Charles W. Field
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Charles William Field | |
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Charles William Field (April 6, 1828 – April 9, 1892) was a career military officer, serving in the
army of Egypt
following the Civil War.
Early life
Field was born at the family
first lieutenant and assigned to the newly organized 2nd U.S. Cavalry, a regiment under Col. Albert Sidney Johnston that also included Robert E. Lee and numerous other future Civil War generals. In 1856, Field returned to West Point as Assistant Instructor of Cavalry Tactics. He was promoted to captain
in January 1861.
Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Field resigned his commission on May 30, 1861, and left West Point for
Peninsula Campaign, but was severely wounded in the leg at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August. At first, it was feared that the mangled leg would require amputation, but doctors managed to save it. However, it took nearly a year for Field to recuperate, although he never fully recovered. During his convalescence, John M. Brockenbrough and Henry Heth commanded Field's Brigade, which officially retained his name until the Chancellorsville Campaign. In May 1863, using crutches to move, Field was able to resume limited military duties, serving as Chief of the Bureau of Conscription
in the War Department until July. He continued as a conscription and recruiting officer for nine more months.
Finally cleared for field duty, Field rejoined the army in
friendly-fire incident in the Wilderness, Field briefly assumed command of the First Corps, but he was later replaced by Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, who had more seniority and combat experience. Field's division continued to perform well during the fighting at Battle of Cold Harbor and Siege of Petersburg. On the afternoon of August 16, 1864, at the Battle of Deep Bottom, 5,000 Union soldiers under Brig. Gen. Alfred H. Terry broke through the Confederate lines and briefly threatened to rout the defenders. The tide finally turned when Field orchestrated a hard-hitting counterattack that forced the Federals to retreat. In April 1865, he surrendered with his division at Appomattox Court House
. Numbering nearly 5,000 men, it was one of the few units still in fighting condition.
Postwar career
After the war, Field pursued business interests in
U.S. House of Representatives. His service under a foreign head of state technically resulted in the loss of U.S. citizenship, rendering him ineligible for the post. However, former fellow Confederate general Eppa Hunton argued that Field's service was under a private contract and that he had never sworn an oath of allegiance
to the khedive. Field was elected to the post.
Field was a member of the Maryland Club in Baltimore.[1]
He became a
Baltimore, Maryland, in Loudon Park Cemetery.[2] His son Charles W. Field was a Maryland state delegate.[3]
In the 20th century, the commonwealth of Kentucky erected a roadside marker on U.S. Route 62 near Versailles commemorating Woodford County's Civil War generals, including Field.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Shepherd, Henry Elliot (1893). History of Baltimore, Maryland. S.B. Nelson. p. 865. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ Civil War High Commands
- Newspapers.com.
References
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
- Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
- Photo Gallery of Charles Field at the Wayback Machine (archived February 8, 2008)
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