett's Charge , on
358-720: A major general in the Virginia militia on May 4, but the Virginia Convention decided two weeks later that only one major general was required in the state army and Robert E. Lee was their choice. Johnston was then offered a state commission as a brigadier general, which he declined, accepting instead a commission as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army on May 14. Johnston relieved Colonel Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson of command at Harpers Ferry in May and organized
537-598: A status quo antebellum. Two weeks after a treaty was signed (but not ratified), Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and siege of Fort St. Philip with an army dominated by militia and volunteers, and became a national hero. U.S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane , Levant and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides (the United States and Great Britain) returned to
716-715: A Confederate were published in 1907. An extensive personal account of his military training and his participation in the Civil War was rediscovered long after his death and published in 1989 as Fighting for the Confederacy . Alexander, known to his friends as Porter, was born in Washington, Georgia into a wealthy and distinguished family of planters from the Antebellum South . He was the sixth of ten children of Adam Leopold Alexander and Sarah Hillhouse Gilbert Alexander. His mother
895-635: A Confederate: A Critical Narrative (1907), praised by Douglas Southall Freeman as "altogether the best critique of the operations of the Army of Northern Virginia." Long after his death, it was realized that Alexander had produced the Military Memoirs , which sought to be a professional work of military history and analysis, after a long effort of editing a collection of much more personal memoirs that he had started compiling during his time in Greytown, Nicaragua, at
1074-519: A Mexican artillery shell had killed Preston at Contreras, both officers wept, and Johnston grieved for the remainder of his life. Johnston was an engineer on the Texas-United States boundary survey in 1841; he returned to the area, was appointed chief topographical engineer of the Department of Texas and served from 1848 to 1853. During the 1850s, he sought his previous rank, sending letters to
1253-459: A brigadier general was as a staff officer and that his highest line commission was as a lieutenant colonel; both Sidney Johnston and Lee had been full colonels. Johnston sent an intemperately worded letter to Davis, who was offended enough to discuss its tone with his cabinet. Johnston was placed in command of the Department of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of the Potomac on July 21, 1861, and
1432-518: A continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775. The U.S. Army is a uniformed service of the United States and is part of the Department of the Army , which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the secretary of
1611-582: A few months. The war remains the deadliest conflict in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 men on both sides. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6.4% in the North and 18% in the South . Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army had the mission of containing western tribes of Native Americans on the Indian reservations . They set up many forts, and engaged in
1790-455: A field army command more desirable than his current, mostly administrative post. Still, his sense of honor prevented him from achieving this personal gain at Bragg's expense. After interviewing Bragg and several of his subordinates, he produced a generally positive report and refused to relieve the army commander. Davis ordered Bragg to a meeting in Richmond and designated Johnston to take command in
1969-507: A fighting evacuation (the Battle of Jackson , May 14) and retreated with his force north. Grant captured the city and then faced to the west to approach Vicksburg. Johnston began to move his force west to join Pemberton when he heard of that general's defeat at Champion Hill (May 16) and Big Black River Bridge (May 17). The survivors retreated to the fortifications of Vicksburg. Johnston urged Pemberton to avoid being surrounded by abandoning
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#17328584464642148-483: A functional area. However, officers continue to wear the branch insignia of their former branch in most cases, as functional areas do not generally have discrete insignia. Some branches, such as Special Forces , operate similarly to functional areas in that individuals may not join their ranks until having served in another Army branch. Careers in the Army can extend into cross-functional areas for officers, warrant officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel. Before 1933,
2327-479: A general in the Confederate Army and attempted to justify his career as a cautious campaigner. The book sold poorly, and its publisher failed to make a profit. Although many Confederate generals criticized Johnston, Sherman and Grant portrayed him favorably in their memoirs. Sherman described him as a "dangerous and wily opponent" and criticized Johnston's nemeses, Hood and Davis. Grant supported his decisions in
2506-651: A general officer in the regular army , reaching a higher rank in the U.S. Army than did his 1829 classmate, Robert E. Lee (2nd of 46). Johnston resigned from the Army in March 1837 and studied civil engineering. During the Second Seminole War , he was a civilian topographic engineer aboard a ship led by William Pope McArthur . On January 12, 1838, at Jupiter, Florida , the sailors who had gone ashore were attacked. Johnston said there were "no less than 30 bullet holes" in his clothing, and one bullet creased his scalp, leaving
2685-511: A home he named Panecillo. Johnston attended the United States Military Academy , nominated by John C. Calhoun in 1825 while he was Secretary of War . He was moderately successful in academics and received only a small number of disciplinary demerits. He graduated in 1829, ranking 13th of 46 cadets, and was appointed a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. He would become the first West Point graduate to be promoted to
2864-620: A journey to visit Benito Juárez 's government in Veracruz. He was also ordered to inspect possible military routes across the country in case of further hostilities. Brig. Gen. Thomas Jesup , the Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, died on June 10, 1860. Winfield Scott was responsible for naming a replacement, but instead of one name, he offered four possibilities: Joseph E. Johnston, Albert Sidney Johnston (no relation), Robert E. Lee, and Charles F. Smith . Although Jefferson Davis, now
3043-681: A member of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, favored Albert Sidney Johnston, Secretary of War Floyd chose Joseph E. Johnston for the position. Johnston was promoted to brigadier general on June 28, 1860. Johnston did not enjoy the position, preferring field command to administration in Washington. In addition, he suffered from the pressures of the imminent sectional crisis and the ethical dilemma of administering war matériel that might prove useful to his native South. He did not yield to temptation, however, as Secretary of War Floyd
3222-486: A mentor relationship and close friendship with one of his junior officers, Capt. George B. McClellan , who would later command the U.S. Army against Johnston. In the fall of 1856, Johnston was transferred to a depot for recruits at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri . In 1857 he led surveying expeditions to determine the Kansas border, including a corner monument that would later lead to a Supreme Court case . Later that year, Davis
3401-690: A month – known as battle assemblies or unit training assemblies (UTAs) – and conduct two to three weeks of annual training each year. Both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve are organized under Title 10 of the United States Code , while the National Guard is organized under Title 32 . While the Army National Guard is organized, trained, and equipped as a component of the U.S. Army, when it
3580-487: A new Army Command (ACOM) in 2018. The Army Futures Command (AFC), is a peer of FORSCOM, TRADOC, and AMC, the other ACOMs. AFC's mission is modernization reform: to design hardware, as well as to work within the acquisition process which defines materiel for AMC. TRADOC's mission is to define the architecture and organization of the Army, and to train and supply soldiers to FORSCOM. AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are Futures Command's vehicle for sustainable reform of
3759-599: A point of view character in Cain at Gettysburg by Ralph Peters . Alexander is the protagonist of the 2023 playlet Alas, Confederates by James F. Bruns. United States Army The United States Army ( USA ) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces . It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services , and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution . The Army
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#17328584464643938-472: A predominantly combat support role. The army converted to an all-volunteer force with greater emphasis on training to specific performance standards driven by the reforms of General William E. DePuy , the first commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command . Following the Camp David Accords that was signed by Egypt, Israel that was brokered by president Jimmy Carter in 1978, as part of
4117-613: A role in the invasions of Grenada in 1983 ( Operation Urgent Fury ) and Panama in 1989 ( Operation Just Cause ). By 1989 Germany was nearing reunification and the Cold War was coming to a close. Army leadership reacted by starting to plan for a reduction in strength. By November 1989 Pentagon briefers were laying out plans to reduce army end strength by 23%, from 750,000 to 580,000. A number of incentives such as early retirement were used. In 1990, Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor, Kuwait , and U.S. land forces quickly deployed to assure
4296-533: A scar he had for the rest of his life. Having encountered more combat activities in Florida as a civilian than he had previously as an artillery officer, Johnston decided to rejoin the Army. He departed for Washington, D.C., in April 1838 and was appointed a first lieutenant of topographic engineers on July 7; on that same day, he received a brevet promotion to captain for the actions at Jupiter Inlet and his explorations of
4475-460: A series of unsuccessful maneuvers during the winter of 1862–63 to the north of the fortress city, but followed in April 1863 with an ambitious campaign that began with Grant's army crossing the Mississippi River southwest of Vicksburg. Catching Lt. Gen. Pemberton by surprise, the U.S. army waged a series of successful battles as it moved northeast toward the state capital of Jackson . On May 9,
4654-587: A sign of respect, although the weather was cold and rainy. Someone concerned for his health asked him to put on his hat, to which Johnston replied, "If I were in his place, and he were standing here in mine, he would not put on his hat." He did catch a cold that day, which developed into pneumonia , and Johnston died one month later in Washington, D.C. He was buried next to his wife in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore , Maryland . Johnston's papers are held by
4833-589: A significant Union defeat. Alexander returned to the Army in February 1865 and supervised the defenses of Richmond along the James River. He retreated along with Lee's army in the Appomattox Campaign . At Appomattox Court House , it was Alexander who made the famous proposal to Lee for the army to disperse, rather than surrender. Lee rebuked him, and Alexander later wrote about regretting his suggestion. Although
5012-592: A strategy of seizing the coastline, blockading the ports, and taking control of the river systems. By 1863, the Confederacy was being strangled. Its eastern armies fought well, but the western armies were defeated one after another until the Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 along with the Tennessee River. In the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862–1863, General Ulysses Grant seized the Mississippi River and cut off
5191-485: A week later, the loss of Vicksburg gave the United States complete control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two. President Davis wryly ascribed the strategic defeat to a "want of provisions inside and a general outside [Johnston] who would not fight." The relationship between Johnston and Davis, difficult since the early days of the war, became bitter as recriminations were traded publicly about who
5370-448: Is due to be completed by 2028. The Army's five core competencies are prompt and sustained land combat, combined arms operations (to include combined arms maneuver and wide–area security, armored and mechanized operations and airborne and air assault operations ), special operations forces , to set and sustain the theater for the joint force, and to integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land. The Continental Army
5549-455: Is founded on the consent of the governed , and that every community strong enough to establish and maintain its independence, has a right to assert it. Having been educated in such opinions, I naturally determined to return to the State of which I was a native, join the people among whom I was born, and live with my kindred, and if necessary, fight in their defense." He was initially commissioned as
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5728-521: Is not in federal service it is under the command of individual state and territorial governors. However, the District of Columbia National Guard reports to the U.S. president, not the district's mayor , even when not federalized. Any or all of the National Guard can be federalized by presidential order and against the governor's wishes. The U.S. Army is led by a civilian secretary of the Army , who has
5907-670: Is that each brigade will be modular, i.e., all brigades of the same type will be exactly the same and thus any brigade can be commanded by any division. As specified before the 2013 end-strength re-definitions, the three major types of brigade combat teams are: In addition, there are combat support and service support modular brigades. Combat support brigades include aviation (CAB) brigades, which will come in heavy and light varieties, fires (artillery) brigades (now transforms to division artillery) and expeditionary military intelligence brigades . Combat service support brigades include sustainment brigades and come in several varieties and serve
6086-812: Is the oldest branch of the U.S. military and the most senior in order of precedence. It has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself
6265-536: Is turned". Upon receiving a similar message, Beauregard and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston sent timely reinforcements that turned the tide of battle in the Confederates' favor. Alexander was promoted to major on July 1 and lieutenant colonel on December 31, 1861. During much of this period he was chief of ordnance, under Johnston's command, managing supplies and ammunition in what later became the Army of Northern Virginia . He
6444-547: The 1st U.S. Cavalry at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas , under Col. Edwin V. "Bull" Sumner , on March 1, 1855. (At this same time, Robert E. Lee was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry under Col. Albert Sidney Johnston (no relation). In this role, Johnston participated in actions against the Sioux in the Wyoming Territory and in the violence over slavery in the future state, known as Bleeding Kansas . He developed
6623-556: The Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad Company, which during his tenure of May 1866 to November 1867, was renamed the Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad . Johnston was bored with the position, and the company failed for a lack of capital. He established Joseph E. Johnston & Company, an insurance agency for New York Life Insurance Co. and a British insurance company, which Johnston operated out of Savannah (Ga.) from 1868 to 1877. The British company
6802-859: The Army of Northern Virginia for the rest of the war. Lee began by driving McClellan from the Peninsula during the Seven Days Battles of late June and beating a U.S. army a second time near Bull Run in August. Johnston was prematurely discharged from the hospital on November 24, 1862, and appointed to command the Department of the West, the principal command of the Western Theater , which gave him titular control of Gen. Braxton Bragg 's Army of Tennessee and Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton 's Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana . (The other major force in this area
6981-613: The Army of the Shenandoah in July. In the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), July 21, 1861, Johnston rapidly moved his small army from the Shenandoah Valley to reinforce that of Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard , but he lacked familiarity with the terrain and ceded tactical planning of the battle to the more junior Beauregard as a professional courtesy. At midday, while Beauregard
7160-470: The Battle of 73 Easting were tank battles of historical significance. After Operation Desert Storm, the army did not see major combat operations for the remainder of the 1990s but did participate in a number of peacekeeping activities. In 1990 the Department of Defense issued guidance for "rebalancing" after a review of the Total Force Policy, but in 2004, USAF Air War College scholars concluded
7339-464: The Battle of Cerro Gordo . He was appointed a brevet lieutenant colonel for his actions at Cerro Gordo. After recovering in a field hospital, he rejoined the army at Puebla. During the advance toward Mexico City, he was second in command of the " U.S. Regiment of Voltigeurs ", a unit composed of light infantry or skirmishers. He distinguished himself at Contreras and Churubusco , was wounded again at Chapultepec , and received two brevet promotions for
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7518-661: The Battles for Chattanooga in November. Bragg resigned from his command of the Army of Tennessee and returned to Richmond as military adviser to the president. Davis offered the position to William J. Hardee , the senior corps commander, who refused. He considered P.G.T. Beauregard, another general with whom he had poor personal relations, and Robert E. Lee. Lee, reluctant to leave Virginia, first recommended Beauregard, but sensing Davis's discomfort, he changed his recommendation to Johnston. After much agonizing, Davis appointed Johnston to command
7697-678: The Charlotte, Columbia, and Augusta Railroad (executive superintendent), the Savannah and Memphis Railroad (president), the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (president), and in the late 1880s the Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia until 1891. During his employment at the Savannah and Memphis Railroad, the decision was made to route the railroad through Youngsville, Alabama . Youngsville
7876-488: The First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, but the victory is usually credited to his subordinate, P. G. T. Beauregard . Johnston defended the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia , during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign , withdrawing under the pressure of U.S. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan 's superior force. He suffered a severe wound at the Battle of Seven Pines and was replaced by Robert E. Lee . In 1863, Johnston
8055-523: The Florida Everglades . On July 10, 1845, in Baltimore, Johnston married Lydia Mulligan Sims McLane (1822–1887), the daughter of Louis McLane and his wife. Her father was the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , a prominent politician ( congressman and senator from Delaware , minister to London , and a member of President Andrew Jackson 's cabinet). They had no children. Johnston
8234-573: The Maryland Campaign ( Antietam ). He barely missed capture by Federal cavalry, under Col. Benjamin F. "Grimes" Davis , that had escaped from Harpers Ferry during the Maryland Campaign; over 40 of Longstreet's 80 ammunition wagons were captured. Porter Alexander is best known as an artilleryman who played a prominent role in many of the important battles of the war. He served in different artillery capacities for Longstreet's First Corps of
8413-602: The Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars . After Virginia declared secession from the United States, he entered the Confederate States Army as one of its most senior general officers . From 1888 to 1889 he was a vice president, from 1889 to 1890 president, of the Aztec Club of 1847 . Johnston was trained as a civil engineer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York , graduating in
8592-681: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom , until the 1990s in anticipation of a possible Soviet attack. During the Cold War, U.S. troops and their allies fought communist forces in Korea and Vietnam . The Korean War began in June 1950, when the Soviets walked out of a UN Security Council meeting, removing their possible veto. Under a United Nations umbrella, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops fought to prevent
8771-455: The Washington Territory , and at Alcatraz Island , near San Francisco, California . After learning of the secession of his home state of Georgia, Alexander resigned his U.S. Army commission on May 1, 1861, to join the Confederate Army as a captain of engineers. While organizing and training new recruits to form a Confederate signal service, he was ordered to report to Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard at Manassas Junction, Virginia . He became
8950-450: The guerrilla hit and run tactics of the communist Viet Cong and the People's Army Of Vietnam (NVA) . During the 1960s, the Department of Defense continued to scrutinize the reserve forces and to question the number of divisions and brigades as well as the redundancy of maintaining two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve . In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in
9129-460: The Army (HQDA): See Structure of the United States Army for a detailed treatment of the history , components , administrative and operational structure and the branches and functional areas of the Army. The U.S. Army is made up of three components: the active component, the Regular Army; and two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Both reserve components are primarily composed of part-time soldiers who train once
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#17328584464649308-402: The Army (SECARMY), and by a chief military officer , the chief of staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . It is the largest military branch, and in the fiscal year 2022, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 480,893 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 336,129 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) had 188,703 soldiers;
9487-401: The Army National Guard members were considered state militia until they were mobilized into the U.S. Army, typically at the onset of war. Since the 1933 amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916 , all Army National Guard soldiers have held dual status. They serve as National Guardsmen under the authority of the governor of their state or territory and as reserve members of the U.S. Army under
9666-411: The Army National Guard were unnecessary and cut the number to eight divisions (one mechanized infantry, two armored, and five infantry), but increased the number of brigades from seven to 18 (one airborne, one armored, two mechanized infantry and 14 infantry). The loss of the divisions did not sit well with the states. Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and
9845-404: The Army of Northern Virginia, starting that role on November 7, 1862, after leaving Lee's staff to command the battalion that was the corps' artillery reserve. He was promoted to colonel on December 5. He was instrumental in arranging the artillery in defense of Marye's Heights at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, which proved to be the decisive factor in the Confederate victory. While
10024-423: The Army of Tennessee in Dalton, Georgia, on December 27, 1863. Faced with Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman 's advance from Chattanooga to Atlanta in the spring of 1864, Johnston conducted a series of withdrawals that appeared similar to his Peninsula Campaign strategy. He repeatedly prepared strong defensive positions, only to see Sherman maneuver around them in expert turning movements , causing him to fall back in
10203-456: The British at Trenton and Princeton , but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the Philadelphia campaign in 1777. With a decisive victory at Yorktown and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became
10382-405: The Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops who had dubbed the U.S. Army "Regulars, by God!", were able to capture and burn Washington , which was defended by militia, in 1814. The regular army, however, proved they were professional and capable of defeating the British army during the invasions of Plattsburgh and Baltimore , prompting British agreement on the previously rejected terms of
10561-478: The Civil War, stories of the Confederate gold and its vast wealth have been told and retold. One of these stories involves Alexander. He helped organize search parties in Lincoln and Wilkes Counties. Alexander and bank officials soon located some of the gold through Alexander's neighbors in Wilkes County and persuaded them that the money belonged to wives and children of Confederate veterans. With Alexander's help, bank officials eventually recovered some $ 111,000 of
10740-430: The Confederate Secretary of War directed Johnston to "proceed at once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces in the field." Johnston informed Richmond that he was still medically unfit but would obey the order. When he arrived in Jackson on May 13 from Middle Tennessee, he learned that two U.S. Army corps were advancing on the city and that only 6,000 Confederate troops were available to hold it. Johnston ordered
10919-413: The Confederate position had not been nearly as strong as he had portrayed. But more importantly, it required him to replan his spring offensive, and instead of an amphibious landing at his preferred target of Urbanna , he chose the Virginia Peninsula , between the James and York Rivers, as his avenue of approach toward Richmond. In early April 1862, McClellan, having landed his troops at Fort Monroe at
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#173285844646411098-538: The Confederates' fierce defenses at the Battle of New Hope Church on May 25, the Battle of Pickett's Mill on May 27, and the Battle of Dallas on May 28. In June, Sherman's forces continued maneuvers around the northern approaches to Atlanta. The Battle of Kolb's Farm ensued on June 22, followed by Sherman's first (and only) attempt at a massive frontal assault in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, which Johnston vigorously repulsed. However, U.S. forces were within 17 miles of Atlanta by this time, threatening
11277-724: The Department of Northern Virginia on October 22. From July to November 1861, he was headquartered at the Conner House in Manassas. The winter of 1861–62 was relatively quiet for Johnston in his Centreville headquarters, concerned primarily with organization and equipment issues, as the principal Northern army, also named Army of the Potomac , was being organized by George B. McClellan. McClellan perceived Johnston's army as overwhelmingly strong in its fortifications, prompting him to plan an amphibious movement around Johnston's flank. In early March, learning of U.S. offensive preparations, Johnston withdrew his army to Culpeper Court House . This movement had repercussions on both sides. President Davis
11456-447: The Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia; he assumed command of the latter department on March 6. These commands included three Confederate field armies, including the remnants of the once formidable Army of Tennessee, but they were armies in name only. The Tennessee army had been severely depleted at Franklin and Nashville, lacked sufficient supplies and ammunition, and
11635-545: The National Guard, while all states maintain regulations for state militias . State militias are both "organized", meaning that they are armed forces usually part of the state defense forces, or "unorganized" simply meaning that all able-bodied males may be eligible to be called into military service. The U.S. Army is also divided into several branches and functional areas . Branches include officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers while functional areas consist of officers who are reclassified from their former branch into
11814-412: The North to such an extent that they might then have abandoned the contest and agreed to a settlement. Johnston was a part owner of the Atlantic and Mexican Gulf Canal Company , a canal project approved in 1876. It was intended to construct a canal westward from the St. Marys River in Georgia to connect with the Gulf of Mexico on the coast of Florida . Johnston moved from Savannah to Richmond in
11993-440: The North. He was willing to express in writing his criticisms of prominent Confederate officers, including General Lee himself. Many historians regard Alexander's memoirs as among the most objective and sharpest sources produced by a Civil War combatant. David Eicher called Fighting for the Confederacy "a superb personal narrative with a good deal of analysis of Lee's operations ... Dramatic and revealing, an important source on
12172-399: The ORC and ERC were combined into the United States Army Reserve . The Army of the United States was re-established for the Korean War and Vietnam War and was demobilized upon the suspension of the draft . Currently, the Army is divided into the Regular Army , the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard . Some states further maintain state defense forces , as a type of reserve to
12351-527: The Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States , established in 1791 and renamed the United States Army in 1796. In 1798, during the Quasi-War with France, the U.S. Congress established a three-year " Provisional Army " of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and six troops of light dragoons . In March 1799, Congress created an "Eventual Army" of 30,000 men, including three regiments of cavalry . Both "armies" existed only on paper, but equipment for 3,000 men and horses
12530-441: The Southwest. Grant took command of Union forces in 1864 and after a series of battles with very heavy casualties, he had General Robert E. Lee under siege in Richmond as General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta and marched through Georgia and the Carolinas . The Confederate capital was abandoned in April 1865 and Lee subsequently surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House. All other Confederate armies surrendered within
12709-423: The U.S. Army's overwhelming numbers and heavy siege artillery and that McClellan's army was divided by the rain-swollen Chickahominy River , Johnston attacked south of the river on May 31 in the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks. His plan was aggressive but too complicated for his subordinates to execute correctly, and he failed to ensure they understood his orders in detail or to supervise them closely. The battle
12888-461: The Union forces were attempting to tunnel under the Confederate lines, but before he was able to act on this, on June 30, 1864, he was wounded in the shoulder by a sharpshooter. As he departed on medical leave to Georgia, he informed Lee of his suspicion. After unsuccessful attempts were made to locate the tunneling activity, the Battle of the Crater caught the Confederates by surprise although it ended in
13067-534: The United States (the "Union" or "the North") formed the Union Army , consisting of a small body of regular army units and a large body of volunteer units raised from every state, north and south, except South Carolina . For the first two years, Confederate forces did well in set battles but lost control of the border states. The Confederates had the advantage of defending a large territory in an area where disease caused twice as many deaths as combat. The Union pursued
13246-405: The United States Army was maintained as a small peacetime force to man permanent forts and perform other non-wartime duties such as engineering and construction works. During times of war, the U.S. Army was augmented by the much larger United States Volunteers which were raised independently by various state governments. States also maintained full-time militias which could also be called into
13425-800: The United States of America. The United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U.S. Armed Forces . Section 7062 of Title 10, U.S. Code defines the purpose of the army as: In 2018, the Army Strategy 2018 articulated an eight-point addendum to the Army Vision for 2028. While the Army Mission remains constant, the Army Strategy builds upon the Army's Brigade Modernization by adding focus to corps and division -level echelons. The Army Futures Command oversees reforms geared toward conventional warfare . The Army's current reorganization plan
13604-577: The Vicksburg Campaign: "Johnston evidently took in the situation, and wisely, I think, abstained from making an assault on us because it would simply have inflicted losses on both sides without accomplishing any result." Commenting on the Atlanta Campaign, Grant wrote, For my own part, I think that Johnston's tactics were right. Anything that could have prolonged the war a year beyond the time that it finally did close, would probably have exhausted
13783-480: The War Department suggesting that he should be returned to a combat regiment with his wartime rank of colonel. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis , an acquaintance of Johnston's from West Point, rebuffed these suggestions, as he did later during the Civil War, much to Johnston's irritation. Despite this disagreement, Davis thought enough of Johnston to appoint him lieutenant colonel in one of the newly formed regiments,
13962-531: The Western Theater, P.G.T. Beauregard, was making little progress against the advancing U.S. force. Political opponents of Jefferson Davis, such as Sen. Louis Wigfall , added to the pressure in Congress. Diarist Mary Chesnut wrote, "We thought this was a struggle for independence. Now it seems it is only a fight between Joe Johnston and Jeff Davis." In January 1865, the Congress passed a law authorizing Robert E. Lee
14141-553: The academy before he was ordered to report for the Utah War expedition to Brig. Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston . That mission ended before he could reach Johnston, and Alexander returned to West Point. He participated in a number of weapon experiments and worked as an assistant to Major Albert J. Myer , the first officer assigned to the Signal Corps and the inventor of the code for "wig-wag" signal flags, or "aerial telegraphy". Alexander
14320-423: The acquisition process for the future. In order to support the Army's modernization priorities, its FY2020 budget allocated $ 30 billion for the top six modernization priorities over the next five years. The $ 30 billion came from $ 8 billion in cost avoidance and $ 22 billion in terminations. The task of organizing the U.S. Army commenced in 1775. In the first one hundred years of its existence,
14499-491: The agreement, both the United States and Egypt agreed that there would be a joint military training led by both countries that would usually take place every 2 years, that exercise is known as Exercise Bright Star . The 1980s was mostly a decade of reorganization. The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 created unified combatant commands bringing the army together with the other four military services under unified, geographically organized command structures. The army also played
14678-408: The alternate history novel How Few Remain , Alexander continues his career as a brigadier general in a victorious Confederacy. Alexander is a character in the alternate history novels Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War (2003), Grant Comes East (2004), and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory (2005) by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen . Alexander is featured as
14857-633: The army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft . In 1910, during the Mexican Revolution , the army was deployed to U.S. towns near the border to ensure the safety of lives and property. In 1916, Pancho Villa , a major rebel leader, attacked Columbus, New Mexico , prompting a U.S. intervention in Mexico until 7 February 1917. They fought the rebels and the Mexican federal troops until 1918. The United States joined World War I as an "Associated Power" in 1917 on
15036-427: The attackers. In his memoir, Alexander bemoaned that an artillery duel earlier in the multi-day battle had already wasted a lot of ammunition from the limited amount the Confederates had available, and that he lacked the authority to concentrate all Confederate artillery present for the bombardment. In his later writings, Alexander accused Lee of making fundamental errors at Gettysburg, as the Union position on high ground
15215-604: The authority of the president, in the Army National Guard of the United States. Since the adoption of the total force policy, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, reserve component soldiers have taken a more active role in U.S. military operations. For example, Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War , peacekeeping in Kosovo , Afghanistan, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq . [REDACTED] Headquarters, United States Department of
15394-600: The battles of the Overland Campaign , and when Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant slipped around Lee's army to cross the James River and assault Petersburg , Alexander was able to move his guns quickly through the lines, emplacing them to repel the main attack. During the Siege of Petersburg , Alexander had to adapt his artillery tactics to trench warfare, including experimentation with various types of mortars. He became convinced that
15573-508: The behest of his family. Those earlier memoirs were edited and published posthumously in 1989 as Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander , edited by Gary W. Gallagher. Unlike such Confederate officers as Jubal Early and William Pendleton , Alexander eschewed the bitter Lost Cause theories of why the South was doomed to fail, given the overwhelming superiority of
15752-641: The building, as part of the September 11 attacks . In response to the 11 September attacks and as part of the Global War on Terror , U.S. and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, displacing the Taliban government. The U.S. Army also led the combined U.S. and allied invasion of Iraq in 2003; it served as the primary source for ground forces with its ability to sustain short and long-term deployment operations. In
15931-560: The capital, Johnston's army withdrew to Greensboro . After learning of Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, Johnston agreed to meet with General Sherman between the lines at a small farm known as Bennett Place near present-day Durham, North Carolina . After three separate days (April 17, 18, and 26, 1865) of negotiations, Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee and all remaining Confederate forces still active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It
16110-480: The chief engineer and signal officer of the Confederate Army of the Potomac on June 3. At the First Battle of Bull Run , Alexander made history by being the first to use signal flags to transmit a message during combat over a long distance. Stationed atop "Signal Hill" in Manassas, Alexander saw Union troop movements and signaled to the brigade under Col. Nathan "Shanks" Evans , "Look out for your left, your position
16289-531: The city and to join forces with Johnston's troops, outnumbering Grant. Still, Davis had ordered Pemberton to defend the city as his highest priority. Grant launched two unsuccessful assaults against the fortifications and settled in for a siege. The soldiers and civilians in the surrounded city waited in vain for Johnston's small force to rescue them. By late May, Johnston had accumulated about 24,000 men but wanted additional reinforcements before moving forward. He considered ordering Bragg to send these reinforcements but
16468-494: The city from the west and north. Johnston had yielded over 110 miles of mountainous, and thus more easily defensible, territory in just two months, while the Confederate government became increasingly frustrated and alarmed. When Johnston retreated across the Chattahoochee River , the final significant barrier before Atlanta, President Davis lost his patience. In early July, Davis sent Gen. Braxton Bragg to Atlanta to assess
16647-466: The combatant commanders for use as directed by the secretary of defense. By 2013, the army shifted to six geographical commands that align with the six geographical unified combatant commands (CCMD): The army also transformed its base unit from divisions to brigades . Division lineage will be retained, but the divisional headquarters will be able to command any brigade, not just brigades that carry their divisional lineage. The central part of this plan
16826-447: The combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,005,725 soldiers. As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders ". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of
17005-406: The commander of an army in the field." Vice President Alexander H. Stephens and 17 senators petitioned Lee to use his new authority to appoint Johnston, bypassing Davis, but the general in chief declined. Instead, he recommended the appointment to Davis. Despite his serious misgivings, Davis restored Johnston to active duty on February 25, 1865. His new command comprised two military departments:
17184-462: The commission tasked with fixing and demarcating the boundary between the Republics of Nicaragua and Costa Rica , with a view towards the possible construction of an interoceanic canal to be dug across Central America . Alexander spent two years at the head of that commission, headquartered in the coastal village of Greytown (now San Juan de Nicaragua). He completed the work to the satisfaction of
17363-492: The compliment with compound interest. His hatred of Jeff Davis amounts to a religion. With him it colors all things. —Diarist Mary Chesnut While Vicksburg was falling, U.S. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was advancing against Bragg in Tennessee, forcing him to evacuate Chattanooga . Bragg achieved a significant victory against Rosecrans in the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19–20), but Ulysses S. Grant defeated him in
17542-437: The corps commander, Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood , to halt his advance and reposition his troops to face the threat. Faced with this unexpected threat, Johnston abandoned his attack and renewed his retreat. On May 20, they again retreated 8 miles further south to Cartersville. The month of May 1864 ended with Sherman's forces attempting to move away from their railroad supply line with another turning movement, but became bogged down by
17721-412: The distribution of corn meal and flour to civilians throughout the South. This was an act of generosity that Johnston would never forget; he wrote to Sherman that his attitude "reconciles me to what I have previously regarded as the misfortune of my life, that of having you to encounter in the field." Johnston began to make a living for himself and his ailing wife. He became president of a small railroad,
17900-622: The end of FY2017. From 2016 to 2017, the Army retired hundreds of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopters, while retaining its Apache gunships. The 2015 expenditure for Army research, development and acquisition changed from $ 32 billion projected in 2012 for FY15 to $ 21 billion for FY15 expected in 2014. By 2017, a task force was formed to address Army modernization, which triggered shifts of units: CCDC , and ARCIC , from within Army Materiel Command (AMC), and Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), respectively, to
18079-439: The end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them. Under the proposal, the remaining division commanders were to reside in the state of the division base. However, no reduction in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan. The states reorganized their forces accordingly between 1 December 1967 and 1 May 1968. The Total Force Policy
18258-439: The fall of 1863 to reinforce Gen. Braxton Bragg for the Battle of Chickamauga . He personally arrived too late to participate in the battle but served as Longstreet's chief of artillery in the subsequent Knoxville Campaign and in the Department of East Tennessee in early 1864. He returned with the corps to Virginia for the remainder of the war, now with the rank of brigadier general (as of February 26, 1864). He served in all
18437-611: The fall of Richmond in April, Lee attempted to escape to North Carolina to join Johnston, but it was too late.) Recognizing that Sherman was moving quickly, Johnston planned to consolidate his small armies to land a blow against an isolated portion of Sherman's army, advancing in two separate columns. On March 19, 1865, Johnston was able to catch the left wing of Sherman's army by surprise at the Battle of Bentonville and briefly gained some tactical successes before superior numbers forced him to retreat to Raleigh, North Carolina . Unable to secure
18616-439: The field, but Bragg's wife was ill, and he was unable to travel. Furthermore, in early April, Johnston was forced to bed with lingering problems from his Peninsula wound, and the attention of the Confederates shifted from Tennessee to Mississippi, leaving Bragg in place. The major crisis facing Johnston was defending Confederate control of Vicksburg, Mississippi , which was threatened by U.S. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant , first in
18795-567: The following years, the mission changed from conflict between regular militaries to counterinsurgency , resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members (as of March 2008) and injuries to thousands more. 23,813 insurgents were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. Until 2009, the army's chief modernization plan, its most ambitious since World War II, was the Future Combat Systems program. In 2009, many systems were canceled, and
18974-569: The forces that landed in French North Africa and took Tunisia and then moved on to Sicily and later fought in Italy . In the June 1944 landings in northern France and in the subsequent liberation of Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany , millions of U.S. Army troops played a central role. In 1947, the number of soldiers in the US Army had decreased from eight million in 1945 to 684,000 soldiers and
19153-461: The general direction of Atlanta. Johnston saw the preservation of his army as the most crucial consideration and conducted a very cautious campaign. He handled his army well, slowing the U.S. advance and inflicting heavier losses than he sustained. Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign on May 4. Johnston's Army of Tennessee fought defensive battles against the Federals at the approaches to Dalton , which
19332-587: The general, his fellow officers, and the Army of Northern Virginia." Alexander's other books include Railway Practice (1887) and Catterel, Ratterel (Doggerel) (1888). Alexander died in Savannah, Georgia and is buried in Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia . In 2006 he was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame . Alexander was portrayed by James Patrick Stuart in the 1993 film Gettysburg and its 2003 prequel Gods and Generals . In
19511-611: The geographical status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict. The army's major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles . It took long wars (1818–1858) to finally defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma. The usual strategy in Indian wars was to seize control of the Indians' winter food supply, but that was no use in Florida where there
19690-466: The guidance would reverse the Total Force Policy which is an "essential ingredient to the successful application of military force". On 11 September 2001, 53 Army civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers were among the 125 victims killed in the Pentagon in a terrorist attack when American Airlines Flight 77 commandeered by five Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed into the western side of
19869-407: The incident is sometimes described as a proposal for " guerrilla war ", Alexander describes his proposal in his memoir, Fighting for the Confederacy , as one in which "the army may be ordered to scatter in the woods & bushes & either to rally upon Gen. Johnston in North Carolina, or to make their way, each man to his own state, with his arms, & to report to his governor." Since the end of
20048-746: The last of the American Indian Wars . U.S. Army troops also occupied several Southern states during the Reconstruction Era to protect freedmen . The key battles of the Spanish–American War of 1898 were fought by the Navy. Using mostly new volunteers , the U.S. forces defeated Spain in land campaigns in Cuba and played the central role in the Philippine–American War . Starting in 1910,
20227-471: The latter two engagements, ending the war as a brevet colonel of volunteers. (After the end of hostilities, he reverted to his peacetime rank of captain in the topographical engineers.) Winfield Scott humorously remarked, "Johnston is a great soldier, but he had an unfortunate knack of getting himself shot in nearly every engagement." Johnston's greatest anguish during the war was the death of his nephew, Preston Johnston. When Robert E. Lee informed Johnston that
20406-461: The magnanimity of the man to whom he surrendered. He would not allow criticism of Sherman in his presence. Sherman and Johnston corresponded frequently, and they met for friendly dinners in Washington, D.C. whenever Johnston traveled there. When Sherman died, Johnston served as an honorary pallbearer at his funeral. During the procession in New York City on February 19, 1891, he kept his hat off as
20585-531: The majority of public credit, Johnston's behind-the-scenes role was critical to the Confederate victory. After Bull Run, Johnston assisted Beauregard and William Porcher Miles in the design and production of the Confederate Battle Flag . It was Johnston's idea to make the flag square. It [the ranking of senior generals] seeks to tarnish my fair fame as a soldier and a man, earned by more than thirty years of laborious and perilous service. I had but this,
20764-636: The men had not been paid for months; only about 6,600 traveled to South Carolina. Johnston also had available 12,000 men under William J. Hardee , who had been unsuccessfully attempting to resist Sherman's advance, Braxton Bragg 's force in Wilmington, North Carolina , and 6,000 cavalrymen under Wade Hampton . Johnston, severely outnumbered, hoped to combine his force with a detachment of Robert E. Lee's army from Virginia, jointly defeat Sherman, and then return to Virginia for an attack on Ulysses S. Grant. Lee initially refused to cooperate with this plan. (Following
20943-402: The men of my mother Virginia, my native South. —Johnston's letter to Jefferson Davis, September 12, 1861 In August, Johnston was promoted to full general —what is called a four-star general in the modern U.S. Army—but was not pleased that three other men he had outranked in the "old Army" now outranked him, even though Davis backdated his promotion to July 4. Johnston felt that, since he
21122-445: The men to reinforce the Confederate line. He consoled the despairing Brig. Gen. Barnard Bee and urged him to lead his men back into the fight. (General Bee's exhortation to his men inspired Stonewall Jackson's nickname.) Beauregard then convinced Johnston that he would be more valuable in organizing the arrival of reinforcements for the remainder of the battle than in providing at-the-front tactical leadership. Although Beauregard claimed
21301-449: The new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The Army fought numerous pitched battles, and sometimes used Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics in the South in 1780 and 1781; under Major General Nathanael Greene , it hit where the British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against
21480-592: The new nation's sole ground army, except a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point 's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans , it was soon considered necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army was at first very small and after General St. Clair's defeat at the Battle of the Wabash, where more than 800 soldiers were killed,
21659-447: The powers of general in chief, and recommending that Johnston be reinstated as the commander of the Army of Tennessee. Davis immediately appointed Lee to the position, but refused to restore Johnston. In a lengthy unpublished memo, Davis wrote, "My opinion of General Johnston's unfitness for command has ripened slowly and against my inclinations into a conviction so settled that it would be impossible for me again to feel confidence in him as
21838-535: The protection of Saudi Arabia . In January 1991 Operation Desert Storm commenced, a U.S.-led coalition which deployed over 500,000 troops, the bulk of them from U.S. Army formations, to drive out Iraqi forces . The campaign ended in total victory, as Western coalition forces routed the Iraqi Army . Some of the largest tank battles in history were fought during the Gulf war. The Battle of Medina Ridge , Battle of Norfolk and
22017-663: The remaining were swept into the BCT modernization program . By 2017, the Brigade Modernization project was completed and its headquarters, the Brigade Modernization Command, was renamed the Joint Modernization Command, or JMC. In response to Budget sequestration in 2013 , Army plans were to shrink to 1940 levels, although actual Active-Army end-strengths were projected to fall to some 450,000 troops by
22196-509: The rest of Longstreet's corps was located around Suffolk, Virginia , Alexander accompanied Stonewall Jackson on his flanking march at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, and his artillery placements in Hazel Grove at Chancellorsville proved decisive. At the Battle of Gettysburg , Confederate artillery was outmatched in number of pieces, gunnery training, and especially quality and quantity of ammunition. The then 28 year old Alexander
22375-403: The same class as Robert E. Lee . He served in Florida, Texas, and Kansas. By 1860 he achieved the rank of brigadier general as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army. Johnston's effectiveness in the American Civil War was undercut by tensions with Confederate president Jefferson Davis . Victory eluded him in most campaigns he personally commanded. He was the senior Confederate commander at
22554-401: The scars of many wounds, all honestly taken in my front and in the front of battle, and my father's Revolutionary sword. It was delivered to me from his venerated hand, without a stain of dishonor. Its blade is still unblemished as when it passed from his hand to mine. I drew it in the war, not for rank or fame, but to defend the sacred soil, the homes and hearths, the women and children; aye, and
22733-588: The service chiefs from each of the four military services belonging to the Department of Defense who advise the president of the United States , the secretary of defense and the National Security Council on operational military matters, under the guidance of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In 1986, the Goldwater–Nichols Act mandated that operational control of
22912-479: The service of the army. By the twentieth century, the U.S. Army had mobilized the U.S. Volunteers on four occasions during each of the major wars of the nineteenth century. During World War I, the " National Army " was organized to fight the conflict, replacing the concept of U.S. Volunteers. It was demobilized at the end of World War I and was replaced by the Regular Army, the Organized Reserve Corps, and
23091-456: The services follows a chain of command from the president to the secretary of defense directly to the unified combatant commanders , who have control of all armed forces units in their geographic or function area of responsibility, thus the secretaries of the military departments (and their respective service chiefs underneath them) only have the responsibility to organize, train and equip their service components. The army provides trained forces to
23270-470: The side of Britain , France , Russia , Italy and the other Allies . U.S. troops were sent to the Western Front and were involved in the last offensives that ended the war. With the armistice in November 1918, the army once again decreased its forces. In 1939, estimates of the Army's strength ranged between 174,000 and 200,000 soldiers, smaller than that of Portugal 's, which ranked it 17th or 19th in
23449-449: The situation. After several meetings with local civilian leaders and Johnston's subordinates, Bragg returned to Richmond and urged President Davis to replace Johnston. Davis removed Johnston from command on July 17, 1864, just outside Atlanta. "The fate of Atlanta, from the Confederate standpoint, was all but decided by Johnston." His replacement, Lt. Gen. Hood, was left with the "virtually impossible situation" of defending Atlanta, which he
23628-417: The standard support role in an army. The U.S. Army's conventional combat capability currently consists of 11 active divisions and 1 deployable division headquarters (7th Infantry Division) as well as several independent maneuver units. Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer , who served in the United States Army during
23807-443: The state militias. In the 1920s and 1930s, the "career" soldiers were known as the " Regular Army " with the "Enlisted Reserve Corps" and "Officer Reserve Corps" augmented to fill vacancies when needed. In 1941, the " Army of the United States " was founded to fight World War II. The Regular Army, Army of the United States, the National Guard, and Officer/Enlisted Reserve Corps (ORC and ERC) existed simultaneously. After World War II,
23986-462: The states of California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Arizona , Wyoming and New Mexico . The American Civil War was the costliest war for the U.S. in terms of casualties. After most slave states , located in the southern U.S., formed the Confederate States , the Confederate States Army , led by former U.S. Army officers, mobilized a large fraction of Southern white manpower. Forces of
24165-466: The statutory authority to conduct all the affairs of the army under the authority, direction, and control of the secretary of defense . The chief of staff of the Army , who is the highest-ranked military officer in the army, serves as the principal military adviser and executive agent for the secretary of the Army, i.e., its service chief; and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , a body composed of
24344-678: The stolen money. Former Confederate cabinet official Robert Toombs also turned over $ 5,000 that, intentionally or accidentally, had been thrown into his yard in Washington. After the surrender, Alexander briefly considered joining the Imperial Brazilian Army . Finding that he no longer desired the Georgia plantation life of his youth, he taught mathematics at the University of South Carolina in Columbia , and then served in executive positions with
24523-525: The takeover of South Korea by North Korea and later to invade the northern nation. After repeated advances and retreats by both sides and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army 's entry into the war, the Korean Armistice Agreement returned the peninsula to the status quo in July 1953. The Vietnam War is often regarded as a low point for the U.S. Army due to the use of drafted personnel ,
24702-453: The third day of the Battle of Gettysburg , and is also noted for his early use of signals and observation balloons during combat. After the Civil War, he taught mathematics at the University of South Carolina in Columbia , spent time in Nicaragua , and wrote extensive memoirs and analyses of the war, which have received much praise for their insight and objectivity. His Military Memoirs of
24881-471: The tip of the Virginia Peninsula, began to move slowly toward Yorktown . Johnston's plan for the defense of the Confederate capital was controversial. Knowing that his army was half the size of McClellan's and that the U.S. Navy could directly support McClellan from either river, Johnston attempted to convince Davis and Lee that the best course would be to concentrate on fortifications around Richmond. He
25060-641: The total number of active divisions had dropped from 89 to 12. The leaders of the Army saw this demobilization as a success. In the Pacific War , U.S. Army soldiers participated alongside the United States Marine Corps in capturing the Pacific Islands from Japanese control. Following the Axis surrenders in May (Germany) and August (Japan) of 1945, army troops were deployed to Japan and Germany to occupy
25239-1157: The two defeated nations. Two years after World War II, the Army Air Forces separated from the army to become the United States Air Force in September 1947. In 1948, the army was desegregated by order 9981 of President Harry S. Truman . The end of World War II set the stage for the East–West confrontation known as the Cold War . With the outbreak of the Korean War , concerns over the defense of Western Europe rose. Two corps, V and VII , were reactivated under Seventh United States Army in 1950 and U.S. strength in Europe rose from one division to four. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops remained stationed in West Germany, with others in Belgium ,
25418-552: The two governments and returned to the U.S. in October 1899. His wife Bettie became ill while he was in Nicaragua and she died shortly after his return, on November 20, 1899. In October 1901, Alexander married Mary Mason, his first wife's niece. Alexander was selected to give the Confederate veteran's speech on Alumni Day during the centennial celebration at the United States Military Academy on June 9, 1902. The speech
25597-604: The unpopularity of the war with the U.S. public and frustrating restrictions placed on the military by U.S. political leaders. While U.S. forces had been stationed in South Vietnam since 1959, in intelligence and advising/training roles, they were not deployed in large numbers until 1965, after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident . U.S. forces effectively established and maintained control of the "traditional" battlefield, but they struggled to counter
25776-550: The war, Johnston served as an executive in the railroad and insurance businesses. He was elected as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives , serving a single term. He was appointed as commissioner of railroads under Grover Cleveland . Johnston died of pneumonia one month after attending Sherman's funeral. Johnston was born at Longwood House in "Cherry Grove", near Farmville, Virginia , on February 3, 1807. (Longwood House later burned down. The rebuilt house
25955-400: The west was the fate of Braxton Bragg. The Confederate government was displeased with Bragg's performance at the Battle of Stones River , as were many of Bragg's senior subordinates. Jefferson Davis ordered Johnston to visit Bragg and determine whether he should be replaced. Johnston realized that if he recommended Bragg's replacement, he would be the logical choice to succeed him. He considered
26134-422: The winter of 1876–77. The former Confederate general was considered for service in President Rutherford B. Hayes 's Cabinet, particularly for the post of Secretary of War, but was ultimately not chosen. He served in the 46th Congress from 1879 to 1881 as a Democratic congressman , having been elected with 58.11% of the vote over Greenback candidate William W. Newman. He did not run for reelection in 1880. He
26313-417: The world in size. General George C. Marshall became Army chief of staff in September 1939 and set about expanding and modernizing the Army in preparation for war. The United States joined World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Some 11 million Americans were to serve in various Army operations. On the European front , U.S. Army troops formed a significant portion of
26492-435: Was Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company, and within four years had a network of more than 120 agents across the deep South. The income from this venture allowed him to devote time to his great post-war activity, writing his memoirs, as did several fellow officers. His Narrative of Military Operations (1874) was highly critical of Davis and many of his fellow generals. He repeated his grievance about his ranking as
26671-462: Was accused of doing. When his native state, Virginia, declared secession from the United States in 1861, Johnston resigned his commission as a brigadier general in the regular army , the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to do so. He would go on to state, "I believed like most others, that the division of the country would be permanent; and that ... the revolution begun was justified by the maxims so often repeated by Americans, that Free government
26850-439: Was adopted by Chief of Staff of the Army General Creighton Abrams in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and involved treating the three components of the army – the Regular Army , the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve as a single force. General Abrams' intertwining of the three components of the army effectively made extended operations impossible without the involvement of both the Army National Guard and Army Reserve in
27029-400: Was also active in signal work and intelligence gathering, dealing extensively with spies operating around Washington, D.C. During the early days of the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, Alexander continued as chief of ordnance under Johnston, but he also fought at the Battle of Williamsburg , under Maj. Gen. James Longstreet . When Gen. Robert E. Lee assumed command of the army, Alexander
27208-464: Was appointed as a commissioner of railroads in the administration of President Grover Cleveland . After his wife died in 1887, Johnston frequently traveled to veterans' gatherings, where he was universally cheered. In September 1890, a few months before he died, he was elected as an honorary member of the District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and was assigned national membership number 1963. Johnston, like Lee, never forgot
27387-425: Was concerned that this could result in the loss of Tennessee. He also bickered with President Davis about whether the order sending him to Mississippi could be construed as removing him from theater command; historian Steven E. Woodworth judges that Johnston "willfully misconstrued" his orders out of resentment of Davis's interference. Pemberton's army surrendered on July 4, 1863. Along with the capture of Port Hudson
27566-433: Was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain , with George Washington appointed as its commander. The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape
27745-417: Was enthusiastic about the outbreak of the Mexican–American War . He served on the staff of Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott in the Siege of Veracruz , having been chosen by Scott to be the officer carrying the demand for surrender beforehand to the provincial governor. He was in the vanguard of the movement inland under Brig. Gen. David E. Twiggs and was severely wounded by grapeshot performing reconnaissance before
27924-406: Was evacuated on May 13, then retreated 12 miles south to Resaca and constructed defensive positions. However, after a brief battle , Johnston again yielded to Sherman and retreated from Resaca on May 15. Johnston assembled the Confederate forces for an attack at Cassville . As his troops advanced, an enemy force of unknown strength appeared unexpectedly on his right flank. A skirmish ensued, forcing
28103-416: Was forced to abandon in September. Davis's decision to remove Johnston was one of the most controversial of the war. Johnston traveled to Columbia, South Carolina , to begin a virtual retirement. However, as the Confederacy became increasingly concerned about Sherman's March to the Sea across Georgia and then north through the Carolinas , the public clamored for Johnston's return. The general in charge of
28282-436: Was in charge of artillery preparation for Pickett's Charge , and given responsibility for assessing its success. The two hours' bombardment was the largest of the war, and explosions in the rear of the Union line caused by overshooting, in combination with Union guns deceptively ceasing to fire, made it seem to have destroyed enemy artillery. However, when the charge began, Union cannon opened up and inflicted severe casualties on
28461-429: Was in charge of pre-positioned ordnance for Lee's offensive in the Seven Days Battles . Alexander continued his intelligence gathering by volunteering to go up in an observation balloon at Gaines' Mill on June 27, ascending several times and returning with valuable intelligence regarding the position of the Union Army. Alexander continued in charge of ordnance for the Northern Virginia Campaign ( Second Bull Run ) and
28640-406: Was later renamed Alexander City in his honor. Alexander was a member of the boards on the navigation of the Columbia River , Oregon , and on the ship canal between Chesapeake and Delaware bays, from 1892 to 1894. He became friends with Grover Cleveland and the two spent many hours hunting for ducks on Alexander's estate. In May 1897, President Cleveland appointed Alexander as the arbiter of
28819-423: Was named for Major Joseph Eggleston , under whom his father served in the American Revolutionary War , in the command of Henry Lee III . His brother Charles Clement Johnston served as a U.S. congressman , and his nephew John Warfield Johnston was a U.S. senator ; both represented Virginia. In 1811, the Johnston family moved to Abingdon, Virginia , a town near the Tennessee border, where his father Peter built
28998-436: Was no winter. The second strategy was to form alliances with other Indian tribes, but that too was useless because the Seminoles had destroyed all the other Indians when they entered Florida in the late eighteenth century. The U.S. Army fought and won the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), which was a defining event for both countries. The U.S. victory resulted in acquisition of territory that eventually became all or parts of
29177-435: Was often not aware of what was going on) all contributed to this defeat. Davis considered firing Johnston, but he remained a popular officer and had many political allies in Richmond, most notably Sen. Louis Wigfall . Instead, Bragg's army was removed from Johnston's command, leaving him in control of only Alabama and Mississippi. The President detests Joe Johnston for all the trouble he has given him, and General Joe returns
29356-425: Was placed in command of the Department of the West . In 1864, he commanded the Army of Tennessee against U.S. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign . In the war's final days, Johnston was returned to command of the few remaining forces in the Carolinas Campaign . U.S. Army generals Ulysses S. Grant and Sherman praised his actions in the war and became friends with Johnston afterward. After
29535-528: Was procured and stored. The War of 1812 , the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. The U.S. Army did not conquer Canada but it did destroy Native American resistance to expansion in the Old Northwest and stopped two major British invasions in 1814 and 1815. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U.S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh , which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U.S. victories in
29714-442: Was promoted to second lieutenant on October 10, 1858. Alexander met Bettie Mason of Virginia in 1859 and married her on April 3, 1860. They would eventually have six children: Bessie Mason (born 1861), Edward Porter II and Lucy Roy (twins, born 1863), an unnamed girl (1865, died in infancy prior to naming), Adam Leopold (1867), and William Mason (1868). Lt. Alexander's final assignments for the U.S. Army were at Fort Steilacoom , in
29893-453: Was replaced as Secretary of War by John B. Floyd , a native of Abingdon and a cousin of Johnston's by marriage. He had been a former guardian of Preston Johnston. Floyd made Johnston a brevet colonel for his actions at Cerro Gordo, a promotion that caused grumbling within the Army about favoritism. In 1859, President James Buchanan named Johnston's brother-in-law, Robert Milligan McLane , as minister to Mexico , and Johnston accompanied him on
30072-430: Was so well received that it was reprinted in The New York Times in its entirety in the 15 June 1902 edition. The Times referred to the speech as "decidedly the feature of Alumni Day." The audience included President Theodore Roosevelt as well as Alexander's former commander, General Longstreet. After the war, Alexander became a well-respected author. He wrote many magazine articles and published his Military Memoirs of
30251-457: Was still unclear about his U.S. opponent's direction in the battle, Johnston decided that the critical point was to the north of his headquarters (the Lewis house, "Portici"), at Henry House Hill. He abruptly announced, "The battle is there. I am going." Beauregard and the staffs of both generals followed his lead and rode off. Johnston encountered a scattered unit, the 4th Alabama, whose field-grade officers had all been killed, and personally rallied
30430-401: Was surprised and disappointed by the unannounced move, which he considered a "precipitate retreat." At about this time, Davis moved to restrict Johnston's authority by bringing Robert E. Lee to Richmond as his military adviser. He began issuing direct orders to some of the forces under Johnston's ostensible command. On the Northern side, McClellan was publicly embarrassed when it was revealed that
30609-447: Was tactically inconclusive, but it stopped McClellan's advance on the city and would be the high-water mark of his invasion. More significant, however, was that Johnston was wounded in his shoulder and chest by an artillery shell fragment near the end of the first day of the battle. G.W. Smith commanded the army during the second day of the battle before Davis quickly turned over command to the more aggressive Robert E. Lee, who would lead
30788-425: Was the Trans-Mississippi Department, commanded by Lt. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes , stationed principally in Arkansas. Johnston argued throughout his tenure that Holmes's command should be combined with Pemberton's under Johnston's control, or at least to reinforce Pemberton with troops from Holmes's command, but he was unable to convince the government to take either of these steps.) The first issue facing Johnston in
30967-410: Was the birthplace in 1827 of Charles S. Venable , an officer on the staff of Robert E. Lee . It is now used as the residence of the president of Longwood University .) His grandfather, Peter Johnston, emigrated to Virginia from Scotland in 1726. Joseph was the seventh son of Judge Peter Johnston Jr. (1763–1831) and Mary Valentine Wood (1769–1825), a daughter of Patrick Henry 's sister, Lucy Wood. He
31146-400: Was the granddaughter of Sarah Porter Hillhouse , the first female editor and printer in the United States. He became the brother-in-law of Alexander R. Lawton and Jeremy F. Gilmer . He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1857, third in his class of 38 cadets, and was brevetted a second lieutenant of engineers. He briefly taught engineering and fencing at
31325-416: Was the largest surrender of the war, totaling 89,270 soldiers. President Davis considered that Johnston, surrendering so many troops that had not been explicitly defeated in battle, had committed an act of treason. Johnston was paroled on May 2 at Greensboro. After the surrender, Sherman issued ten days' rations to the hungry Confederate soldiers as well as horses and mules to "insure a crop." He also ordered
31504-407: Was the senior officer to leave the U.S. Army and join the Confederacy, he should not be ranked behind Samuel Cooper , Albert Sidney Johnston, and Robert E. Lee. Only Beauregard was placed behind Johnston on the list of five new generals. This led to much bad blood between Johnston and Jefferson Davis, lasting throughout the war. The crux of Davis's counterargument was that Johnston's U.S. commission as
31683-406: Was to blame for Vicksburg. That Johnston never wanted this theater command in the first place, difficulty in effectively moving troops due to lack of direct rail lines and the vast distances involved, lack of assistance from subordinate commanders, Pemberton's refusal to abandon Vicksburg as suggested, and President Davis' habit of communicating directly to Johnston's subordinates (which meant Johnston
31862-428: Was too strong for an attack to be advisable, and Lee had ordered the assault on the center, which entailed Confederates advancing for three quarters of a mile while under fire and then being enfiladed as they closed with the Union line. Writing in 1901 Alexander said "Never, never, never did Gen. Lee himself bollox [ sic ] a fight as he did this." Alexander accompanied the First Corps to northern Georgia in
32041-441: Was unsuccessful in persuading them and deployed most of his force on the Peninsula. Following lengthy siege preparations by McClellan at Yorktown, Johnston withdrew and fought a sharp defensive fight at Williamsburg (May 5) and turned back an attempt at an amphibious turning movement at Eltham's Landing (May 7). By late May, the U.S. Army was within six miles of Richmond. Realizing that he could not defend Richmond forever from
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