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ML_halleck_bkp.htm
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Portrait of Maj. Gen. Henry Wager Halleck by Jacob H. Lazarus. (Courtesy Army)
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Maj. Gen. Henry Wager Halleck
Brilliant, Multi-Talented And Cautious: Contemporaries Blamed Halleck For Prolonging Civil War
By Bethanne Kelly Patrick
Military.com Columnist
Maj. Gen. Henry Wager Halleck's resume reads like a Renaissance man's: engineer, professor, soldier, lawyer, businessman, bureaucrat, and scholar. His various careers overlapped at times, and in each of them he made solid contributions. Unfortunately, his poor performance as a field commander and his personality flaws have fixed the Civil War commander in our history as an unpopular failure.
This is too harsh an assessment, according to Stephen E. Ambrose in his book "Halleck: Lincoln's Chief of Staff." Ambrose highlights the man's successes, as well as messes that Halleck cleaned up, such as when he stepped in to replace Col. John C. Fremont at St. Louis as commander of the Department of the Missouri in 1861.
Contemporary historians like Ambrose and Curt Anders emphasize that Halleck, seen by some as a cold, pompous caricature, was really a competent, coolheaded man of principle. Third in his 31-member West Point class of 1839, Halleck was retained after graduation as an assistant professor of engineering at the academy. Over the next few years he acted as, among other things, an assistant to various engineering boards, and then was sent to California as engineer of military operations for the Pacific Coast. He saw active combat at Palos Prietos, San Antonio, and Mazatlan, and briefly served as lieutenant-governor of the latter.
In 1845, Halleck delivered a series of 12 lectures on the science of war that were published as "Elements of Military Art and Science." He also translated Baron Henri Jomini's "Political and Military Life of Napoleon." After further tours of engineering and inspection on the Pacific coast, Halleck resigned his commission in 1854 and became a successful lawyer and businessman in San Francisco. At the Civil War's outbreak, he volunteered his services and was appointed major-general of regulars, taking command of the Department of the Missouri on Nov. 18, 1861.
At the Battle of Corinth in April 1862, Halleck won the battle (according to one source, it "fell into his hands without an assault"), but his caution in pursuit of the retreating Confederates was roundly criticized. "The grand army was like a huge serpent large enough to eat up Beauregard at one mouthful; but Halleck crept forward at the rate of about three-quarters of a mile per day," the New York Times reported. One of his loudest critics was Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who claimed in his personal memoirs that prompt movement from Halleck's troops might have produced a bloodless advance to Atlanta.
Later in 1862, Halleck was named Lincoln's general-in-chief. In that light, his administrative capabilities shone, and he was in a position to have at least a small satisfaction. On Jan. 4, 1863, Halleck revoked Grant's infamous General Order #11, which banned Jews from the operational area.
Halleck remained on active duty after the war, finally commanding the Department of the South at Louisville, Ky., where he died on Jan. 9, 1872. |
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