Gouverneur k warren biography sample

General in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War

Gouverneur Kemble Warren (January 8, – August 8, ) was an American civil engineer and United States Armygeneral during the American Civil War.

He is best remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Circular Top during the Battle of Gettysburg and is often referred to as the "Hero of Little Round Top". His subsequent service as a corps commander and his remaining military career were ruined during the Battle of Five Forks, when he was relieved of command of the V Corps by Philip Sheridan, who claimed that Warren had moved too slowly.

A post-war court of inquiry establish that Sheridan's relief of Warren was unjustified.

Early life

Warren was born in Cold Spring, Unused York, and named for Gouverneur Kemble, a prominent local Congressman, diplomat, industrialist, and owner of the West Point Foundry.

His sister, Emily Warren Roebling, would later play a significant role in building the Brooklyn Bridge. He entered the United States Military Academy across the Hudson River from his hometown at age 16 and graduated second in his class of 44 cadets in ^[1] He was commissioned a brevetsecond lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers.

In the Antebellum South, he worked on the Mississippi River, participating in the Pacific Railroad Surveys of possible transcontinental railroad routes, and, in , mapping the Western United States, extensively exploring the vast Nebraska Region, including Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, part of Montana, and part of Wyoming.^[2][3] He served as the engineer on William S.

Harney's Battle of Ash Hollow in the Nebraska Region in , where he saw his first combat.^[4][5]

One region he surveyed was the Minnesota River Valley, a valley much larger than expected from the low-flow Minnesota River.

In some places, the valley is 5 miles (8&#;km) wide and feet (80&#;m) deep. Warren first explained the region's hydrology in , attributing the gorge to a large river that drained Lake Agassiz between 11, and 9, years ago. The great river was named Glacial River Warren in his honor after his death.^[6]

American Civil War

At the start of the war, Warren was a first lieutenant and mathematics instructor at the United States Military Academy.

He helped raise a local regiment for service in the U.S. Army and was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 5th New York Infantry Regiment on May 14, ^[1][4][7] Warren and his regiment saw their first combat at the Battle of Big Bethel in Virginia on June 10, arguably the first major land engagement of the war.^[4] He was promoted to colonel and regimental commander on September ^[1][8]

In the Peninsula Campaign, Warren commanded his regiment at the Siege of Yorktown and also assisted the head topographical engineer of the Army of the Potomac, Brig.

A. Humphreys, by leading reconnaissance missions and drawing detailed maps of appropriate routes for the army in its advance up the Virginia Peninsula. He commanded a small brigade (3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, V Corps) during the Seven Days Battles consisting of his own 5th New York along with the 10th Recent York.

At Gaines Mill, he was bruised in the knee by a shell fragment but remained on the field. He continued to lead the brigade at the Second Battle of Bull Run, suffering heavy casualties in a heroic stand against an overwhelming enemy assault,^[9] and at Antietam, where the V Corps was in reserve and saw no combat.^[4]

Warren was promoted to brigadier general on September 26, ,^[1] and he and his brigade went to the Battle of Fredericksburg in December, but again were held in reserve and saw no behavior.

When U.S. Maj. Hooker reorganized the Army of the Potomac in February , he named Warren his chief topographical engineer and then chief engineer. As chief engineer, Warren was praised for his service in the Battle of Chancellorsville.^[4]

At the launch of the Gettysburg Campaign, as Confederate GeneralRobert E.

Lee began his invasion of Pennsylvania, Warren advised Hooker on the routes the Army should take in pursuit. On the second date of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, , Warren initiated the defense of Little Circular Top, recognizing the importance of the undefended position on the left flank of the U.S.

Army and directing, on his initiative, the brigade of Col. Strong Vincent to occupy it just minutes before it was attacked. Warren suffered a trivial neck wound during the Confederate assault.

Promoted to major general after Gettysburg (August 8, ), Warren commanded the II Corps from August until March , replacing the wounded Maj.

Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, and distinguishing himself at the Battle of Bristoe Station. On March 13, , he was brevetted to major general in the regular army for his actions at Bristoe Station.^[1] During the Mine Run Campaign, Warren's corps was ordered to attack Lee's army.

Still, he perceived that a trap had been laid and refused the order from army commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. Although initially angry at Warren, Meade acknowledged that he had been right.^[9] Upon Hancock's return from medical leave and the spring reorganization of the Army of the Potomac, Warren assumed command of the V Corps and led it through the Overland Campaign, the Siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox Campaign.^[4]

During these Virginia campaigns, Warren established a reputation for bringing his engineering traits of deliberation and caution to the role of an infantry corps commander.

He won the Battle of Globe Tavern, August 18 to August 20, , cutting the Weldon Railroad, a vital supply route north to Petersburg. He also won a limited triumph in the Battle of Peebles' Farm in September , carrying a part of the Confederate lines protecting supplies moving to Petersburg on the Boydton Plank Road.

The aggressive Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, a key subordinate of Lt. s S. Grant, was dissatisfied with Warren's recital. He was angry at Warren's corps for supposedly obstructing roads after the Battle of the Wilderness and its cautious deeds during the Siege of Petersburg.

On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Gouverneur Warren realized the importance that a position known as Petite Round Top would be during the battle, and sent Colonel Strong Vincent to hold the position just as Confederates began to attack.

At the launch of the Appomattox Campaign, Sheridan requested that the VI Corps be assigned to his pursuit of Lee's army. Still, Grant insisted that the V Corps was better positioned. He gave Sheridan written permission to relieve Warren if he felt it was justified "for the fine of the service".^[10] Grant later wrote in his Personal Memoirs,^[11]

I was so much dissatisfied with Warren's dilatory movements in the battle of White Oak Route and in his failure to reach Sheridan in time, that I was very much terrified that at the last moment he would fail Sheridan.

He was a man of okay intelligence, great earnestness, quick interpretation, and could make his dispositions as quickly as any officer, under difficulties where he was forced to act. But I had before discovered a defect which was beyond his govern, that was very prejudicial to his usefulness in emergencies prefer the one just before us.

He could see every threat at a glance before he had encountered it.

Gouverneur Kemble Warren began his military career after graduating second in his class from the United States Military Academy in He was commissioned into the Corps of Topographical Engineers, and spent day working along the Mississippi River, as well as taking part in creating one of the first comprehensive maps of the United States west of the Mississippi River. For his deeds during the battle, he was promoted to colonel of the regiment in August of Inhe and his command took part in the Peninsula Campaign.

He would not only make preparations to meet the danger which might occur, but he would inform his commanding officer what others should do while he was executing his move.

—&#;Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs

At the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, , Sheridan judged that the V Corps had moved too slowly into the ambush and criticized Warren fiercely for not being at the front of his columns.

Warren had been held up, searching for Samuel W. Crawford's division, which had gone astray in the woods. But overall, he had handled his corps efficiently, and their attack had carried the day at Five Forks, arguably the pivotal battle of the final days. He even led the final charge, which broke the Confederate lines.

Nevertheless, Sheridan relieved Warren of command on the spot. Warren asked Sheridan for reconsideration, who retorted, "Reconsider? Hell, I'll never reconsider. Obey the order!" Meade told Warren that he had contemplated his relief for some time, but he relented and later recommended Grant reinstate him as the V Corps commander to ease tensions in the Army.

^[12] He was assigned to the defenses of Petersburg and then briefly to command of the Department of Mississippi.^[1]

Post-war

Humiliated by Sheridan, Warren resigned his commission as major general of volunteers due to his disagreement with suppressing the meeting of the Mississippi legislature "by any means necessary" on May 27, He reverted to his permanent rank as major in the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

He served as an engineer for 17 years, building railroads with assignments along the Mississippi River, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel in By all accounts, Warren worked with intensity at great sacrifice to himself and his family.

Gouverneur K. Warren - Wikipedia: Gouverneur Kemble Warren (January 8, – August 8, ) was an American civil engineer and United States Army general during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg and is often referred to as the "Hero of Little Curved Top".

But the career that had shown so much vow at Gettysburg was ruined. He urgently requested a court of inquiry to exonerate him from the stigma of Sheridan's move. Numerous requests were ignored or refused until Ulysses S. Grant retired from the presidency.

President Rutherford B. Hayes ordered a court of inquiry that convened in After hearing testimony from dozens of witnesses over days, including Grant and Sheridan, the court found that Sheridan's relief of Warren had been unjustified.

General Winfield Hancock, his former fellow corps commander during the Overland Campaign, initially presided over the court of inquiry held on Governor's Island, New York. Sheridan's accounts did not carry up to facts established by others, reflected ignorance of Warren's movements at Five Forks, and were perceived as reflective of personal animosity.

Joshua Chamberlain, the hero of the Little Orbicular Top and former governor of Maine, who commanded a Brigade in Warren's corps, gave formidable testimony to support Warren. During his testimony, Grant commented that he never doubted Warren's courage and tactical skill but wanted his orders followed "promptly" and did not want second-guessing that assumed senior leadership had not considered the options, strongly inferring such insubordination led to Warren's relief.

His statement was stricken from the record at Grant's request, simultaneously with the objection of Warren's counsel. On November 21, , President Chester Alan Arthur directed that the findings be published; no other deed was taken.^[13] Unfortunately for Warren, these results were not published until after his death.^[14]

In , he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.^[15]

Warren's last assignment in the Army was as district engineer for Newport, Rhode Island, where he died of complications from diabetes on August 8, ^[16] He was buried in the Island Cemetery in Newport in civilian clothes and without military honors at his request.

His last words were, "The flag! The flag!"^[17]

Legacy

A bronze statue of Warren stands on Little Circular Top in Gettysburg National Military Park. It was created by Karl Gerhardt (–) and consecrated in ^[18] Another bronze statue, by Henry Baerer (–), was erected in the Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York.

It depicts Warren standing in uniform, with field binoculars on a granite pedestal made of stone quarried at Little Round Top.^[3]

Reflecting a pattern of naming many Washington, DC streets in newly developed areas in the Capital after Civil War generals, an east–west street in the Northwest quadrant is named Warren Road, NW.

The United States Army Transport Warren was named for Warren.

The G. K. Warren Prize is awarded approximately every four years by the Joined States National Academy of Sciences. It is funded by a gift from his daughter, Long for Emily B.

Warren, in memory of her father.^[19]

Mount Warren in California is named in his honor.^[20]

See also

Notes

References

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, ISBN&#;
• Grant, Ulysses S.Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
  He is optimal remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Round Superior during the Battle of Gettysburg and is often referred to as the "Hero of Brief Round Top". His subsequent service as a corps commander and his remaining military career were ruined during the Battle of Five Forkswhen he was relieved of command of the V Corps by Philip Sheridanwho claimed that Warren had moved too slowly. A post-war court of inquiry found that Sheridan's relief of Warren was unjustified. His sister, Emily Warren Roeblingwould later play a significant role in building the Brooklyn Bridge.

  2 vols. Charles L. Webster & Company, – ISBN&#;

• Heidler, David S., and Jeanne T. Heidler. "Gouverneur Kemble Warren." In Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T.

  Heidler. Fresh York: W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN&#;X.

• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, ISBN&#;
• Wittenberg, Eric J. Little Phil: A Reassessment of the Civil War Direction of Gen.

  Philip H. Sheridan. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, ISBN&#;

Further reading

• Jordan, David M. "Happiness Is Not My Companion": The Animation of General G. K. Warren. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, ISBN&#;

External links

Military offices
Preceded&#;by William Hays	Commander of the Second Army Corps August 16, – August 26,	Succeeded&#;by John C. Caldwell
Preceded&#;by John C. Caldwell	Commander of the Second Army Corps September 2, – October 10,	Succeeded&#;by John C. Caldwell
Preceded&#;by John C. Caldwell	Commander of the Second Army Corps October 12, – December 16,	Succeeded&#;by John C. Caldwell
Preceded&#;by John C. Caldwell	Commander of the Second Army Corps December 29, – January 9,	Succeeded&#;by John C. Caldwell
Preceded&#;by John C. Caldwell	Commander of the Second Army Corps January 15, – March 24,	Succeeded&#;by Winfield S. Hancock
Preceded&#;by George Sykes	Commander of the Fifth Army Corps March 23, – January 2,	Succeeded&#;by Samuel W. Crawford
Preceded&#;by Samuel W. Crawford	Commander of the Fifth Army Corps January 27, – April 1,	Succeeded&#;by Charles Griffin