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John Schofield Biography & Facts

John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served as Commanding General of the United States Army (1888–1895). Early life John McAllister Schofield was born September 29, 1831, in Gerry, Chautauqua County, New York, the son of the Reverend James Schofield (1801–1888) and his first wife, the former Caroline (McAllister) Schofield (1810–1857). His father, a Baptist minister in Sinclairville became a domestic missionary and moved his family (which then included six children and would include 10 who survived infancy) to Bristol, Illinois. When John was 12, they finally settled in Freeport, Illinois, where Rev. Schofield became the town's first Baptist minister in 1845, and where he was ultimately buried in 1888. During the American Revolutionary War, his family consisted of both Patriots and Loyalists. His grandfather at the time was considered below the age to fight during the Revolution. Though, after settling in New York, he fought in the New York Militia during the War of 1812. His earliest ancestor who arrived in America was Richard Schofield, who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from England in 1635. As a young man John Schofield was educated in the public schools, helped his family farm and build their home, and then surveyed land in northern Wisconsin before spending a year teaching school in Oneco, Illinois not far from Freeport. Then U.S. Rep. Thomas J. Turner secured John Schofield an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He sold land for travel expenses and reported on June 1, 1849. In his final year at the Academy, while a teaching assistant in the mathematics section, cadet Schofield was accused of allowing others in his classroom to make offensive jokes and drawings on the blackboard. He was dismissed from West Point, but after meeting with Illinois' U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, appealed the decision to the Secretary of War, who referred the matter back to a Board of Inquiry at the Academy. A majority of the review board voted to rescind the expulsion, but one of the two officers who voted to sustain it, cavalry and artillery instructor Lt. George H. Thomas, later became a commander of Schofield during the Civil War. Although Schofield's eventual memoirs did not mention Thomas on the review board, his persistent criticism of Thomas's generalship after the war may reflect this incident. Schofield graduated in 1853, ranking seventh in his class, and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the artillery. Schofield served for two years in the artillery. His first post was at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, which he later noted involved the same guns that were used to bombard Fort Sumter in 1861. He then served at various places in Florida during the armed truce with the Seminole Nation, but contracted fevers and dysentery and was ultimately evacuated (with the assistance of future Confederate General A. P. Hill) and recovered at Culpeper, Virginia. Upon regaining his health, First Lieutenant Schofield returned to West Point as assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy from 1855 to 1860. His career seemed stalled, so he took leave (1860–1861), to work as professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis. Several of his brothers had settled in St. Louis, following the lead of his eldest brother Rev. James Van Pelt Schofield (1825–1898). Civil War When the Civil War broke out, Schofield helped assure Missouri did not join the Confederacy. He became a major in the 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment and served as chief of staff to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon until Lyon's death during the Battle of Wilson's Creek (Missouri) in August 1861. Schofield acted with "conspicuous gallantry" during the battle, and decades later received the Medal of Honor for that action. Schofield was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on November 21, 1861. From 1861 to 1863 he held various commands in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. He commanded the District of St Louis from that date to 10 April 1862, the Military District of Missouri from 5 June to 24 September 1862, and the District of Southwest Missouri to 10 November 1862. He led the Army of the Frontier from 12 October 1862 to 30 May 1863. He was promoted to major general of volunteers on November 29, 1862, at the age of 31, making him one of the youngest major generals in the Civil War. On 30 September 1862, a Federal brigade suffered a defeat at the First Battle of Newtonia in southwest Missouri. Both James G. Blunt and Schofield rushed to Newtonia, Missouri with reinforcements and sent the Confederate force fleeing south into Arkansas. The department commander Samuel Ryan Curtis created the Army of the Frontier with Schofield in command. Blunt led the 1st Division, James Totten the 2nd Division, and Francis J. Herron the 3rd Division. The army numbered 20,000 men, but probably 14,000 were fit for duty. Schofield's army crossed into northwest Arkansas on 17 October. Blunt's division soon moved west into Indian Territory where it won the Battle of Old Fort Wayne on 22 October. Meanwhile, Schofield with the 2nd and 3rd Divisions occupied Huntsville, Arkansas. Schofield's troops clashed with forces led by Thomas C. Hindman, and the Confederates retreated south on 29 October. On 4 November, with the approval of Curtis, Schofield's two divisions withdrew northeast to Springfield, Missouri while Blunt's division remained in northwest Arkansas. He was eventually relieved of duty in the West, at his own request, due to altercations with his superior Samuel R. Curtis. From 17 April to 10 May 1863, Schofield led the 3rd Division in the XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland. He returned to Missouri as commander of the Department of Missouri from 24 May 1863 to 30 January 1864. His command in Missouri was marred by controversy after a massacre at Lawrence, Kansas, when Schofield refused to allow a posse to pursue the combatants into Missouri. Pro-Union Missourians sent a delegation to Washington DC in October to plead with President Lincoln to dismiss Schofield for sympathizing with pro-Confederate Bushwhacker para-military marauders who were attacking loyal Union citizens. Lincoln backed Schofield's position, attributed the carnage to wartime conditions rather than the commander's inadequacy, and instructed Schofield to respect civil liberties unless assemblies or newspapers were working palpable harm to the military. In 1864, as commander of the Army of the Ohio, Schofield participated in the Atlanta Campaign under Major General William T. Sherman. Sherman placed him in command of a major operation to break the rail lines in late July 1864. Schofield became embroiled in another controversy with the commander of the US XIV Corps (Volunteer), Major General John Palmer, who resigned rather.... Discover the John Schofield popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Schofield books.