Brig. Gen. George Day Wagner

[jkBluesman]

Brig. Gen. George Day Wagner (b. 1829, d. 1869). A politician without any military experience Wagner learned quickly and proofed to be a capable though not gifted general. He was born in Ross County, Ohio but his family moved to Warren County Indiana when Wagner was still a child. While working as a farmer he pursued a political career also and was elected member of the House pf Representatives on the Republican ticket in 1856. In 1860, he was elected to the state Senate, and served as president of the Indiana State Agricultural Society until the Civil War began. He volunteered his service in June, 1861 and was commissioned a colonel and given a brigade in the Army of the Ohio. His first major battle was at Shiloh (April6-7, 1862) in the division of Gen. Thomas J. Wood, under whom he fought also at Perryville. When the army was reorganized to the Army of the Cumberland, Wagner’s brigade was named 2nd in Wood’s first division. After the Battle of Stone’s River (December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863), Wagner was promoted to brigadier general on April 4, 1863 dating from November 29, 1862. At Chickamauga, Wood’s division received the order by army commander Gen. William Rosecrans to support and close up to Gen. Joseph Reynolds. This created a gap in the Union lines which was exploited by the Confederates who rolled up the Union line and rooted Wood’s division. For the Battle of Missionary Ridge, Wagner’s brigade was put in the centre as part of Gen. George Thomas command. Wagner’s men were part of the initiating force to storm the ridge and sustained heavy losses in the action. In the Atlanta Campaign in summer of 1864, Wagner’s brigade repulsed a Confederate attack at New Hope Church but lost heavily while attacking the Dead Angle at Kennesaw Mountain. After the fall of Atlanta, Wagner was given a division in Gen. David Stanley’s corps in Army of the Ohio which was part of the force countering the Confederate advance in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. At Spring Hill on November 29, 1864, the outnumbered corps fought off the Confederate attacks and slipped away during the night. At Franklin the next day, Wagner was put in an advanced position, ordered to fall back if attacked. He ignored the order however and received the first wave of attack which sent his men flying back to the main Union line, the Confederates in close pursuit. The main line could at first not fire on the attackers because they wanted to avoid killing Wagner’s men. After the battle, Wagner asked to be relieved from duty stating concern for his wife’s health, but probably fearing to be cashiered for disobeying orders. He returned to Indiana and was officially mustered out in August 1865. After the war he practised law in Williamsport, Indiana and became president of the Agricultural Society again. Wagner died in Indianapolis on February 13, 1869.

Ldr: 3
Tact: 2
Init: 3
Cmd: 3
Cav: 0

Teaches: Steady

[Gil R.]

Thanks.

[Gil R.]

A good bio on a guy I don’t think I’d even heard of before. I went into more detail about Chickamauga, since that was probably the most important moment of the war experienced by Wagner. Also, I found a bit more on Franklin (in Wikipedia, of course) and added that.

Brig. Gen. George Day Wagner (b. 1829, d. 1869). A politician without any military experience, Wagner learned quickly and proved to be a capable general, though not a gifted one. He was born in Ross County, Ohio, but his family moved to Warren County, Indiana when Wagner was still a child. While working as a farmer he pursued a political career as well and was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives on the Republican ticket in 1856. In 1860, Wagner was elected to the Indiana State Senate, and served as president of the Indiana State Agricultural Society until the Civil War began. He volunteered his service to the Union in June 1861 and was commissioned a colonel, gaining command of a brigade in the Army of the Ohio. Wagner’s first major battle was at Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862, serving in the division of Gen. Thomas J. Wood, under whom he would also fight at Perryville later that year. When the army was reorganized into the Army of the Cumberland, Wagner’s brigade was designated the 2nd Brigade of Wood’s 1st Division, seeing action in the Battle of Stone’s River on December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863. Wagner was later promoted to brigadier general on April 4, 1863, dating from November 29, 1862. At Chickamauga in September 1863, Wood’s division was ordered by army commander Gen. William Rosecrans, who had been given inaccurate information about the Union line in that area, to support and close up to Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds’s division. This attempt to close an imaginary gap in the Union lines created a real one, which was unknowingly exploited by the Confederates when part of Gen. James Longstreet’s corps charged into it the gap after Wood’s men had begun to comply with the order, rolling up the Union line and routing Wood’s division. For the Battle of Missionary Ridge, Wagner’s brigade was put in the center as part of Gen. George H. Thomas’s command. Wagner’s men were part of the initiating force for storming the ridge and sustained heavy losses in the action. In the Atlanta Campaign in summer of 1864, Wagner’s brigade repulsed a Confederate attack at New Hope Church but lost heavily while attacking the “Dead Angle” at Kennesaw Mountain. After the fall of Atlanta that September, Wagner was given a division in Gen. David Stanley’s corps in the Army of the Ohio, which was soon to be part of the force countering the Confederate advance in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. At Spring Hill on November 29, 1864, the outnumbered corps fought off the Confederate attacks and slipped away during the night. Because of Wagner’s actions at Franklin the next day his military career came to an abrupt end. Wagner’s division was put in an advanced position, and he was given orders to fall back if attacked. However, he ignored the order and received the first wave of attack, which sent his men flying back to the main Union line, with the Confederates in close pursuit. As a result, the main line at first could not fire on the attackers because they wanted to avoid killing Wagner’s men, enabling the Confederates to penetrate the center of the line. (Though the Confederates were pushed back by intense hand-to-hand combat and the gap closed, this development changed the face of the battle – and indeed the war in this theater – since the mistaken belief that the Union center was still weakened led to a series of uncoordinated assaults that permanently shattered much of the remaining strength of the Army of Tennessee.) After the battle, Wagner asked to be relieved from duty, stating concern for his wife’s health, but probably fearing that he would be cashiered for disobeying orders. He returned to Indiana and was officially mustered out in August 1865. After the war Wagner practiced law in Williamsport, Indiana and became president of the Agricultural Society again. Wagner died in Indianapolis on February 13, 1869. (Bio by Joern Kaesebier)

Ldr: 3
Tact: 2
Init: 3
Cmd: 3
Cav: 0

Teaches: Organized (24) I don’t think that the suggestion of “Steady” fits, since at Franklin his men broke. “Organized” seems better, because both at Franklin and Chickamauga some of his men were able to rally and counterattack.

Start date: 45 (I’m going with the Nov. 1862 promotion date since he was commanding a brigade well before his April 1863 promotion.)
"Death" date: 94