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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02382.060 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Henry Jackson Hunt |
| Title | George Brinton McClellan to Henry Jackson Hunt regarding their positions in the army |
| Date | 28 July 1863 |
| Author | McClellan, George Brinton (1826-1885) |
| Recipient | Hunt, Henry Jackson |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | States that his failure to reply to Hunt's former correspondence was due to his lack of faith in the army post office. Instructs Hunt not to give up his command as Chief of the Artillery. Says "I look forward to being back in command, some of these days, perhaps not until March 5 1865….Give my kindest regards to my friends, & remember who they are." Looks forward to being "back in command"(with the date referring to his upcoming campaign for the presidency). Hopes Hunt continues to advance in rank. Writes "I have watched our old Army of the Potomac with a heavy heart... " Has seen F.J. [Fitz-John Porter?] frequently, and says "time will do him justice." |
| Subjects | Union Forces Union General Military History Post Office Artillery Civil War President Politics Election Democratic Party Friendship Army of the Potomac |
| People | McClellan, George B. (1826-1885) Hunt, Henry Jackson (1819-1889) |
| Place written | Orange, New Jersey |
| Theme | The American Civil War; The Presidency |
| 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). |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |