198-640: John Alexander McClernand (May 30, 1812 – September 20, 1900) was an American lawyer, politician, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War . He was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois and a member of the United States House of Representatives before the war. McClernand was firmly dedicated to the principles of Jacksonian democracy and supported the Compromise of 1850 . McClernand
396-587: A brevet brigadier general when the war ended. Francis B. Spinola recruited four regiments in New York, was soon appointed Brigadier General by President Abraham Lincoln and given command of the Spinola Brigade . Later he commanded another unit, the famed Excelsior Brigade . The Garibaldi Guard recruited volunteers for the Union army from Italy and other European countries to form the 39th New York Infantry . At
594-479: A bridge over Ohio's Ashtabula River collapsed . The bridge had been built from metal cast at one of Stone's mills, and was carrying a train owned and operated by Stone's Lake Shore and Michigan Railway . Ninety-two people died; it was the worst rail disaster in American history up to that point. Blame fell heavily on Stone, who departed for Europe to recuperate and left Hay in charge of his businesses. The summer of 1877
792-628: A " free silver " platform; he had electrified the delegates with his Cross of Gold speech . Hay reported to McKinley when he returned to Britain after a brief stay on the Continent during which Bryan was nominated in Chicago: "they were all scared out of their wits for fear Bryan would be elected, and very polite in their references to you." Once Hay returned to the United States in early August, he went to The Fells and watched from afar as Bryan barnstormed
990-598: A $ 500 check to Hanna, the first of many. During the winter of 1895–96, Hay passed along what he heard from other Republicans influential in Washington, such as Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge . Hay spent part of the spring and early summer of 1896 in the United Kingdom, and elsewhere in Europe. There was a border dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana , and Cleveland's Secretary of State, Richard Olney , supported
1188-654: A Spanish colony. Sickles was unsuccessful and Hay resigned in May 1870, citing the low salary, but remaining in his post until September. Two legacies of Hay's time in Madrid were magazine articles he wrote that became the basis of his first book, Castilian Days , and his lifelong friendship with Sickles's personal secretary, Alvey A. Adee , who would be a close aide to Hay at the State Department. While still in Spain, Hay had been offered
1386-629: A bride to his shared room at the White House. They remained at the White House pending the arrival and training of replacements. Hay did not accompany the Lincolns to Ford's Theatre on the night of April 14, 1865, but remained at the White House, drinking whiskey with Robert Lincoln. When the two were informed that the President had been shot , they hastened to the Petersen House, a boarding house where
1584-449: A chief quartermaster, a chief commissary of subsistence, an assistant inspector general, an ordnance officer (all with the rank of colonel ) and a medical director. The actual number of personnel assigned to an army's headquarters could be quite large: at Gettysburg the headquarters of General Meade (excluding engineers, the artillery reserve and the headquarters of each corps) was no less than 3,486 strong. The military organization of
1782-589: A clerk in his firm, where he could study law. Milton Hay's firm was one of the most prestigious in Illinois. Lincoln maintained offices next door and was a rising star in the new Republican Party. Hay recalled an early encounter with Lincoln: He came into the law office where I was reading ... with a copy of Harper's Magazine in hand, containing Senator Douglas's famous article on Popular Sovereignty . [whether residents of each territory could decide on slavery] Lincoln seemed greatly roused by what he had read. Entering
1980-768: A close friend of Mary Todd Lincoln . Sarah was a daughter of James Dunlap , who served as a quartermaster in the Union Army during the Civil War, resigning as lieutenant colonel and quartermaster of the XIII Corps of the Army of the Tennessee on June 11, 1864. John and Sarah's son, Edward John McClernand , was notable as a West Point graduate in 1870 U.S. Army brigadier general in the Indian Wars , Medal of Honor recipient and later fought in
2178-503: A commander of the Army of the Mississippi in late 1862 to early 1863, afterwards serving as a corps commander under Grant again during the campaign against Vicksburg . A friend and political ally of Abraham Lincoln , McClernand was given permission to muster a large force to conduct offensive operations against the confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi , a campaign that would rival
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#17328514452162376-445: A day. As Lincoln took no vacations as president and worked seven days a week, often until 11 pm (or later, during crucial battles) the burden on his secretaries was heavy. Hay and Nicolay divided their responsibilities, Nicolay tending to assist Lincoln in his office and in meetings, while Hay dealt with the correspondence, which was voluminous. Both men tried to shield Lincoln from office-seekers and others who wanted to meet with
2574-478: A disadvantageous position by drawing a large amount of the troops he had raised for his expedition into Grant's army. In December, McClernand wired Lincoln for clearance to go south and assume command of his force, now that he had raised a substantial force for the effort. The order did not come, but he soon received news of what was happening in Memphis. McClernand was outraged and quickly wired Lincoln and Stanton of what
2772-420: A disorderly celebration and plundering. McClernand walked to the center of the camp and called for three cheers adding to the disorder at the scene. Grant had to order the camp burned to stop the plundering and restore order to the troops. At Columbus, Polk got word of the battle and first sent reinforcements, then crossed the river himself with more reinforcements. After about one-half hour of unopposed disorder at
2970-472: A firm, free way, with more grace than is his wont, said his half-dozen lines of consecration." Lincoln sent Hay away from the White House on various missions. In August 1861, Hay escorted Mary Lincoln and her children to Long Branch, New Jersey , a resort on the Jersey Shore , both as their caretaker and as a means of giving Hay a much-needed break. The following month, Lincoln sent him to Missouri to deliver
3168-495: A full decade before his appointment in 1897 as ambassador to England, Hay was lazy and uncertain." Hay continued to devote much of his energy to Republican politics. In 1884, he supported Blaine for president, donating considerable sums to the senator's unsuccessful campaign against New York Governor Grover Cleveland . Many of Hay's friends were unenthusiastic about Blaine's candidacy, to Hay's anger, and he wrote to editor Richard Watson Gilder , "I have never been able to appreciate
3366-539: A further 18% were second-generation Americans. 596,670 Union soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing during the war. The initial call-up in 1861 was for just three months, after which many of these men chose to reenlist for an additional three years. When the American Civil War began in April 1861, the U.S. Army included ten regiments of infantry , four of artillery , two of cavalry , two of dragoons , and one of mounted rifles . The regiments were scattered widely. Of
3564-459: A general favorite in Congress in 1850 as being a man of courtesy and urbanity. On the other hand, John Hay later described him as "a vain, irritable, overbearing, exacting man." Nevins himself described McClernand in 1861 as an independent brigadier with "a headlong, testy, irascible manner." He was an important ally to Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas . Douglas played a crucial role in formulating
3762-464: A grudge against him for an earlier chastising. Once McClernand read the order, he exclaimed in shock "I am relieved!" Then seeing the look on Wilson's face, he made a joke out if it by saying "By God sir, we are both relieved!". Grant's order relieving him ordered him to go to any place in Illinois and contact the War Department for new orders. President Lincoln, who saw the importance of conciliating
3960-505: A hundred Black men were eventually made officers (not counting those passing as white), none were promoted to a rank higher than major. If captured by Confederate forces, Black soldiers risked being made slaves or summarily executed . Women took on many significant roles in the Union army and were important to its ultimate success on the battlefield. The most direct way they could help was to enlist and fight as soldiers, although women were officially barred from doing so. Nevertheless, it
4158-636: A leader of the Illinois War Democrats , restored McClernand to a field command in 1864. On February 20, 1864, McClernand returned to his old XIII Corps , now part of the Department of the Gulf. Illness (malaria) limited his role. By the time the Red River Campaign commenced, McClernand had been replaced in command by Thomas E. G. Ransom . From April 27, 1864, through May 1, 1864, McClernand returned to
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#17328514452164356-491: A letter to Union General John C. Frémont , who had irritated the President with military blunders and by freeing local slaves without authorization, endangering Lincoln's attempts to keep the border states in the Union. In April 1863, Lincoln sent Hay to the Union-occupied South Carolina coast to report back on the ironclad vessels being used in an attempt to recapture Charleston Harbor. Hay then went on to
4554-526: A misconception that the South held an advantage because of the large percentage of professional officers who resigned to join the Confederate army. At the start of the war, there were 824 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on the active list; of these, 296 resigned or were dismissed, and 184 of those became Confederate officers. Of the approximately 900 West Point graduates who were then civilians, 400 returned to
4752-599: A month, thinking it would be like talking in a boiler factory. But he met me at the [railroad] station, gave me meat & took me upstairs and talked for two hours as calmly & serenely as if we were summer boarders in Bethlehem, at a loss for means to kill time. I was more struck than ever with his mask. It is a genuine Italian ecclesiastical face of the XVth Century. Hay was disgusted by Bryan's speeches, writing in language that Taliaferro compares to The Bread-Winners that
4950-636: A nomination soon joined in by the Democrats. Hay was unenthusiastic about the editor-turned-candidate, and in his editorials mostly took aim at Grant, who, despite the scandals, remained untarred, and who won a landslide victory in the election . Greeley died only weeks later, a broken man. Hay's stance endangered his hitherto sterling credentials in the Republican Party. By 1873, Hay was wooing Clara Stone, daughter of Cleveland multimillionaire railroad and banking mogul Amasa Stone . Their marriage in 1874 made
5148-492: A proclamation renouncing polygamy in 1890, which McClernand stated he thought was sincere in an 1891 report but in 1892 the majority of the commission issued a report expressing doubt that the polygamy situation had changed. In April 1894, as a non-resident of Utah, McClernand was required by an 1893 law to resign from the Utah Commission. Utah was admitted to the Union on January 4, 1896, only after polygamy had been outlawed by
5346-456: A reformer, he watched as his favored Democrat, Samuel Tilden , gained his party's nomination, but his favored Republican, James G. Blaine , did not, falling to Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes , whom Hay did not support during the campaign. Hayes's victory in the election left Hay an outsider as he sought a return to politics, and he was initially offered no place in the new administration. Nevertheless, Hay attempted to ingratiate himself with
5544-404: A role. Thus for example, comparing two infantry regiments at their full authorized strength one might have twice as many soldiers as the other. Furthermore, even when units were of equivalent size, their actual effectiveness depended greatly on training, leadership, equipment and other factors. During the course of the Civil War, the vast majority of soldiers fighting to preserve the Union were in
5742-442: A second-class mission uncommonly well". From May to October 1879, Hay set out to reconfirm his credentials as a loyal Republican, giving speeches in support of candidates and attacking the Democrats. In October, President and Mrs. Hayes came to a reception at Hay's Cleveland home. When Assistant Secretary of State Frederick W. Seward resigned later that month, Hay was offered his place and accepted, after some hesitancy because he
5940-485: A sorrowful man, religious and competent, giving of his life and health to preserve the Union. Similarly, Hay served as what Taliaferro deemed a "White House propagandist," in his columns explaining away losses such as that at First Bull Run in July 1861. Despite the heavy workload—Hay wrote that he was busy 20 hours a day—he tried to make as normal a life as possible, eating his meals with Nicolay at Willard's Hotel , going to
6138-550: A statement that Kushner and Sherrill found unconvincing given that Hay had spent hundreds of hours during the war with Secretary of State William H. Seward , who had often discussed personal and political matters with him, and the close relationship between the two men was so well known that office-seekers cultivated Hay as a means of getting to Seward. The two men were also motivated to find new jobs by their deteriorating relationship with Mary Lincoln, who sought their ouster, and by Nicolay's desire to wed his intended—he could not bring
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6336-463: A success, because of the advancement of good feelings and cooperation between the two nations. An ongoing dispute between the U.S. and Britain was over the practice of pelagic sealing, that is, the capture of seals offshore of Alaska. The U.S. considered them American resources; the Canadians (Britain was still responsible for that dominion's foreign policy) contended that the mammals were being taken on
6534-475: A volunteer army of up to 500,000 troops to the cause. The call for volunteers initially was easily met by patriotic Northerners, abolitionists , and even immigrants who enlisted for a steady income and meals. Over 10,000 German Americans in New York and Pennsylvania immediately responded to Lincoln's call, along with Northern French Americans , who were also quick to volunteer. As more men were needed, however,
6732-575: Is believed hundreds of women disguised themselves as men in order to enlist. While many were discovered and forced to quit, others were only found out after they were killed in combat, and a number managed to serve throughout the entire war with their true identity successfully concealed. One of the more traditional roles played by women in the Union army was that of camp followers . Thousands of white and Black women accompanied Union armies in an unofficial capacity to provide their services as cooks , laundresses , nurses and/or prostitutes . Many were
6930-713: The New-York Tribune under Horace Greeley and Whitelaw Reid . Hay remained active in politics, and from 1879 to 1881 served as Assistant Secretary of State . Afterward, he returned to the private sector, remaining there until President McKinley, of whom he had been a major backer, made him the Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1897. Hay became the Secretary of State the following year. Hay served for nearly seven years as Secretary of State under President McKinley and, after McKinley's assassination , under Theodore Roosevelt. Hay
7128-810: The 69th New York , 63rd New York, 88th New York, 28th Massachusetts, 116th Pennsylvania; the Swiss Rifles (15th Missouri); the Gardes de Lafayette (55th New York); the Garibaldi Guard (39th New York); the Martinez Militia (1st New Mexico); the Polish Legion (58th New York); the German Rangers ; Sigel Rifles (52nd New York, inheriting the 7th); the Cameron Highlanders ( 79th New York Volunteer Infantry ); and
7326-627: The American Civil War , the United States Army , the land force that fought to preserve the collective Union of the states , was often referred to as the Union army , the federal army , or the northern army . It proved essential to the restoration and preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic. The Union Army was made up of the permanent regular army of the United States , but further fortified, augmented, and strengthened by
7524-513: The Compromise of 1850 , and McClernand served as a liaison for him in the House of Representatives during the debate over the proposed compromise. McClernand also served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands from 1845 to 1847 and on the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1849 to 1851. In 1850, McClernand declined to be a candidate for renomination, and his term expired in 1851. In the eight years he
7722-634: The Confederate army . Almost 200 United States Military Academy graduates who previously left the U.S. Army, including Ulysses S. Grant , William Tecumseh Sherman , and Braxton Bragg , returned to service at the outbreak of the Civil War. This group's loyalties were far more evenly divided. Clayton R. Newell (2014) states, 92 wore Confederate gray and 102 put on the blue of the United States Army. Hattaway and Jones (1983), John and David Eicher (2001), and Jennifer M. Murray (2012), state that 99 joined
7920-521: The Department of War . These included, at the onset of the war, the adjutant general , inspector general , paymaster-general , judge advocate general , chief of engineers , chief of topographical engineers , quartermaster general , commissary general of subsistence, chief of ordnance , and surgeon general . After the war started, the position of Provost Marshal General was also created. Originally established on September 24, 1862, as an office in
8118-755: The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies , there were over 200 Italians who served as officers in the U.S. army. By 1860, the African American or Black population of the United States consisted of four million enslaved and half a million free Blacks . When the Civil War began, many freedmen in the North attempted to enlist in federal service but were barred from doing so. Popularly-held prejudices doubted whether Black people could be effective soldiers, and President Lincoln believed allowing their enlistment would anger Northern whites and alienate not just
John A. McClernand - Misplaced Pages Continue
8316-473: The Philippines . After Sarah's death on May 8, 1861, McClernand married her sister, Minerva Dunlap on December 23, 1862. Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War , McClernand raised the "McClernand Brigade" in Illinois, and was appointed brigadier general of volunteers on August 7, 1861, to rank from May 17, 1861. His commission as a general was based on Lincoln's desire to retain political connections with
8514-673: The Siege of Vicksburg , Grant relieved McClernand of his command by citing his intemperate and unauthorized communication with the press, finally putting an end to a rivalry that had caused Grant discomfort since the beginning of the war. McClernand left the Army in 1864 and served as a judge and a politician in the postbellum era. McClernand was born in Breckinridge County, Kentucky , near Hardinsburg , on May 30, 1812, but in 1816, his family moved to Shawneetown, Illinois . His early life and career were similar to that of another Illinois lawyer of
8712-791: The Southwest was still part of Mexico . Some Confederate propaganda condemned foreign-born soldiers in the Union army, likening them to the German Hessian troops who fought alongside the British Army during the American Revolutionary War . A relatively smaller number of Native Americans , including members of Cherokee , Chickasaw , Choctaw and Muscogee peoples, fought for the Confederacy. The great majority of Italian Americans , for both demographic and ideological reasons, served in
8910-510: The United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1843, until March 3, 1851. A bombastic orator, his political philosophy was based on Jacksonian principles. McClernand vigorously opposed the Wilmot Proviso when it was introduced in 1846, 1847 and 1848. He disliked abolitionists which generated favor among his constituents, many of whom were originally natives of slaveholding states. Nonetheless, historian Allan Nevins described him as
9108-435: The regimental colors and rallied their fellow soldiers to fight, provided first aid or helped the wounded back to a field hospital. A related (and sometimes conflated) role was that of "daughter of the regiment". Often literally a daughter of one of the regimental officers, these women looked to the soldiers' well-being but also served as their regiment's "mascot" who inspired the men by wearing stylish clothing and enduring
9306-444: The ten-volume biography was published in 1890. In 1884, Hay and Adams commissioned architect Henry Hobson Richardson to construct houses for them on Washington's Lafayette Square ; these were completed by 1886. Hay's house, facing the White House and fronting on Sixteenth Street, was described even before completion as "the finest house in Washington." The price for the combined tract, purchased from William Wilson Corcoran ,
9504-443: The volunteer units . The pre-war regular army numbered approximately 16,400 soldiers, but by the end while the Union army had grown to over a million soldiers, the number of regular personnel was still approximately 21,699, of whom several were serving with volunteer forces. Only 62,000 commissions and enlistments in total were issued for the regular army during the war as most new personnel preferred volunteer service. Since before
9702-458: The "Hornet's Nest", but held a firm line at Pittsburgh Landing as night fell. With the help of reinforcements Grant routed the Confederates with a devastating counterattack on April 7. McClernand's service as a major general was tainted by political maneuvering, which was resented by his colleagues. He communicated directly with his commander-in-chief, President Lincoln, offering his criticisms of
9900-606: The 197 companies in the U.S. Army, 179 occupied 79 isolated posts in the West , and the remaining 18 manned garrisons east of the Mississippi River , mostly along the Canada–United States border and on the U.S. East Coast . There were only 16,367 servicemen in the U.S. Army, including 1,108 commissioned officers. Approximately 20% of these officers, most of them Southerners , resigned, choosing to tie their lives and fortunes to
10098-574: The Adjutant General's department under Simeon Draper , it was made an independent department in its own right on May 1, 1863, under James B. Fry . The Signal Corps was created and deployed for the first time, through the leadership of Albert J. Myer . One drawback to this system was that the authority and responsibilities of the Secretary of War, his Assistant Secretaries , and the General-in-Chief were not clearly delineated. Additionally,
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#173285144521610296-542: The American Society in London in 1897, Hay echoed these points, "The great body of people in the United States and England are friends ... [sharing] that intense respect and reverence for order, liberty, and law which is so profound a sentiment in both countries". Although Hay was not successful in resolving specific controversies in his year and a third as ambassador, both he and British policymakers regarded his tenure as
10494-596: The Army of the Mississippi. Grant was later able to neutralize McClernand's independent effort after it conducted an expedition to capture the vital Fort Hindman on the Arkansas river, this unassuming victory had secured an important milestone in the future of the operations around the Mississippi river for months to come, and McClernand became the senior corps commander in Grant's army for the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863. During
10692-687: The Chickasaw Bayou & Bluffs, a short distance north of Vicksburg near the mouth of the Yazoo river. This attack was made in December 29 and was swiftly defeated, with Sherman's army suffering severe losses. The angry McClernand subsequently arrived and took command, issuing a proclamation that he would command all the troops in the expedition, and the force would be renamed to Army of the Mississippi. Early in January 1863, at Milliken's Bend, McClernand caught up with
10890-438: The Civil War was a hazardous occupation: grueling hours spent in close proximity to deadly diseases and nearby battlefields resulted in many suffering permanent disabilities or death. Added to this were the prejudices of the male medical officers in charge who did not want them there and frequently clashed with the nurses over issues of triage , patient treatments and hospice care . Tens of thousands of women served as nurses for
11088-411: The Civil War, the American public had a generally negative view of the nation's armed forces, attributable to a Jeffersonian ideal which saw standing armies as a threat to democracy and instead valorized the " citizen soldier " as being more in keeping with American ideals of equality and rugged individualism . This attitude remained unchanged during the Civil War, and afterwards many would attribute
11286-606: The Confederacy. McClernand was second in command under Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Belmont in Missouri on November 7, 1861. In response to orders from Fremont on November 2 and 3, 1861, Grant sent regiments from his district in seven columns to demonstrate against Confederate forces on both sides of the Mississippi River. The objective was to prevent Confederate reinforcement of other Confederate units in Missouri and Arkansas. On
11484-509: The Confederate army and 114 returned to the Union forces. With the Southern slave states declaring secession from the United States, and with a shortage of soldiers in the army, President Abraham Lincoln called on the states to raise a force of 75,000 troops for three months to put down the Confederate insurrection and defend the national capital in Washington, D.C. Lincoln's call forced
11682-401: The Confederate attack, the Confederates had cleared Union cavalry from their front and outflanked Colonel John McArthur's poorly placed brigade. Low on ammunition and with the negative effect on the men of Colonel Michael Lawler's wounding, McArthur's men began to run from the field. A friendly fire incident contributed to further Union withdrawal and opened two roads for Confederate escape. Yet
11880-522: The Confederate cause during the Civil War were known as Southern Unionists . They were also known as Union Loyalists or Lincoln's Loyalists. Within the eleven Confederate states, states such as Tennessee (especially East Tennessee ), Virginia (which included West Virginia at the time), and North Carolina were home to the largest populations of Unionists. Many areas of Southern Appalachia harbored pro-Union sentiment as well. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control would serve in
12078-429: The Confederate close order tactics in moving forward, an effort to reduce a salient at a road junction and straggling slowed the Confederate advance. By 1:00 p.m. McClernand's division had been thoroughly routed. Without orders from Grant, Brigadier General Lew Wallace sent his brigades to a new position to block the Confederate exit. Grant then ordered Brigadier General Charles Ferguson Smith ("C.F. Smith") to take
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#173285144521612276-445: The Confederate line formed in part by the recently arrived regiments of Gideon Pillow, about 3,000 men in total. By 10:00 a.m., McClernand's skirmishers began to encounter the Confederate skirmishers. McClernand extended his battle line to outflank the Confederate line. A gap in the Union line was covered by two regiments shifting to the right. When McClernand saw that one of his regiments under Colonel Napoleon Buford had outflanked
12474-401: The Confederate line, McClernand ordered a general attack. Some Confederate battalions began to run out of ammunition. By 2:00 p.m. the Union battle line broke the Confederate battle line about one mile (1.6 km) from the Confederate camp. After the Confederate soldiers fled in panic beyond the camp, the Union soldiers took the camp and as their discipline began to break down, they began
12672-498: The Confederates under Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson , then at Bloomfield, Missouri and to reinforce Union Colonel Richard Oglesby operating in southeastern Missouri. Near 8:00 a.m. on November 7, Grant's force began to disembark from transports about three and one-half miles (5.6 km) north of Belmont, out of range of Confederate artillery batteries across the river at Columbus, Kentucky . Union gunboats made futile attempts to attack Confederate artillery batteries during
12870-569: The Confederates' Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post, Arkansas The Battle of Fort Hindman , was fought from January 9 to 11, 1863, near the mouth of the Arkansas River. On January 11, 1863, and the fort was captured. Sherman and acting Rear Admiral David D. Porter later convinced a disapproving Grant that leaving the Confederate garrison at Arkansas Post in place could have been an obstacle to the capture of Vicksburg. Grant initially disapproved of this operation, and wired Halleck denouncing it as 'senseless'; but after news of victory came and learning that it
13068-496: The Democrat "simply reiterates the unquestioned truths that every man with a clean shirt is a thief and ought to be hanged: that there is no goodness and wisdom except among the illiterate & criminal classes". Despite Bryan's strenuous efforts, McKinley won the election easily, with a campaign run by himself and Hanna, and well-financed by supporters like Hay. Henry Adams later wondered, "I would give sixpence to know how much Hay paid for McKinley. His politics must have cost." In
13266-427: The Democrats of Southern Illinois, not on his brief service as a private in the Black Hawk War . McClernand eventually resigned his Congressional seat effective October 28, 1861. He was an effective recruiter of volunteers for the Union Army. He raised the McClernand Brigade from southern Illinois, an area of mixed sentiments with respect to preservation of the Union. The brigade was placed in the Western Department which
13464-426: The Florida coast. He returned to Florida in January 1864, after Lincoln had announced his Ten Percent Plan , that if ten percent of the 1860 electorate in a state took oaths of loyalty and to support emancipation, they could form a government with federal protection. Lincoln considered Florida, with its small population, a good test case, and made Hay a major , sending him to see if he could get sufficient men to take
13662-428: The House of Commons, where he was greatly impressed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli . The Vienna post was only temporary, until Johnson could appoint a chargé d'affaires and have him confirmed by the Senate, and the workload was light, allowing Hay, who was fluent in German, to spend much of his time traveling. It was not until July 1868 that Henry Watts became Hay's replacement. Hay resigned, spent
13860-549: The House of Representatives. The small coalition of Democratic representatives from Alabama and South Carolina opposing him objected to his moderate views on slavery and the importance of retaining the Union. McClernand supported the campaign of his friend, Stephen Douglas, in the 1860 presidential election . He served as one of his campaign managers during the divisive Democratic presidential nomination convention held in Charleston, South Carolina in 1860. In November 1842, McClernand married Sarah Dunlap of Jacksonville, Illinois,
14058-424: The President. Unlike the dour Nicolay, Hay, with his charm, escaped much of the hard feelings from those denied Lincoln's presence. Abolitionist Thomas Wentworth Higginson described Hay as "a nice young fellow, who unfortunately looks about seventeen and is oppressed with the necessity of behaving like seventy." Hay continued to write, anonymously, for newspapers, sending in columns calculated to make Lincoln appear
14256-479: The Scandinavian Regiment (15th Wisconsin). But for the most part, the foreign-born soldiers were scattered as individuals throughout units. The Confederate army was less diverse: 91% of its soldiers were native-born white men and only 9% were foreign-born white men, with Irish being the largest group, other groups included Germans, French, British, and Mexicans. Most Mexicans happened to have been born when
14454-693: The South Had Won the Civil War . In the alternate history presented, General Grant was killed accidentally at the start of the Vicksburg Campaign. McClernand then insisted upon assuming command and by thoroughly bad generalship managed to lose the campaign, get the Army of the Tennessee almost completely destroyed, and contribute significantly to the Union losing the entire war and the Confederacy gaining independence. Notes Footnotes Bibliography Union Army American Indian Wars American Civil War Appomattox Court House During
14652-563: The South but the Border States too. However he eventually changed his mind and persuaded Congress to authorize the first official Black enlistment system in late 1862, which evolved into the United States Colored Troops . Before they were allowed to enlist, many Black people volunteered their services to the Union army as cooks, nurses, and in other informal roles, and several volunteer regiments of Black troops were raised by
14850-410: The U.S. Army and 99 to the Confederacy. The ratio of U.S. Army to Confederate professional officers was 642 to 283. One of the resigning officers was Robert E. Lee , who initially was offered the assignment as commander of a field army to suppress the rebellion. Lee disapproved of secession, but refused to bear arms against his native state, Virginia , and resigned to accept the position as commander of
15048-407: The U.S. also invited Russia and Japan, rendering the conference ineffective. Another issue on which no agreement was reached was that of bimetallism : McKinley had promised silver-leaning Republicans to seek an international agreement varying the price ratio between silver and gold to allow for free coinage of silver, and Hay was instructed to seek British participation. The British would only join if
15246-595: The Union army (including generals Edward Ferrero and Francis B. Spinola ). Six Italian Americans received the Medal of Honor during the war, among whom was Colonel Luigi Palma di Cesnola , who later became the first Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York (1879–1904). Most of the Italian-Americans who joined the Union army were recruited from New York City . Many Italians of note were interested in
15444-421: The Union army in maintaining the order and alignment of formations during marches, battles, and transitioning between the two. Sergeants in particular were vital in this role as general guides and their selection ideally reserved for the most distinguished soldiers. NCOs were also charged with training individuals in how to be soldiers. While the captain or other company-level officers were responsible for training
15642-420: The Union army or pro-Union guerilla groups. Although Southern Unionists came from all classes, most differed socially, culturally, and economically from the region's dominant pre-war planter class . Native-born White Americans made up roughly two-thirds of the soldiers in the Union army, with the rest of many different ethnic groups, including large numbers of immigrants. About 25% of the white men who served in
15840-476: The Union army were foreign-born. The U.S. experienced its heaviest rate of immigration during the 1850s, and the vast majority of these people moved to the Northeastern states. Among these immigrants, Germans constituted the largest group with a million arrivals between 1850 and 1860, many of them Forty-Eighters . Nearly as many Irish immigrants arrived during the same period. Immigrant soldiers were among
16038-408: The Union army, among whom are included Clara Barton , Susie King Taylor , Mary Edwards Walker , and Louisa May Alcott . No less vital were the thousands of women who provided service to the Union army in the field of espionage . Early in the war, women were at a distinct advantage as spies , scouts , smugglers , and saboteurs : the idea of women participating in such dangerous lines of work
16236-463: The Union army. He established a military school in New York City where many young Italians were trained and later served in the Union army. Di Cesnola received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Aldie . Two more famous examples were Francesco Casale and Luigi Tinelli, who were instrumental in the formation of the 39th New York Infantry Regiment . According to one evaluation of
16434-457: The Union's victory to the volunteers rather than the leadership and staff work provided by the regular army. In return, officers of the regular army despised the militia and saw them as having dubious value. Commentators such as Emory Upton would later argue that the reliance on militia for the nation's defense was responsible for prolonging conflicts and making them more expensive in both money and lives spent. Despite these attitudes towards
16632-472: The United States Army was based on the traditions developed in Europe, with the regiment being the basis of recruitment, training and maneuvering. However, for a variety of reasons there could be vast differences in the number of actual soldiers organized even into units of the same type. Changes in how units were structured during the course of the war, contrasts in organizational principals between regular and volunteer units, and even simple misnaming all played
16830-684: The Venezuelan position, announcing the Olney interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine . Hay told British politicians that McKinley, if elected, would be unlikely to change course. McKinley was nominated in June 1896; still, many Britons were minded to support whoever became the Democratic candidate. This changed when the 1896 Democratic National Convention nominated former Nebraska congressman William Jennings Bryan on
17028-486: The Virginian Confederate forces. Lee eventually became the overall commander of the Confederate army. The Confederacy had the advantage of having several military colleges, including The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute , but they produced fewer officers. Though officers were able to resign, enlisted soldiers did not have this right. As they usually had to either desert or wait until their enlistment term
17226-419: The White House. Throughout the American Civil War , Hay was close to Lincoln and stood by his deathbed after the President was shot . In addition to his other literary works, Hay co-authored, with John George Nicolay , a ten-volume biography of Lincoln that helped shape the assassinated president's historical image. After Lincoln's death, Hay spent several years at diplomatic posts in Europe, then worked for
17424-401: The [Confederate] guns at Vicksburg; so the more enterprising men dug holes in the levee and covered them with their black rubber blankets. Floundering in knee-deep black mud and still exhausted from recent expeditions, numerous soldiers fell sick. Many cases of smallpox were reported. Hospital tents lined the back side of the levee and were crowded with thousands of sick men. Many died, and soon
17622-468: The achievements of his division was promoted to major general of volunteers for his service at Fort Donelson. At the Battle of Shiloh on April 6–7, 1862, McClernand commanded the First Division of the Army of the Tennessee . On April 5, 1862, McClernand responded to rumors and reports that the Confederates were preparing a surprise attack by sending out a cavalry party to scout but they did not go in
17820-427: The afternoon of November 6, two brigades under Grant's direct command moved down the river. One was commanded by McClernand; the other by Colonel Henry Dougherty . Grant picked up two regiments before stopping overnight, bringing his force to 3,119 men. His plan was to launch a surprise attack on the Confederate camp at Belmont, Missouri with part of his force while other regiments from his command were moving to attack
18018-428: The boarding of the gunboats and to rescue a Union regiment which had been left behind. The Union troops, including Grant as the last to board a boat, narrowly escaped. McClernand commanded the 1st Division of Grant's army at Fort Donelson . On the night of February 14, 1862, Confederate commanders decided to break out of the Union Army encirclement of the fort achieved the previous day. McClernand's division, whose flank
18216-426: The border states to choose sides, and four seceded, making the Confederacy eleven states strong. It turned out that the war itself proved to be much longer and far more extensive in scope and scale than anyone on either side, Union North or Confederate South, expected or even imagined at the outset on the date of July 22, 1861. That was the day that Congress initially approved and authorized subsidy to allow and support
18414-739: The building of the Panama Canal . John Milton Hay was born in Salem, Indiana , on October 8, 1838. He was the third son of Dr. Charles Hay and the former Helen Leonard. Charles Hay, born in Lexington, Kentucky , hated slavery and moved to the North in the early 1830s. A doctor, he practiced in Salem. Helen's father, David Leonard, had moved his family west from Assonet, Massachusetts , in 1818, but died en route to Vincennes, Indiana , and Helen relocated to Salem in 1830 to teach school. They married there in 1831. Charles
18612-410: The camp, the Confederate reinforcements along with reformed elements of Pillow's regiments routed the Union force, sending them retreating toward their gunboats, which provided covering fire. McClernand had directed artillery placement which also facilitated the Union force's retreat. During the withdrawal McClernand suffered a grazing head wound. When reaching the shore, McClernand acted promptly to cover
18810-451: The colors. There were a number of staff NCO positions including quartermaster sergeant , ordnance sergeant , and commissary sergeant. NCOs in the volunteer forces were quite different from their regular counterparts as the war began. Appointed to their role as each regiment was created, they were often on a first-name basis with both their superior officers and the enlisted men they were tasked to lead. Discipline among friends and neighbors
19008-623: The common man, and mystical patriotism". Speaker of the House Galusha Grow stated, "Lincoln was very much attached to him"; writer Charles G. Halpine , who knew Hay then, later recorded that "Lincoln loved him as a son". Hay and Nicolay accompanied Lincoln to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , for the dedication of the cemetery there, where were interred many of those who fell at the Battle of Gettysburg . Although they made much of Lincoln's brief Gettysburg Address in their 1890 multi-volume biography of Lincoln, Hay's diary states "the President, in
19206-867: The cost of their extravagant lifestyle". During his service as ambassador, Hay attempted to advance the relationship between the U.S. and Britain. The United Kingdom had long been seen negatively by many Americans, a legacy of its role during the American Revolution that was refreshed by its neutrality in the American Civil War , when it allowed merchant raiders such as the Alabama to be constructed in British ports, which then preyed on US-flagged ships. In spite of these past differences, according to Taliaferro, "rapprochement made more sense than at any time in their respective histories". In his Thanksgiving Day address to
19404-516: The country from disaster. By the end of 1894, he was deeply involved in efforts to lay the groundwork for the governor's 1896 presidential bid . It was Hay's job to persuade potential supporters that McKinley was worth backing. Nevertheless, Hay found time for a lengthy stay in New Hampshire—one visitor at The Fells in mid-1895 was Rudyard Kipling —and later in the year wrote, "The summer wanes and I have done nothing for McKinley." He atoned with
19602-468: The crumpled temper, that kicked the lamp, that spilled the kerosene, that fired the straw that burned Chicago". His work at the Tribune came as his fame as a poet was reaching its peak, and one colleague described it as "a liberal education in the delights of intellectual life to sit in intimate companionship with John Hay and watch the play of that well-stored and brilliant mind". In addition to writing, Hay
19800-475: The editor's friends had insisted that Reid not endanger his health through office, especially in London's smoggy climes. The following month, in a letter, Hay set forth his own case for the ambassadorship, and urged McKinley to act quickly, as suitable accommodations in London would be difficult to secure. Hay gained his object (as did Hanna), and shifted his focus to appeasing Reid. Taliaferro states that Reid never blamed Hay, but Kushner and Sherrill recorded, "Reid
19998-505: The effort of General Grant, his department commander. Grant and Halleck machinated against McClernand, and most of the troops he raised in Illinois for his expedition were instead diverted to Grant's army without McClernand's knowledge. Later on, McClernand's own expeditionary force departed southwards before his arrival, by design, commanded by General William T. Sherman, an ally of Grant. McClernand chased after his expedition southwards and assumed command, designating this expeditionary force as
20196-445: The efforts of the four "supply" departments (Quartermaster, Subsistence, Ordnance & Medical) were not coordinated with each other, a condition that would last throughout the war. Although the "War Board" could provide military advice and help coordinate military policy, it was not until the appointment of Ulysses Grant as General-in-Chief was there more than the vaguest coordination of military strategy and logistics. The Union army
20394-422: The efforts of the other corps. This was published in the press, contrary to an order of the department and another of Grant that official papers were not to be published. McClernand was relieved of his command on June 19, 1863, two weeks before the fall of Vicksburg, and was replaced by Major General Edward O. C. Ord . The duty of notifying him of his dismissal fell to Lieutenant Colonel James H. Wilson , who'd held
20592-468: The election of Lincoln, seen as an opponent of slavery. When Lincoln was sworn in on March 4, Hay and Nicolay moved into the White House, sharing a shabby bedroom. As there was only authority for payment of one presidential secretary (Nicolay), Hay was appointed to a post in the Interior Department at $ 1,600 per year, seconded to service at the White House. They were available to Lincoln 24 hours
20790-561: The end of 1864, with Lincoln reelected and the victorious war winding down, both Hay and Nicolay let it be known that they desired different jobs. Soon after Lincoln's second inauguration in March 1865, the two secretaries were appointed to the US delegation in Paris, Nicolay as consul and Hay as secretary of legation. Hay wrote to his brother Charles that the appointment was "entirely unsolicited and unexpected",
20988-477: The end of the war, prominent examples include Harriet Tubman , Mary Louvestre , Pauline Cushman , Elizabeth Van Lew , and Mary Bowser . In his 1997 book examining the motivations of the American Civil War's soldiers, For Cause and Comrades , historian James M. McPherson states that Union soldiers fought to preserve the United States, as well as to end slavery, stating that: John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838 – July 1, 1905)
21186-497: The expedition against Vicksburg which he would lead. With permission to attack Vicksburg granted, McClernand set for the west to raise troops, mostly from Illinois. As soon as his troops finished mustering and training, they were continuously dispatched for either Cairo or Memphis . Grant was anxious at this turn of events, fearing that McClernand might supersede him, so he wired Halleck. Halleck reassured Grant that this will not occur. Halleck and Grant then maneuvered McClernand into
21384-555: The expedition and assumed command from Sherman as the leader of the Union force that was to move down the Mississippi as part of the Vicksburg campaign. McClernand renamed this force to the Army of the Mississippi , with the XIII and XV Corps being redesignated to the I and II Corps of the Army, respectively. At Sherman's suggestion, McClernand led an expedition up the Arkansas River to capture
21582-477: The field operations of the army. At the start of the war, Simon Cameron served as Secretary of War before being replaced in January 1862 by Edwin Stanton . The role of general-in-chief was filled by several men during the course of the war: The gap from March 11 to July 23, 1862, was filled with direct control of the army by President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, with the help of an unofficial "War Board" that
21780-657: The field to command the detachment of two divisions from the XIII Corps participating in the Red River Campaign. He resigned from the Army on November 30, 1864. McClernand rode on the funeral train of President Lincoln from Washington to Springfield Illinois, which departed from Washington on April 23, 1865, and arrived in Springfield on May 3, 1865. There were eight divisions in Lincoln's funeral procession on May 4, 1865. McClernand
21978-557: The following month left Hay again on the outside of political power, looking in. He would spend the next fifteen years in that position. After 1881, Hay did not again hold public office until 1897. Amasa Stone committed suicide in 1883; his death left the Hays very wealthy. They spent several months in most years traveling in Europe. The Lincoln biography absorbed some of Hay's time, the hardest work being done with Nicolay in 1884 and 1885; beginning in 1886, portions began appearing serially, and
22176-604: The fort after surmising it would now be lightly defended and the Confederates could be encircled. With such men from McClernand's brigade who could be rallied, Wallace moved to retake the lost ground. As night was falling, he had to stop the movement until morning which allowed McClernand's men to gradually return to their campsites. Overnight, the Confederate generals decided to surrender, although Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest escaped with most of his cavalrymen and Generals Gideon Pillow and John B. Floyd fled by boat. On March 21, 1862, McClernand, who had boasted about and exaggerated
22374-530: The gall which I fear he lacks". Garfield consulted Hay before and after his election as president on appointments and other matters, but offered Hay only the post of private secretary (though he promised to increase its pay and power), and Hay declined. Hay resigned as assistant secretary effective March 31, 1881, and spent the next seven months as acting editor of the Tribune during Reid's extended absence in Europe. Garfield's death in September and Reid's return
22572-524: The governor's means to pay, and the possibility of insolvency threatened McKinley's promising political career. Hay was among those Hanna called upon to contribute, buying up $ 3,000 of the debt of over $ 100,000. Although others paid more, "Hay's checks were two of the first, and his touch was more personal, a kindness McKinley never forgot". The governor wrote, "How can I ever repay you & other dear friends?" The same panic that nearly ruined McKinley convinced Hay that men like himself must take office to save
22770-414: The high seas, free to all. Soon after Hay's arrival, McKinley sent former Secretary of State John W. Foster to London to negotiate the issue. Foster quickly issued an accusatory note to the British that was printed in the newspapers. Although Hay was successful in getting Lord Salisbury , then both Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, to agree to a conference to decide the matter, the British withdrew when
22968-541: The huge amounts of correspondence, Hay worked full-time for Lincoln for six months. After Lincoln was elected, Nicolay, who continued as Lincoln's private secretary, recommended that Hay be hired to assist him at the White House. Lincoln is reported to have said, "We can't take all Illinois with us down to Washington" but then "Well, let Hay come". Kushner and Sherrill were dubious about "the story of Lincoln's offhand appointment of Hay" as fitting well into Hay's self-image of never having been an office-seeker, but "poorly into
23166-435: The job too unsuitable for women of social rank, particularly at the thought of unmarried women surrounded by thousands of men in close quarters. Nevertheless, Congress eventually approved for women to serve as nurses, to which Dorothea Dix – appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses – was responsible for setting hiring guidelines and starting a training program for prospective candidates. For the women who served, nursing during
23364-438: The landings. The Confederate camp at Belmont, named Camp Johnston, had been established by Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk as an observation post. When Polk learned of Grant's movement early on November 7, he sent four regiments under Brigadier General Gideon Pillow from Columbus to Belmont as reinforcements to intercept Grant's force. After his troops had disembarked from the gunboats, McClernand led his brigade toward
23562-428: The levee was lined with new graves." It was Grant's opinion that at Champion Hill (May 16, 1863) McClernand was dilatory, but Grant bided his time, waiting for insubordination that was blatant enough to justify removing his politically powerful rival. After a bloody and unsuccessful assault against the Vicksburg entrenchments (ordered by Grant), McClernand wrote a congratulatory order to his corps, which also disparaged
23760-507: The logic that induces some excellent people every four years because they cannot nominate the candidate they prefer to vote for the party they don't prefer." In 1888, Hay had to follow his own advice as his favored candidate, Ohio Senator John Sherman , was unsuccessful at the Republican convention . After some reluctance, Hay supported the nominee, former Indiana senator Benjamin Harrison , who
23958-498: The loss of a father ... Lincoln's assassination erased any remaining doubts Hay had about Lincoln's greatness." In 1866, in a personal letter, Hay deemed Lincoln, "the greatest character since Christ". Taliaferro noted that "Hay would spend the rest of his life mourning Lincoln ... wherever Hay went and whatever he did, Lincoln would always be watching". Hay sailed for Paris at the end of June 1865. There, he served under U.S. Minister to France John Bigelow . The workload
24156-485: The many temporary units of dedicated volunteers , as well as including those who were drafted in to service as conscripts . To this end, the Union army fought and ultimately triumphed over the efforts of the Confederate States Army . Over the course of the war, 2,128,948 men enlisted in the Union army, including 178,895, or about 8.4% being colored troops ; 25% of the white men who served were immigrants, and
24354-408: The most brilliant writer of "breviers" (as such editorials were called) that he had ever had. With his success as an editorial writer, Hay's duties expanded. In October 1871, he journeyed to Chicago after the great fire there , interviewing Mrs. O'Leary , whose cow was said to have started the blaze, describing her as "a woman with a lamp [who went] to the barn behind the house, to milk the cow with
24552-455: The most enthusiastic in the Union army, not only from a desire to help save their adoptive home but to prove their patriotism towards it. To help cement immigrant enthusiasm and loyalty to the Union, several generals were appointed from these communities, including Franz Sigel and Michael Corcoran . Many immigrant soldiers formed their own regiments, such as the Irish Brigade , including
24750-498: The nation in his campaign while McKinley gave speeches from his front porch . Despite an invitation from the candidate, Hay was reluctant to visit McKinley at his home in Canton. "He has asked me to come, but I thought I would not struggle with the millions on his trampled lawn". In October, after basing himself at his Cleveland home and giving a speech for McKinley, Hay went to Canton at last, writing to Adams, I had been dreading it for
24948-426: The necessity of leading their units into combat and their conspicuousness when accompanied by staff and escorts. Among memorable field leaders of the army were Nathaniel Lyon (first Union general to be killed in battle during the war), William Rosecrans , George Henry Thomas , William Tecumseh Sherman , and Phil Sheridan . Others include Benjamin F. Butler . Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were important in
25146-470: The new Grant administration . The next month, due to the influence of his friends, he obtained the post of secretary of legation in Spain. Although the salary was low, Hay was interested in serving in Madrid both because of the political situation there—Queen Isabella II had recently been deposed—and because the U.S. Minister was the swashbuckling former congressman, General Daniel Sickles . Hay hoped to assist Sickles in gaining U.S. control over Cuba, then
25344-545: The new president by sending him a gold ring with a strand of George Washington's hair, a gesture that Hayes deeply appreciated. Hay spent time working with Nicolay on their Lincoln biography, and traveling in Europe. When Reid, who had succeeded Greeley as editor of the Tribune , was offered the post of Minister to Germany in December 1878, he turned it down and recommended Hay. Secretary of State William M. Evarts indicated that Hay "had not been active enough in political efforts", to Hay's regret, who told Reid that he "would like
25542-478: The new president, Andrew Johnson , who had his own candidate. Seward offered Hay a job as his private secretary, but Hay declined, and returned home to Warsaw, Illinois. Initially happy to be home, Hay quickly grew restive, and he was glad to hear, in early June 1867, that he had been appointed secretary of legation to act as chargé d'affaires at Vienna. He sailed for Europe the same month, and while in England visited
25740-621: The notion that Black soldiers were a liability, allowing about 200,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union army during the Civil War. Even as they served their country, Black soldiers were subject to discrimination. They were more often assigned to menial labor. Some Union officers refused to employ them in combat, but when they were they often had to use inferior weapons and equipment. Black soldiers were paid less than white soldiers ($ 10 vs $ 16 per month) until Congress yielded to public pressure and approved equal pay in June 1864. Black units were led predominantly by white officers, and while more than
25938-399: The number of volunteers fell and both money bounties and forced conscription had to be turned to. Many Southern Unionists would also fight for the Union army. An estimated 100,000 white soldiers from states within the Confederacy served in Union army units. Between April 1861 and April 1865, at least 2,128,948 men served in the United States Army, of whom the majority were volunteers. It is
26136-510: The oath. Hay spent a month in the state during February and March 1864, but Union defeats there reduced the area under federal control. Believing his mission impractical, he sailed back to Washington. In July 1864, New York publisher Horace Greeley sent word to Lincoln that there were Southern peace emissaries in Canada. Lincoln doubted that they actually spoke for Confederate President Jefferson Davis , but had Hay journey to New York to persuade
26334-404: The office without a salutation, he said: "This will never do. He puts the moral element out of this question. It won't stay out." Hay was not a supporter of Lincoln for president until after his nomination in 1860. Hay then made speeches and wrote newspaper articles boosting Lincoln's candidacy. When Nicolay, who had been made Lincoln's private secretary for the campaign, found he needed help with
26532-491: The outbreak of the American Civil War, Giuseppe Garibaldi was a very popular figure. The 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment , of whose 350 members were Italian, was nicknamed Garibaldi Guard in his honor. The unit wore red shirts and bersaglieri plumes . They carried with them both a Union Flag as well as an Italian flag with the words Dio e popolo, meaning "God and people." In 1861 Garibaldi himself volunteered his services to President Abraham Lincoln . Garibaldi
26730-463: The position of assistant editor at the New-York Tribune —both the editor, Horace Greeley, and his managing editor, Whitelaw Reid , were anxious to hire Hay. He joined the staff in October 1870. The Tribune was the leading reform newspaper in New York, and through mail subscriptions, the largest-circulating newspaper in the nation. Hay wrote editorials for the Tribune , and Greeley soon proclaimed him
26928-466: The position. According to Taliaferro, "only after the deed was accomplished and Hay was installed as the ambassador to the Court of St. James's would it be possible to detect just how subtly and completely he had finessed his ally and friend, Whitelaw Reid". A telegraph from Hay to McKinley in the latter's papers, dated December 26 (most likely 1896) reveals the former's suggestion that McKinley tell Reid that
27126-425: The post-election speculation as to who would be given office under McKinley, Hay's name figured prominently, as did that of Whitelaw Reid; both men sought high office in the State Department, either as secretary or one of the major ambassadorial posts. Reid, in addition to his vice-presidential run, had been Minister to France under Harrison. An asthmatic , he handicapped himself by departing for Arizona Territory for
27324-563: The publisher to go to Niagara Falls, Ontario , to meet with them and bring them to Washington. Greeley reported to Lincoln that the emissaries lacked accreditation by Davis, but were confident they could bring both sides together. Lincoln sent Hay to Ontario with what became known as the Niagara Manifesto: that if the South laid down its arms, freed the slaves, and reentered the Union, it could expect liberal terms on other points. The Southerners refused to come to Washington to negotiate. By
27522-426: The realities of Springfield politics of the 1860s"—Hay must have expected some reward for handling Lincoln's correspondence for months. Hay biographer John Taliaferro suggests that Lincoln engaged Nicolay and Hay to assist him, rather than more seasoned men, both "out of loyalty and surely because of the competence and compatibility that his two young aides had demonstrated". Historian Joshua Zeitz argues that Lincoln
27720-528: The regulars' performance could impress even the most battle-hardened volunteers. At The Wheatfield during the Battle of Gettysburg , the regulars' fighting skill and orderly retirement under fire drew the admiration of many observers, including Prince Philippe, Count of Paris . As one volunteer put it, "For two years the U.S. Regulars taught us how to be soldiers [;] in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg, they taught us how to die like soldiers." The regulars became
27918-456: The regulars, they would serve as an important foundation around which the Union army was built. In the disastrous First Battle of Bull Run , it was the regulars who acted as rearguard during the retreat while the volunteers fled, and when George McClellan was put in charge of what became the Army of the Potomac he used regular officers and non-commissioned officers to train the volunteers. Training
28116-498: The remainder of the summer in Europe, then went home to Warsaw. Unemployed again, in December 1868 Hay journeyed to the capital, writing to Nicolay that he "came to Washington in the peaceful pursuit of a fat office. But there is nothing just now available". Seward promised to "wrestle with Andy for anything that turns up", but nothing did prior to the departure of both Seward and Johnson from office on March 4, 1869. In May, Hay went back to Washington from Warsaw to press his case with
28314-420: The rest of the Vicksburg Campaign there was much friction between McClernand and his colleagues. He intrigued for the removal of Grant, spreading rumors to the press of Grant drinking on the campaign. McClernand landed his men on the Mississippi River levee at Young's Point, where they "suffered from the heavy winter rains and lack of shelter. Tents were not issued to the troops because they were within range of
28512-452: The right direction or far enough in any event. In the early morning of April 6, 1862, the regiment of Brigadier General William T. Sherman's Fifth Division on the left flank, stationed about a quarter-mile south and east of Shiloh Church, began to give way under Confederate attack and the colonel's panic. McClernand had already begun to send troops forward to prevent Sherman's division from being outflanked. By 9:30 a.m., Sherman's division
28710-446: The salary attached to office a small consideration for the rest of his life. Amasa Stone needed someone to watch over his investments, and wanted Hay to move to Cleveland to fill the post. Although the Hays initially lived in John's New York apartment and later in a townhouse there, they moved in June 1875 to Stone's ornate home on Cleveland's Euclid Avenue , "Millionaire's Row", and a mansion
28908-402: The same grade regardless of their date of commission, a feature which could have become a subject of contention. The use of brevet ranks was also a common feature of the Union army. Officer appointments depended on the commission grade and whether it was in the regular or volunteer forces. The President reserved the right to issue commission for all regular officers and for general officers in
29106-505: The same hardships as them. Some of the most prominent women to accompany the Union armies in the field include Anna Etheridge , Marie Tepe , and Nadine Turchin . Women also sought to serve more formally as nurses in the Union army, many having been inspired by the work of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War . However, there was strong resistance against these efforts at first. Societal prejudices saw women as too delicate and
29304-828: The secretaries' objections, Mrs. Lincoln was generally the victor and managed to save almost 70 percent of her husband's salary in his four years in office. After the death of Lincoln's 11-year-old son Willie in February 1862 (an event not mentioned in Hay's diary or correspondence), "it was Hay who became, if not a surrogate son, then a young man who stirred a higher form of parental nurturing that Lincoln, despite his best intentions, did not successfully bestow on either of his surviving children". According to Hay biographer Robert Gale, "Hay came to adore Lincoln for his goodness, patience, understanding, sense of humor, humility, magnanimity, sense of justice, healthy skepticism, resilience and power, love of
29502-517: The secretaryship of state was likely to attract him and cause a vacancy that Hanna could fill . Hay knew that with only eight cabinet positions, only one could go to an Ohioan, and so he had no chance for a cabinet post. Accordingly, Hay encouraged Reid to seek the State position, while firmly ruling himself out as a possible candidate for that post, and quietly seeking the inside track to be ambassador in London. Zeitz states that Hay "aggressively lobbied" for
29700-406: The soldiers when assembled into squads, platoons or as a company, experienced NCOs could take over this training as well. NCOs were also responsible for the regimental colors , which helped the unit maintain formation and serve as a rally point for the regiment. Typically a sergeant was designated the standard-bearer and protected by a color guard of corporals who only opened fire in defense of
29898-586: The standard by which the Volunteers were measured, and to be described as being as good or better than them was considered the highest compliment. Commissioned officers in the Union army could be divided in several categories: general officers , including lieutenant general , which was added on March 2, 1864, major generals and brigadier generals ; field officers including colonels , lieutenant colonels and majors ; and company officers including captains , first lieutenants and second lieutenants . There
30096-509: The state constitution. Despite his resignation from the Army in 1864, McClernand, no longer a wealthy man, was granted an Army pension in 1896, increased in 1900 to $ 100.00 per month, under acts of Congress. Having been in ill health for several years, John McClernand died in Springfield, Illinois on September 20, 1900. He is interred there at Oak Ridge Cemetery . McClernand is the villain of MacKinlay Kantor ’s alternate history book If
30294-493: The states. These included the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment , the first Black regiment to be raised and the first to engage in combat; the 1st Louisiana Native Guard , raised from both freedmen and escaped slaves after the Capture of New Orleans ; and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment , which became the most famous Black unit after their valiant participation in the Battle of Fort Wagner . Their efforts helped to dispel
30492-501: The strategies of other generals, including Major General George B. McClellan 's in the Eastern Theater and Grant's in the West . In October 1862, McClernand used his political influence with Illinois Governor Richard Yates to obtain a leave of absence to visit Washington, D.C. and President Lincoln, hoping to receive an important independent command. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton agreed to order him north to raise troops for
30690-400: The stricken Lincoln had been taken. Hay remained by Lincoln's deathbed through the night and was present when he died. At the moment of Lincoln's death, Hay observed "a look of unspeakable peace came upon his worn features". He heard War Secretary Edwin Stanton 's declaration, "Now he belongs to the ages." According to Kushner and Sherrill, "Lincoln's death was for Hay a personal loss, like
30888-493: The theater with Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln , and reading Les Misérables in French. Hay, still in his early 20s, spent time both in barrooms and at cultured get-togethers in the homes of Washington's elite. The two secretaries often clashed with Mary Lincoln, who resorted to various stratagems to get the dilapidated White House restored without depleting Lincoln's salary, which had to cover entertainment and other expenses. Despite
31086-612: The time, Abraham Lincoln, with whom he was a friend. Largely self-educated, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1832. In that same year he served as a volunteer private in the Black Hawk War (Lincoln briefly served as a captain.) In 1835 McClernand founded the Shawneetown Democrat newspaper, which he edited. As a Democrat he served in 1836 and from 1840 to 1843 in the Illinois House of Representatives . He served in
31284-478: The two army Corps, most of which he had raised by his effort, included his own corps and another corps that would fall under his command due to his seniority. McClernand's force under Sherman continued up the Mississippi river, racing to attack Vicksburg - under the assumption that the complete silence from Grant's force meant that he had plunged deeply into Mississippi. Sherman attempted to attack Vicksburg by attempting to storm nearly invincible Confederate positions at
31482-525: The volunteer forces. volunteer field and company-grade officers could be commissioned by either the president or their respective governor. Company officers were also unique in that they were usually elected by members of their company. The political appointment and/or election of volunteer officers was part of a long-standing militia tradition and of a political patronage system common in the United States. While many of these officers were West Point graduates or had prior military experience, others had none, nor
31680-411: The volunteers, especially in regards to critical administrative and logistical matters, remained an important function of the regulars during the war. This was particularly the case with regular army artillery, as they were more widely dispersed than the infantry and cavalry (making them more visible to the olunteers) and were assigned to specific units to train their volunteer counterparts. In battle,
31878-404: The war and joined the army, reaching positions of authority. Brigadier General Edward Ferrero was the original commander of the 51st New York Regiment . He commanded both brigades and divisions in the eastern and western theaters of war and later commanded a division of the United States Colored Troops . Colonel Enrico Fardella, of the same and later of the 85th New York regiment, was made
32076-425: The winter, leading to speculation about his health. Hay was faster than Reid to realize that the race for these posts would be affected by Hanna's desire to be senator from Ohio, as with one of the state's places about to be occupied by the newly elected Joseph B. Foraker , the only possible seat for him was that held by Senator Sherman. As the septuagenarian senator had served as Treasury Secretary under Hayes, only
32274-452: The wives or other female relatives of the soldiers themselves who saw to their personal needs and (if time allowed) looked to the well-being of other soldiers. A somewhat more formal role for some camp followers was that of vivandière . Originally a female sutler , the role of vivandière expanded to include other responsibilities, including on the battlefield. Armed for their own protection, they brought water to thirsty soldiers, carried
32472-508: Was Michigan , which designated Fort Wayne as a training center for both officers and NCOs. As the war progressed NCOs gained valuable experience and even drastic disciplinary measures such as execution by firing squad were carried out when deemed necessary. The promotion of soldiers to NCOs (and NCOs to officers) was also increasingly based on battlefield performance, although each state maintained their own standards for when and where promotions could be granted. Southerners who were against
32670-611: Was $ 25. McClernand's last public service was on a federal advisory commission overseeing the Utah Territory , beginning in 1886. The commissioners met in Utah about 170 days per year and McClernand returned home to Springfield when the commission was not in session. In 1887, the commission recommended that Utah not be admitted as a state until the Mormons had "abandoned polygamy in good faith." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued
32868-547: Was $ 73,800, of which Adams paid a third for his lot. Hay budgeted the construction cost at $ 50,000; his ornate, 12,000 square feet (1,100 m ) mansion eventually cost over twice that. Despite their possession of two lavish houses, the Hays spent less than half the year in Washington and only a few weeks a year in Cleveland. They also spent time at The Fells , their summer residence in Newbury, New Hampshire . According to Gale, "for
33066-541: Was Sherman's idea, Grant quickly reversed his opinion, praising the operation in his telegraph to Halleck and calling it an 'essential step in the campaign against Vicksburg'. On January 17, Grant, after receiving the opinion of Admiral David Dixon Porter and General Sherman that McClernand was incompetent to lead further operations, united a part of his own troops with those of McClernand and assumed command in person and reduced McClernand to corps command. Three days later he ordered McClernand back to Milliken's Bend. During
33264-812: Was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and an assistant for Abraham Lincoln , he became a diplomat. He served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt . Hay was also a biographer of Lincoln, and wrote poetry and other literature throughout his life. Born in Salem, Indiana to an anti-slavery family that moved to Warsaw, Illinois , Hay showed great potential from an early age, and his family sent him to Brown University . After graduation in 1858, Hay read law in his uncle's office in Springfield, Illinois , adjacent to that of Lincoln. Hay worked for Lincoln's successful presidential campaign and became one of his private secretaries in
33462-468: Was an early supporter of Ohio's William McKinley and worked closely with McKinley's political manager, Cleveland industrialist Mark Hanna . In 1889, Hay supported McKinley in his unsuccessful effort to become Speaker of the House. Four years later, McKinley—by then Governor of Ohio—faced a crisis when a friend whose notes he had imprudently co-signed went bankrupt during the Panic of 1893 . The debts were beyond
33660-500: Was at the front of the second division which preceded the hearse. McClernand served as district judge of the Sangamon (Illinois) District from 1870 to 1873, and was chairman of the 1876 Democratic National Convention , which nominated Samuel J. Tilden for President of the United States. In 1871, at the 17th Annual Illinois State Fair , McClernand's colt, Zenith, won first place in the "Best Stallion Colt, 2 Years Old" category. The prize
33858-555: Was at the time a 20-year-old newspaperman. Once John Hay completed his studies there, the 13-year-old was sent to live with his grandfather in Springfield and attend school there. His parents and uncle Milton (who financed the boy's education) sent him to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island , alma mater of his late maternal grandfather. Hay enrolled at Brown in 1855. Although he enjoyed college life, he did not find it easy: his Western clothing and accent made him stand out; he
34056-457: Was authorized a number of aides-de-camp as their personal staff and a general staff . The general staff included representatives of the other combat arms, such as a chief of artillery and chief of cavalry (the infantry being typically represented by the commanding officer) and representatives of the staff bureaus and offices. The staff department officers typically assigned to an army or military department included an assistant adjutant general,
34254-471: Was being attacked by six Confederate brigades. After two hours of heavy fighting, Sherman's division fell back, despite some reinforcements from Brigadier General W. H. L. Wallace 's Second Division. About 10:00 a.m., Sherman's and McClernand's divisions linked up in a new position. McClernand's division was organized but Sherman's men reached the new line only a few minutes before the Confederates. Sherman's and McClernand's divisions were pushed back through
34452-596: Was certain that he had been wronged" by Hay, and the announcement of Hay's appointment nearly ended their 26-year friendship. Reaction in Britain to Hay's appointment was generally positive, with George Smalley of The Times writing to him, "we want a man who is a true American yet not anti-English". Hay secured a Georgian house on Carlton House Terrace, overlooking Horse Guards Parade , with 11 servants. He brought with him Clara, their own silver, two carriages, and five horses. Hay's salary of $ 17,000 "did not even begin to cover
34650-611: Was commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers in 1861. His was a classic case of the politician-in-uniform coming into conflict with career Army officers, graduates of the United States Military Academy . He served as a subordinate commander under Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater , fighting in the campaigns of Belmont , Operations on the Tennessee & Cumberland , Shiloh in 1861–62 and later briefly as
34848-416: Was composed of numerous organizations, which were generally organized geographically. Each of these armies was usually commanded by a major general . Typically, the Department or District commander also had field command of the army of the same name, but some conflicts within the ranks occurred when this was not true, particularly when an army crossed a geographic boundary. The commanding officer of an army
35046-464: Was considering running for Congress. In Washington, Hay oversaw a staff of eighty employees, renewed his acquaintance with his friend Henry Adams , and substituted for Evarts at Cabinet meetings when the Secretary was out of town. In 1880, he campaigned for the Republican nominee for president, his fellow Ohioan, Congressman James A. Garfield . Hay felt that Garfield did not have enough backbone, and hoped that Reid and others would "inoculate him with
35244-530: Was elected. Though Harrison appointed men whom Hay supported, including Blaine, Reid, and Robert Lincoln, Hay was not asked to serve in the Harrison administration . In 1890, Hay spoke for Republican congressional candidates, addressing a rally of 10,000 people in New York City, but the party was defeated, losing control of Congress. Hay contributed funds to Harrison's unsuccessful re-election effort , in part because Reid had been made Harrison's 1892 running mate. Hay
35442-452: Was established on March 17, 1862. The board consisted of Ethan A. Hitchcock , the chairman, with Department of War bureau chiefs Lorenzo Thomas (Adjutant General), Montgomery C. Meigs (Quartermaster General), Joseph G. Totten (Chief of Engineers), James W. Ripley (Chief of Ordnance), and Joseph P. Taylor (Commissary General). Reporting directly to the Secretary of War were the bureau chiefs or heads of staff departments which made up
35640-451: Was further differentiation between line officers, who were members of the artillery, cavalry or infantry branches, and staff officers, who were part of the various departments and bureaus of the War Department. All line officers outranked staff officers except in cases pertaining to their staff assignment, in which they received their orders from their respective department chiefs. Regular general officers outranked volunteer general officers of
35838-511: Was happening, Stanton attempted to reassure him, and told him that Grant had received orders to reform the troops of the department into four army Corps, and that McClernand was going to command one of them. This was a setback and a downgrade from the earlier promised independent command. Orders were simultaneously dispatched from the war department to Grant ordering him to assign McClernand as Corps commander. Grant obliged and wired McClernand in December 18 that preparations were finished and his corps
36036-509: Was marked by labor disputes; a strike over wage cuts on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad soon spread to the Lake Shore, much to Hay's outrage. He blamed foreign agitators for the dispute, and vented his anger over the strike in his only novel, The Bread-Winners (1883). Hay remained disaffected from the Republican Party in the mid-1870s. Seeking a candidate of either party he could support as
36234-452: Was military leadership a primary consideration in such appointments. Such a policy inevitably resulted in the promotion of inept officers over more able commanders. As the war dragged on and casualties mounted, governors reacted to their constituents' complaints and instead began to issue commissions on the basis of battlefield rather than political competence. Officers tended to suffer a higher percentage of battle wounds on account of either
36432-502: Was moved to hire Hay when Milton agreed to pay his nephew's salary for six months. Milton Hay desired that his nephew go to Washington as a qualified attorney, and John Hay was admitted to the bar in Illinois on February 4, 1861. On February 11, he embarked with President-elect Lincoln on a circuitous journey to Washington. By this time, several Southern states had seceded to form the Confederate States of America in reaction to
36630-499: Was not enforced as strictly as in the regular army, and while some NCOs brought with them prior battlefield experience (whether from the Mexican–American War or foreign military service) many at the start of the war were as equally ignorant as their officers in military matters. Training for these NCOs took place during off-duty hours and often involved lessons based on manuals such as Hardee's Tactics . One notable exception
36828-410: Was not heavy, and Hay found time to enjoy the pleasures of Paris. When Bigelow resigned in mid-1866, Hay, as was customary, submitted his resignation, though he was asked to remain until Bigelow's successor was in place, and stayed until January 1867. He consulted with Secretary of State Seward, asking him for "anything worth having". Seward suggested the post of Minister to Sweden, but reckoned without
37026-519: Was not successful in Salem, and moved, with his wife and children, to Warsaw, Illinois , in 1841. John attended the local schools, and in 1849 his uncle Milton Hay invited John to live at his home in Pittsfield , Pike County, and attend a well-regarded local school, the John D. Thomson Academy. Milton was a friend of Springfield attorney Abraham Lincoln and had read law in the firm Stuart and Lincoln. In Pittsfield, John first met John Nicolay , who
37224-400: Was not sufficiently covered, was struck by a surprise attack in the early morning on February 15, 1862, the third day of the battle, in bitterly cold weather. By 7:00 a.m., the Confederates in line of battle and covered by artillery attacked McClernand's position, which McClernand thought he would still have time to adjust without Confederate movement in the frigid weather. Within an hour of
37422-444: Was not well prepared academically and was often sick. Hay gained a reputation as a star student and became a part of Providence's literary circle that included Sarah Helen Whitman and Nora Perry . He wrote poetry and experimented with hashish . Hay received his Master of Arts degree in 1858, and was, like his grandfather before him, Class Poet. He returned to Illinois. Milton Hay had moved his practice to Springfield, and John became
37620-402: Was offered a major general's commission in the U.S. Army through the letter from Secretary of State William H. Seward to H. S. Sanford , the U.S. Minister at Brussels , July 17, 1861. Colonel Luigi Palma di Cesnola , a former Italian and British soldier and veteran of the Crimean War , commanded the 4th New York Cavalry and would rise to become one of the highest ranking Italian officer in
37818-415: Was out of Congress, he developed a large law practice and engaged in land speculation. In 1859, McClernand was again elected to the House to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Thomas L. Harris . His term began on November 8. He was a strong Unionist and introduced the resolution of July 15, 1861, pledging money and men to the national government. In 1860 he was defeated in a bid for the speakership of
38016-602: Was over in order to join the Confederate States Army; though few are believed to have done so, their total number is unknown. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln exercised supreme command and control over the army in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces . Below him was the Secretary of War , who oversaw the administration of the army, and the general-in-chief , who directed
38214-435: Was quickly under construction for the Hays next-door. The Hays had four children, Helen Hay Whitney , Adelbert Stone Hay , Alice Evelyn Hay Wadsworth Boyd (who married James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. ), and Clarence Leonard Hay. Their father proved successful as a money manager, though he devoted much of his time to literary and political activities, writing to Adee that "I do nothing but read and yawn". On December 29, 1876,
38412-420: Was ready to proceed and "form part of the expedition against Vicksburg". This wire was, by intention, delayed for several days, so that McClernand had received the communique when the expedition, under command of general Sherman, had already departed southwards and did not wait for McClernand. McClernand then proceeded to pursue the expeditionary force in order to assume his promised command; the force had contained
38610-590: Was responsible for negotiating the Open Door Policy , which kept China open to trade with all countries on an equal basis, with international powers. By negotiating the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty with the United Kingdom, the (ultimately unratified) Hay–Herrán Treaty with Colombia, and finally the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty with the newly independent Republic of Panama , Hay also cleared the way for
38808-577: Was signed by the prestigious Boston Lyceum Bureau , whose clients included Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony , to give lectures on the prospects for democracy in Europe, and on his years in the Lincoln White House. By the time President Grant ran for reelection in 1872, Grant's administration had been rocked by scandal, and some disaffected members of his party formed the Liberal Republicans , naming Greeley as their candidate for president,
39006-506: Was simply not considered. Eventually though their opponents recognized their existence, and while female spies caught in the act were not typically executed like their male colleagues, they still faced the threat of lengthy prison sentences. For self-evident reasons many of these activities were kept secret and any documentation (if it existed) was often destroyed. As such the identity of many of these women will never be known. Of those who became famous for their espionage work during or after
39204-540: Was under the command of Major General John C. Fremont on August 21, 1861. At the same time, the brigade was placed in the District of Southeast Missouri commanded by Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant , a subordinate of Fremont. In the summer of 1861, McClernand commanded and trained his brigade at Springfield, Illinois and Jacksonville, Illinois , moving them to Cairo, Illinois at the beginning of September. The brigade soon began to cut off shipments of arms and supplies to
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