Fallen Leaders: Generals’ Deaths

Here are a few archived posts that I’ve written in former days about fallen leaders:

Killed in Action 

Four Union corps commanders were killed in battle during the war, representing four of the 25+ Union corps created 1862-1865. All four died with the Army of the Potomac – Major General Jesse L. Reno of IX Corps at South Mountain (14 Sept 1862), Major General J.K.F. Mansfield of XII Corps at Antietam (17 Sept 1862), Major General John F. Reynolds of I Corps at Gettysburg, and Sedgwick. Adding in wounded corps commanders, the Army of the Potomac again leads the pack by a good margin. This is an interesting coincidence, and prompts the question: Why was corps command so unhealthy in the Army of the Potomac compared to elsewhere? Below are some answers. (Read the rest of the post here)

The Senior Most Deaths 

Today in 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston was mortally wounded at the head of his troops during the Battle of Shiloh (or Pittsburg Landing). A plaque on the battlefield, placed by the War Department shortly after the park’s founding, notes that he is the senior American to die in battle.

Is this still true? How does Johnston rank among the other senior officer deaths?

It is in fact still true. Johnston’s rank is equivalent to a four-star general officer today, and makes him the seniormost American to die in battle.

The other American officers (above the rank of Major General) killed in battle by enemy action are listed by seniority as follows: (Read the rest of the post here)

Death of an Army Commander (James McPherson)

On July 22, 1864, at 11 AM, the U.S. Army lost its first-ever Army Commander to die at the head of his troops, Major General James B. McPherson of the Army of the Tennessee.

General McPherson grew up in Ohio and graduated first in the Class of 1853 at West Point. Classmates included John M. Schofield and John Bell Hood, one a fellow army commander under Sherman and the other commanding the army opposite. After supervising the construction of Fort Delaware and Alcatraz Island, he quickly rose from a staff position to become one of U.S. Grant’s most trusted subordinates. By early 1864, he was Sherman’s choice to take over the Army of the Tennessee. (Read the rest of the post here)