Alfred Pleasonton
Encyclopedia
Alfred Pleasonton was a United States Army
officer and General of Union
cavalry
during the American Civil War
. He commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac
during the Gettysburg Campaign
, including the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war, Brandy Station
. In 1864 he was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Theater
, where he defeated Confederate
General Sterling Price
in two key battles, effectively ending the war in Missouri. He was the son of Stephen Pleasonton and younger brother of Augustus Pleasonton
.
, the son of Stephen and Mary Hopkins Pleasonton. Stephen was well known at the time of Alfred's birth. During the War of 1812
, as a U.S. State Department employee, Stephen's personal initiative saved crucial documents in the National Archives from destruction by the British
invaders of Washington, including the original Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. However, while working as a U.S. Treasury Department employee, he was involved in scandals in the 1830s involving corruption in awarding of contracts for government lighthouse
s, which turned out to have substandard construction and began deteriorating prematurely. He was investigated by the U.S. Congress, which cited his "lethargy and maladministration" and led to his dismissal in 1852, casting a pall over the family reputation. (The administration of U.S. lighthouses was transferred to a nine-member Lighthouse Board, which, ironically, included Alfred's future commander during the coming Civil War, George G. Meade.)
Alfred's much older brother, Augustus
, attended the United States Military Academy
and served as Assistant Adjutant General and paymaster of the state of Pennsylvania
; his career direction obviously affected his younger brother's and both boys were assured nomination to the Academy by their father's fame from the War of 1812. Alfred graduated from West Point in 1844 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons (heavy cavalry), stationed first at Fort Atkinson, Iowa
. He followed his unit for frontier duty in Minnesota
, Iowa
, and Texas
. With the 2nd Dragoons, he fought in the Mexican-American War and received a brevet
promotion to first lieutenant for gallantry in the Battle of Palo Alto
and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma
, Texas
, in 1846. He served as regimental adjutant after the war and was promoted to captain in 1855.
, to Washington D.C. Despite active politicking on his part, attempting to capitalize on the faded political connections of his now-disgraced father (who had died in 1855), Pleasonton did not earn the rapid promotions of some of his colleagues and was promoted only to major
by early 1862. He fought without incident or prominence in the Peninsula Campaign
and was finally promoted to brigadier general
on July 16, 1862, commanding a brigade of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac
.
On September 2, Pleasonton assumed division command in the cavalry and was wounded by an artillery shell at the Battle of Antietam
. Ever ambitious, Pleasanton was displeased that he was not promoted to major general
of volunteers for his actions, claiming erroneously that his division, and particularly the horse artillery assigned to him, had had a decisive effect on the battle. (He did receive a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel
in the regular army, probably based solely on the inflated claims of his battle report, which were not substantiated by the reports of other generals.)
At the Battle of Chancellorsville
, Pleasanton continued his practice of self-promotion. He claimed that he temporarily halted an attack by Stonewall Jackson
's Corps and that he was able to prevent the total destruction of the Union
XI Corps on May 2, 1863. He was persuasive enough that the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker
, told President
Abraham Lincoln
that Pleasanton "saved the Union Army" at Chancellorsville. Battle reports, however, indicate that Pleasanton's role was considerably less important than he claimed, involving only a small detachment of Confederate
infantry on Hazel Grove. Nevertheless, his claims earned him a promotion to major general of volunteers as of June 22, 1863, and when the inept Cavalry Corps commander, Maj. Gen. George Stoneman
, was relieved after Chancellorsville, Hooker named Pleasanton as his temporary replacement. Pleasonton could not accept even this elevated role gracefully. He wrote to Gen. Hooker "I cannot...remain silent as to the unsatisfactory condition in which I find this corps...the responsibility of its present state...does not belong to me."
. He led Union cavalry forces in the Battle of Brandy Station
, the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war. The Union cavalry essentially stumbled into J.E.B. Stuart
's Confederate cavalry and the 14-hour battle was bloody but inconclusive, although Stuart was embarrassed that he had been surprised and the Union horsemen had a newfound confidence in their abilities. Subordinate officers criticized Pleasonton for not aggressively defeating Stuart at Brandy Station. Gen. Hooker had ordered Pleasonton to "disperse and destroy" the Confederate cavalry near Culpeper, Virginia
, but Pleasonton claimed that he had only been ordered to make a "reconnaissance in force toward Culpeper", thus rationalizing his actions.
In the remainder of the Gettysburg Campaign up to the climactic battle, Pleasonton did not perform as a competent cavalry commander and was generally unable to inform his commander where the enemy troops were located and what their intentions were. The Army of Northern Virginia
, under Gen. Robert E. Lee
, was able to slip past Union forces through the Shenandoah Valley
and north into Pennsylvania. During this period, he attempted to exercise political influence by promoting the nephew of a U.S. Congressman, Captain Elon J. Farnsworth
, a member of his staff, directly to brigadier general. Pleasonton also promoted Captain Wesley Merritt
and First Lieutenant George Armstrong Custer
to brigadier general.
Pleasonton corresponded with the congressman and complained about his lack of men and horses in comparison to Jeb Stuart's; he also politicked to acquire the cavalry forces of Maj. Gen. Julius Stahel
, who commanded the cavalry in the defenses of Washington. The machinations worked. Stahel was relieved of his command and his troopers were reassigned to Pleasonton. Hooker was enraged by these activities and it was probably only his own relief from command on June 28, 1863, that saved Pleasonton's career from premature termination.
In the Battle of Gettysburg
, Pleasanton's new commander, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, understood Pleasonton's reputation (and his father's) and kept him on a short leash. For the three days of the battle, Pleasonton was forced to remain with Meade at army headquarters, rather than with the Cavalry Corps headquarters nearby, and Meade exercised more direct control of the cavalry than an army commander normally would. In postwar writings, Pleasonton attempted to portray his role in the battle as being a major one, including predicting to Meade that the town of Gettysburg would be the decisive point and, after the Confederate defeat in Pickett's Charge
, that he urged Meade to attack Gen. Lee and finish him off. He conveniently made these claims after Meade's death, when dispute was impossible. On the other hand, however, Pleasonton cannot be blamed for the unfortunate cavalry action on July 3, when Meade ordered the division of Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick to attack the right flank of the Confederate army, which resulted in a suicidal assault against entrenched infantry and the futile death of Elon Farnsworth.
and the District of St. Louis
in 1864. He performed well and defeated Gen. Sterling Price
at Westport
, the Battle of Byram's Ford and Marais des Cygnes
, ending the last Confederate threat in the West.
In 1864 and 1865, he instituted a policy of amnesty
granting parole
to Confederate
prisoners on condition they go up the Missouri River
to the Dakota
and Montana
Territories. This resulted in preventing many of the remnants of Price's army from becoming bushrangers, like Quantrill
, and also resulted in Missouri
Confederates migrating to the goldfields of the Montana
Territory.
He received a brevet promotion to brigadier general in the regular army for the campaign in Missouri, and to major general for his overall conduct in the war, both as of March 13, 1865.
After the war, although Pleasonton had achieved the honorary rank of brevet major general in the regular army, he was mustered out of the volunteer service with the permanent rank of major of cavalry. Because he did not want to leave the cavalry, Pleasonton turned down a lieutenant colonelcy in the infantry, and soon became dissatisfied with his command relationship to officers he once outranked. Pleasonton resigned his commission in 1868, and was placed on the Army's retired list as a major in 1888. As a civilian, he worked as United States Collector of Internal Revenue and as Commissioner of Internal Revenue
under President
Ulysses S. Grant
, but he was asked to resign from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (now the Internal Revenue Service
) after he lobbied Congress for the repeal of the income tax and quarreled with his superiors at the Treasury Department. Refusing to resign, he was dismissed. He served briefly as the president of the Terre Haute and Cincinnati Railroad.
In an 1895 interview with sculptor James Edward Kelly
, Pleasonton claimed he had been offered command of the Army of the Potomac. (A subsequent interview with Gen. James F. Wade
indicated that this offer came in a meeting in Washington some time after Gettysburg.) Pleasonton told Kelly that he "wasn't like Grant
. I refused to pay the price." He claimed that the terms offered were: "The war must not be ended until the South was crushed; slavery abolished; and the President reelected." Pleasonton, always more of a bureaucrat than an ideologue or strong leader, only wanted to defeat the South's military capabilities so that they could not threaten the rest of the states, but was not convinced that "crushing" the rebels, ending slavery, or reelecting Lincoln was worth the cost.
Alfred Pleasonton died in his sleep in Washington, D.C., and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery
there, alongside his father. Before his death, Pleasonton requested that his funeral be devoid of all military honors and even refused to be buried in his old uniform because he felt the Army passed him over after the war. The town of Pleasanton, California
, was named for Alfred in the 1870s; a typographical error by a U.S. Postal Service employee apparently led to the spelling difference. The city of Pleasanton, Kansas
, despite its different spelling, has begun an annual festival named for Pleasonton. On the huge Pennsylvania Memorial at the Gettysburg Battlefield
stands a statue of General Pleasonton. However, it is possible that this represents Alfred's brother, Augustus, a native of Pennsylvania, who was a general in the Pennsylvania militia at the time of the battle.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer and General of Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
during the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
, including the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war, Brandy Station
Battle of Brandy Station
The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest to take place ever on American soil. It was fought at the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign by the Union cavalry under Maj....
. In 1864 he was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Theater
Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
The Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War was the major military and naval operations west of the Mississippi River. The area excluded the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed the Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War.The campaign classification...
, where he defeated Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
General Sterling Price
Sterling Price
Sterling Price was a lawyer, planter, and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, who served as the 11th Governor of the state from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a United States Army brigadier general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general in the American Civil...
in two key battles, effectively ending the war in Missouri. He was the son of Stephen Pleasonton and younger brother of Augustus Pleasonton
Augustus Pleasonton
Augustus James Pleasonton, often called A. J. Pleasonton , was a General during the American Civil War. He wrote the pseudo-scientific book The Influence Of The Blue Ray Of The Sunlight And Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, which was published in 1876. His book is often attributed to being the birth...
.
Early life
Pleasonton was born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the son of Stephen and Mary Hopkins Pleasonton. Stephen was well known at the time of Alfred's birth. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, as a U.S. State Department employee, Stephen's personal initiative saved crucial documents in the National Archives from destruction by the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
invaders of Washington, including the original Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. However, while working as a U.S. Treasury Department employee, he was involved in scandals in the 1830s involving corruption in awarding of contracts for government lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s, which turned out to have substandard construction and began deteriorating prematurely. He was investigated by the U.S. Congress, which cited his "lethargy and maladministration" and led to his dismissal in 1852, casting a pall over the family reputation. (The administration of U.S. lighthouses was transferred to a nine-member Lighthouse Board, which, ironically, included Alfred's future commander during the coming Civil War, George G. Meade.)
Alfred's much older brother, Augustus
Augustus Pleasonton
Augustus James Pleasonton, often called A. J. Pleasonton , was a General during the American Civil War. He wrote the pseudo-scientific book The Influence Of The Blue Ray Of The Sunlight And Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, which was published in 1876. His book is often attributed to being the birth...
, attended the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
and served as Assistant Adjutant General and paymaster of the state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
; his career direction obviously affected his younger brother's and both boys were assured nomination to the Academy by their father's fame from the War of 1812. Alfred graduated from West Point in 1844 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons (heavy cavalry), stationed first at Fort Atkinson, Iowa
Fort Atkinson, Iowa
Fort Atkinson is a city in Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 389 at the 2000 census. It is home to the historic Fort Atkinson State Preserve and hosts a large annual fur-trapper rendezvous each September...
. He followed his unit for frontier duty in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. With the 2nd Dragoons, he fought in the Mexican-American War and received a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
promotion to first lieutenant for gallantry in the Battle of Palo Alto
Battle of Palo Alto
The Battle of Palo Alto was the first major battle of the Mexican-American War and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas...
and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma
Battle of Resaca de la Palma
At the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, one of the early engagements of the Mexican-American War,United States General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican Ejército del Norte under General Mariano Arista on May 9, 1846.-Background:During the night of May 8, following...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in 1846. He served as regimental adjutant after the war and was promoted to captain in 1855.
Peninsula to Chancellorsville
At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Captain Pleasonton traveled with the 2nd Dragoons from Fort Crittenden, Utah TerritoryUtah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, to Washington D.C. Despite active politicking on his part, attempting to capitalize on the faded political connections of his now-disgraced father (who had died in 1855), Pleasonton did not earn the rapid promotions of some of his colleagues and was promoted only to major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
by early 1862. He fought without incident or prominence in the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
and was finally promoted to brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
on July 16, 1862, commanding a brigade of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
.
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
. Ever ambitious, Pleasanton was displeased that he was not promoted to major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
of volunteers for his actions, claiming erroneously that his division, and particularly the horse artillery assigned to him, had had a decisive effect on the battle. (He did receive a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
in the regular army, probably based solely on the inflated claims of his battle report, which were not substantiated by the reports of other generals.)
At the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
, Pleasanton continued his practice of self-promotion. He claimed that he temporarily halted an attack by Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
's Corps and that he was able to prevent the total destruction of the Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
XI Corps on May 2, 1863. He was persuasive enough that the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, achieving the rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although he served throughout the war, usually with distinction, Hooker is best remembered for his stunning defeat by Confederate General Robert E...
, told President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
that Pleasanton "saved the Union Army" at Chancellorsville. Battle reports, however, indicate that Pleasanton's role was considerably less important than he claimed, involving only a small detachment of Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
infantry on Hazel Grove. Nevertheless, his claims earned him a promotion to major general of volunteers as of June 22, 1863, and when the inept Cavalry Corps commander, Maj. Gen. George Stoneman
George Stoneman
George Stoneman, Jr. was a career United States Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the 15th Governor of California between 1883 and 1887.-Early life:...
, was relieved after Chancellorsville, Hooker named Pleasanton as his temporary replacement. Pleasonton could not accept even this elevated role gracefully. He wrote to Gen. Hooker "I cannot...remain silent as to the unsatisfactory condition in which I find this corps...the responsibility of its present state...does not belong to me."
Gettysburg
Pleasonton's first combat in his new role was a month later in the Gettysburg CampaignGettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
. He led Union cavalry forces in the Battle of Brandy Station
Battle of Brandy Station
The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest to take place ever on American soil. It was fought at the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign by the Union cavalry under Maj....
, the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war. The Union cavalry essentially stumbled into J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
's Confederate cavalry and the 14-hour battle was bloody but inconclusive, although Stuart was embarrassed that he had been surprised and the Union horsemen had a newfound confidence in their abilities. Subordinate officers criticized Pleasonton for not aggressively defeating Stuart at Brandy Station. Gen. Hooker had ordered Pleasonton to "disperse and destroy" the Confederate cavalry near Culpeper, Virginia
Culpeper, Virginia
Culpeper is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper County. Culpeper is part of the Culpeper Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Culpeper County. Both the Town of Culpeper and...
, but Pleasonton claimed that he had only been ordered to make a "reconnaissance in force toward Culpeper", thus rationalizing his actions.
In the remainder of the Gettysburg Campaign up to the climactic battle, Pleasonton did not perform as a competent cavalry commander and was generally unable to inform his commander where the enemy troops were located and what their intentions were. The Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
, under Gen. Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, was able to slip past Union forces through the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
and north into Pennsylvania. During this period, he attempted to exercise political influence by promoting the nephew of a U.S. Congressman, Captain Elon J. Farnsworth
Elon J. Farnsworth
Elon John Farnsworth was a Union Army cavalry general in the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life and career:...
, a member of his staff, directly to brigadier general. Pleasonton also promoted Captain Wesley Merritt
Wesley Merritt
Wesley Merritt was a general in the United States Army during the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War. He is noted for distinguished service in the cavalry.-Early life:...
and First Lieutenant George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
to brigadier general.
Pleasonton corresponded with the congressman and complained about his lack of men and horses in comparison to Jeb Stuart's; he also politicked to acquire the cavalry forces of Maj. Gen. Julius Stahel
Julius Stahel
Julius H. Stahel-Számwald was a Hungarian soldier who emigrated to the United States and became a Union general in the American Civil War. After the war, he served as a U.S. diplomat, a mining engineer, and a life insurance company executive...
, who commanded the cavalry in the defenses of Washington. The machinations worked. Stahel was relieved of his command and his troopers were reassigned to Pleasonton. Hooker was enraged by these activities and it was probably only his own relief from command on June 28, 1863, that saved Pleasonton's career from premature termination.
In the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, Pleasanton's new commander, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, understood Pleasonton's reputation (and his father's) and kept him on a short leash. For the three days of the battle, Pleasonton was forced to remain with Meade at army headquarters, rather than with the Cavalry Corps headquarters nearby, and Meade exercised more direct control of the cavalry than an army commander normally would. In postwar writings, Pleasonton attempted to portray his role in the battle as being a major one, including predicting to Meade that the town of Gettysburg would be the decisive point and, after the Confederate defeat in Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
, that he urged Meade to attack Gen. Lee and finish him off. He conveniently made these claims after Meade's death, when dispute was impossible. On the other hand, however, Pleasonton cannot be blamed for the unfortunate cavalry action on July 3, when Meade ordered the division of Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick to attack the right flank of the Confederate army, which resulted in a suicidal assault against entrenched infantry and the futile death of Elon Farnsworth.
Trans-Mississippi
Pleasonton was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Theater and commanded the District of Central MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and the District of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
in 1864. He performed well and defeated Gen. Sterling Price
Sterling Price
Sterling Price was a lawyer, planter, and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, who served as the 11th Governor of the state from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a United States Army brigadier general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general in the American Civil...
at Westport
Battle of Little Blue River
The Battle of Little Blue River was a minor battle of the American Civil War, occurring on October 21, 1864 in Jackson County, Missouri during Price's Missouri Expedition of that year. It became the opening round of the Second Battle of Independence, which began on this same day and was...
, the Battle of Byram's Ford and Marais des Cygnes
Battle of Marais des Cygnes
The Battle of Marais des Cygnes took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas during Price's Missouri Raid in the American Civil War. It is also called the Battle of Osage, and the Battle of Trading Post...
, ending the last Confederate threat in the West.
In 1864 and 1865, he instituted a policy of amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
granting parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
to Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
prisoners on condition they go up the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
to the Dakota
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
and Montana
Montana Territory
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
Territories. This resulted in preventing many of the remnants of Price's army from becoming bushrangers, like Quantrill
Quantrill's Raiders
Quantrill's Raiders were a loosely organized force of pro-Confederate Partisan rangers, "bushwhackers", who fought in the American Civil War under the leadership of William Clarke Quantrill...
, and also resulted in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
Confederates migrating to the goldfields of the Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
Territory.
He received a brevet promotion to brigadier general in the regular army for the campaign in Missouri, and to major general for his overall conduct in the war, both as of March 13, 1865.
Postbellum career
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service , a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury.The office of Commissioner was created by Congress by the Revenue Act of 1862...
under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, but he was asked to resign from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (now the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
) after he lobbied Congress for the repeal of the income tax and quarreled with his superiors at the Treasury Department. Refusing to resign, he was dismissed. He served briefly as the president of the Terre Haute and Cincinnati Railroad.
In an 1895 interview with sculptor James Edward Kelly
James E. Kelly (artist)
James Edward Kelly was an American sculptor and illustrator who specialized in depicting people and events of American wars, particularly the American Civil War....
, Pleasonton claimed he had been offered command of the Army of the Potomac. (A subsequent interview with Gen. James F. Wade
James F. Wade
James Franklin Wade served as a Major General of Volunteers in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War....
indicated that this offer came in a meeting in Washington some time after Gettysburg.) Pleasonton told Kelly that he "wasn't like Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. I refused to pay the price." He claimed that the terms offered were: "The war must not be ended until the South was crushed; slavery abolished; and the President reelected." Pleasonton, always more of a bureaucrat than an ideologue or strong leader, only wanted to defeat the South's military capabilities so that they could not threaten the rest of the states, but was not convinced that "crushing" the rebels, ending slavery, or reelecting Lincoln was worth the cost.
Alfred Pleasonton died in his sleep in Washington, D.C., and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery
Congressional Cemetery
The Congressional Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the final resting place of thousands of individuals who helped form the nation and the city of Washington in the early 19th century. Many members of...
there, alongside his father. Before his death, Pleasonton requested that his funeral be devoid of all military honors and even refused to be buried in his old uniform because he felt the Army passed him over after the war. The town of Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
, was named for Alfred in the 1870s; a typographical error by a U.S. Postal Service employee apparently led to the spelling difference. The city of Pleasanton, Kansas
Pleasanton, Kansas
Pleasanton is a city in Linn County, Kansas, United States. The population was 1,387 at the 2000 census. Named for General Alfred Pleasonton, the city was founded in 1869.-Geography:Pleasanton is located at ....
, despite its different spelling, has begun an annual festival named for Pleasonton. On the huge Pennsylvania Memorial at the Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
stands a statue of General Pleasonton. However, it is possible that this represents Alfred's brother, Augustus, a native of Pennsylvania, who was a general in the Pennsylvania militia at the time of the battle.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
Further reading
- Longacre, Edward G. The Cavalry at Gettysburg. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986. ISBN 0-8032-7941-8.
- Longacre, Edward G. Lincoln's Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of the Potomac. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000. ISBN 0-8117-1049-1.