Joseph Wheeler

This article deals with the American general - for the English music researcher of the same name, see Joseph Wheeler (music researcher) .

Joseph Wheeler

Joseph Wheeler (* 10. September 1836 in Augusta , Georgia , † 25 January 1906 in Brooklyn ) was a general of the Confederate in the Civil War and a deputy in the US House of Representatives for the State of Alabama .

Life

Joseph Wheeler was a graduate of the Military Academy in West Point , from which he graduated in 1859 as the 19th in a class of 22nd In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War , he joined the Confederate Army . After first commanding an infantry regiment (the 19th Alabama), Wheeler joined the cavalry in 1862 . He was instrumental in the victory of Stones River . In the course of three months he was promoted twice; from colonel to major general. From 1863 he commanded a cavalry corps in the Army of Tennessee . Wheeler participated in 167 battles, was wounded three times and a total of 16 of his horses were killed in battles. In May of 1865 he was taken prisoner. He was called Fighting Joe among the southerners ; The Union Army general Joseph Hooker had the same nickname in the Northern States .

After the war he moved to Wheeler , Alabama (the place was named in his honor) and settled there as a planter and lawyer. He was elected to the US House of Representatives and served in Congress from 1881 to 1883 and from 1895 to 1900. Here he mainly worked on the reconciliation between the northern and southern states.

Joseph Wheeler as Confederate General

In the Spanish-American War , Wheeler served as major general of the US Volunteer Associations and defeated the Spanish at Las Guasimas on June 24, 1898. He was also involved in the Battle of San Juan Hill (July 1) and the attack on Santiago de Cuba .

From 1899 to 1900 he commanded a brigade in the Philippine-American War . In September 1900 he was appointed Brigadier General of the regular armed forces. It is noteworthy that he was initially a general of the Confederation and later also a general of the United States Army , which fought during the Civil War.

His grave is in Arlington National Cemetery .

According to him, Wheeler County named in Georgia.

Works

• Cavalry Tactics (1863)
• Bragg's Invasion of Kentucky, Vol. 3 in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (1887–1888)
• The Santiago Campaign (1898)

literature

• TC DeLeon: Joseph Wheeler, the Man, the Statesman, the Soldier Seen in Semi-Autobiographical Sketches. Continental Publishing, Kennesaw 1960.
• John Witherspoon DuBose: General Joseph Wheeler and the Army of Tennessee. Neale Publishing, New York 1912.
• John P. Dyer: Fightin 'Joe Wheeler . Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA 1941.
• John P. Dyer: From Shiloh to San Juan: The Life of "Fightin 'Joe" Wheeler. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 1961.
• A. James Fuller: Joseph Wheeler . In: Encyclopedia of Alabama . 2013.
• Edward G. Longacre: A Soldier to the Last: Major General Joseph Wheeler in Blue and Gray. Potomac Books, Washington, DC 2007.

Web links

Commons : Joseph Wheeler  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Joseph Wheeler in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Joseph Wheeler in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• English-language biography