Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell | |
---|---|
Born | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | October 15, 1818
Died | May 4, 1885 San Francisco, California, U.S. | (aged 66)
Place of burial | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | |
Years of service | 1838–1882 |
Rank | Army of Northeastern Virginia |
Battles/wars | |
Other work | Park Commissioner, San Francisco |
Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885)
Early life
McDowell was born in
McDowell initially attended the College de Troyes in France before graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1838, where one of his classmates was P. G. T. Beauregard, his future adversary at First Bull Run. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and posted to the 1st U.S. Artillery. McDowell served as a tactics instructor at West Point before becoming aide-de-camp to General John E. Wool during the Mexican–American War. He was brevetted captain at Buena Vista and served in the Adjutant General's department after the war. While in that department, he was promoted to major on May 31, 1856.[3]
Between 1848 and 1861, McDowell generally served as a staff officer to higher-ranking military leaders and developed experience in logistics and supply. He developed a close friendship with General Winfield Scott while serving on his staff. He also served under future Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston.[4]
Civil War
McDowell was promoted to
After the defeat at Bull Run, Major General George B. McClellan was placed in command of the new Union Army defending Washington, the Army of the Potomac. McDowell became a division commander in the Army of the Potomac. On March 14, 1862, President Lincoln issued an order forming the army into corps, and McDowell got command of the I Corps as well as a promotion to major general of volunteers. When the army set off for the Virginia Peninsula in April, McDowell's command was detached for duty in the Rappahannock area out of concern over Stonewall Jackson's activities in the Shenandoah Valley (one division was later sent down to the Peninsula).
Eventually, the three independent commands of Generals McDowell,
Later service and postbellum career
In July 1864, McDowell was given command of the
In 1879, when a board of review commissioned by President Rutherford B. Hayes 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.
Following his retirement from the army, General McDowell exercised his fondness for landscape gardening, serving as Park Commissioner of
See also
Notes
- ^ Dupuy, p. 468; Eicher, p. 378.
- ^ a b Land of the Buckeye genealogy website
- ^ a b Eicher, pp. 105–106.
- ^ "Irvin McDowell", Ohio History Central; accesses 2011.08.30.
References
- Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson, and David L. Bongard. The ISBN 978-0-06-270015-5.
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
- Simione Jr., Frank and Gene Schmiel, "Searching for Irvin McDowell: The Civil War's Forgotten General," Savas-Beatie, 2023. ISBN 978-1-61121-620-2
External links
- Media related to Irvin McDowell at Wikimedia Commons