Manning Ferguson Force (December 17, 1824 – May 8, 1899) was a lawyer, judge, and soldier from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He became known as the commander of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and was a recipient of the Army

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for gallantry in action. He was awarded this honor in 1892 for his heroism during the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta took place during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Union forces ...

, on July 22, 1864. He was a justice of the Superior Court of Cincinnati.

Early life and career

Manning F. Force was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where his father,

Peter Force Peter Force (November 26, 1790 – January 23, 1868) was an American politician, newspaper editor, printer, archivist, and early American historian. He was twice elected the twelfth Mayor of Washington D.C. During his lifetime he am ...

, was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. He turned down an appointment to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

and went on to attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

until 1845, and graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1848. The following year, Force moved to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and began his law practice.

Civil War

With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Force joined the Union forces as

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in the Western Theater as part of General

James B. McPherson James Birdseye McPherson (/məkˈfərsən/) (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. McPherson was on the general staff of Henr ...

's 17th Corps. Colonel Force's 20th Ohio bore the brunt of the

Battle of Raymond The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union (American Civil War), Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, in the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaigns were a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi ...

. Osborn Oldroyd related the number of casualties from the 20th Ohio to his commander:

I took the roll-book from the pocket of our dead sergeant and found that while we had gone in with thirty-two men, we came out with but sixteen— one-half of the brave little band, but a few hours before so full of hope and patriotism, either killed or wounded. Nearly all the survivors could show bullet marks in clothing or flesh, but no man left the field on account of wounds. When I told Colonel Force of our loss, I saw tears course down his cheeks, and so intent were his thoughts upon his fallen men that he failed to note the bursting of a shell above him, scattering the powder over his person, as he sat at the foot of a tree.

Following the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

, Force marched on to northern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, where he fought in the Atlanta Campaign. He was severely wounded in the face during the

and was disfigured for life. For his valor during the Atlanta Campaign, Force was promoted to major general of volunteers in March 1865. Following the Battle of Atlanta, he participated in Sherman's March to the Sea. The thirty-seven-year-old lawyer began the conflict as a major and ended as a brevetted major general. Sgt. Osborn Oldroyd noted his leadership when he wrote in his diary: As Colonel Force called us to 'Attention' this morning one of the boys remarked, 'I love that man more than ever.' Yes, we have good reason to be proud of our Colonel, for upon all occasions we are treated by him as volunteers enlisted in war from pure love of country. ... " In his memoirs printed after the war, Force stated:

When lying there (in the trenches outside Vicksburg) it sometimes occurred to me, what a transformation it was for these men, full of individuality and self-reliance, accustomed always to act upon their own will, to so completely subordinate their wills to the wills of other men ... Their practical sense had told them an army differs from a mob only in discipline, and discipline was necessary for self-preservation.

Postbellum activities

After the war, Force returned to Cincinnati, where he became a justice of the Superior Court of Cincinnati. He also authored several law books and became a prominent writer as well as a lecturer. He was a companion of the Ohio Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

. In 1892, he received the

. Manning Force is buried in

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. At a size of 733 acres (2.97 km2), it is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverto ...

in Cincinnati. His papers and documents are housed in the Manning Ferguson Force Collection of the

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center is a complex comprising several buildings related to the life and presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. It is one of the first presidential libraries, built in 1916. History Located in Fremont, Ohio, the R ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Atlanta, Ga., July 22, 1864. Entered service at: Cincinnati, Ohio. Born: Washington, D.C. December 17, 1824. Date of issue: March 31, 1892. Citation:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Brigadier General Manning Ferguson Force, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 22 July 1864, while serving with U.S. Volunteers, in action at Atlanta, Georgia. Brigadier General Force charged upon the enemy's works, and after their capture defended his position against assaults of the enemy until he was severely wounded.

File:Force, Manning Ferguson c1865 public domain.jpg, Medal of Honor recipient Manning Ferguson Force, Brevet MGEN USV c1865 File:Manning Force.jpg, Manning Force, pen and ink from Osborn H. I. Oldroyd, ''A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg'', 1885 File:20-13-021-vicksburg.jpg, Bust by T.A.R. Kitson at

Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, flanking the Mississippi River, also commemorates the greater ...

Notes

References

*Oldroyd, Osborn H. I., ''A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg'', 1885. *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Force, Manning United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Union army generals People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War People of Ohio in the American Civil War American legal writers Lawyers from Cincinnati Ohio lawyers Ohio state court judges Judges of the Superior Court of Cincinnati Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery 1824 births 1899 deaths American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Harvard Law School alumni 19th-century Ohio state court judges 19th-century American lawyers