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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02382.076 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Henry Jackson Hunt |
| Title | Fitz-John Porter to Henry Jackson Hunt regarding Manassas |
| Date | 23 October 1883 |
| Author | Porter, Fitz-John (1822-1901) |
| Recipient | Hunt, Henry Jackson |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Thanks Hunt for his recollections regarding Manassas. Mentions Generals John Fulton Reynolds, Robert Cumming Schenck, Irvin McDowell, John Alexander Logan, and John Pope, among others. Notes that another writer is tackling the topic of Manassas, and that Hunt will soon received the work in pamphlet form. Recently sent copies of some notes on Second Manassas to the War Department. Discusses controversy regarding his conduct at Second Manassas. Writes that McDowell was "so blind to his own interests in the effort to harm me that he could not see the effect of his acts when before the Schofield board," referring to a board headed by General John M. Schofield, called in 1878 to investigate Porter's conduct during the battle. |
| Subjects | Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) Union General Military History Civil War Union Forces Battle Literature and Language Arts Military Law Law Congress |
| People | Porter, Fitz John (1822-1901) Hunt, Henry Jackson (1819-1889) Reynolds, John Fulton (1820-1863) Schenck, Robert Cumming (1809-1890) McDowell, Irvin (1818-1885) Logan, John Alexander (1826-1886) Pope, John (1822-1892) Schofield, John McAllister (1831-1906) |
| Place written | Morristown, New Jersey |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Law |
| 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. After the Civil War, he occupied various military posts, including that of Governor of the Soldier's home in Washington, D.C. from 1883 until his death. Porter was dismissed from the military in 1863 because of his actions at Second Bull Run (or Second Manassas). His sentence was 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 |