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tom ryan
Bethany Beach, DE, USA
Posts: 1187
 | | Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/17/2013 3:47:12 PM | I gather from BG Henry Lockwood's message to Seth Williams of Meade's staff dated June 10, 1864 (OR, 36, III, 726-29), that Warren relieved Lockwood from command of the Second Division, Fifth Corps because of a misinterpretation of orders. From Lockwood's description of the events surrounding his dismissal, Warren did not spend much time investigating the issue before firing Lockwood.
Is there a back story here? Was there bad blood between Lockwood and Warren? Was Lockwood considered incompetent? Did Warren jump the gun without learning what actually happened? Did Warren issue a poor set of orders as Lockwood implies in his message to Williams?
Anyone familiar with Lockwood's reputation as an army general during the Civil War?
Tom Ryan
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| Rick Schaus
Capon Springs, WV, USA
Posts: 1576
| | Re: Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/17/2013 5:37:08 PM | Warren had served under Lockwood earlier in the war, and was not very impressed with Lockwood’s abilities.
Lockwood was assigned to Warren on 29 May, and Warren had to make some adjustments to place Lockwood in a command commensurate with his rank.
Lockwood was given command of Warren’s 2nd division.
It did not take long for Lockwood to make a mistake
The reason behind Warren asking Meade to have Lockwood relieved appears to be pretty cut-and-dried, (although not to Lockwood) as Warren reported to Meade on 1 June:
” JUNE 1, 1864.
Major-General MEADE:
General Griffin repulsed the attack on him to-night, which was no more than a strong feeler. The Cold Harbor road is not open, and I have been able to make no impression on the enemy. A very large field intervenes just beyond the forks of the road commanded by the enemy's batteries. I directed General Lockwood to extend well to the left with a line of skirmishers, and to prepare his whole division for an attack in conjunction with Wright and Smith. I thinned my line down to the least possible amount to get two brigades in reserve to support him, but in some unaccountable way he took his whole division, without my knowing it, away from the left of the line of battle, and turned up at dark 2 miles in my rear, and I have not yet got him back. All this time the firing should have guided him at least. He is too incompetent, and too high rank leaves no subordinate place for him. I earnestly beg that he may be at once relieved from duty with this army. Major Roebling has not yet returned.
Respectfully,
G. K. WARREN,
Major-General.”
Meade did not take long to provide his response:
” HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
June 1, 1864-11 p. m.
Major-General WARREN:
An order will be sent in the morning relieving Brigadier-General Lockwood from command. You can now make a good division for Crawford.
GEO. G. MEADE,
Major-General.”
(OR 36, Pt 3, pp 451-2)
On 2 June:
” SPECIAL ORDERS,
HEADQUARTERS FIFTH ARMY CORPS, Numbers 131.
June 2, 1864.
1. By direction of the general commanding Army of the Potomac, Brigadier-General Lockwood is hereby relieved from command of the Second Division, and will report in person at the headquarters of Lieutenant-General Grant, commander-in-chief.
2. Brigadier General S. W. Crawford is assigned to the command of the Second Division, and will at once relieve General Lockwood.
3. The troops remaining in the old Third Division since the mustering out of the organization of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps are transferred to the Second Division.
By command of Major-General Warren:
A. S. MARVIN, JR.,
Assistant Adjutant-General.”
(OR 36, Pt 3, pp 495)
It may be that Warren and Meade were not happy with Lockwood being assigned to the AoP, and were waiting for a reason to have him relieved which Lockwood quickly provided, at least as far as they were concerned.
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VR, Rick Schaus
“Facts are for people who can’t create their own truth”
Bucky Katt
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| tom ryan
Bethany Beach, DE, USA
Posts: 1187
| | Re: Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/17/2013 6:32:54 PM | Thanks for that input, Rick. Trying to look at this objectively, in his message to Seth Williams Lockwood seems to make a case that Warren's orders were imprecise, and others beside Lockwood interpreted them differently than Warren apparently intended.
It is interesting to note that Warren would suffer a similar fate as Lockwood at the hands of Sheridan at Five Forks.
I can imagine Lockwood's reaction when that happened.
Regards, Tom
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| tom ryan
Bethany Beach, DE, USA
Posts: 1187
| | Re: Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/21/2013 5:56:16 PM | A trivia item:
Even though Lockwood was a West Point graduate and an army general, he is buried at the Naval Academy -- having been a professor there for many years.
Lockwood's son, who was an army officer, is also buried at the Naval Academy -- having volunteered for an Arctic expedition and dying from starvation and exposure as a result.
Father and son are buried in the same cemetery plot at the Naval Academy.
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| Rick Schaus
Capon Springs, WV, USA
Posts: 1576
| | Re: Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/21/2013 8:01:35 PM |
Quote:Thanks for that input, Rick. Trying to look at this objectively, in his message to Seth Williams Lockwood seems to make a case that Warren's orders were imprecise, and others beside Lockwood interpreted them differently than Warren apparently intended.
It is interesting to note that Warren would suffer a similar fate as Lockwood at the hands of Sheridan at Five Forks.
I can imagine Lockwood's reaction when that happened.
Regards, Tom
--tom ryan
Lockwood made a good defense of his actions.
No way to know for sure exactly what happened, and who was right and who was wrong.
If he did get a raw deal, he wasn’t the first, and he wasn’t the last.
In this case Warren won.
Later, as you noted Warren would be on the receiving end.
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VR, Rick Schaus
“Facts are for people who can’t create their own truth”
Bucky Katt
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| Jim Brinton
Harper's Ferry, WV, USA
Posts: 328
| | Re: Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/21/2013 11:46:34 PM |
Quote:A trivia item:
Lockwood's son, who was an army officer, is also buried at the Naval Academy -- having volunteered for an Arctic expedition and dying from starvation and exposure as a result.
--tom ryan
Lt Lockwood was a member of the ill-fated Greeley Expedition 1881-1884, and at one point he and two of his mates achieved "Farthest North" breaking a British record that had held for a couple hundred years. He died in April 1884, the fourth of nineteen expedition members that would die before the relief ship showed in July.
JB
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| tom ryan
Bethany Beach, DE, USA
Posts: 1187
| | Re: Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/23/2013 2:09:35 PM | He and his father Henry are buried in the same plot at the Naval Academy. I suspect that Henry's wife is also buried there with them.
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| Jim Brinton
Harper's Ferry, WV, USA
Posts: 328
| | Re: Henry Hayes Lockwood at Cold Harbor | | Posted on: 1/23/2013 2:32:39 PM | General and Mrs Lockwood, along with Mrs. Greeley, were instrumental in getting the Hawley Bill passed in 1884. The bill provided $25000. for anyone who would go north and bring back the Greeley Expedition or its remains.
JB
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