The Generals for the North

1. Featuring: By Lewis Trujillo Nathaniel Banks, Ulysses Simpson Grant, And George Brinton McClellan. The Generals for the North Joseph Hooker,

2. First off, what’s this “North” you speak of? State and territory boundaries, 1864-1865 • Union States • Union Territories, Not Permitting Slavery • Border Union States, Permitting Slavery • Bleeding Kansas, Entered Union • Confederate States • Union Territories Permitting Slavery Union=“North” Confederate=“South”

3. What’s a “General”? In the United States Army, a Major General is a high-ranking officer who can give commands to a division of 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers and is capable of fully independent field operation. "Major General" is generally considered to be a two star rank Major General shoulder strap rank insignia for the United States Army

4. Nathaniel Prentiss Banks Born on January 30, 1816, and first child of Nathaniel P. Banks, Sr., and Rebecca Greenwood Banks, Nathaniel was born and raised in Waltham, Massachusetts. At the young age of 23, Nathaniel studied law with political mentor Robert Rantoul and was admitted to the bar. With his great energy and ability to captivate his audience, he soon gained recognition and distinction that jump started his political career. Nathaniel served as a Democrat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1849 to 1853, and was speaker in 1851 and 1852; he was president of the state Constitutional Convention of 1853, and in the same year was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a coalition candidate of Democrats and Free-Soilers. After the dissolution of the Free Soil Party in 1853, Nathaniel joined the Know-Nothing Party, where he was reelected to Congress in 1854. Early on, Nathaniel shared anti-slavery sentiment, and thus he joined the Republican Party in 1855. Banks made a run for the presidential nomination in the election of 1860, but lost to the future President Abraham Lincoln.

5. Nathaniel Prentiss Banks cont. As the Civil War became imminent, President Abraham Lincoln considered Nathaniel for a cabinet post, and eventually chose him as one of the first major generals of volunteers, appointing him on May 16, 1861. Major General Banks brought political benefits to the administration, including the ability to attract recruits and money for the Federal cause. General Major Banks joined forces with General U.S. Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi in the summer of 1863. From here, Banks led some 30,000 Union troops to defend Port Hudson, Louisiana; though the Confederate forces held off Banks' men for nearly fifty days, the Union soldiers gained control of the Mississippi River under his direction. In the fall of that year, General Major Banks organized two expeditions to Texas in order to block any aid to the Confederate troops there. Major General Banks' final participation in the Civil War was in the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. This campaign was a failure for the Union forces and ended Major General Banks' time service in the Civil War; Banks spent the remaining months of the war in Washington, D.C. preparing plans for reconstruction in Louisiana. Nathaniel Prentiss Banks died on September 1, 1894 at the age of 78.

6. Ulysses Simpson Grant Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant, was born to Jesse Root Grant, and Hannah Simpson Grant in Point Pleasant, Ohio. At the age of 17, Ulysses entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, after securing a nomination through his U.S. Congressman, Thomas L. Hamer, who nominated him as "Ulysses S. Grant of Ohio“ in error. Grant adopted the form of his new name with middle initial only. Because "U.S." also stands for "Uncle Sam,“ his nickname between him and his fellow army colleagues was “Sam” for that. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1843, ranking 21st in a class of 39. At the academy, he established a reputation as a fearless and expert horseman. Although this made him seem a natural for cavalry, he was assigned to duty as a regimental quartermaster, managing supplies and equipment. From 1846 to 1848, Lieutenant Grant served in the Mexican-American War. Serving under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, he got close enough to the front lines to see action, participating in the battles of Resaca de la Palma, Palo Alto, Monterrey, and Veracruz. Grant was twice brevetted for bravery: at Molino del Rey and Chapultepec.

7. Ulysses Simpson Grant cont. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Grant was working in his father's leather store in Galena, Illinois. He was appointed by the Governor to command an unruly volunteer regiment. Grant whipped it into shape and by September 1861 he had risen to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers. In February 1862 he took Fort Henry and attacked Fort Donelson. When the Confederate commander asked for terms, Grant replied, "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted." The Confederates surrendered, and President Lincoln promoted Grant to major general of volunteers. At Shiloh in April, Grant fought one of the bloodiest battles in the West and came out less well. President Lincoln fended off demands for his removal by saying, "I can't spare this man--he fights."For his next major objective, Grant maneuvered and fought skillfully to win Vicksburg, the key city on the Mississippi, and thus cut the Confederacy in two. Then he broke the Confederate hold on Chattanooga. Lincoln appointed him General-in-Chief in March 1864. Grant directed Sherman to drive through the South while he himself, with the Army of the Potomac, pinned down Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Finally, on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrendered. Grant wrote out terms of surrender that would prevent treason trials. Grant was elected the 18th President of the United States in 1868, and was re-elected to the office in 1872. Grant served as President from March 4, 1869, to March 4, 1877. Ulysses Simpson Grant died July 23, 1885, at the age of 63 in Mount McGregor, New York.

8. Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker was born on November 13, 1814 in Hadley, Massachusetts and grandson of a captain in the American Revolutionary War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1837, ranked 29th out of a class of 50, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery. He served in the Mexican-American War in staff positions in the campaigns of both Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. He received brevet promotions for his staff leadership and gallantry in three battles: Monterrey, National Bridge , and Chapultepec. After the war, he served as assistant adjutant general of the Pacific Division, but resigned his commission in 1853; his military reputation had been damaged when he testified against his former commander, General Scott, in the court-martial for insubordination of Gideon Pillow. Hooker settled in Sonoma County after he resigned. When living in Sonoma, he stood for election to represent the region in the California legislature but was defeated by James Bennett of Santa Rosa. In 1858, he wrote to Secretary of War John B. Floyd to request that his name "be presented to the president Buchanan as a candidate for a lieutenant colonelcy", but nothing came of his request. From 1859 to 1861, he held a commission as a colonel in the California militia.

9. Joseph Hooker cont. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Hooker was made brigadier general of volunteers and commanded troops defending Washington. He was assigned command of a division in the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign in early 1862 and promoted to major general of volunteers in May. In the reorganization of the army at the beginning of the Maryland Campaign in September, Hooker was assigned command of the I Corps, which he led in the Battle of Antietam on 17 September. Soon afterward he was promoted to brigadier general in the Regular Army. In January 1863 he was assigned command of the Army of the Potomac and led that force to defeat at the Battle of Chancellorsville, 1-4 May 1863. In late June, after the War Department refused his request for additional troops from the garrison at Harper's Ferry, Hooker asked to be relieved of the army command-his request was immediately accepted. In September Hooker was transferred to the Western Theater, where he commanded the XI and XII Corps. In July 1864, when one of Hooker's subordinates was promoted over him, Hooker was relieved at his own request. For the remainder of the war he was assigned various departmental commands. Hooker remained on active duty until 1868, when he was retired for disability contracted in the line of duty. Joseph Hooker died October 31, 1879 in Garden City, New York

10. George Brinton McClellan George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. He was the third of five children born to Dr. George and Elizabeth McClellan. Young George entered school at the age of 5. He attended private schools and a prep school before entering the Military Academy at West Point in 1842. At the age of 15, he was the youngest of the West Point arrivals that year to seek a place as fourth classman. In 1846, he had earned the distinction of graduating second in his class of 59. Upon graduation, George McClellan was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and ability in constructing roads and bridges over routes for the marching army. He was also an instructor at West Point for 3 years. McClellan's other accomplishments include surveyor of possible transcontinental railroad routes. As a member of a board of officers, he was sent abroad to study the armies of Europe and observe the Crimean War. In 1857 McClellan resigned his army commission to become chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad. Five years later, when the Civil War broke out, he was president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad.

11. George Brinton McClellan cont. McClellan entered the war as a major general of volunteers. He was assigned command of the army at Washington and in November became general in chief of the Army. His departure as field commander resulted in his being relieved of command as general in chief on 11 March. During the Peninsula Campaign McClellan greatly overestimated the number of Confederates defending their capital and constantly asked the government for additional men in order to advance. Unable to provide the thousands of men requested, the War Department in early August ordered McClellan to withdraw his army from the peninsula. The Army of the Potomac was to unite with the Army of Virginia under Maj. Gen. John Pope. In late August, however, before all of McClellan's forces could join with Pope, the Army of Virginia was defeated at Second Bull Run. In early September Lee crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, and McClellan was tasked with leading the reorganized Army of the Potomac north. He confronted the Confederates along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg. On 17 September the two armies fought to a draw in the Battle of Antietam, and two days later Lee withdrew back to Virginia. McClellan failed to pursue the Confederates and remained on the battlefield until early November, reorganizing his command and requesting reinforcements. This delay prompted his dismissal as army commander. After running unsuccessfully for president in 1864, McClellan and his family sailed to Europe, not returning for three-and-a-half years. McClellan served as governor of New Jersey from 1878-1881. George Brinton McClellan died October 29, 1885 at the age of 58 in Orange, New Jersey.

12. Conclusion And that’s how the cookie crumbles

13. Bibliography • Wikipedia.org • CivilWar.com • ThomasLegion.net • TeacherOz.com • AmericanCivilWar.com