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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02382.075 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Henry Jackson Hunt |
| Title | Fitz-John Porter to Henry Jackson Hunt regarding the Peninsula Campaign |
| Date | 2 July 1881 |
| Author | Porter, Fitz-John (1822-1901) |
| Recipient | Hunt, Henry Jackson |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Porter thanks Hunt for offering his recollections on events during the war. Reflects on McClellan's tactics during the Peninsula Campaign. Notes that General Alexander Stewart Webb is writing a book on the topic, and it will be published by Scribner. Mentions Tecumseh (possibly William T. Sherman). A note on page two (possibly created by Hunt), indicates that Porter's reflections pertain to the Battle of Malvern Hill. Written on Central Railroad Co. of New Jersey stationery. Porter was dismissed from the military in 1863 because of his actions at Second Bull Run. His sentence was finally reversed in 1886. |
| Subjects | Battle of Malvern Hill Union General Military History Civil War Battle Union Forces Railroad |
| People | Porter, Fitz John (1822-1901) Hunt, Henry Jackson (1819-1889) McClellan, George B. (1826-1885) Webb, Alexander S. (Alexander Stewart) (1835-1911) Sherman, William Tecumseh (1820-1891) |
| Place written | New York, New York |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Arts & Literature |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Folder information: Henry Jackson Hunt was Chief of the Artillery in the Army of the Potomac. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was a master of the science of gunnery and rewrote the manual on the organization and the use of artillery in early modern armies: Instruction for field artillery. Prepared by a board of artillery officers, consisting of Captain Wm. H. French...Captain Wm. F. Barry...Captain H.J. Hunt...To which is added The evolutions of batteries, tr. from the French by Brigadier General R. Anderson (New York, D. Van Nostrand, 1864). Hunt was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Samuel Wellington Hunt, a career infantry officer. As a child he accompanied his father in 1827 to the Kansas Territory on an expedition to found Fort Leavenworth. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1839 as second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. He served in the Mexican War where he was elevated to captain and major. Hunt received attention when in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, his four-gun battery covered the retreat of a Union force with an artillery duel. He soon afterword became the chief of artillery in defense of Washington, D.C. As a colonel on the staff of McClellan, he organized and trained the artillery reserve and fought in the Peninsular Campaign. His keen work influenced battles at Malvern Hill, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. His most famous service occurred at Gettysburg. He served in Virginia through the end of the war. Following the Civil War, Hunt held various military posts. He served as president of the permanent Artillery Board. He also served at Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Maine (1868), Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island (1869-1872 definitely, and possibly until 1874), military commander at Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia (1875-1880), commander, Department of the South (1880-1883), and as Governor of the Soldier's Home in Washington D.C. (1883-1889). Hunt had served as Chief of Artillery for the Army of the Potomac. He was commander of the Department of the South 1880-1883. Porter was dismissed from the military in 1863 because of his actions at Second Bull Run. Porter's sentence was finally reversed in 1886. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Main Eastern Theater |