John Joseph Pershing was born in Laclede, Missouri, on September 13, 1860. As a young child, he was exposed to the horrors of the Civil War. His home town of Laclede was raided by a band of Confederate Soldiers. Growing up, he never aspired to have a career in the military. He instead dreamed of one day studying law and becoming a lawyer. However, after his father experienced economic troubles in an economic depression during 1873, Pershing submitted an application to West Point Military Academy in hopes of a free education that could lead to law school later in life. Even upon accepting admittance to West Point, he did not intend to make a career out of the military, but once at the Military Academy, he quickly assimilated into the …show more content…
He was known to stress the importance of learning all details about the enemy. He accepted a four year assignment as the professor of military science at the University of Nebraska, where he took classes to earn the law degree he had dreamed of as a youth in 1893 (3). At the University of Nebraska, he was said to have taken a group of undisciplined Cadets and transform them into “the best Cadet corps outside of West Point.” In the first year of Pershing being assigned as commandant of Cadets, his Cadets won the national drill competition in Omaha, Nebraska. His team of Cadets was later referred to as the Pershing Rifles (2). In 1896 Lt. Pershing was assigned to the Tenth Cavalry which was an all-black regiment. During the Spanish-American War, he led his men in the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba. Pershing was remembered saying, “White regiments, black regiments, regulars and Rough Riders, representing the young manhood of the North and the South, fought shoulder to shoulder, unmindful of race or color, unmindful of whether commanded by ex-Confederate or not, and mindful of only their common duty as Americans" (5). The courage and patriotism shown by the men of the tenth Cavalry in this battle earned them Pershing’s highest admiration. He was known to often praise the bravery of black Soldiers all through his career, which was not typical of the time (3). He was promoted to Captain on Fabruary 2, 1901. He ended up with the 15th Cavalry in the
Corporal Angelo Crapsey of Roulette, Pennsylvania, a young man who decided to enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War was considered to be a "lively and cheerful” (Bateson 1) young man by his friends, but the war changed him and he home a much darker man. He wanted to fight for his country and keep the country together when the south decided to fire on Fort Sumter he decided to enlist. He fought and survived the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg and even survived dysentery which is a dieses that is common when proper toilets are not available. Corporal Crapsey and his unit arrived too late to fight in the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Virginia, so he was assigned to clean up duty, to help burry the bodies of the fallen in battle that day.
George Armstrong Custer was a United States cavalry officer who served with distinction in the American Civil War and was the youngest ever brevet brigadier general at age twenty-three (History.com Staff, 2009). Custer had various disciplinary issues throughout his career ranging from abandoning his post for romantic reasons to leaving the field without searching for a slain reconnaissance unit (History.com Staff, 2009). His expedition in 1874 that led to the discovery of gold, was in violation of the treaty of 1868 wherein the Black Hills were recognized to belong to the Sioux Nation. Custer was known to have a reckless temperament and was often at odds with superior officers. Nevertheless, as a Lieutenant Colonel assigned to the Seventh Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Riley, Kansas, Custer was tasked to lead the force against Sitting Bull’s alliance (History.com Staff, 2009).
After the Civil War ended, Custer was offered the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with the command of the 7TH Cavalry Regiment4. Custer served in many campaigns the U.S. Cavalry conducted including Major General Hancock’s campaign against the Cheyenne and the Battle of Washita River against the Black Kettle5.
Eugene sledge started school at Georgia Tech to eventually become an Officer. But realizing that he would spend most of the war sitting in
The 54th Massachusetts Regiment aka the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, was the first official all African-American regiment with 1007 black troops and 3 white officers leading them. There was one very heroic man among named Robert Gould Shaw who was one of the white officers. The regiment began in the Boston Common and went down to South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The regiment carried out a lot of operations across these states including the siege of Fort Wagner. Fort Wagner was not necessarily a win but it still showed heroic
In the 1820's, the entrance requirements for West Point were not close to as strict as they are now. It still was not that easy to become a cadet. Robert Lee entered the
Andrew Jackson was a war hero, a charismatic leader and a champion of common white American people. However, for some his critics he was a democratic autocrat, urban savage and atrocious saint. Andrew Jackson was most revered for his war heroics in 1812 but became one of the most controversial figures in American history. Andrew Jackson fervently believed that the key to American greatness was the small self-employed farmers and in order to continue this greatness, the expansion to the west was imperative so that each new generations could have farms of their own. It was this idea which made him a forceful proponent of Indian removal. And what followed was the most brutal period in American History.
Instead of doing anything combat related he served in the Corps of Engineers, looking over the construction of the United States’ coastal defenses. However, his service in the Mexican-American war in 1846 changed that. Being a member of General Winfield, he made himself stand out, earning three brevets for gallantry and gaining the rank of colonel from the war. After that,
In October 1861 Colonel Jackson was promoted to Major General. He served in the seven-day battles, and displayed ineffective leadership, which stood in stark contrast to the brilliance of
Displayed extreme heroism in assault on Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, in July 1863
Later on, he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy. He had to work several times harder than the other cadets to learn the lessons in school because of poor education when he was young. But his grades slowly increased until he graduated. He was said to have been in the upper third of his class. His military career had just begun.
One of the ways in which blacks were awarded new opportunities was in the military. During the American Revolution, there were two sides of the war; the Loyalists who were loyal to King George III and the British government, and the Patriots who supported Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. During this time, some slaves obtained freedom if they served in the military. Those who were not offered that opportunity were enticed to join the Loyalists in return for their freedom. Although, in the end, both sides helped African Americans find their freedom where they could (Holton, 57). During the war, African Americas were used in various ways, such as guides, spies, and soldiers, but they were only allowed to do the jobs that did not require much skill, as people did not think they were very skillful (Holton, 57). One of the first battles in which many African Americans fought in was the Battle of Bunker Hill. On this same day, Congress appointed a southern slaveholder as commander of the newly formed Continental Army. When George Washington arrived to the battle site, he was baffled at the disorganization of the New England soldiers and called for a total reform of the army. One of the things he did during this reform was the removal of slaves and free blacks from the Continental Army. This reform lasted an insignificant amount of time as Washington feared that the free blacks that were no longer in the Continental Army would enlist
In 1913, 20 year-old Francisco was promoted to first lieutenant. That same year he served in
Pomp Fisk, Grant Coope, Charleston Eads, Seymour Burr, Titus Coburn, Cuff Hayes, and Caesar Dickenson were also braves at this battle. Even though the African American soldiers clearly distinguished themselves as good soldiers, they were by no means wanted in the army in the eyes of white colonists.
General Sherman 's contribution to the Civil War will forever be remembered in history, although he made some miscalculations, his mistakes did nothing to his reputation unlike his brilliance in strategizing . His military exploits went far beyond getting the attention of American military historians; it went all the way to the shores of Europe. Military historian Basil Liddell Hart compiled a list of the best military strategists and General Sherman was among them, along with others like Napoleon Bonaparte, and Von Clausewitz. General Sherman’s effort in this campaign helped the Union Army deliver the crippling blow