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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02382.062 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Henry Jackson Hunt |
| Title | George Brinton McClellan to Henry Jackson Hunt discussing his European tour and Hunt's army position |
| Date | 10 January 1868 |
| Author | McClellan, George Brinton (1826-1885) |
| Recipient | Hunt, Henry Jackson |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Mentions Upton (probably Emory Upton, who published a book on infantry tactics in 1867). Praises and discusses Hunt's artillery tactics, a topic on which Hunt had co-published in 1864. Discusses his European tour, including a meeting in Paris with John Love, who is "over here busily engaged in introducing the Gatlin Gun - he has been quite successful, & so far as that weapon is concerned the different Powers will soon be in position to exterminate each other in the most satisfactory manner." Describes military strategies used by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War, mentioning the Prussians' use of Dreyse needle-guns. Refers to General Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke, Prussian Chief of Staff. Also discusses Civil War-related topics, mentioning generals Ulysses S. Grant, John Pope, Fitz-John Porter, William Buel Franklin, and John Adams Dix. "I am rather surprised to hear from one or two quarters quite worthy of credit that Grant desires the Presidency. Had I his place I would not change it for a dozen Presidencies. His is the only place in the public service that I would give a fig for." Regarding his disgust at Grant's inability (or unwillingness) to find Hunt a higher position: "I feel sometimes a fiendish desire to pull some people's ears." The "place" held by Grant to which McClellan refers was commanding general of the U.S. Army. McClellan probably didn't know that at that time Grant had also just been appointed interim Secretary of War, as part of President Johnson's bid to replace Edwin Stanton. Between 12-13 January, Grant became increasingly uneasy about Johnson's instructions to take control of the War Department, and Grant's personal exposure to a $10,000 fine for violating the Radical Republican's new Tenure in Office Act. As soon as he got word early on 14 January of the House vote to impeach Johnson, Grant apparently broke his promise to support the president. Grant dropped his keys off with the adjutant general and sent a messenger to inform Johnson of his actions. Stanton - keys in hand - bolted his inner office door and locked the hallway door shut. Furniture and other articles were added to a defiant hallway barricade. After the impeachment failed, Grant did decide to stand for the presidency, and defeated Democrat Horatio Seymour in the 1868 election. |
| Subjects | Military History Union General Literature and Language Arts Artillery Global History and Civics Travel Weaponry Science and Technology Civil War Union Forces President Politics Government and Civics Election |
| People | McClellan, George B. (1826-1885) Hunt, Henry Jackson (1819-1889) Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von (1800-1891) Pope, John (1822-1892) Porter, Fitz John (1822-1901) Franklin, William Buel (1823-1903) Dix, John Adams (1798-1879) Upton, Emory (1839-1881) |
| Place written | Dresden, Germany |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Foreign Affairs |
| 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 though Upton had stolen his ideas regarding artillery tactics, applying them incorrectly in his publication. Dix was minister to France 1866-1869. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |