Hancock was born in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania February 14, 1824. He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1844, ranking 18th in a class of 25. He saw action in the Mexican War and against the Seminoles in Florida.
When the civil war started Captain Hancock was serving as Chief Quartermaster of the Southern District of California. On August 3, 1861 he was ordered east. On September 23, 1861 at Major General George B. McClellan's request he was commissioned Brigadier General of Volunteers serving under "Baldy" Smith. When Israel Richardson was mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam Major General Hancock assumed command of the 1st Division, II Corps, Army of the Potomac. On June 25, 1863 he was elevated to command of the II Corps.
When Major General George Meade heard that Major General John Reynolds, who commanded the Left Wing of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, had been killed he sent Hancock to Gettysburg to assume command of the forces there even though several generals already on the field out ranked him. Hancock set up the defensive perimeter of the Union Army on Cemetery Hill and made the decision to stay and fight instead of withdrawing. On July 2nd he commanded the left center of the Union Army and was instrumental in directing troops to positions that saved the day after Major General Daniel Sickles was wounded.
On July 3, 1863 the Confederate attack was directed at the section of the field under Hancock's command. During the artillery bombardment that preceded Pickett's Charge Hancock was riding his horse along the lines in front of his troops. When one of his subordinates protested, "General, the corps commander ought not to risk his life that way," Hancock reportedly replied, "There are times when a corps commander's life does not count."
Hancock was wounded in the right thigh at the height of the fighting on July 3rd, 1863. He refused to be carried from the field until he knew Pickett's Charge had been repulsed.
Hancock's superb performance at Gettysburg is recognized by three monuments erected to honor him there. One depicts the spot within his lines where he was wounded. A second sits on East Cemetery Hill and the 3rd is a bronze statue on the Pennsylvania State Monument.
Marker where Major General Winfield Scott Hancock was wounded
Hancock statue on the Pennsylvania State Monument
Hancock's equestrian statue on East Cemetery Hill
Maybe when it was all said and done another superb general who fought in the civil war said it best when describing Winfield Scott Hancock at Gettysburg and elsewhere:
"Hancock stands the most conspicuous figure of all the general officers who did not exercise a separate command. He commanded a corps longer than any other one, and his name was never mentioned as having committed in battle a blunder for which he was responsible. He was a man of very conspicuous personal appearance. Tall well-formed and, at the time of the which I now write, young and fresh looking, he presented an appearance that would attract the attention of an army as he passed. His genial disposition made him friends, and his personal courage and his presence with his command in the thickest of the fight won for him the confidence of troops serving under him. No matter how hard the fight, the 2nd Corps always felt that their commander was looking after them." (quote from the Personal Memorial of Ulysses Grant)
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI was in Gettysburg last October. I studied and took many pictures of the East Cemetery Hill monument.