Wheeler County, Georgia Biographies

JOSEPH WHEELER
(1836-1906)

Confederate general Joseph Wheeler was born in Augusta, Georgia, on 10 September 1836 and was educated in Connecticut at the Cheshire Academy. He gained appointment to West Point in 1854 and graduated five years later, a mediocre eighteenth in a class of twenty-two. As a cadet, Wheeler was demonstrably deficient in cavalry tactics, but the young second lieutenant nonetheless found himself assigned to the cavalry school at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, for further instruction. At length he billeted with the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen, and joined the rough-riding unit at Fort Craig, New Mexico. Wheeler distinguished himself in several skirmishes against the Apache, displaying such aplomb under fire that he gained the sobriquet "Fightin Joe."

Despite his Northern upbringing, Wheeler resigned his commission on 27 February 1861, in anticipation of civil war.

That April he joined the Confederate army as a first lieutenant of artillery and performed garrison service along the Florida coast. Wheeler's commander. General Braxton Bragg, was favorably impressed by his performance and arranged for his promotion to colonel of the 19th Alabama Infantry. In this capacity Wheeler joined the Army of Mississippi under Bragg and fought well at the bloody 6-7 April battle of Shiloh. He garnered additional praise by covering the Confederate withdrawal, a feat he would perform continually and admirably over the next three years.

In July 1862 Wheeler rejoined the mounted arm when Bragg appointed him cavalry commander in the Army of Mississippi. The appointment proved fortunate for Southern arms as "Fightin Joe" proved himself one of the hardest-riding and most tactically astute troopers of the war. He spearheaded Bragg's drive into Kentucky in August 1862 and subsequently fought well at Perryville the following October. For effectively covering another retreat. Wheeler gained promotion to brigadier general. He then skillfully contested the advance of General William S. Rosecrans at Murfreesboro (Stones River) before rising to major general in January 1863, In consequence of another fine performance, Bragg appointed him commander of all cavalry in his newly organized Army of Tennessee with a rank of major general. Wheeler also found time to author a manual entitled Cavalry Tactics (1863), which became standard issue for Confederate mounted units.

Throughout most of 1863, Wheeler rendered useful service during maneuvers associated with the Tullahoma campaign in central Tennessee. He was next closely engaged at the furious engagement at Chickamauga on 18-20 September 1863, before launching one of the most devastating cavalry raids of the Civil War. With Rosecrane's defeated Union forces besieged at Chattanooga, Bragg ordered Wheeler to cut off his supply lines and possibly prompt his surrender. On 1 October 1863 Wheeler's division splashed across the Tennessee River in full view of Union cavalry under General George Crook, brushed them aside, and made for the interior. Over the next week his gray-clad troopers ran roughshod throughout the Sequatchie Valley, capturing 1,000 supply wagons and inflicting an estimated 1,000 casualties for the loss of 212. It was a masterstroke against Rosecrans's lines of communication and nearly destroyed his ability to resist. Bragg then dispatched Wheeler to cooperate with forces under General James Longstreet at the siege of Knoxville. In his absence, the Army of Tennessee was heavily defeated by General Ulysses S. Grant at Chattanooga in November 1863, and Wheelers cavalry once again covered a Confederate retreat into Georgia.

Throughout the ensuing 1864 Atlanta campaign, Wheeler provided the most obstinate resistance to the advancing columns of General William T Sherman. He clashed repeatedly with the Union advance guard, giving General Joseph E. Johnston sufficient time to withdraw his forces intact. Following the death of J. E. B. Stuart that May, Wheeler also became the Confederacy's senior cavalry officer. Outnumbered but never outfought, he enjoyed his greatest battlefield success in July 1864, when he thwarted the so-called Stoneman's Raid. This victory culminated in the capture of Generals George Stoneman, Kenner Garrard, and Edward M. McCook, along with 3,200 Union cavalrymen. However, Sherman inexorably advanced against Atlanta and a new general, John Bell Hood, dispatched Wheeler on a protracted raid against his supply lines.

Wheeler departed Atlanta on 10 August 1864 and made directly for the tracks of the Western & Atlantic Railway. His men tore up nearly thirty miles of rail near Marietta and Dalton, before pursing Union forces drove them off. Wheeler then committed a desperate gambit by riding into Tennessee to strike at the heart of Sherman's supply system. The raiders ripped up tracks and burned wagons within sight of Nashville, before Wheeler judged the operation ineffective and withdrew into Alabama. Once Hood had himself marched into Tennessee, Wheeler rode east and rejoined Johnston in Georgia to contest Sherman's ongoing March to the Sea.

As Confederate fortunes ebbed. Wheeler was advanced to lieutenant general in February 1865. The appointment rang hollow, given the dilapidated state of Southern forces, but Wheeler scored numerous small-scale successes against pursuing Union cavalry. However, when his troopers were criticized for ostensible lack of discipline, Wheeler was placed under the command of General Wade Hampton for the remainder of the war. Shortly after Johnston's surrender, Wheeler was captured in Georgia in May 1865. At that time he was the veteran of 200 major engagements, had lost sixteen horses in combat, and witnessed thirty-six staff officers fall by his side. His reputation as "Fightin' Joe" was well deserved.

Wheeler was briefly confined after the war, before relocating to Alabama to practice law. From there he was re-elected to Congress as a Democrat over the next fifteen years. Moreover, he served as a symbol of national reconciliation in 1898 when President William McKinley appointed him brigadier general of volunteers during the war with Spain. Wheeler had lost none of his dash as a soldier and played a conspicuous role in the victory at Las Guasimas on 24 June 1898. Two years later he served as brigadier in the regular army and commanded the Department of the Lakes.

Wheeler died in Brooklyn, New York, on 25 January 1906, becoming one of few ex-Confederates to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Civil War historians generally agree that, in terms of screening an advance and covering a withdrawal, he was unsurpassed by any trooper in either army.
[Source: "Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: By David Stephen Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler, David J. Coles -- Submitted by A Friend of Free Genealogy]

JOSEPH WHEELER (1836-1906)
	Confederate general Joseph Wheeler was born in Augusta, Georgia, on 10 September 1836 and was educated in Connecticut at the Cheshire Academy. He gained appointment to West Point in 1854 and graduated five years later, a mediocre eighteenth in a class of twenty-two. As a cadet, Wheeler was demonstrably deficient in cavalry tactics, but the young second lieutenant nonetheless found himself assigned to the cavalry school at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, for further instruction. At length he billeted with the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen, and joined the rough-riding unit at Fort Craig, New Mexico. Wheeler distinguished himself in several skirmishes against the Apache, displaying such aplomb under fire that he gained the sobriquet "Fightin Joe." Despite his Northern upbringing, Wheeler resigned his commission on 27 February 1861, in anticipation of civil war.
That April he joined the Confederate army as a first lieutenant of artillery and performed garrison service along the Florida coast. Wheeler's commander. General Braxton Bragg, was favorably impressed by his performance and arranged for his promotion to colonel of the 19th Alabama Infantry. In this capacity Wheeler joined the Army of Mississippi under Bragg and fought well at the bloody 6-7 April battle of Shiloh. He garnered additional praise by covering the Confederate withdrawal, a feat he would perform continually and admirably over the next three years. In July 1862 Wheeler rejoined the mounted arm when Bragg appointed him cavalry commander in the Army of Mississippi. The appointment proved fortunate for Southern arms as "Fightin Joe" proved himself one of the hardest-riding and most tactically astute troopers of the war. He spearheaded Bragg's drive into Kentucky in August 1862 and subsequently fought well at Perryville the following October. For effectively covering another retreat. Wheeler gained promotion to brigadier general. He then skillfully contested the advance of General William S. Rosecrans at Murfreesboro (Stones River) before rising to major general in January 1863, In consequence of another fine performance, Bragg appointed him commander of all cavalry in his newly organized Army of Tennessee with a rank of major general. Wheeler also found time to author a manual entitled Cavalry Tactics (1863), which became standard issue for Confederate mounted units. Throughout most of 1863, Wheeler rendered useful service during maneuvers associated with the Tullahoma campaign in central Tennessee. He was next closely engaged at the furious engagement at Chickamauga on 18-20 September 1863, before launching one of the most devastating cavalry raids of the Civil War. With Rosecrane's defeated Union forces besieged at Chattanooga, Bragg ordered Wheeler to cut off his supply lines and possibly prompt his surrender. On 1 October 1863 Wheeler's division splashed across the Tennessee River in full view of Union cavalry under General George Crook, brushed them aside, and made for the interior. Over the next week his gray-clad troopers ran roughshod throughout the Sequatchie Valley, capturing 1,000 supply wagons and inflicting an estimated 1,000 casualties for the loss of 212. It was a masterstroke against Rosecrans's lines of communication and nearly destroyed his ability to resist. Bragg then dispatched Wheeler to cooperate with forces under General James Longstreet at the siege of Knoxville. In his absence, the Army of Tennessee was heavily defeated by General Ulysses S. Grant at Chattanooga in November 1863, and Wheelers cavalry once again covered a Confederate retreat into Georgia. Throughout the ensuing 1864 Atlanta campaign, Wheeler provided the most obstinate resistance to the advancing columns of General William T Sherman. He clashed repeatedly with the Union advance guard, giving General Joseph E. Johnston sufficient time to withdraw his forces intact. Following the death of J. E. B. Stuart that May, Wheeler also became the Confederacy's senior cavalry officer. Outnumbered but never outfought, he enjoyed his greatest battlefield success in July 1864, when he thwarted the so-called Stoneman's Raid. This victory culminated in the capture of Generals George Stoneman, Kenner Garrard, and Edward M. McCook, along with 3,200 Union cavalrymen. However, Sherman inexorably advanced against Atlanta and a new general, John Bell Hood, dispatched Wheeler on a protracted raid against his supply lines. Wheeler departed Atlanta on 10 August 1864 and made directly for the tracks of the Western & Atlantic Railway. His men tore up nearly thirty miles of rail near Marietta and Dalton, before pursing Union forces drove them off. Wheeler then committed a desperate gambit by riding into Tennessee to strike at the heart of Sherman's supply system. The raiders ripped up tracks and burned wagons within sight of Nashville, before Wheeler judged the operation ineffective and withdrew into Alabama. Once Hood had himself marched into Tennessee, Wheeler rode east and rejoined Johnston in Georgia to contest Sherman's ongoing March to the Sea. As Confederate fortunes ebbed. Wheeler was advanced to lieutenant general in February 1865. The appointment rang hollow, given the dilapidated state of Southern forces, but Wheeler scored numerous small-scale successes against pursuing Union cavalry. However, when his troopers were criticized for ostensible lack of discipline, Wheeler was placed under the command of General Wade Hampton for the remainder of the war. Shortly after Johnston's surrender, Wheeler was captured in Georgia in May 1865. At that time he was the veteran of 200 major engagements, had lost sixteen horses in combat, and witnessed thirty-six staff officers fall by his side. His reputation as "Fightin' Joe" was well deserved. Wheeler was briefly confined after the war, before relocating to Alabama to practice law. From there he was re-elected to Congress as a Democrat over the next fifteen years. Moreover, he served as a symbol of national reconciliation in 1898 when President William McKinley appointed him brigadier general of volunteers during the war with Spain. Wheeler had lost none of his dash as a soldier and played a conspicuous role in the victory at Las Guasimas on 24 June 1898. Two years later he served as brigadier in the regular army and commanded the Department of the Lakes. Wheeler died in Brooklyn, New York, on 25 January 1906, becoming one of few ex-Confederates to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Civil War historians generally agree that, in terms of screening an advance and covering a withdrawal, he was unsurpassed by any trooper in either army. [Source: "Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: By David Stephen Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler, David J. Coles -- Submitted by A Friend of Free Genealogy]