Samuel McGowan ( born Samuel McGowan ; October 19, 1819 - August 9, 1897 ) - American lawyer, politician and military, participant in the Mexican War, General of the Confederation Army during the American Civil War . He commanded the South Carolian brigade in the Hill Light Division , and was wounded several times. After the war, he was elected to the US Congress, but he resigned and served in the Supreme Court of South Carolina.
Samuel McGowan | |
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Samuel McGowan in uniform | |
Date of Birth | October 19, 1819 |
Place of Birth | Lawrence County , South Carolina |
Date of death | August 9, 1897 (77 years) |
Place of death | Abbeville , South Carolina |
Affiliation | USA , CSA |
Type of army | US Army |
Years of service | 1846–1847 (United States) 1861-1865 (KSHA) |
Rank | brigadier general (CSA) |
Battles / Wars | Us-mexican war
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Content
Early years
McGowan was born to an Irish-born family in Lawrence South Carolina County. His father was a large farmer, and according to his will, McGowan began to study law. In 1841, he graduated from the South Carolina College, where he was a member of the student Clariosophical Society. After college, he studied law in Abbeville and was admitted to practice law. In the prewar years, he worked as a partner of Thomas Perrin, and also participated in the political life of the state. When the war began with Mexico, he volunteered to join the army, where he became a private of the South Carolina regiment Palmetto Regiment . He was noted for bravery during the battles of Mexico City, rose to the rank of captain, and was quartermaster, staff officer under General Keitman , as well as under the headquarters of generals Worth and Twiggs . McGowan was a volunteer adjutant under Keetman during the assault on Chapultepec .
After the war, McGowan returned to legal practice in Abbeville, and in 1851 married Susan Caroline Wardlow (1827–1878), the daughter of David Wardlow, who in 1861 would be one of the signatories of the decree on the secession of South Carolina. In their family were born seven children, only two of whom survived to adulthood: Susan Ella Wardlow McGowan (1856-1898) and William Campbell McGowan (1858-1898).
Civil War
In 1861, after the secession of South Carolina, McGowan became the brigadier general of the state army. He commanded one of the brigade of the army of Beauregard during the siege of Fort Sumter.
When the South Carolina units were transferred to the Confederation army, McGowan joined the army of Beauregard in Virginia. He became a volunteer adjutant at General Milledzhe Bonem and in this position participated in the battles of Blackburns Ford and the first battle of Bull Run . In the spring, McGowan returned to South Carolina and was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment . The regiment was stationed on the coast, where on April 11, 1864, Colonel James Jones resigned, and McGowan became the colonel and commander of the regiment.
In May, McGowan's regiment was sent to Virginia and on May 27 he joined the Maxi-Gregg South Carolina Brigade, which became part of the Hill Light Division . McGowan commanded his regiment during the Seven Day Battle and was seriously wounded by a canister during the battle of Gains Mill . He remained in the ranks and participated in the battles of Glendale and Malvern Hill. Hill’s division was then deployed to northern Virginia, where McGowan participated in the second battle of Bull Run on August 30 and was seriously wounded again.
Because of his injury, McGowan missed the Maryland campaign and the battle of Entity , but returned to service shortly after and led his regiment during the battle of Frederiksberg on December 12, 1862. In this battle, brigade commander Gregg was killed and General Lee offered Wade Hampton to lead the brigade, but he refused. Then the team was handed over to McGowan, who was already distinguished by his determination and vigor. He gave the 14th South Carolinsky to Ebner Perrin . In January he was given the rank of brigadier general (dated January 17) and he became the permanent commander of the South Carolina brigade, which by the spring of 1863 consisted of five regiments:
- 1st South Carolina Infantry Regiment , the regiment. Daniel hamilton
- 1st South Carolina rifle regiment , regiment. James perrin
- 12th South Carolina Infantry Regiment , a regiment. John miller
- 13th South Carolina Infantry Regiment , a regiment. Oliver edwards
- 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment , a regiment. Abner perrin
During the battle at Chancellorsville , McGowan's brigade participated in the flank march of Jackson's corps into the flank of the Potomac army, but was only deployed the next day, May 3, when Hill's division (commanded by Henry Heth ) stormed the positions of the federal army on the Chancelorsville plateau. McGowan and Archer’s brigades managed to break into the enemy’s fortifications, but their flanks were open and the brigades had to retreat. “Many valuable officers and soldiers were lost during this attack,” Het wrote in a report, “and especially during the retreat. It was at this time that General McGowan was wounded and the command of his brigade was transferred to Colonel Edwards, who was seriously wounded immediately after taking command. The command of the McGowan Brigade has now been transferred to Colonel Hamilton, commander of the 1st South Carolina Regiment, who commanded the brigade until the end of the battle. " [1]
Battle of the Wilderness
McGowan missed the Gettysburg campaign and the battles of the fall of 1863 because of his injury. He returned to service only in February 1864, and his brigade became part of the Cadmus Wilcox division as part of the III Hill Corps. In May, Grant crossed the Potomac and launched the Overland campaign; General Lee sent Ewell and Hill to intercept the corps. Heth and Wilcox divisions advanced west on Orange Plenk Road and on May 5, after 10:30, Heth's division engaged the enemy, while the Wilcox division closed the gap between the corps. By the evening, Het used up all the reserves and General Lee sent him to the aid of the McGowan and Scales brigade. The McGowan Brigade advanced straight along the road, so three regiments marched from the north and two from the south. To the left a Scales brigade went into battle. It was 17:30. Both brigades soon faced stubborn resistance from federal units and soon lost contact with each other, so that their flanks were open. The two right-wing regiments of McGowan paused first. The three leftists attacked more successfully and overturned the first line of the federal army, but there was no chance of retaining this position, and they began to retreat. By 6:00 pm, the Gibbon division appeared in front of the positions of McGowan and Cook. [2]
At 18:30, the brigade of Thomas and Lane came to the aid of Het. Lane's brigade went to the southern flank, which was already attacked by the division of Barlow. Lane immediately fell into a difficult position and at the same time McGowan received a withdrawal order, which opened up Lane’s left flank. Lane was forced to retreat [3] .
On the morning of May 6, the McGowan Brigade was in a bad position and did not have earthworks. At around 05:00 the Potomac Army launched an offensive. The first hit was Hill’s right flank (Scales brigade), and then the center (Thomas brigade) [4] . The retreat of the entire right flank put the left flank in a stalemate - the McGowan Brigade. She was attacked from the front and right flank. The team departed without panic and haste. South Carolina retreated, realizing the meaninglessness of keeping to this position [5] . Hill's entire corps began to depart. General Lee personally tried to stop the runners. Noticing General McGowan in the crowd, he asked, “My God! General McGowan, is it really your great team running here like a flock of geese? ” McGowan replied: “General, my people are not broken. They only need a place to build themselves, and they will fight well, as always ” [6] .
The federal attack completely disorganized the McGowan Brigade and it lost its combat capability until the end of the battle.
Battle of Spotsvilnény
After the battle in the Wilderness, Grant attempted to bypass the right flank of the Li army, but was stopped at Spotsilvini. In this position, the Wilcox division occupied the right flank of the North Virginia Army. On May 12, Hancock's federal corps broke through the defenses of the southerners in the center of the "horseshoe mule" and Lee began to transfer reinforcements to the breakthrough site. At around 08:00 a McGowan brigade approached the Mule's horseshoe. She went into battle, but immediately began to suffer heavy losses. McGowan himself was wounded, then Colonel Brockman, who replaced him, and the command was transferred to Colonel 14th South Carolina , Joseph Brown. Realizing that the survival of the brigade depends on the rapid capture of the top of the “angle”, Brown threw the 1st and 13th South Caroline into attack, which managed to beat off the corner. This attack forced the Excelsior brigade to retreat [7] . The McGowan Brigade took the right side of the "horseshoe mule", known as the "Blood Corner" and held in this position for about 12 hours. McGowan himself, he said, was not a direct witness of these events.
On May 13, at about 2 am, an oak tree unexpectedly collapsed, which grew a little to the west of the Bloody Corner. It turned out that its trunk, about 55 centimeters thick (22 inches), was completely crushed by federal bullets. After the battle, General Nelson Miles handed over a piece of this oak tree to the artillery museum. In 1888, the oak tree was transferred to the [8] [9] . The same oak (22 inches thick) is mentioned in the McGowan report, but according to the report it grew behind the positions of the South Carolina Brigade and fell at midnight, injuring several rank and file of the 1st South Carolina Regiment [10] . Gordon Rea wrote that almost every federal unit in the region of Ugla later claimed that it was his fire that dumped the oak [11] .
McGowan's injury was not serious, but he was out of action until August 15. After returning to command, he participated in the defense of Petersburg, in retreat to Appomattox, and was at the head of the brigade during its surrender under Appomattox .
Post-war activities
After the surrender of the army, McGowan returned to Abbeville, to his family, and again took up the practice of law. In 1865, he was elected to the US Congress from the Conservative Party of South Carolina, but did not make it to Congress because of opposition from the Republican majority [12] .
On September 19, 1878, his wife Susan died at the age of 51. In those years, his daughter Susan married William Christie Bennett and had five children in their family. She outlived her father for a year. In 1879, McGowan was elected to the Supreme Court of South Carolina, but was not re-elected in 1893.
He died in Abbeville in 1897 at the age of 77 and was buried in the Long Kane Cemetery cemetery.
Notes
- ↑ Chancellorsville Het report
- ↑ Rhea, 1994 , p. 225-232.
- ↑ Rhea, 1994 , p. 233–236.
- ↑ Rhea, 1994 , p. 283-287.
- ↑ Rhea, 1994 , p. 287-290.
- ↑ Douglas Freeman. History Fails to Repeat Itself (English) . The appeal date is May 9, 2018.
- ↑ Spotsylvania 1997 , p. 272-275.
- ↑ Kennedy, 1998 , p. 285.
- ↑ Spotsylvania stump (English) . Smithsonian Institution. The date of circulation is July 10, 2017.
- ↑ Samuel McGowan. Report of Brigadier General Samuel McGowan, CS Army (Eng.) . War of the Rebellion. The date of circulation is July 16, 2017.
- ↑ Spotsylvania 1997 , p. 292.
- ↑ Samuel McGowan
Literature
- Kennedy, Frances H. The Civil War Battlefield Guide. 2nd ed. - Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. - ... p. - ISBN 0-395-74012-6 .
- Rhea, Gordon C. The Battle of the Wilderness May 5 - 6 1864. - Baton Rouge and London: Luisiana state University Press, 1994. - 512 p. - ISBN 0-8071-1873-7 .
- Rhea, Gordon C. Mayor - Baton Rouge and London: Luisiana state University Press, 1997. - 483 p. - ISBN 0807121363 .
- Warner, Ezra J. (1959), Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9