Gordon Granger (November 6, 1821 – January 10, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer, and a
Union general 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 ...
, where he distinguished himself at the
Battle of Chickamauga.
Granger is best remembered for his part in the
Battle of Chickamauga and the
Battle of Chattanooga and for issuing
General Order No. 3 on June 19, 1865, in
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
, further informing residents of, and enforcing,
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
's
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...
which set all Confederate states' slaves free on January 1, 1863. June 19 is now commemorated by the federal holiday of
Juneteenth since 2021.
Early life
Pre-military life
Granger was born in
Joy,
Wayne County, New York
Wayne County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 91,283. The county seat is Lyons. The name honors General Anthony Wayne, an American Revolutionary War hero and American sta ...
, in 1821 to Gaius Granger and Catherine Taylor
[Eicher, p. 263.] being one of three children in his family. His mother died on April 17, 1825, one month after giving birth to a daughter.
His father married again in November 1826 to Sara (Salley) Emery and the two would have 10 children. He spent his early years with his paternal grandparents (Elihu and Apema or Apama Granger) in
Phelps, New York. While attending high school he developed health issues which carried on throughout his life
He was a teacher in
North Rose, New York prior to entering the
United States Military Academy.
Early military career
Granger was appointed to the academy in 1841 when he was 19 years old. While there he met
John Pope who later became one of his mentors. It is possible that his grudge with
Ulysses S. Grant started when he was there with Grant holding the grudge more than Granger.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1845 placed thirty-fifth in a class of forty-one cadets.
He was commissioned a
brevet second lieutenant and assigned to the Second Infantry Regiment stationed in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. In July 1846 he transferred to the newly constituted
Regiment of Mounted Riflemen at
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.
Mexican–American War
During the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
, Granger fought in
Winfield Scott's army. He took part in the
Siege of Veracruz, the
Battle of Cerro Gordo, the
Battle of Contreras, the
Battle of Churubusco, and the
Battle for Mexico City. Granger received two citations for gallantry and in May 1847 received his regular commission as a second lieutenant. After the war, he served on the
western frontier in Oregon and then Texas. In 1853 he became a first lieutenant.
Civil War
When the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
started, Granger was on sick leave. He was temporarily assigned to the staff of General
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...
in Ohio. After recovering, he transferred back to the
Regiment of Mounted Riflemen where he was promoted to captain in May 1861. As an adjutant of General
Samuel D. Sturgis he saw action at the
Battle of Dug Springs and observed the Union defeat at
Wilson's Creek in August 1861 in Missouri, serving as a staff officer to General
Nathaniel Lyon. Granger was cited for gallantry at Wilson's Creek, became a brevet major and was made a commander of the
St. Louis Arsenal.
In November 1861, Granger assumed command of the
2nd Michigan Cavalry Regiment at Benton Barracks in St. Louis, becoming a colonel of volunteers. One of the Union veterans wrote in a memoir that Granger's "military genius soon asserted itself by many severe lessons to the volunteer officers and men of this regiment. He brought them up to the full standard of regulars within a period of three months," and "though a gruff appearing man, had succeeded in winning the respect of his regiment by his strict attention to all the details of making a well disciplined body of soldiers out of a mass of awkward men from every walk of life."
In February 1862, on the orders of General
John Pope, the 2nd Michigan proceeded from St. Louis to
Commerce, Missouri, where Pope assembled nearly 20,000 Union troops for an advance on
New Madrid, Missouri. Granger assumed command over the Third Cavalry Brigade consisting of the 2nd and the
3rd Michigan cavalry regiments. After the
7th Illinois joined the brigade, it was reorganized into a cavalry division.
On March 26, 1862, Granger was promoted to
brigadier general of volunteers and commanded the Cavalry Division,
Army of the Mississippi during the
Battle of New Madrid and the
Siege of Corinth. He was promoted to
major general of volunteers on September 17, 1862, and took command of the
Army of Kentucky. He conducted cavalry operations in central Tennessee before his command was merged into the
Army of the Cumberland, becoming the Reserve Corps.
Granger is most famous for his actions commanding the Reserve Corps at the Battle of Chickamauga. There on September 20, 1863, the second day of the battle, he reinforced, without orders, Major General
George H. Thomas' XIV Corps on Snodgrass Hill by ordering
James B. Steedman to send two brigades under his command to help Thomas. Asked by Thomas if he could counterattack a Confederate force on the Union flank, Granger replied, "My men are fresh and they are just the fellows for that work. They are raw troops and don't know any better than to charge up there." This action staved off the Confederate attackers until dark, permitting the Federal forces to retreat in good order and thus helping Thomas to earn the sobriquet "Rock of Chickamauga". After the battle, Granger wrote in his report, "being well convinced, judging from the sound of battle, that the enemy were pushing him
homas and fearing that would not be able to resist their combined attack, I determined to go to his assistance at once."
Granger's effective leadership at Chickamauga earned him command of the newly formed
IV Corps in the
Army of the Cumberland commanded by General Thomas, and he was promoted brevet lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army. Under his command, the IV Corps force distinguished itself at the third Battle of Chattanooga. Two of the IV Corps' divisions, those commanded by
Thomas J. Wood and
Philip Sheridan, were in the middle of the four divisions that assaulted the heavily manned center of the Confederate lines on
Missionary Ridge. Although they had no further orders after taking the rifle-pits at the base, Granger's men kept going up the steep ridge, with the two other divisions just slightly behind, and routed the Confederates on the crest. This breakthrough, in conjunction with Hooker's successful assault further to the right, forced the
Confederates, under
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Braxton Bragg, to retreat in disorder. After Chattanooga, Granger took part in lifting the
siege
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
at
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
. Despite these successes, General
Ulysses S. Grant disliked Granger as the latter resisted an appeal by General
Phil Sheridan to pursue the retreating Confederate army after the battle and prevented him from gaining more prominent commands in the West or in the
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. General
E. R. S. Canby later offered Granger a command in the
Department of the Gulf over Grant's objections, and he led a division that provided land support to the naval operations conducted by Admiral
David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral, Vice admiral (United State ...
in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. Granger led the land forces that captured Forts
Gaines and
Morgan in conjunction with the Union naval operations during the
Battle of Mobile Bay. Granger commanded the
XIII Corps during the
Battle of Fort Blakeley, which led to the fall of the city of
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
.
Postbellum
Time in Texas and Juneteenth
When the war ended, Granger was given command of the
District of Texas on June 10, 1865.
On June 19, 1865, in the city of
Galveston, one of the first orders of business was to post Granger's
General Order No. 3 which began with:
This set off joyous demonstrations by the freed people, originating the annual
Juneteenth celebration, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in Texas.
Granger would do several other activities while being in command of Texas. He would declare all laws passed by the Confederacy to be null, ensured all Confederate soldiers were paroled, anyone "having public property" which included cotton be given to the US Army and all cotton that was privately owned be given to the Army as compensation. He advised newly freed Blacks that they shouldn't congregate near towns and military posts without any employment and expecting welfare. Instead he suggested they should remain on their plantations to sign labor agreements with their former owners until the
Freedmen's Bureau could be established. Granger would serve in his role until August 6, 1865, when he was replaced by General
Horatio Wright.
Further career
When Granger was done serving in Texas he commanded the Department of Kentucky from August 12, 1865, to January 15, 1866.
After the Civil War, he continued his relationship with President
Andrew Johnson which he had established when Johnson was Tennessee's military governor. Because of Granger's ties to Johnson, a Democrat, Grant thought that Granger was getting "out of tedious routine duties" by getting favors from Johnson. President Johnson did send him on assignments. His ties with Johnson led to his further alienation from Grant who was becoming aligned with the
Radical Republicans. Granger and
George Armstrong Custer joined once in September 1866 to organize a "soldiers' convention" in Cleveland to help Johnson's administration.
Granger was elected a First Class Companion of the New York Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States on May 2, 1866, a prestigious military society for officers of the Union Army and their descendants.
Granger remained in the Army after mustering out of the volunteer service. In July 1866, he was assigned as a colonel to the reconstituted
25th Infantry Regiment. While there, he stayed on a leave of absence and spent a good portion of his time in New York City lobbying President Johnson for potential appointments. He reported back for duty on September 1, 1867.
He was reassigned as colonel of the
15th Infantry Regiment, December 15, 1870 and commanded the
District of New Mexico, from April 29, 1871, to June 1, 1873.
Cochise who was the leader of the
Chiricahuan tribe and his people went to New Mexico where he contacted Granger to discuss peace terms, which the two did in March 1872 at
Cañada Alamosa. However, peace did not come out of this as the Chiricahuas ended up going to the
Dragoon Mountains
The Dragoon Mountains is a range of mountains located in Cochise County, Arizona. The range is about long, running on an axis extending south-south east through Willcox. The name originates from the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Dragoons who battled the C ...
when learning that all Apaches were going to be sent to
Fort Tularosa. Peace was reached when Brigadier General
Oliver O. Howard met him in October that year.
Granger went on sick leave of absence to October 31, 1875; and then was again in command of the District of New Mexico, October 31, 1875, to January 10, 1876.
Granger died in
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
on January 10, 1876, where he was serving in command of the District of New Mexico. He is buried in
Lexington Cemetery in
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
.
Dates of rank
[U.S. Army Register, 1871. p. 115]
See also
*
List of American Civil War generals (Union)
References
Further reading
* Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson, and David L. Bongard. ''The
Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography''. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. .
* Eicher, John H., and
David J. Eicher''Civil War High Commands'' Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. .
* Conner, Robert C.
General Gordon Granger: The Savior of Chickamauga and the Man Behind 'Juneteenth'.' Philadelphia: Casemate, 2013. .
External links
*
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History of Juneteenth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Gordon
1821 births
1876 deaths
United States Army personnel of the Mexican–American War
Juneteenth
People from Wayne County, New York
People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
Union army generals
United States Army colonels
United States Military Academy alumni
Burials at Lexington Cemetery