John Pope (General)

Major General John Pope

John Pope (born March 16, 1822 in Louisville , Kentucky , † September 23, 1892 in Sandusky , Ohio ) was a general in the US Army . During the American Civil War , Pope led troops in the western theater of war with great success in the first year of the war. His name is inextricably linked with the defeat in the Second Battle of the Bull Run in the eastern theater of war. Pope continued his career as a professional soldier after the Civil War in the Indian Wars.

Parental home and military career

Pope was the son of Nathaniel Popes , a well-known federal judge of the Illinois Territory, founded in 1809 and a friend of Abraham Lincoln , and his wife Lucretia, née Backus. John Pope was the Schwippschwager of Manning Force , which later served as a general in the Union Army, and also widely with Mary Todd Lincoln related.

Pope was appointed to the Military Academy at West Point , New York , in 1838 . He completed his training on July 1, 1842 as 17th in a class of 56 graduates and was assigned as a Brevet Lieutenant in the topography troop, which at the time enjoyed elite status. Pope served in Florida and was then assigned to survey the northeast boundary line between the United States and Canada. He was promoted to lieutenant in the regular army on May 9, 1846.

Pope fought in the Mexican-American War under Zachary Taylor in the battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista . For his achievements during the war he received the certification promotions to first lieutenant and later to captain . Pope achieved the rank of first lieutenant in the regular army on March 3, 1853, and that of captain on July 1, 1856.

Pope served as a surveyor in Minnesota after the war . In 1850 he demonstrated the navigability of the Red River in Louisiana , Arkansas and Texas . From 1851 to 1853, Pope was Chief Topographer of the Ninth Ward of the New Mexico Defense Area and spent the next few years surveying a possible route for the Pacific Railroad . In 1859 he moved to Cincinnati , Ohio . Pope's new area of ​​responsibility included the design of lighthouses in the Great Lakes area. On September 15, he married Clara Horton, the daughter of an influential Congressman. The marriage had five children.

John Pope is described as a sociable person with a biting sense of humor, well-read, brave, and energetic. On the other hand, he tended to be impulsive, quarrelsome, overambitious, vain and self-righteous. He had the reputation of being a loudmouthed whistleblower whose gruff, aggressive demeanor was repugnant to many of his contemporaries. A correspondent for the New York Herald , Henry Villard , called Pope a able man and a good soldier.

but he talked too much of himself, of what he could to and of what ought to be done; and he indulged, contrary to good discipline and all propriety, in very free comments upon superiors and fellow-commanders.

“ But he talked too much about himself, about what he could do and what should be done; and contrary to good discipline and beyond all decency, he indulged in very frank remarks about his superiors and officers of equal rank. "

In the Civil War

First used in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of War

After Lincoln was elected President, Pope was one of four officers Lincoln selected to escort him to Washington, DC . Pope's request to continue serving as Lincoln's assistant was denied. Rather, Pope was promoted to Brigadier General of the Volunteers on June 14, 1861 retrospectively to May 17, and ordered to Illinois to raise troops there.

In the military area commanded by Major General John C. Frémont , Pope took command of the military district of northern Missouri and later of the district of central Missouri. He pacified the military district with measures that were unusual for the time: He made the residents of the North Missouri railway line responsible for the integrity of all systems within a strip of five miles on both sides of the route. In the event of destruction, he obliged the cities and citizens to take responsibility for damage to their property. Following a raid on a transport train by looters, killing and wounding one soldier each, he fined Marion County, Missouri and the City of Palmyra, Missouri, $ 10,000 and $ 5,000, respectively, if not everyone involved in the raid within would be delivered within six days.

Pope's relationship with Frémont became problematic. As can be seen from his correspondence, Pope despised his superior, whom he considered overwhelmed. "[Frémont] appeared to be dazed with the confusion and excitement around him, and but imperfectly to realize the situation and its necesseties," wrote Pope in 1890. ( Eng .: "[Frémont] seemed of confusion and excitement dazed around him and not fully aware of the situation and its requirements ” . Frémont, in turn, distrusted Pope and suspected him of undermining his position. After the defeat of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861 and the capture of Lexington, Missouri by the commander of the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard , Maj. Gen. Sterling Price , on September 20, 1861, Frémont came under increasing pressure. Pope began to intrigue behind the scenes against Frémont, so that Frémont would be removed from his post and he would be appointed as his successor. When the politically and militarily unsuccessful Frémont was finally deposed on November 2, 1861, the temporary command went to the longest serving major general and ally Popes, David Hunter, in accordance with the regulations .

Pope finally forced the Confederates under Sterling Price to evade south, where he managed to capture 1,500 Confederates during the battle at Blackwater Creek on December 18, 1861. Pope announced the success on December 19 and in detail on December 23, 1861 to Hunter's successor, Major General Henry Halleck . At the same time, Pope earned the reputation of a braggart early on in the war by arousing the interest of the press in the minor success.

Use in the western theater of war

Siege and capture of New Madrid and Island No. 10

Halleck, Frémont's successor, entrusted Pope with command of the Mississippi Army on February 23, 1862 . He was supposed to destroy the Confederate bases along the Mississippi with 25,000 men. The army left Commerce, Missouri on February 28th and besieged New Madrid , Missouri from March 3rd to 14th, 1862. Around the heavily fortified island of No. 10 , which was upstream of New Madrid, pioneers dug a canal on the right bank. After taking the city, Pope and the Mississippi Army set down the Mississippi River in New Madrid and besieged Island No. 10 jointly with ships of the Mississippi Lotille under the command of Andrew Hull Foote from March 15 to April 7. The Confederates, 12,000 soldiers and 58 cannons, surrendered on April 8, 1862. With this Pope had created the conditions for the further advance along the Mississippi south to Memphis . Due to his excellent performance in conquering New Madrid and Island No. 10 Pope was promoted to Major General of the Volunteers on March 21, 1862.

Within 14 days, Halleck moved the Mississippi Army in support of the Ohio and Tennessee Armies to Pittsburg Landing on Tennessee . Halleck attacked the Confederates in Corinth, Mississippi on April 29 with a total of 120,000 men with Pope's Mississippi Army on the left wing . After the capture of Corinth on May 30th, the "Hero of Island No. 10 “- Pope - on June 26th to the east and took command of the newly formed Virginia Army .

Second battle at the Bull Run

The Confederates under Major General Jackson had won numerous victories during the Shenandoah campaign and tied 100,000 Union soldiers because there was no unified leadership on the Union side. Lincoln therefore called Pope back from the western theater of war and subordinated the corps of Major Generals Frémont, Banks and McDowell to the newly established Virginia Army. The army was supposed to protect West Virginia and Washington , throw Jackson back into central Virginia and then relieve Major General McClellan in his peninsula campaign and capture Richmond . Since Frémont did not want to serve under Pope - he had been his superior in 1861, he resigned with the approval of the government. His successor was first Brigadier General Rufus King and later Major General Franz Sigel .

Two and a half weeks after taking office, Pope issued an army order in which he boasted of the successes in his previous assignments and sharply reprimanded the soldiers under him for their previous behavior.

I have come to you form the West, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies; [...] Meantime I desire you to dismiss from your minds certain phrases, which I am sorry to find so much in vogue amongst you. [...] of 'lines of retreat,' and of 'bases of supplies.' [...] Let us study the probable lines of retreat of our opponents, and leave our own to take care of themselves. Let us look before us, and not behind. Success and glory are in the advance, disaster and shame lurk in the rear.

“ I come to you from the west, where we have only ever seen the backs of our enemies; […] In the meantime, I ask you to delete certain terms from your memories which, as I regrettably discovered, are often used among you. [...] of 'lines of retreat' and of 'supply bases.' [...] Let us study the possible lines of retreat of our opponents and do not waste thoughts on our own. Let's look ahead and not backwards. Success and fame lie in attack, defeat and shame lurk behind. "

Pope made no friends with this derogatory opinion of the troops in the eastern theater of war. Maj. Gen. Fitz-John Porter , commanding general of V Corps of the Potomac Army , to which Pope later came under, stated:

"[Pope] […] written himself down, what the military world has long known, an Ass. "

“[Pope] [...] has immortalized himself as the donkey that the military world has known him for a long time. "

After taking command, Pope initially deployed two corps to protect the capital in the Shenandoah Valley. When he learned that the enemy had left the valley, he ordered the Virginia Army to the Piedmont Virginia. Banks II. Corps was to advance to Culpeper and carry out raids from there to the Gordonsville railway junction. Pope was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army on July 14.

General Lee ordered Major General Jackson to halt the advance of the Virginia Army after the Seven Day Battle . At Cedar Mountain there was a battle on August 9, 1862, which Jackson won after the initial successes of the Northerners. After the battle, the Virginia Army evaded the Rappahannock, Jackson's Corps in the Orange, Virginia area.

Lee decided to attack the Virginia Army before the Potomac Army could reinforce Pope to 150,000 men. He ordered Jackson with the II. Corps with 24,000 men on August 25 to bypass the Union troops, while Major General James Longstreet should continue to bind Pope with the I. Corps with 30,000 men. Jackson's troops looted the Virginia Army's supply bases at Manassas and Briscoe Station on August 27, destroyed the railroad connections, and dodged to the northwest. When Pope arrived at Manassas Station on August 27th, he was unable to provide Jackson's corps. From Centerville, Virginia, he tried to find the supposedly retreating Jackson.

McClellan supported Pope with the III. ( Maj. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman ) and V Corps (Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter) of the Potomac Army, he refused to provide further support. On the evening of August 28, one of Pope's divisions discovered Jackson's corps. The skirmish at Groveton broke out and both sides suffered great losses. Pope, who believed Jackson trapped, had his corps brought in during the night to attack the next morning.

Jackson's corps had holed up along an unfinished railway line. Pope attacked the entire breadth of Jackson's positions on August 29th. However, the attacks were not coordinated and took place one after the other at different locations, so that the Confederates were able to repel all attacks by shifting the focus and using the last reserves. Eventually Pope's powers were exhausted. The fact that the Virginia Army had not been able to defeat Jackson was not only due to the uncoordinated conduct of the attack, but also to Pope's incorrect assessment of the situation and amateurish orders.

Pope had assigned McDowell (III Corps, Virginia Army) and Porter (V Corps, Potomac Army), located south of the Manassas Gap Railroad, to advance, stop, liaise with the rest of the Army, and advance at the same time to be prepared for the eventuality of an evasive move via the bull run. He also gave them the discretion to deviate from the instructions if this should result in an advantage. Pope did not issue an attack order . He mistakenly believed that the bulk of the Confederate Army under Major General James Longstreet was still 36 to 48 hours away.

McDowell took advantage of the room to maneuver and turned around. It was his intention to join the main force to bridge the gap with Porter's corps. Although McDowell was aware of the approach of Longstreets Corps, he failed to immediately relay this important information to Pope. Porter waited because units from Long Street's corps had presented themselves to him. While Pope let his troops run against Jackson's positions, he waited impatiently for an attack by Porter, which he had only ordered in his imagination. When the commander-in-chief, ignorant of Longstreet's location, finally ordered Porter to attack Jackson's right flank (!) In the late afternoon, the latter could not carry out the order because the tactically unchanged situation spoke against such an attack and it was already too late for it.

During the night Jackson withdrew some brigades in order to achieve a unified front line. Pope viewed this move as the beginning of the Confederate evasion, even though he knew by now that the Northern Virginia Army was fully assembled on the battlefield. That night Pope had pulled Porter's isolated corps into his own. He ordered Porter to launch the assault on the Northern Virginia Army. Pope ignored warnings about the presence of strong Confederate forces on his left. The attack progressed only slowly and was repulsed shortly before the break-in into Jackson's positions along the unfinished railway line by the flanking artillery Longstreets. At the same time, Longstreet attacked Pope's right flank with five divisions.

In a bitter delay battle, Pope initially managed to let the Virginia Army evade orderly to the Bull Run. During the night Pope avoided his cocky announcements in one train as far as Washington. On September 1, two divisions of Pope succeeded in preventing another attempt to bypass Jackson near Chantilly - 20 miles from Washington.

Pope looked for the reason for the defeat in his subordinates - primarily he blamed Porter for disobedience. Pope did not make himself popular with the army when he initiated a court martial against Porter. Porter was found guilty and dishonorable, but the sentence was overturned in 1886.

However, Pope could no longer see Porter's conviction as Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia Army. Even before the trial began, he was de facto relieved of his command on September 2, 1862, and the Virginia Army was incorporated into the Potomac Army ten days later.

Second use in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of War

In order to forestall an official impeachment, Pope asked for his dismissal on September 3, which the government approved only reluctantly according to his report of January 27, 1863, and was appointed Commander in the Defense Area Northwest on September 6. The military area included the states of Iowa , Wisconsin , Minnesota and the Nebraska and Dakota Territories. Upon arriving on September 16, he assumed command in Saint Paul , Minnesota. His mission was to end the Indian hostilities and restore the safety of the people who lived there. The Minister of War promised Pope all support in all necessary measures.

After taking command on September 22, Pope complained to the Minister of War that he wanted to act but had no troops and at the same time requested supply officers and supplies. Halleck's answer clearly showed the assessment of the importance of Pope's command for the overall conduct of the war: The demands exceeded all expectations - the army could not meet the demands without withdrawing officers and material from the fighting force. Halleck found such a large number of troops unnecessary for an expedition against the Indians. This assessment of the importance of Pope's task continued with Halleck's order of October 15, with which all troops of the military area, unless expressly deployed elsewhere, were ordered to Memphis. At the same time, the Nebraska Territory was separated from the Northwest Defense Area. With the promise to set the regiments on march to Helena, Arkansas, before the start of the frost period, Pope asked when he would be relieved - this had to be done quickly because of the impassability of the rivers, otherwise he would have to winter there. Halleck replied that the president had been urged to appoint a congressman to run the defense area, but that he was still campaigning for Pope to remain in the post. Pope was recalled from November 28, 1862 to February 13, 1863 and was represented by Brigadier General Washington L. Elliot.

In fact, Pope had 2,740 soldiers available in October, 1,600 of whom were participating in the punitive expedition against the Sioux under the command of Colonel Sibley . On October 9th, Pope reported the campaign against the Sioux as having been successfully completed. He had had the property of the Indians destroyed and the 30 ringleaders were to be hanged as a deterrent. However, he considered it necessary to protect the settlers with troops during winter and to pacify the Sioux again in spring. Pope justified the need to execute 300 more Indians in a letter to the President on November 11th. Finally, on December 26, 1862, 38 Indians were hanged.

Immediately after his return, Pope began preparing for another campaign against the Sioux. This began under the leadership of Brigadier General Sibley on June 16 and lasted until September 13, 1863. The government in Washington paid particular attention to the prohibition not to cross the border into Canada without express permission, even in the pursuit of fleeing Indians . Pope did not show himself to be a friend of the Indians - even arming pacified Indians in support of his troops he refused on the grounds that arming Indians now would mean having trained opponents later. On the other hand, he was constantly fighting with the Indian administration, which he accused of mismanagement and enrichment at the expense of the Indians and accused of being responsible for the attacks by the Indians.

On January 30, 1865, he was appointed commander of the Missouri Military Division, and on March 13, 1865, he was promoted to major general in the regular army for his victory on No. 10 Island.

After the Civil War

In April 1867, Pope was named commander of the 3rd Military District ( Georgia , Alabama, and Florida ) Reconstruction , based in Atlanta , Georgia. In this capacity he ordered u. a. indicated that African Americans were allowed to appear on the jury. On December 28, 1867, he was replaced by General George G. Meade .

As brigadier general in the regular army (from July 14, 1862) Pope went back to the west and commanded the Missouri military section from 1870 to 1883, with headquarters in Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . When he announced that the Indian reservations could be better administered by the military than by the corrupt Indian Bureau , he made political enemies. His call for better and more humane treatment of the Indians brought further unrest .

John Pope was promoted to major general on October 26, 1882, and took command of the Pacific Military Division in 1883. He retired on his 64th birthday and died in a veterans home near Sandusky, Ohio. His grave is in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis , Missouri.

literature

• Frederiksen, John C., "John Pope", Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History , Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., WW Norton & Company, 2000, ISBN 0-393-04758-X .
• Cozzens, Peter & Robert I. Girardi (ed.), The Military Memoirs of General John Pope . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8078-2444-5 .
• Ropes, John C., The Army Under Pope . New York, 1885. ISBN 1-58218-530-1 .
• Ellis, Richard N., General Pope and US Indian Policy . Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1970. ISBN 0-8263-0191-6 .
• Schutz, Wallace J. & Walter N. Trenerry, Abandoned by Lincoln: A Military Biography of General John Pope . Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. ISBN 0-252-01675-0 .
• Cozzens, Peter, General John Pope: A Life for the Nation . Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000. ISBN 0-252-02363-3 .
• Hennessy, John J., Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas . New York, Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-79368-3 .

See also

• List of Confederate Generals in the Civil War
• List of generals of the Union in the Civil War

Web links

Commons : John Pope  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Short biography on civilwarhome.com (English)
• Short biography on spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk (English)

• John Pope in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Remarks

1. ^ Wallace J. Schutz & Walter N. Trenerry, Abandoned by Lincoln: A Military Biography of General John Pope. (Urbana, Ill. 1990): p. 15.
2. ↑ Ibid .: pp. 170f .; Patricia L. Faust (ed.), Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War. (New York 1986): p. 593; Peter Cozzens, General John Pope: A Life for the Nation. (Urbana, Ill. 2000): pp. 7, 21.
3. ↑ Villard, cit. n. ibid .: p. 68.
4. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume III, pp. 403f: Call to the Citizens
5. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume III, p. 135: Extradition or Punishment
6. ↑ Cozzens, General John Pope, pp. 40, 46; Alan Nevins, Frémont: Pathmarker of the West. (Reprint, Lincoln, Nebr. 1992): pp. 535, 656; Peter Cozzens & Robert I. Girardi (ed.), The Military Memoirs of General John Pope. (Chapel Hill, NC 1998): pp. 252f. Footnote 22.
7. ↑ Pope, cit. n. ibid .: p. 12.
8. ^ Nevins, Frémont, p. 653.
9. ^ Cozzens, General John Pope, p. 45.
10. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume III, p. 553 Replacement of Frémont
11. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume VIII, p. 447: Advance Notice
12. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume VIII, P. 38ff: Report on the battle at Blackwater Creek
13. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part III, p. 435: Aufstellbefehl und Einsatz
14. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part III, p. 437f: Request for replacement
15. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part III, p 473f: starting command
16. ↑ James McPherson: Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 524
17. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part II, p. 76 contradicting orders .
18. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part III, p. 729 f. Message Bufords
19. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part II, P. 851ff no situation information
20. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part II, p. 826 Attack!
21. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part II, p. 1085ff no attack possible , 1094ff the enemy is before us
22. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part II, p. 853 Pursuit of the Enemy
23. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part II, p. 394 strong enemy
24. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part III, p. 807ff detachment
25. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XII, Part II, p. 46: Request for discharge
26. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XIII, pp. 617f: Commanders in the Northwest and Mission
27. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XIII, p. 662: Send me officers and supplies
28. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XIII, p. 663: Task is not so important
29. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XIII, p. 739: Commanders in the Northwest and Mission
30. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XIII, pp. 766f: Remaining on duty
31. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XIII, p. 772: Strength of the Defense Area Northwest
32. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XIII, p. 788: Execution Is Necessary
33. ↑ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XXII, p. 371f no support from Indians
34. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XXII, p. 493ff: Indian Authority