Joseph
Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was an American
military commander and politician. He has the rare distinction of
serving as a general during war time for two opposing forces: first as
a noted cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s
during the American Civil War, and later as a general in the United
States Army during both the Spanish-American War and
Philippine-American War near the turn of the century. For much of the
Civil War he served as the senior cavalry general in the Army of
Tennessee and fought in most of its battles in the Western Theater.
Between the Civil War and the
Spanish-American War, Wheeler served multiple terms as a United States
Representative from the state of Alabama.
Early Life
Although
of New England ancestry, Joseph Wheeler was born near Augusta, Georgia
and spent most of his early life growing up with relatives in
Connecticut. However, he was appointed to the United States Military
Academy at West Point from the state of Georgia and always considered
himself a Georgian and Southerner.
Wheeler entered West Point in July
1854, barely meeting the height requirement at the time for entry. He
graduated on July 1, 1859, placing 19th out of 22 cadets, and was
commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He
attended the U.S. Army Cavalry School located in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, and upon completion was transferred on June 26, 1860, to
the Regiment of Mounted Rifles stationed in the New Mexico Territory.
It was while stationed in New Mexico and fighting in a skirmish with
Indians that Joseph Wheeler picked up the nickname "Fighting Joe." On
September 1, 1860, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant.
The Civil War Years
At the start of the
Civil War, Wheeler entered the Confederate Army on March 16 as a first
lieutenant serving in the Georgia state militia artillery, and then was
assigned to Fort Barrancas off of Pensacola, Florida, reporting to Maj.
Gen. Braxton Bragg. His resignation from the U.S. Army was accepted on
April 22, 1861. He was ordered to Huntsville, Alabama, to take command
of the newly formed 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment and was promoted to
colonel on September 4, 1861.
Wheeler and the 19th Alabama fought
well under Bragg at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. During the
Siege of Corinth in April and May, Wheeler's men on picket duty clashed
repeatedly with Union patrols. Serving as acting brigade commander,
Wheeler burned the bridges over the Tuscumbia River to cover the
Confederate withdrawal to Tupelo, Mississippi.
Wheeler transferred to the cavalry
branch and commanded the 2nd Cavalry Brigade of the Left Wing in the
Army of Mississippi from September to October 1862. During the Kentucky
Campaign, Wheeler aggressively maintained contact with the enemy. He
began to suffer from poor relations with the Confederacy's arguably
greatest cavalryman, Nathan Bedford Forrest, when Bragg reassigned most
of Forrest's men to Wheeler, Forrest was sent to Murfreesboro to
recruit a new brigade. Wheeler fought at the Battle of Perryville in
October and after the fight performed an excellent rearguard action
protecting the army's withdrawal. He was promoted to brigadier general
on October 30 and led cavalry belonging to the Second Corps of the Army
of Tennessee from November to December. During action at La Vergne,
Tennessee, on November 27, Wheeler was wounded by an artillery shell
that exploded near him.
In December 1862, the Union Army of
the Cumberland began to advance from Nashville against Bragg's army and
Wheeler, now commanding all of the Army of Tennessee's cavalry,
skirmished aggressively to delay their advance. He drove into the rear
of the Union army, destroying hundreds of wagons and capturing more
than 700 prisoners. After the Battle of Stones River, as Bragg's army
withdrew to the Duck River line, Wheeler struck the Union supply lines
at Harpeth Shoals on January 12–13, burning three steamboats and
capturing more than 400 prisoners. Bragg recommended that Wheeler be
promoted as a "just reward"[9] and he became a major general on January
20, 1863.
Wheeler led the army's Cavalry Corps
from January to November 24, then again from December to November 15,
1864. For his actions on January 12–13, 1863, Wheeler and his
troopers received the Thanks of the Confederate Congress on May 1, 1863.
In February 1863, Wheeler and
Forrest attacked Fort Donelson at Dover, Tennessee, but they were
repulsed by the small Union garrison. Forrest angrily told Wheeler
"Tell [General Bragg] that I will be in my coffin before I will fight
again under your command." Bragg dealt with this rivalry in the
Tullahoma Campaign by assigning Wheeler to guard the army's right flank
while Forrest guarded the left. A Union cavalry advance on Shelbyville
on June 27 trapped Wheeler and 50 of his men on the north side of the
Duck River, forcing Wheeler to plunge his horse over a 15 foot
embankment and escape through the rain-swollen river.
Wheeler and his troopers guarded the
army's left flank at Chickamauga in September 1863, and after the
routed Union Army collected in Chattanooga, Gen. Bragg sent Wheeler's
men into central Tennessee to destroy railroads and Federal supply
lines in a major raid. On October 2 his raid at Anderson's Cross Roads
(also known as Powell's Crossroads) destroyed more than 700 Union
supply wagons, tightening the Confederates siege on Chattanooga.
Pursued by his Union counterparts, Wheeler advanced to McMinnville and
captured its 600-man garrison. There were more actions at Murfreesboro
and Farmington, but by October 9 Wheeler had safely crossed the
Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The extensive raid caused
the mounted arm of the army to miss the battles for Chattanooga
(November 23–25). Wheeler covered Bragg's retreat from
Chattanooga following the Union breakthrough at Missionary Ridge on
November 25 and received a wound in his foot as his cavalry and Maj.
Gen. Patrick Cleburne's infantry fought at the Battle of Ringgold Gap
on November 27. Wheeler and his men also supported Lt. Gen. James
Longstreet's ultimately unsuccessful efforts during the Knoxville
Campaign from November 4 to December 23, 1863.
During Union Maj. Gen. William T.
Sherman's Atlanta Campaign Wheeler's cavalry corps screened the flanks
of the Army of Tennessee as Gen. Joseph E. Johnston drew back from
several positions toward Atlanta. In July, Sherman sent two large
cavalry columns to destroy the railroads supplying the defenders of
Atlanta. With fewer than 5,000 cavalrymen, Wheeler defeated the enemy
raids, resulting in the capture of one of the two commanding generals,
Maj. Gen. George Stoneman. In August, Wheeler's corps crossed the
Chattahoochee River in an attempt to destroy the railroad Sherman was
using to supply his force from Chattanooga. Wheeler's men captured the
town of Dalton, but he was unable to defeat the Union garrison
protected in a nearby fort. Wheeler then took his men into East
Tennessee, crossing the Tennessee River above Knoxville. His raid
continued to the west, causing minor interruptions in the Nashville and
Chattanooga Railroad and then continued south through Franklin until he
re-crossed the Tennessee at Tuscumbia. Wheeler's raid was described by
historian Ed Bearss as a "Confederate disaster" because it caused
minimum damage to the Union while denying Gen. John Bell Hood, now in
command of the Army of Tennessee, the direct support of his cavalry
arm. Without accurate intelligence of Sherman's dispositions, Hood was
beaten at Jonesborough and forced to evacuate Atlanta. Wheeler
rendezvoused with Hood's army in early October after destroying the
railroad bridge at Resaca.
In late 1864, Wheeler's cavalry did
not accompany Hood on his Franklin-Nashville Campaign back into
Tennessee and was virtually the only effective Confederate force to
oppose Sherman's March to the Sea to Savannah. However, his resistance
to Sherman did little to comfort Georgia civilians and lax discipline
within his command caused great dissatisfaction. Robert Toombs was
quoted as saying, "I hope to God he will never get back to Georgia."
Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill wrote that "the whole of Georgia is full of bitter
complaints of Wheeler's cavalry."
Wheeler and his men continue to
attempt to stop Sherman in the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. He defeated a
Union cavalry force under Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick at Aiken, South
Carolina, February 11. He was replaced as cavalry chief by Lt. Gen.
Wade Hampton and fought under him at the Battle of Bentonville on March
19–20, 1865. While attempting to cover Confederate President
Jefferson Davis's flight south and west in May, Wheeler was captured at
Conyer's Station, now the city of Conyers, just east of Atlanta. He had
intended to reach the Trans-Mississippi and Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith,
still resisting out west, and had with him three officers from his
staff and 11 privates when he was taken prisoner. Wheeler was
imprisoned for two months, first at Fort Monroe and then in solitary
confinement at Fort Delaware, where he was paroled on June 8, 1865. .
During his career in the Confederate
States Army, Wheeler was wounded three times, lost 36 staff officers to
combat, and a total of 16 horses were shot from under him. Military
historian Ezra J. Warner believed that Wheeler's actions leading
cavalry in the conflict "were second only to those of Nathan Bedford
Forrest".
Reconstruction
After
the war, Wheeler became a planter and a lawyer near Courtland, Alabama,
where he married and raised a family. His home, Pond Spring, in an area
now known as Wheeler, Alabama, is a historic site owned by the Alabama
Historical Commission.
In 1880, Wheeler was elected from
Alabama as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives.
Wheeler's opponent, Greenback incumbent William M. Lowe, contested the
election, and after a contentious legal battle which lasted over a
year, Lowe was declared the winner and assumed the seat on June 3,
1882. Lowe, however, served only four months before dying of
tuberculosis. Wheeler won a special election to return and serve out
the remaining weeks of the term.
Wheeler supported the election of
Luke Pryor in 1882 and did not run for reelection, but was elected
again in 1884, and re-elected to seven subsequent terms before
resigning in 1900. While in Congress, Wheeler strove to heal the breach
between the North and the South and championed economic policies that
would help rebuild the southern states.
Return to Military Service
In
1898, Wheeler volunteered for the Spanish-American war, receiving an
appointment to major general of volunteers by U.S. President William
McKinley. He assumed command of the cavalry division, which included
Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, and was nominally second-in-command
of the V Corps. He sailed for Cuba and was charged with scouting for
the U.S. advance by General William Rufus Shafter, overall commander of
V Corps. He was ordered not to engage the enemy on his own until the
American troop disembarkation had been completed.
Approaching Las Guasimas de Sevilla
on June 24, American reports suggested the Spaniards were digging in
with a field gun; however, Cuban scouts contradicted these, revealing
the Spaniards were preparing to abandon their position. In fact, the
Spanish troops at the position had received orders to fall back on
Santiago. Wheeler requested the assistance of the attached Cuban forces
in an immediate attack, but their commander, Col. Gonzales Clavel,
refused. Wheeler decided to attack anyway, rushing his men forward with
2 guns to the front, with Colonel Young's brigade leading the advance
against the Spanish columns in what came to be called the Battle of Las
Guasimas, the first major engagement of the war.
During the excitement of the battle,
Wheeler supposedly called out "Let's go, boys! We've got the damn
Yankees on the run again!". Wheeler's forces moved to encircle the
Spaniards' first battle line, assaulting its front and right flank, but
were repulsed. During a pause in the fighting, both sides reinforced
their positions. The Spaniards sent forward 2 companies of the San
Fernando Battalion, along with the artillery. After midday the U.S.
attack was renewed, but Spanish Comandante Andres Alcamiz, leading the
Provisional de Puerto Rico Battalion, once again checked the American
assault.
After halting the American advance,
the Spanish resumed their ongoing withdrawal towards Santiago's outer
defenses according to their original plans. The battle had cost U.S.
forces 17 dead and 52 wounded, while Spanish forces suffered 7 dead and
7 wounded.
Wheeler fell seriously ill during
the campaign and turned over command of the division to Brig. Gen.
Samuel S. Sumner. Wheeler was still incapacitated in July when the
Battle of San Juan Hill began but once he heard the sound of guns, the
"War Child" returned to the front despite his illness. Being the senior
officer present at the front he first issued orders to the 1st
Division, under Jacob F. Kent, before returning to his own command.
Upon taking the heights, Wheeler assured General William R. Shafter
that the position could be held against a possible counterattack. He
led the division through the Siege of Santiago and was a senior member
of the peace commission.
Wheeler's youngest son died shortly
after his return from serving in Cuba; he drowned while swimming in the
ocean. When back in the United States, Wheeler commanded the
convalescent camp of the army at Montauk Point, now a state park in New
York.
Wheeler sailed for the Philippines
to fight in the Philippine-American War, arriving in August 1899. He
commanded the First Brigade in Arthur MacArthur's Second Division
during the Philippine-American War until January 1900. Supposedly while
serving in the Philippines, Wheeler encountered an infantryman who was
complaining about the heat and being tired. Wheeler promptly
dismounted, took the man's rifle and pack, told him to mount his horse,
and marched the rest of the way with the infantry.
Later Years
During
this period, Wheeler was mustered out of the volunteer service and
commissioned a brigadier general in the regular army, both on June 16,
1900. After the hostilities ended, he commanded the Department of the
Lakes until his retirement on September 10, 1900, and moved to New York.
Wheeler was the author of several
books on military history and strategy, as well as about civil
subjects. His first was A Revised System of Cavalry Tactics, for the
Use of the Cavalry and Mounted Infantry, C.S.A. in 1863, he wrote a
manual that saw use by the Confederacy. His other works include:
Fitz-John Porter in 1883, The Santiago Campaign in 1898, Confederate
Military History: Alabama in 1899, and Report on the Island of Guam in
1900. Wheeler also co-wrote several more books throughout the rest of
his life, the last of which, The New America and the Far East: A
Picturesque and Historic Description of These Land and Peoples, was
published in 1907, after his death. Wheeler also appeared in an early
film called Surrender of General Toral (1898) with William Rufus
Shafter.
While attending the hundredth
anniversary celebration of the U.S. Military Academy (West Point, New
York) in 1902, Wheeler approached the old West Point hotel, where his
Confederate comrades James Longstreet and Edward Porter Alexander were
seated on the porch. At the festivities Wheeler wore his dress uniform
of his most recent rank, that of a general in the U.S. Army. Longstreet
recognized him coming near, and reportedly said, "Joe, I hope that
Almighty God takes me before he does you, for I want to be within the
gates of hell to hear Jubal Early cuss you in the blue uniform."
After long illness, Wheeler died in
Brooklyn, New York City on January 25, 1906. He is one of the few
former Confederate officers to be buried within Arlington National
Cemetery.
The Children of Joseph and Daniella Wheeler
Eldest of the Siblings. Unmarried. Died 1924.
Annie Early
Born 31 July 1868, Annie Wheeler was the second child of the General. She would grow up to volunteer for the American Red Cross and would follow her Father into many different skirmishes and battles. She was known as the 'Angel of Santiago' for her work in the Spanish-American War. She also served during World War I in England and France. Annie was a well known in many places and held correspondences with many people. She was even presented to the Queen of England. Annie outlived all of her siblings, dying in 1955 after suffering an injury after a fall.
Joseph Jr.
The first son, Joe Jr. was born in 1872. He attended West Point and graduated in 1895. He joined the Army and was stationed at the Washington Barracks D.C.. After training at the Artillery School at Ft. Monroe in Virginia. Joe Jr. then was a Mathematics instructor at West Point before the Spanish-American War broke out. At the start of the War Joe Jr. was made an aide on his father's staff and sailed for Cuba on June 1898. The following year he was made a Major of the 34th infantry, US volunteers and left in September 1899 for the Philippines. He served in many different areas after this, finally retiring in February 1927. He died 6 August 1938.
Ella
Died at a very young age and very little is known about her.
Julia K. H.
Married William J. Harris, US Senator from North Carolina
Carrie Peyton
Married Gordon Buck
Thomas Harrison
Born 7 March 1881, Thomas was the youngest of the children. Influenced by both his father and brother, at the age of 16 Thomas chose to enroll at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. One year into his training the Spanish American War began. Thomas was adamant about participating in the war. Though his father, older brother, and oldest sister were all going themselves the General refused to help Thomas find a position aboard a ship. Thomas did not give up, and instead posted a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, John D. Long. Long helped him find a position aboard the USS Columbia (C-12), Which would turn out to be Thomas's first and last assignment. Although the Columbia did participate in the invasion of Puerto Rico, it was a very short and easy victory due to the Spanish not showing up. On the 7th of September 1898, Thomas and some friends were surf bathing at Montauk Point. One of his cadet friends was pulled under the water and was struggling. In an effort to save his friend Thomas dove in after him, but despite his efforts both boys drowned. Thomas's body was retrieved and brought to his Alabama home to be buried.
Pond Spring
Pond Spring was the post-Civil War home of Joseph Wheeler. Wheeler came to Alabama during the
Civil War in 1863, and met the widow of Ben Sherrod, Daniella. They
married in 1866 Pond Spring was owned by
his wife Daniella since she inherited the property from her previous husband
The Wheelers built their own house right next to the existing Sherrod house in the 1870s and connected the two structures via an outdoor covered walkway. The family occupied both houses while the couple were alive. The Men lived in the older Sherrod House, while the Women lived in the newer 3 story Wheeler House. The second floor of the Wheeler House has four bedrooms, one for each daughter, while their governess lived in the 3rd story attic. Daniella occupied a room downstairs, which was equipped with its own door knocker. Later on the upstairs of the Wheeler home was shared by Joe Jr. and his older sister Annie, until their deaths. Annie Early Wheeler was the last of the General's surviving children. She iived in the house until her death in 1955.
The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 1993, General Wheeler's descendants donated Pond Spring to the state of Alabama and the Alabama Historical Commission. The home is now owned by the Alabama Historical Commission,
The
50-acre site includes a dogtrot log house built around 1818, a circa
1830 Federal-style house, the 1880s Wheeler house, eight farm-related
outbuildings, two family cemeteries, an African-American cemetery, a
small Indian mound, a pond, a boxwood garden, and other garden areas.
The Wheeler
Home contains many significant artifacts that belonged to General
Wheeler and his family. The collections vary from books, military
artifacts from the Civil and Spanish-American Wars, and antique
furniture, to family portraits, photographs, and Victorian-period
decorative arts.
Major restoration and preservation work was begun in 2000 to return the house back to the condition it was in during the 1920s.
Pond Springs is located in Northern Alabama at:
12280 Alabama Highway 20
Hillsboro, Alabama 35643
In Memoriam
In 1925, the state
of Alabama donated a bronze statue of Joseph Wheeler to the National
Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol. Additionally,
several locations in Alabama are named after Wheeler including Joe
Wheeler State Park, Wheeler Lake and Dam, and the Wheeler National
Wildlife Refuge. Also, Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia,
and Wheeler County, Georgia are named after him. During World War II,
the United States Navy named a Liberty Ship in honor of Wheeler.
Wheeler Road, a main thoroughfare through west Augusta is named after
him as well. Furthermore, Joe Wheeler Electric Cooperative in northwest
Alabama also honors him. Also Camp Wheeler, near Macon, Georgia (which
served as an army base during both World Wars) was named for Wheeler.
Wheeler Mountain, just south of Tuscumbia, in northwest Alabama, is
named for him and is a foothill of the Appalacchians. Fort Jackson has
a street named after him.
In recognition of Joesph Wheelers military actions for the Confederacy, we have named our Sons of the Confedeate Veterans Encampment, number 863, in his honor.
