Henry Wager Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck (born January 16, 1815 in Westernville , New York , † January 9, 1872 in Louisville , Kentucky ) was an officer , scholar and lawyer.
He was Commander-in-Chief ( Commanding General of the United States Army ) of the US Army at the beginning of the Civil War.
Life
youth
Halleck was born in Westernville, New York and was related by marriage to Alexander Hamilton . After attending Hudson Academy and Union College, he graduated from the US Military Academy in West Point , New York , in 1839 . He stayed there for two years as a research assistant for pioneering work. In 1844 he traveled to Europe to meet the French military. On his return he wrote Elements of Military Art and Science based on his experiences there . This work was well received by his comrades in the military. It later became one of the most important tactical treatises to be used by officers in the nascent civil war. His work as a scholar earned him the (later derogatory) nickname Old Brains .
Mexican-American War and Time in California
Halleck served in California during the Mexican-American War . In 1854 he resigned as a career officer and became a very successful lawyer and publisher in San Francisco . He participated in the drafting of the California constitution and became a recognized collector of California-themed items. He was the director of the Almaden Quicksilver Company in San José , California, president of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, a building contractor in Monterey, and the owner of Rancho Nicasio in Marin County, California, which was 120 square kilometers. Despite this multitude of business ventures, he continued to occupy himself with military affairs and gained the trust of the respected General Winfield Scotts . In 1860 he was a major general in the California Militia.
Civil war
On August 19, 1861, he was promoted to major general in the regular army by President Abraham Lincoln . He was in command of the Missouri and Mississippi Defense Areas and was thus commander in chief for all military activities in the western theater of war. The high point of his military career was the appointment as Commander in Chief ( Commanding General of the United States Army ) on July 11, 1862. President Abraham Lincoln was dissatisfied with the previous holder of the post McClellan because of poor military success. In contrast, Halleck was able to show some successes in the west, such as his victories at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson , Shiloh and Corinth . Lincoln therefore ordered Halleck to go to the capital as quickly as possible. The handover of the official business was delayed, so that he could only take office on July 23, 1862.
On March 12, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant , Halleck's former subordinate in the West, was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Commander in Chief of the Army. Halleck became the chief of staff, whose task was primarily the administration of the now numerically very large US armies. After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House for the Confederate States in 1865, he was promoted to command post on the James River. After the war he was in command of the Pacific Defense Area.
death
Henry Halleck was in command of the South Military Division when he died in Louisville, Kentucky on January 9, 1872. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn , New York. A street in San Francisco and a statue in Golden Gate Park are dedicated to him.
Services
Halleck was a gifted strategist and organizer. In the campaigns that he led, he showed himself to be too little aggressive. He effectively relayed President Lincoln's instructions; so much so that Lincoln was quoted as saying that Halleck was really little more than a very good clerk (little more than a first rate clerk) . He was unsuccessful in dealing with his subordinate generals, such as McClellan and Joseph Hooker , who did not always carry out his strategic directions as he intended. During his only field command at Corinth, Mississippi, he advanced very slowly, only about a mile a day, and then buried himself. This ultimately led to success with minor losses, but politicians took too long to achieve this success.
Works
- International law, or Rules regulating the intercourse of states in peace and war (1861)
- Elements of Military Art and Science (1856)
- Mexican War in Baja California: the memorandum of Captain Henry W. Halleck concerning his expeditions in Lower California, 1846-1848
- Tr. Life of Napoleon by Baron Jomini
Bibliography
- Stephen E. Ambrose: Halleck: Lincoln's Chief of Staff. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 1996, ISBN 978-0-8071-2071-2 .
- Elcher, John H., & Eicher, David J .: Civil War High Commands , Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 . (English)
- John F. Marszalek: Commander of All Lincoln's Armies: A Life of General Henry W. Halleck. Cambridge, MA 2004
Individual evidence
- ↑ Shelby Foote . The Civil War: Fort Sumner to Perryville , p. 533
- ↑ Shelby Foote. The Civil War: Fort Sumner to Perryville , p. 533
- ↑ Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders , pp. 195-197
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Halleck, Henry Wager |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Old Brains |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | General of the US Army |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 16, 1815 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Westernville , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 9, 1872 |
| Place of death | Louisville , Kentucky |