Irvin McDowell

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Irvin McDowell

Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885) was a career American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
army officer

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
, famous for his defeat during the First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

well was born in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the Capital , the largest, and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located near the Geographic centers of the United States, Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County, Ohio, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware County, Ohio and Fairfield County, Ohio counties....
, a cousin-in-law of John Buford

John Buford

John Buford, Jr. was a Union Army cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg....
. He initially attended the College de Troyes in France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
before graduating from West Point

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational United States Service academies located at West Point, New York, New York....
in 1838, where one of his classmates was P.G.T. Beauregard, his future adversary at First Bull Run.

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Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885) was a career American

United States

United States Army

First Battle of Bull Run

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Early life

McDowell was born in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

John Buford

France

United States Military Academy

Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant is the lowest Officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /l?f't?n?nt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu't?n?nt/ ....
and posted to the 1st U.S. Artillery. McDowell served as a tactics

Military tactics

Military tactics are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an Enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics....
instructor at West Point, before becoming aide-de-camp

Aide-de-camp

An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state....
to General John E. Wool

John E. Wool

John Ellis Wool was an officer in the United States Army during three consecutive U.S. wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the oldest Union general of the American Civil War....
during the Mexican-American War. He was brevetted

Brevet (military)

In the U.K. and U.S. military, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher Military rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank....
captain at Buena Vista

Battle of Buena Vista

The Battle of Buena Vista , also known as the Battle of Angostura, saw the United States United States Army use artillery to repulse the much larger Mexico army in the Mexican-American War....
and served in the Adjutant General's department after the war. While in that department he was promoted to major on May 31, 1856.

Civil War

McDowell was promoted to brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
in the regular army on May 14, 1861, and given command of the Army of Northeastern Virginia, despite never having commanded troops in combat. The promotion was partly because of the influence of his mentor, Treasury Secretary

United States Secretary of the Treasury

The United States Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, concerned with finance and monetary matters, and, until 2003, some issues of national security and defense....
Salmon P. Chase

Salmon P. Chase

Salmon Portland Chase was an United States politician and jurist in the American Civil War era who served as United States Senator from Ohio and List of Governors of Ohio of Ohio; as United States Secretary of the Treasury under President of the United States Abraham Lincoln; and as Chief Justice of the United States....
. Although McDowell knew that his troops were inexperienced and unready, pressure from the Washington

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, founded on July 16, 1790....
politician

Politician

A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of politics or a person who influences the way a society is governed....
s forced him to launch a premature offensive against Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
forces in Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia consistsof several County and independent cities in the U.S. state of Virginia in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C....
. His strategy during the First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas , was the first major land battle of the American Civil War, fought on July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia....
was imaginative but ambitiously complex, and his troops were not experienced enough to carry it out effectively, resulting in an embarrassing rout.

After the defeat at Bull Run, Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
was placed in command of the new Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
defending Washington, 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 of the American Civil War....
. McDowell commanded a division in the new army, but McClellan soon reorganized his command and McDowell was given I Corps

I Corps (ACW)

I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...
the following spring. His corps stayed behind to defend Washington, and was eventually supposed to march to McClellan's support while the latter fought in the 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 of the American Civil War....
; however, the nervous politicians who feared that General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's

Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
Valley Campaign

Valley Campaign

The Valley Campaign was Confederate States Army Major General Stonewall Jackson brilliant spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War....
would eventually attack Washington kept McDowell's 40,000 soldiers behind.

Eventually, the three independent commands of Generals McDowell, John C. Frémont

John C. Frémont

John Charles Fr?mont , was an United States military Commissioned officer, List of explorers, the first candidate of the History of United States Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery....
, and Nathaniel P. Banks were combined into Maj. Gen. John Pope's

John Pope (military officer)

John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
Army of Virginia

Army of Virginia

The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E....
and McDowell led the III Corps

I Corps (ACW)

I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...
of that army. Because of his actions at Cedar Mountain

Battle of Cedar Mountain

}|-||}The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War....
, McDowell was eventually brevetted major general

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
in the regular army; however, he was blamed for the subsequent disaster at Second Bull Run

Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederate States of America, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War....
. He escaped culpability by testifying against Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Second Battle of Bull Run and his subsequent Court-martial of Fitz John Porter....
, whom Pope court-martialed for alleged insubordination

Court-martial of Fitz John Porter

The court-martial of Fitz John Porter was a major event of the American Civil War in which Major general Fitz John Porter was found guilty of disobeying a lawful order and misconduct in front of the enemy and removed from command based on internal political machinations of the Union Army....
in that battle. Despite his formal escape, McDowell spent the following two years in effective exile from the leadership of the Army.

Later service and postbellum career

In July 1864, McDowell was given command of the Department of the Pacific

Department of the Pacific

The Department of the Pacific was a major command of the United States Army during the 19th century....
. He later commanded the Department of California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, the Fourth Military District

Fourth Military District

The Fourth Military District existed in the American South during the Reconstruction era of the United States era that followed the American Civil War....
(the military government for Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
and Louisiana

Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
during Reconstruction), and the Department of the West

Department of the West

The Department of the West, later known as the Western Department, was a major command of the United States Army during the 19th century....
. He was promoted to permanent major general in the regular army in 1872. In 1879, when a Board of Review commissioned by President

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was an Politics of the United States, Law of the United States, Military of the United States and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States ....
issued its report recommending a pardon for Fitz John Porter, it attributed much of the loss of the Second Battle of Bull Run to McDowell. In the report he was depicted as indecisive, uncommunicative, and inept, repeatedly failing to answer Porter's requests for information, failing to forward intelligence of Longstreet's positioning to Pope, and neglecting to take command of the left wing of the Union Army as was his duty under the Articles of War.

He retired from the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
in 1882 and served as Park Commissioner of San Francisco

San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
, California

California

San Francisco National Cemetery

San Francisco National Cemetery is a U.S. National Cemetery, located in the Presidio of San Francisco of San Francisco, California, California....
in 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....
.

Irvin McDowell

Early life

Civil War

Later service and postbellum career

See also