Emory Upton
Encyclopedia
Emory Upton was a United States Army
General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to attack entrenched positions successfully at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
during the American Civil War
, but he also excelled at artillery and cavalry assignments. His work, The Military Policy of the United States, which analyzed American military policies and practices and presented the first systematic examination of the nation's military history, had a tremendous effect on the U.S. Army when it was published posthumously in 1904.
He studied under famous evangelist Charles G. Finney
at Oberlin College
for two years before being admitted to the United States Military Academy
at West Point
in 1856. While at West Point Upton fought a duel with fellow Cadet Wade Hampton Gibbes of South Carolina over some offensive remarks about Upton's alleged relationships with African-American girls at Oberlin College
. The two men fought with swords in a darkened room of the cadet barracks. Upton suffered a cut on his face. He graduated eighth in his class of 45 cadets on May 6, 1861, just in time for the outbreak of the Civil War.
Upton was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery, transferring to the 5th U.S. Artillery as a first lieutenant on May 14, assigned to Brig. Gen.
Irvin McDowell
's Army of Northeastern Virginia, as an aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler
. In the First Battle of Bull Run
, July 21, 1861, he was wounded in the arm and left side during the action at Blackburn's Ford, although he did not leave the field. He commanded his battery in the VI Corps Artillery Reserve through the 1862 Peninsula Campaign
and the Seven Days Battles
. In the Maryland Campaign
, including the battles at Crampton's Gap at South Mountain
and the Battle of Antietam
, he commanded the artillery brigade for the 1st Division, VI Corps.
Upton was appointed colonel
of the 121st New York
on October 23, 1862. He led the regiment at the Battle of Fredericksburg
in December and commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, of the VI Corps, starting at the Battle of Gettysburg
, to where the corps marched 35 miles in a single night from Manchester, Maryland
, and was then kept in reserve. In the Bristoe Campaign
, Upton was cited for gallant service at Rappahannock Station
in November 1863 and was given a brevet
promotion to major
in the regular army
.
In the 1864 Overland Campaign
, Upton led his brigade in the Wilderness
, but his greatest contribution was at Spotsylvania Court House
, where he developed a new tactic to attack the Confederate
breastworks, one that would foreshadow tactics used in the trench warfare of World War I
. Upton devised a tactic wherein columns of massed infantry would swiftly assault a small part of the enemy line, without pausing to trade fire, and in doing so attempt to overwhelm the defenders and achieve a breakthrough. The standard infantry assault employed a wide battle line advancing more slowly, firing at the enemy as it moved forward. On May 10, 1864, Upton led twelve regiments in such an assault against the Confederate's Mule Shoe salient. His tactics worked and his command penetrated to the center of the Mule Shoe, but they were left unsupported and forced to withdraw in the face of enemy artillery and mounting reinforcements. Upton was wounded in the attack, but was promoted to brigadier general
on May 12. On that same day, Maj. Gen.
Winfield S. Hancock adapted Upton's columnar assault tactic to the entire II Corps to break through the Mule Shoe. Due to his wounds, Upton was forced to retire to Washington, D.C.
, but was back in command to participate in the early stages of the Siege of Petersburg
.
The VI Corps, of which Upton's brigade was part, was detached from the Army of the Potomac
and sent to deal with Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's threat to Washington and in the subsequent Valley Campaigns of 1864
. At the Third Battle of Winchester
, Upton assumed command of the 1st Division, VI Corps, when its commander fell mortally wounded. Upton himself was severely wounded in the thigh soon after, but refused to be removed from the field until the battle was over. He was carried on a stretcher for the duration of the battle, directing his troops. He received two brevet promotions for Winchester: colonel in the regular army (September 19, 1864) and major general of volunteers (October 19).
After returning from medical leave, Upton finished the war as a cavalry commander, completing his mastery of all three combat arms. Under the command of Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson
, he led the 4th Division of the Cavalry Corps of the Military Division of the Mississippi
. The division saw action during Wilson's Raid
and the Battle of Selma
.
On April 16, 1865, the division made a night assault upon the Confederate works in the Battle of Columbus, Georgia
, capturing a large amount of arms, ammunition, stores, and 1,500 prisoners, and burning the "cottonclad" ramming ship, CSS Muscogee
. This occurred a week after the surrender of Robert E. Lee
's army in Virginia, and was the last large-scale engagement during the war. A few weeks later, in May 1865, Upton was ordered to arrest Alexander Stephens
, the vice president of the Confederacy, and a little later Jefferson Davis
was placed in his custody. He was given a brevet promotion to brigadier general in the regular army for his actions at Selma and major general in the regular army, both on March 13, 1865.
Robert Hoffsommer wrote that, by the end of the war, the 25 year-old Upton "had commanded outstandingly in all three branches of the army."
.
Impressed with the lessons of the Franco-Prussian War
, U.S. Army Commanding General William T. Sherman sent Upton on a tour of Europe and Asia to study military organizations, but with a special emphasis on the German Army. Upon his return, Upton wrote The Armies of Europe and Asia, which warned that European armies had developed soldiering as a profession to a more advanced state than the U.S. Army. Upton presented 54 pages of recommendations for changes in the Army, including that it establish advanced military schools, a general staff, a system of personnel evaluation reports, and promotion by examination. The U.S. interest in French military organizations and tactics, which dominated fighting in the Civil War, went into decline. He was appointed superintendent of theoretical instruction at the Artillery School of Practice located at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he emphasized combined arms tactics.
In 1881, Upton, having returned to the rank of colonel in 1880, was in command of 4th U.S. Artillery at the Presidio of San Francisco
. He suffered greatly from headaches, possibly caused by a brain tumor, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. He is buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, New York
.
reformer and strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan
. Although his books on tactics and on Asian and European armies were considered influential, his greatest impact was a work he called The Military Policy of the United States from 1775. He worked for years on the paper, but it was incomplete at the time of his death in 1881.
Military Policy was a controversial work in which Upton outlined U.S. military history and argued that the armed forces were imprudent and weak and "that all the defects of the American military system rested upon a fundamental, underlying flaw, excessive civilian control of the military." He denigrated the influence of the Secretary of War and promoted the idea that all military decisions in the field should be made by professional officers, although the president should retain the role of commander-in-chief. He argued for a strong, standing regular army that would be supplemented by volunteers or conscripts in time of war, a general staff system based on the Prussian model
, examinations to determine promotions, compulsory retirement of officers who reach a certain age, advanced military education, and combat maneuvering by groups of four three-battalion infantry regiments. Upton's work had a profound influence on discussions of military and civilian strategy for years.
After Upton's death, Henry A. DuPont, Upton's West Point classmate and a close friend, acquired a copy of the uncompleted manuscript. It circulated widely throughout the Army's officer corps and helped to foment much discussion. After the Spanish-American War
, Secretary of War
Elihu Root
read the manuscript and ordered that the War Department publish it under the title The Military Policy of the United States. Many of the Army's so-called Root Reforms of the early twentieth century were inspired by Upton and his works.
wrote an introductory article for a book by Peter Michie, The Life and Letters of Emory Upton. Wilson's tribute to his former subordinate demonstrates the significance of Emory Upton's accomplishments and characteristics:
Upton was memorialized in a site in central Suffolk County, New York
, presently occupied by Brookhaven National Laboratory
. The U.S. Army's Camp Upton
was active from 1917 until 1920, and again from 1940 until 1946. During World War II
, the camp was rebuilt primarily as an induction center for draftees. The Army later used the site as a convalescent and rehabilitation hospital for returning wounded.
A statue of Upton stands before the Genesee County
Courthouse
in his native Batavia.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to attack entrenched positions successfully at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, but he also excelled at artillery and cavalry assignments. His work, The Military Policy of the United States, which analyzed American military policies and practices and presented the first systematic examination of the nation's military history, had a tremendous effect on the U.S. Army when it was published posthumously in 1904.
Early life
Upton was born on a farm near Batavia, New York, the tenth child and sixth son of Daniel and Electra Randall Upton. He would become the brother-in-law of Andrew J. Alexander and of Frank P. Blair, Jr.Francis Preston Blair, Jr.
Francis Preston Blair, Jr. was an American politician and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and he was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President in 1868.-Early life and career:Blair was born in...
He studied under famous evangelist Charles G. Finney
Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in favor...
at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
for two years before being admitted to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
in 1856. While at West Point Upton fought a duel with fellow Cadet Wade Hampton Gibbes of South Carolina over some offensive remarks about Upton's alleged relationships with African-American girls at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
. The two men fought with swords in a darkened room of the cadet barracks. Upton suffered a cut on his face. He graduated eighth in his class of 45 cadets on May 6, 1861, just in time for the outbreak of the Civil War.
Civil War
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War.-Early life:...
's Army of Northeastern Virginia, as an aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler
Daniel Tyler
Daniel Tyler was an iron manufacturer, railroad president, and one of the first generals of the American Civil War.-Biography:...
. In the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
, July 21, 1861, he was wounded in the arm and left side during the action at Blackburn's Ford, although he did not leave the field. He commanded his battery in the VI Corps Artillery Reserve through the 1862 Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
and the Seven Days Battles
Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...
. In the Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
, including the battles at Crampton's Gap at South Mountain
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...
and the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, he commanded the artillery brigade for the 1st Division, VI Corps.
Upton was appointed colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of the 121st New York
121st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 121st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the "Onesers", was a volunteer regiment recruited during the American Civil War from Otsego County and Herkimer County, New York. The Hon. Richard Franchot was appointed colonel of the regiment and authorized to establish his...
on October 23, 1862. He led the regiment at the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
in December and commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, of the VI Corps, starting at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, to where the corps marched 35 miles in a single night from Manchester, Maryland
Manchester, Maryland
Manchester, Maryland, is a small incorporated town in Northeastern Carroll County, Maryland located on the Eastern coast of the United States of America just South of the Pennsylvania State line and North of Baltimore, Maryland...
, and was then kept in reserve. In the Bristoe Campaign
Bristoe Campaign
The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, began to maneuver in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern...
, Upton was cited for gallant service at Rappahannock Station
Battle of Rappahannock Station II
-References:* by the National Park Service* *...
in November 1863 and was given a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
promotion to major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
in the regular army
Regular army
A regular army consists of the permanent force of a country's army that is maintained under arms during peacetime.Countries that use the term include:*Australian Army*British Army*Canadian Forces, specifically "Regular Force"*Egyptian army*Indian Army...
.
In the 1864 Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
, Upton led his brigade in the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
, but his greatest contribution was at Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
, where he developed a new tactic to attack the Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
breastworks, one that would foreshadow tactics used in the trench warfare of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Upton devised a tactic wherein columns of massed infantry would swiftly assault a small part of the enemy line, without pausing to trade fire, and in doing so attempt to overwhelm the defenders and achieve a breakthrough. The standard infantry assault employed a wide battle line advancing more slowly, firing at the enemy as it moved forward. On May 10, 1864, Upton led twelve regiments in such an assault against the Confederate's Mule Shoe salient. His tactics worked and his command penetrated to the center of the Mule Shoe, but they were left unsupported and forced to withdraw in the face of enemy artillery and mounting reinforcements. Upton was wounded in the attack, but was promoted to brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
on May 12. On that same day, Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Winfield S. Hancock adapted Upton's columnar assault tactic to the entire II Corps to break through the Mule Shoe. Due to his wounds, Upton was forced to retire to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, but was back in command to participate in the early stages of the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
.
The VI Corps, of which Upton's brigade was part, was detached from the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
and sent to deal with Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's threat to Washington and in the subsequent Valley Campaigns of 1864
Valley Campaigns of 1864
The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
. At the Third Battle of Winchester
Battle of Opequon
The Battle of Opequon, more commonly known as the Third Battle of Winchester, was fought in Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War....
, Upton assumed command of the 1st Division, VI Corps, when its commander fell mortally wounded. Upton himself was severely wounded in the thigh soon after, but refused to be removed from the field until the battle was over. He was carried on a stretcher for the duration of the battle, directing his troops. He received two brevet promotions for Winchester: colonel in the regular army (September 19, 1864) and major general of volunteers (October 19).
After returning from medical leave, Upton finished the war as a cavalry commander, completing his mastery of all three combat arms. Under the command of Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson
James H. Wilson
James Harrison Wilson was a United States Army topographic engineer, a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War and later wars, a railroad executive, and author.-Early life and engineering:...
, he led the 4th Division of the Cavalry Corps of the Military Division of the Mississippi
Military Division of the Mississippi
The Military Division of the Mississippi was an administrative division of the United States Army during the American Civil War that controlled all military operations in the Western Theater.-History:...
. The division saw action during Wilson's Raid
Wilson's Raid
Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his Union Army Cavalry Corps to destroy Southern manufacturing facilities and was opposed unsuccessfully by a much smaller force under ...
and the Battle of Selma
Battle of Selma
The Battle of Selma was a military engagement near the end of the American Civil War. It was fought in Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865. Union Army forces under Major General James H...
.
On April 16, 1865, the division made a night assault upon the Confederate works in the Battle of Columbus, Georgia
Battle of Columbus, Georgia
The Battle of Columbus, Georgia , also known as the Battle of Girard, Alabama is widely regarded to be the last battle of the American Civil War...
, capturing a large amount of arms, ammunition, stores, and 1,500 prisoners, and burning the "cottonclad" ramming ship, CSS Muscogee
CSS Muscogee
CSS Muscogee also known as CSS Jackson was a Confederate States Navy ironclad ram, powered by a steam driven screw and deployed on the Chattahoochee River during the American Civil War....
. This occurred a week after the surrender of Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's army in Virginia, and was the last large-scale engagement during the war. A few weeks later, in May 1865, Upton was ordered to arrest Alexander Stephens
Alexander Stephens
Alexander Hamilton Stephens was an American politician from Georgia. He was Vice President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He also served as a U.S...
, the vice president of the Confederacy, and a little later Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
was placed in his custody. He was given a brevet promotion to brigadier general in the regular army for his actions at Selma and major general in the regular army, both on March 13, 1865.
Robert Hoffsommer wrote that, by the end of the war, the 25 year-old Upton "had commanded outstandingly in all three branches of the army."
Postbellum career
After the war, Upton commanded a cavalry brigade in the Department of the Cumberland from July through September 1865 and served in the District of Colorado until April 1866. He was mustered out of the volunteer service on April 30, 1866. He was assigned to a board at West Point that considered a new system of infantry tactics, which was approved in 1867. In July 1866 he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 25th U.S. Infantry and transferred to the 18th U.S. Infantry in March 1869. From 1870 to 1875 he was the commandant of cadets at the United States Military Academy, where he also taught infantry, artillery, and cavalry tacticsCavalry tactics
For much of history , humans have used some form of cavalry for war. Cavalry tactics have evolved over time...
.
Impressed with the lessons of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, U.S. Army Commanding General William T. Sherman sent Upton on a tour of Europe and Asia to study military organizations, but with a special emphasis on the German Army. Upon his return, Upton wrote The Armies of Europe and Asia, which warned that European armies had developed soldiering as a profession to a more advanced state than the U.S. Army. Upton presented 54 pages of recommendations for changes in the Army, including that it establish advanced military schools, a general staff, a system of personnel evaluation reports, and promotion by examination. The U.S. interest in French military organizations and tactics, which dominated fighting in the Civil War, went into decline. He was appointed superintendent of theoretical instruction at the Artillery School of Practice located at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he emphasized combined arms tactics.
In 1881, Upton, having returned to the rank of colonel in 1880, was in command of 4th U.S. Artillery at the Presidio of San Francisco
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
. He suffered greatly from headaches, possibly caused by a brain tumor, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. He is buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
.
Army reform
Upton is considered one of the most influential young reformers of the United States Army in the 19th century, arguably in U.S. history. He has been called the U.S. Army's counterpart to United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
reformer and strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...
. Although his books on tactics and on Asian and European armies were considered influential, his greatest impact was a work he called The Military Policy of the United States from 1775. He worked for years on the paper, but it was incomplete at the time of his death in 1881.
Military Policy was a controversial work in which Upton outlined U.S. military history and argued that the armed forces were imprudent and weak and "that all the defects of the American military system rested upon a fundamental, underlying flaw, excessive civilian control of the military." He denigrated the influence of the Secretary of War and promoted the idea that all military decisions in the field should be made by professional officers, although the president should retain the role of commander-in-chief. He argued for a strong, standing regular army that would be supplemented by volunteers or conscripts in time of war, a general staff system based on the Prussian model
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....
, examinations to determine promotions, compulsory retirement of officers who reach a certain age, advanced military education, and combat maneuvering by groups of four three-battalion infantry regiments. Upton's work had a profound influence on discussions of military and civilian strategy for years.
After Upton's death, Henry A. DuPont, Upton's West Point classmate and a close friend, acquired a copy of the uncompleted manuscript. It circulated widely throughout the Army's officer corps and helped to foment much discussion. After the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Elihu Root
Elihu Root
Elihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...
read the manuscript and ordered that the War Department publish it under the title The Military Policy of the United States. Many of the Army's so-called Root Reforms of the early twentieth century were inspired by Upton and his works.
In memoriam
In 1895, Maj. Gen. James H. WilsonJames H. Wilson
James Harrison Wilson was a United States Army topographic engineer, a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War and later wars, a railroad executive, and author.-Early life and engineering:...
wrote an introductory article for a book by Peter Michie, The Life and Letters of Emory Upton. Wilson's tribute to his former subordinate demonstrates the significance of Emory Upton's accomplishments and characteristics:
Upton was memorialized in a site in central Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
, presently occupied by Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
. The U.S. Army's Camp Upton
Camp Upton
Camp Upton was an installation of the United States Army located in Yaphank on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was located near Camp Mills.-History:...
was active from 1917 until 1920, and again from 1940 until 1946. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the camp was rebuilt primarily as an induction center for draftees. The Army later used the site as a convalescent and rehabilitation hospital for returning wounded.
A statue of Upton stands before the Genesee County
Genesee County, New York
Genesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...
Courthouse
Genesee County Courthouse
The Genesee County Courthouse is located at the intersection of Main and Ellicott streets in Batavia, New York, United States...
in his native Batavia.
Selected works
- A New System of Infantry Tactics, Double and Single Rank, Adapted to American Topography and Improved Fire-Arms (published in 1867)
- Tactics for Non-Military Bodies (1870)
- The Armies of Asia and Europe (1878)
- Infantry Tactics in Use at the N.Y.S. Reformatory (posthumous, 1889)
- The Military Policy of the United States (posthumous, 1904)
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
Further reading
- Cilella, Salvatore G. Upton's Regulars: The 121st New York State Infantry in the Civil War. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7006-1645-9.
- Fitzpatrick, David John. "Emory Upton: The Misunderstood Reformer." PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1996.
- Fitzpatrick, David John. "Emory Upton and the Citizen Soldier." The Journal of Military History 65 (April 2001): 355-389.
- Michie, Peter S. The Life and Letters of Emory Upton: Colonel of the Fourth Regiment of Artillery, and Brevet Major-General, U. S. Army. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1885.