John Curtis Caldwell (April 17, 1833 – August 31, 1912) was a teacher, a Union general in 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 an American diplomat.

Early life

Caldwell was born in Lowell, Vermont. He graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1855 and moved to

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, where he was the principal of the Washington Academy in East Machias.

Civil War

At the beginning of the Civil War, Caldwell was 28 years old and had no military experience. However, his bearing as an academic principal seems to have impressed others because he was elected

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 11th Maine Infantry regiment on November 12, 1861. Early in the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

(April 28, 1862), he was promoted to brigadier general and assumed command of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of II Corps of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

after the brigade commander, Brigadier General

Oliver O. Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army, Union General officer, general in the American Civil War, Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard ...

, was wounded at the

Battle of Seven Pines The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union's Army of the Po ...

. At the

Battle of Glendale A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, he displayed "personal gallantry" in coming to the aid of the beleaguered Union division led by

Philip Kearny Philip Kearny Jr. (; June 1, 1815 – September 1, 1862) was a United States Army officer, notable for his leadership in the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. He served in Emperor of the French, French Emperor Napoleon III's Imperial ...

. At the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

, on September 17, 1862, he briefly led his division when its commander, Major General Israel B. Richardson, was wounded. Caldwell himself was wounded in the battleEicher, p. 159. and he received criticism that he handled his brigade poorly in the assault on the sunken road in the center of the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

line (the sunken road, or "Bloody Lane"). There were also rumors spread that he had hidden in the rear to avoid direct contact with the enemy. He was wounded again, twice, at the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat between the Union Army, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...

that December, while preparing his brigade to assault the stone wall on Marye's Heights; one of his regiments broke and ran during the assault, further tarnishing his reputation. At the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

the following May, his brigade performed well under difficult circumstances, covering the retreat of the army from the crossroads at the Chancellor House. Caldwell's bloodiest combat experience was at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

on July 2, 1863. Since May 22, he had commanded the 1st Division of the II Corps, now under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock. He and his division arrived at the battlefield on the morning of July 2 and took up a reserve position on Cemetery Ridge. That afternoon, as the powerful Confederate assault from the corps of Lt. Gen.

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Ho ...

, struck the Union

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

, Hancock ordered Caldwell's division to reinforce the III Corps in the Wheatfield. Caldwell got his division moving quickly and conducted the largest Union assault of the three-day battle. However, due to a lack of adequate command on that portion of the battlefield, Caldwell's division was hit in its exposed right flank by the Confederate division of Maj. Gen.

Lafayette McLaws Lafayette McLaws ( ; January 15, 1821 – July 24, 1897) was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served at Antietam and Fredericksburg, where Robert E. Lee praised his defense of Marye's Heights ...

, causing great confusion and a general retreat back across the Wheatfield. Caldwell received criticism from Maj. Gen.

George Sykes George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and served in numerous conflicts, ...

, the commander of the Union

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, who was operating nearby. General Hancock subsequently lost confidence in Caldwell and his staff conducted an investigation to determine whether Caldwell led his division properly. He was exonerated from any blame, but his reputation in the Army of the Potomac was damaged. A recent writer on Gettysburg has blamed Sykes for giving sketchy instructions to Caldwell.Hartwig, p. 169. In March 1864, the army was reorganized and reduced from five corps to three. Caldwell was relieved of command during this reduction and saw no further combat service.

Postbellum

After the war, Caldwell served in the honor guard for

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 funeral train. He received a brevet promotion to major general on August 19, 1865, and he was mustered out of the volunteer service on January 15, 1866. He returned to civilian life as a lawyer and a member of the Maine

Legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

, but he also served as the adjutant general of the Maine Militia from 1867 to 1869. He then entered the diplomatic service as the U.S.

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

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Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, from 1869 to 1874; U.S. Minister to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, 1874 to 1882; U.S. Consul to

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...

, 1897 to 1909. Caldwell died in

Calais, Maine Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 3,079, making Calais the largest municipality by population in Washington County, but the third least-populous city in Maine (after Ha ...

, and is buried at St. Stephen Rural Cemetery in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada.

''Gods and Generals''

Caldwell appears briefly in the film '' Gods and Generals'' played by James Garrett. He is commanding his brigade at the assault on Marye's Heights during the ''Battle of Fredericksburg''

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Hartwig, D. Scott. "'No Troops on the Field Had Done Better', John C. Caldwell's Division in the Wheatfield, July 2, 1863." In ''The Second Day at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership'', edited by

Gary W. Gallagher Gary William Gallagher (born October 8, 1950) is an American historian specializing in the history of the American Civil War. Gallagher in 2024 was the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virg ...

. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1993. . * Tagg, Larry
''The Generals of Gettysburg''
Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1998. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, John C. 1833 births 1912 deaths People from Orleans County, Vermont Ambassadors of the United States Union army generals People of Vermont in the American Civil War People of Maine in the American Civil War People from East Machias, Maine Amherst College alumni Consuls for the United States 19th-century American lawyers