3 Responses to Question of the Week: Who was the luckiest Civil War officer?
John Alexander Logan. Joining the fight for the Union by picking up a rifle-musket and blasting away during the July 1861 Manassas Campaign, unlawful combatant Logan avoided capture, made his way back to Washington, resigned his seat as Representative from Illinois… and soon was Colonel of the 31st Illinois Volunteers. Wounded at Fort Donelson, Colonel Logan was fortunate to have had his dressing changed by Mother Mary Bickerdyke [a simple procedure that may have saved his life.] At Shiloh, newly-minted Brigadier General Logan got through the bloody two days unscathed… because he was not there, still away recovering from Fort Donelson. Wounded once more during the Siege of Vicksburg, John Logan remained on the field and found himself acknowledged as “one of the best performing general officers.” Fast forward to 1864 and the Atlanta Campaign, Major General Logan was in the right place at the right time… and stepped into the role of Commander, Army of the Tennessee upon the shocking death of Major General James McPherson. Later that year, Logan did NOT relieve George H. Thomas at Nashville [although authorized by U.S. Grant to do so] …and cemented his reputation as “competent, zealous, NOT self-serving.” John Logan’s reputation survived the Civil War intact; he returned to politics, and in 1884 he ran for Vice President of the United States, part of the Blaine/Logan ticket… To find out more about this remarkable man… begin by visiting the “General John A. Logan Museum” online at loganmuseum.org
Lee managed to save Richmond in 1862, smash Pope at Second Manassas, hang on at Antietam, inflict enormous U.S. casualties at Fredericksburg, and win at Chancellorsville despite overwhelming numbers against him. Luck was with him because in each case Lee was fortunate to face a Union commander whose particular flaws led to critical mistakes that opened the door to his victory. Granted, Lee made his own luck in part by decisions he made, but without him luckily facing the commanders he did in each separate situation he might have suffered catastrophic consequences for his decisions.
Honorable mention to U.S. Grant, who at times luckily faced John Floyd, Gideon Pillow & John C. Pemberton, while Albert Sydney Johnson was luckily removed at a critical moment at Shiloh.
He’s lucky he got killed, and painlessly. Apologies to his family. There’s many generals who were inches away from death by cannonball or minie, and by that measure were highly lucky, even those like Meade who were wounded but survived somehow in the barely above midieval surgery of the day, with its pain, bleeding and infection potential, but my vote for luckiest is one who many a minie may have missed but got killed without feeling it probably by a hexoganal whitworth bullet. “Uncle” John Sedgwick as he was known by his adoring troops, has a great reputation, one that sucked me in. But his performance getting to Gettysburg battlefield, at Gettysburg, and persuing Lee after Gettysburg, his independent command performance at Fredericksburg and Salem Church during the battle of Chancellorsville, and his judgement about the capabilities of Confederate sharpshooters at Spotsylvania makes me think his post-death reputation got hyper inflated and he is remembered as being a great general, while one of his peers, Confederate General Porter Alexander wrote, well after the war but in a respected book of his experiences, “I have always felt surprise that the enemy retained Sedgwick as a corps commander…, for he seems to me to have wasted great opportunities, & come about as near to doing nothing with 30,000 men as it was easily possible to do.”
Who would you consider the luckiest Civil War military or naval officer? Why?
John Alexander Logan. Joining the fight for the Union by picking up a rifle-musket and blasting away during the July 1861 Manassas Campaign, unlawful combatant Logan avoided capture, made his way back to Washington, resigned his seat as Representative from Illinois… and soon was Colonel of the 31st Illinois Volunteers. Wounded at Fort Donelson, Colonel Logan was fortunate to have had his dressing changed by Mother Mary Bickerdyke [a simple procedure that may have saved his life.] At Shiloh, newly-minted Brigadier General Logan got through the bloody two days unscathed… because he was not there, still away recovering from Fort Donelson. Wounded once more during the Siege of Vicksburg, John Logan remained on the field and found himself acknowledged as “one of the best performing general officers.” Fast forward to 1864 and the Atlanta Campaign, Major General Logan was in the right place at the right time… and stepped into the role of Commander, Army of the Tennessee upon the shocking death of Major General James McPherson. Later that year, Logan did NOT relieve George H. Thomas at Nashville [although authorized by U.S. Grant to do so] …and cemented his reputation as “competent, zealous, NOT self-serving.” John Logan’s reputation survived the Civil War intact; he returned to politics, and in 1884 he ran for Vice President of the United States, part of the Blaine/Logan ticket… To find out more about this remarkable man… begin by visiting the “General John A. Logan Museum” online at loganmuseum.org
Robert E. Lee.
Lee managed to save Richmond in 1862, smash Pope at Second Manassas, hang on at Antietam, inflict enormous U.S. casualties at Fredericksburg, and win at Chancellorsville despite overwhelming numbers against him. Luck was with him because in each case Lee was fortunate to face a Union commander whose particular flaws led to critical mistakes that opened the door to his victory. Granted, Lee made his own luck in part by decisions he made, but without him luckily facing the commanders he did in each separate situation he might have suffered catastrophic consequences for his decisions.
Honorable mention to U.S. Grant, who at times luckily faced John Floyd, Gideon Pillow & John C. Pemberton, while Albert Sydney Johnson was luckily removed at a critical moment at Shiloh.
He’s lucky he got killed, and painlessly. Apologies to his family. There’s many generals who were inches away from death by cannonball or minie, and by that measure were highly lucky, even those like Meade who were wounded but survived somehow in the barely above midieval surgery of the day, with its pain, bleeding and infection potential, but my vote for luckiest is one who many a minie may have missed but got killed without feeling it probably by a hexoganal whitworth bullet. “Uncle” John Sedgwick as he was known by his adoring troops, has a great reputation, one that sucked me in. But his performance getting to Gettysburg battlefield, at Gettysburg, and persuing Lee after Gettysburg, his independent command performance at Fredericksburg and Salem Church during the battle of Chancellorsville, and his judgement about the capabilities of Confederate sharpshooters at Spotsylvania makes me think his post-death reputation got hyper inflated and he is remembered as being a great general, while one of his peers, Confederate General Porter Alexander wrote, well after the war but in a respected book of his experiences, “I have always felt surprise that the enemy retained Sedgwick as a corps commander…, for he seems to me to have wasted great opportunities, & come about as near to doing nothing with 30,000 men as it was easily possible to do.”