Winfield Scott Hancock (1824 - 1886)

Born 14 Feb 1824 in Montgomeryville, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Died 9 Feb 1886 at age 61 in Governors Island, New York County, New York, United States

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Biography

General Winfield Hancock served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 1844
Mustered out: 1886
Side: USA
Regiment(s): II Corp

Winfield Hancock is Notable.

Democratic Candidate against James A. Garfield in 1880. Civil War Major General. Twin brother of Hilary Hancock

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Winfield Scott Hancock was named after American Army General Winfield Scott of the War of 1812 fame. Young Winfield graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point New York in 1844 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. In 1847 "Win" as he was known had been doing such a good job as a quartermaster and recruiter he had to campaign in order to be included in the military force sent to Mexico to fight in the Mexican-American War where he was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for gallant and meritorious service in those actions.

After the war, Hancock was once again relegated to quartermaster duty and served in various locations, primarily in the west. When stationed in St. Louis, Missouri, he met his future wife, Almira ("Allie") Russell. They married on January 24, 1850. Shortly after their marriage, Allie and Win had a chance meeting with Colonel Robert E. Lee who advised Allie to, if at all possible, stay with her husband during his various assignments and so she did. Together, Allie and Win would have two children, Russell Hancock (1850–1884) and Ada Elizabeth Hancock (1857–1875).

By the time the Civil War broke out Win had risen to become a Captain and been assigned the commanding officer position of the Army's Southern California district, based in the growing pueblo of Los Angeles. It wasn't long before he was recalled back east with orders to once again be a quartermaster. He wasn't sure how he would get out of that assignment, but he wanted to lead men in battle.

Upon he and Allie's arrival in Washington, D.C., Win was directed to General George McClellan's headquarters. McClellan remembered Hancock from the Mexican War and immediately changed his orders. Win would become a brigade commander with the rank of Brigadier General! This started his ascent in the Union Army. In his first action, Hancock, against his commander's orders, and with the help of a young cavalry lieutenant named George Armstrong Custer, led a flanking action during the Battle of Williamsburg on what became known as the Peninsula Campaign. Hancock could have been instrumental in overrunning Confederate General Longstreet's positions if he had reinforcements. Knowing help wasn't coming and to appease his commander, he had to retreat but in the process caught the pursuing Confederates by surprise and captured nearly 600 of them. Hancock earned a nickname for this exploit: "Hancock the Superb". Winfield Hancock would lead men in the following battles as the war drug on: the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Malvern Hill, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of the Wilderness, the Battle of Cold Harbor, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House and the Battle of Boydton Plank Road.

After the conclusion of the Civil War Hancock would serve to carry out the executions of Lincoln's assassination conspirators, an assignment he did not want, but he carried out his duty. Later he would be assigned back to the west and then, as a Democrat, he was ordered by President Johnson to replace General Phillip Sheridan in the administration of Louisiana and Texas as part of the Federal Government's reconstruction of the south. Sheridan was hard on the southerners and the President wanted a more sympathetic commander, a Democrat.

Hancock ingratiated himself to the people of post-war Louisiana and Texas when his initial order as commander of the army's Fifth Military District stated: "The great principles of American liberty are still the lawful inheritance of this people, and ever should be. The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, the natural rights of persons and the rights of property must be preserved. Free institutions, while they are essential to the prosperity and happiness of the people, always furnish the strongest inducements to peace and order."

Winfield would continue with the military as a Major General and serve in many capacities. In 1880, after being politically active for several years, Winfield won the nomination to run for President of the United States on the Democratic ticket. He ran a strong campaign but narrowly lost to James Garfield. He would continue with the army until his death in 1886.

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Hancock stands the most conspicuous figure of all the general officers who did not exercise a separate command. He commanded a corps longer than any other one, and his name was never mentioned as having committed in battle a blunder for which he was responsible. He was a man of very conspicuous personal appearance.... His genial disposition made him friends, and his personal courage and his presence with his command in the thickest of the fight won for him the confidence of troops serving under him. No matter how hard the fight, the 2nd corps always felt that their commander was looking after them.

—Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs, 1885, Vol. II, pp. 539–540.

Sources

• "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3JS8-VZQ : accessed 7 February 2019), entry for Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, cites sources; "Bailey Santistevan Family Tree" file (2:2:2:MM6Z-5SZ)

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfield_Scott_Hancock

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZL-HQN : 12 April 2016), Wm S Hancock, St. Louis, ward 2, St. Louis, Missouri, United States; citing family 937, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDKW-2XQ : 13 December 2017), Winfield S Hancock, 1860.

• "United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N459-7JC : 24 March 2016), Winfield S. Hancock, 1886.

• https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4839