James Harrison Wilson (September 2, 1837 – February 23, 1925) was a
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
topographic engineerTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, a
Union ArmyThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
General in the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
and later wars, a railroad executive, and author.
Wilson was born in
Shawneetown, IllinoisShawneetown is a city in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,410 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gallatin County...
. He attended McKendree College for a year and graduated from the
United States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
in 1860, sixth in his class of 41, receiving a commission as a
brevetIn 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. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being brevetted...
second lieutenant in the
Topographical EngineersThe United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. His initial assignment was assistant topographical engineer of the Department of Oregon at
Fort VancouverFort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
.
After the start of the Civil War, Wilson received promotions to second and first lieutenant and became the topographical engineer for the
Port Royal Expeditionary ForceThe Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7 1861...
, from September 1861 to March 1862.
James Harrison Wilson (September 2, 1837 – February 23, 1925) was a
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
topographic engineerTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, a
Union ArmyThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
General in the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
and later wars, a railroad executive, and author.
Early life and engineering
Wilson was born in
Shawneetown, IllinoisShawneetown is a city in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,410 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gallatin County...
. He attended McKendree College for a year and graduated from the
United States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
in 1860, sixth in his class of 41, receiving a commission as a
brevetIn 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. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being brevetted...
second lieutenant in the
Topographical EngineersThe United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. His initial assignment was assistant topographical engineer of the Department of Oregon at
Fort VancouverFort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
.
Engineering assignments
After the start of the Civil War, Wilson received promotions to second and first lieutenant and became the topographical engineer for the
Port Royal Expeditionary ForceThe Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7 1861...
, from September 1861 to March 1862. As the topographical engineer for the Department of the South, he took part in the
Battle of Fort PulaskiThe Battle of Fort Pulaski was fought April 10–11, 1862, during the American Civil War. Union forces on Tybee Island besieged and captured the Confederate-held Fort Pulaski after 30 hours of bombardment.-Background:...
at the mouth of the
Savannah RiverThe Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
and received a brevet promotion to
majorIn 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. It is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant commander in the other uniformed services.The pay grade for the rank of major...
in the regular army for his service. He transferred to the
Army of the PotomacThe 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 only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
in April 1862 and served as its topographic engineer, but also as an aide-de-camp to
Maj. Gen.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. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the...
George B. McClellanGeorge 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. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
. He served under McClellan during the
Maryland CampaignThe 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...
and was present at the battles of
South MountainThe 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
AntietamThe 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...
.
Wilson was transferred to the
Western TheaterThis article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
and joined Maj. Gen.
Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was general-in-chief of the Union Army from 1864 to 1869 during the American Civil War and the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877....
's
Army of the TennesseeThe Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
as a
lieutenant colonelIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the rank of commander in the other uniformed services....
and topographical engineer. During the
Vicksburg CampaignThe Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....
, he was the
Inspector GeneralIn a civilian or military administration, an Inspector General is a high ranking official charged with the mission to inspect and report on some bodies in their field of competency...
of Grant's army. On October 30, 1863, he was promoted to
brigadier generalA 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 services.-...
of volunteers, the only officer ever promoted to troop command from Grant's regular staff. He continued on staff duty during the Battle of Chattanooga and was chief engineer of the force sent to relieve
KnoxvilleFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is also the largest city in East Tennessee. As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890; the July 2007...
under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman.
Cavalry commands
In 1864, Wilson switched from engineering to the
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
. On February 17, 1864, he was assigned as chief of the Cavalry Bureau in
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...
He was an excellent administrator and organizer, but his true talents turned out to be as a combat leader. Grant promoted him to brevet major general on May 6, 1864, and had him assigned to command a division of cavalry under Maj. Gen.
Philip SheridanPhilip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
, which he did with boldness and skill in numerous fights of the
Overland CampaignThe 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...
and in the
Valley Campaigns of 1864The 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...
. However, just before Sheridan's decisive
Battle of Cedar CreekThe Battle of Cedar Creek, or The Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A...
in October 1864, Wilson was upgraded to brevet major general of volunteers and transferred back to the West to become chief of cavalry for the
Military Division of the MississippiThe 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:...
under Sherman.
As cavalry chief, he trained Sherman's cavalry (under
Brig. Gen.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 services.-...
Judson Kilpatrick) for the
March to the SeaSherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted in late 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The campaign began with Sherman's troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta, Georgia on November 15 and...
. Rather than accompanying Sherman, however, he and 17,000 troopers were attached to Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas's
Army of the CumberlandThe Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...
for the
Franklin-Nashville CampaignThe Franklin-Nashville Campaign, also known as Hood's Tennessee Campaign, was a series of battles in the Western Theater, fought in the fall of 1864 in Alabama, Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia during the American Civil War. The Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood...
in November and December 1864. His repulse of a flanking attack by Maj. Gen.
Nathan Bedford ForrestNathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War...
was instrumental in saving the Union Army at the Battle of Franklin. He was promoted to brevet brigadier general in the regular army for his service in the
Battle of NashvilleThe Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1864, and was one of the largest victories achieved by...
. He led the successful
Wilson's RaidWilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March-April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brigadier General James H...
through Alabama and Georgia, defeating the smaller force of Forrest and capturing
Selma, AlabamaSelma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census. The city is best known for the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement and its Selma to Montgomery marches, three civil rights...
, along with four other fortified cities. On Easter Day, 1865, his troops assaulted and captured the city of Columbus, Georgia, widely regarded as the final battle of the Civil War. His men did enormous damage to the military infrastructure of the South, but they did it with a sense of discipline that usually prevented looting and other collateral damage to civilian property. He was promoted to brevet major general in the regular army for his performance at Selma and received his full promotion to major general on May 6, 1865. The cavalrymen under Wilson's command captured Confederate President
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War....
as he fled through Georgia in May 1865.
At the end of the war, Wilson reverted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was assigned to the newly created 35th U.S. Infantry, but his duty assignments continued to be in the Corps of Engineers until he resigned from the Army in December 1870.
Later life and wars
After he left the Army, Wilson worked as a railroad construction engineer and executive. He moved to
Wilmington, DelawareWilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, in 1883. For the next 15 years he devoted his time to business, travel, and public affairs, and wrote on a number of subjects.
Wilson returned to the Army in 1898 for the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. The war began after American demands for the resolution of the Cuban fight for independence were rejected by Spain...
, and served as a major general in Cuba and Puerto Rico. He also saw service in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
during the
Boxer RebellionThe Boxer Rebellion, more properly called the Boxer Uprising, or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in Chinese, was a violent anti-imperialism, anti-Christian movement by the "Righteous Fists of Harmony,” Yihe tuan义和团 or Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists in China , between 1898 and 1901...
in 1901. Retiring from the Army, in 1902 he represented
PresidentThe 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...
Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
at the coronation of
Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
.
Wilson died in Wilmington in 1925, with only three Civil War generals living longer. He is buried in the
Old Swedes ChurchyardHoly Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes is a church in Wilmington, Delaware that is a National Historic Landmark.-History:The church was built in 1698-99 in New Sweden from local blue granite and Swedish bricks that had been used as ship's ballast. The church was situated on the site of the...
in Wilmington.
Works
- The Life of General U. S. Grant, General of the Armies of the United States (co-authored with Charles A. Dana
Charles Anderson Dana was an American journalist, author, and government official, best known for his association with Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War and his aggressive political advocacy after the war....
, 1868)
- China: Travels and Investigations in the Middle Kingdom — a Study of its Civilization and Possibilities, with a Glance at Japan (1887)
- Life and Services of Brevet Brigadier-General Andrew Jonathan Alexander, United States Army (1887)
- Heroes of the Great Conflict: Life and Services of William Farrar Smith, Major General, United States Volunteers in the Civil War (1904)
- The Life of Charles A. Dana (1907)
- The Campaign of Chancellorsville (1911)
- Under the Old Flag: Recollections of Military Operations in the War for the Union, the Spanish War, the Boxer Rebellion, etc. (1912)
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
External links