Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson

[jkBluesman]

Maj. Gen. James Harrison Wilson (b. 1837, d. 1925). “Harry” Wilson as he was often called rose from staff officer to the cavalry leader during the war that would finally defeat Nathan Bedford Forrest. Born near Shawneetown, Illinois Wilson entered West Point in 1855. Graduating in 1860 he was sent to the Northwest Pacific but managed to return east after the beginning of the Civil War. Cholera prevented him from being assigned any task during the summer of 1861. In fall however he became the chief topographical engineer for the expedition that would capture Fort Pulaski in April 1862. Back in Washington he was assigned to the staff of Gen. George B. McClellan for the Maryland Campaign. After Antietam he was transferred west to the Army of the Tennessee. He impressed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant enough to be promoted to inspector general of the army serving in that capacity through the successful Vicksburg Campaign. For his service he was rewarded with the rank of brigadier general of volunteers on October 30, 1863. Half a year later Grant made him chief of the Cavalry Bureau which Wilson reorganized ending corruption in the bureau. He also urged the War Department to arm the cavalry with repeating rifles. When the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac gained a new leader with Gen. Philip Sheridan, Wilson became the leader of one of the divisions. Inexperienced as he was, he made several blunders in the Overland Campaign, the first being in the Wilderness. There he allowed the Confederates to approach the Federals through his sector leading to a two day battle on a ground that favoured the outnumbered Southerners. Wilson performed better in the following battles and raids under Sheridan whom he followed into the Shenandoah Valley in fall. Yet in the midst of campaigning he was transferred west as Gen William T. Sherman’s chief of cavalry being breveted major general before. But instead of starting with Sherman on his “March to the Sea” Wilson stayed behind with the Army of the Cumberland. Its commander Gen. George Thomas was charged with the task of defending Tennessee against Gen. John B. Hood. Thomas intended to destroy Hood and Wilson’s cavalry played an important role in the planning. Armed with Spencer Carbines they should fight dismounted but pursue heavily after the battle. A shortage of horses almost hindered Wilson from doing his part. Then his mostly raw troopers were roughly handled by Forrest’s veterans in the early stages of the campaign. But when Forrest was at Murfreesboro, Wilson managed to help Thomas in beating Hood at Nashville on December 15-16, 1864. However Forrest returned to cover the Confederate retreat. Thus enemy cavalry and bad weather kept Wilson from an effective pursuit. He got his revenge on Forrest during the raid through Alabama and Georgia the next spring, defeating Forrest at Selma, Alabama on March 30. Wilson’s troopers also managed to capture Pres. Jefferson Davis on his way to the Trans-Mississippi. For his actions the young leader was promoted to major general of volunteers in May 1865. After the war he stayed in the army. A clash with Andrew Johnson (then Vice-President) during the war stopped his career so that Wilson resigned from the army in 1870. He worked in several businesses and started to write books. He returned to the army for the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. Set on the retired list in 1915 as major general he asked for a command during World War I but his offer was rejected. Wilson died in 1925 from a heart attack while shaving and was buried in Wilmington, Delaware.

Ldr: 4
Tact: 7
Init: 4
Cmd: 5
Cav: 5

Teaches: Fast, Resilient, Polar Bears

[jkBluesman]

I did not give him a better cavalry rating due to his mistakes during the Overland Campaign and because his troopers achieved most things due to their great weapons.
Where would you set his starting date? He did not lead troops until April 1864 although he had been made brigadier general in October 1863.

[Gil R.]

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