Joseph M. Wheeler (1836 - 1906)

Born 10 Sep 1836 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Daniella Ellen (Jones) Wheeler — married 8 Feb 1866 in Alabama

Descendants

Died 25 Jan 1906 at age 69 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Robert Green [send private message] and Mitchell Walker [send private message]

Biography

Joseph Wheeler was born in Augusta, Georgia, but spent more time growing up in his parent’s home state of Connecticut than in the south. After studying in private schools he would enter the United States Military Academy in 1854 as a representative of New York. Joseph graduated with the Class of 1859 and gained much more acclaim for his military acumen than in his other academic subjects. He was ranked 19th in a class of 22 cadets. Joseph received a commission as a second lieutenant, was posted to the cavalry school at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania and then was assigned to the New Mexico Territory where his first battle action was a skirmish against Native Americans in June of 1860. Wheeler was assigned to escort duty for a wagon train traveling from Hannibal, Missouri, to Fort Craig. He was left behind by the main wagon train to escort an ambulance carrying a mother and her new baby attended by a surgeon and a wagon driver. When the ambulance was attacked by a small band of Indians, Wheeler shot down one with his musket and charged them on horseback, blazing away with his Colt pistol until they fled. From this event he received the nickname, Fighting Joe, which stuck with him the rest of his life. This is where he gained experience in the tactics of mounted infantry, traveling light and ranging far.

With the outbreak of the Civil War it was a surprise to many that Joseph would resign his commission with the United States Army and join the Confederates although it was said he always felt like a southerner. Initially commissioned a lieutenant in the Georgia Militia and then he was moved on into the Confederate Army as a first lieutenant of Artillery in April of 1861. While working on fortifications at Pensacola Bay, the young lieutenant caught the eye of General Braxton Bragg, the regional commander. Bragg was so impressed with the man that he would shortly be promoted to the rank of colonel commanding the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment with the Army of Tennessee. Joseph led the 19th in several major engagements and was commended for his actions at the Battle of Shiloh. In August of 1862 Joseph was shifted to the cavalry where he wanted to be all along. In October of that year he was made the chief of cavalry for the Army of Tennessee and soon became a Brigadier General. In January, 1863, at the age of 26, Joseph Wheeler was promoted to the rank of Major General.

Late in the war the southern leadership depended on Wheeler’s cavalry to harass and slow Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s march to the sea. When volunteers were needed to escort Jefferson Davis’ retreat to the west, General Wheeler answered the call. Both were captured with Joseph held in solitary confinement until his release once the war was over. His small stature and sometimes eccentric behavior made him a colorful figure.

After the war Joseph was granted a Presidential Pardon. He had met a young widow, Daniella Jones Sherrod, while fighting in northern Alabama. The two would get together and marry in 1866 and have six children.

After attempting to work in the New Orleans’ business world and weathering failure in a carriage and hardware operation, Joe and his wife moved back to Alabama where he studied and became a lawyer while working as a planter. Wheeler got involved in local politics as a moderate Democrat and eventually won over the trust of his constituents. They rewarded him by electing the man to one of Alabama’s two Congressional seats in the U.S. Congress. He would go on to hold that seat for several terms while working to salve the war wounds that would last for decades.

Prior to the Spanish-American War in 1898, Joseph gave speeches in support of fighting a war with Spain and when the war became a reality he volunteered and rejoined the U.S. Army. Initially a major general with the U.S. Volunteers, he earned a regular army commission as a brigadier general. Joseph became the only Confederate general to become a U.S. Army general after the war and it bothered some of his old Confederate comrades. The division he commanded in Cuba included Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and his orders played a direct role in taking San Juan Hill and ultimately the conquest of Cuba. But once that conflict had ended he wasn’t done. At the age of 63 he served in the Philippine-American War under General Douglas MacArthur.

Staff of the 1st US Volunteer Regiment, the Rough Riders in Tampa – The bearded former Civil War Confederate general Joseph Wheeler is standing in front.

The old soldier finally went home for good and died in New York City in 1906.

The State of Alabama has two statues in Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hall of Statuary. Fittingly, one is of Joseph Wheeler, a symbol of the Old South and the New South, the Civil War, the Lost Cause, and the Reconciliation and Reunion he worked so hard for near the end of his days.

Wheeler County, Georgia is named for General Wheeler.

Children of Joseph and Danielle (Jones) Wheeler:

1. Lucy Louise Wheeler (1866–1924) .

2. Annie Early Wheeler (1868–1955).

3. Ella Wheeler (1869–1871).

4. Julia Knox Hull Wheeler (1870–1959).

5. Joseph Wheeler, Lieutenant in the U. S. Army (1872–1938).

6. Carolyn "Carrie" Peyton Wheeler (1877–1953).

7. Thomas H. Wheeler (1881–1898).

Joseph was born in 1836. He passed away in 1906. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Unsourced family tree handed down to Mitchell Walker.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wheeler

• The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America, by Albert Gallatin Wheeler, American College of Genealogy, Publication date 1914, Publisher American College of Genealogy. Page 427. [1]

• Nicholls, Walter (1909) Sergeant Francis Nicholls of Stratford, Connecticut, 1639, and the Descendants of his son, Caleb Nicholls. The Grafton Press, Genealogical Publishers, New York. page 20

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M68P-F56 : 12 April 2016), Joseph Wheeler in household of Mary Hull, Derby, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; citing family 378, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "New York State Census, 1855," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6QS-3QC : 7 September 2016), Joseph Wheeler, E.D. 2, Cornwall, Orange, New York, United States; citing p. 37, line #8, family #, county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 834,634.

• "Alabama Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XX2X-QVM : 27 November 2014), Joseph Wheeler, 1861; from "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M311 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1961), roll 276.

• http://civilwarintheeast.com/west-point-officers-in-the-civil-war/class-of-1859/

• "United States Civil War Confederate Applications for Pardons, 1865-1867," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V4MD-7BF : 4 December 2014), Joseph Wheeler, 1865 - 1867; from "Case Files of Applications from Former Confederates for Presidential Pardons ('Amnesty Papers'), 1865-1867," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M1003 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1977), roll 24.

• "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHK6-NG1 : 12 April 2016), Joseph Wheeler, Alabama, United States; citing p. 2, family 11, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,521.

• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4J5-MPK : 26 August 2017), Joseph Wheeler, Courtland, Lawrence, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district ED 162, sheet 286B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0018; FHL microfilm 1,254,018.

• http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=w000338

• "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WFK-CYN : 20 March 2015), Joseph Wheeler, 25 Jan 1906; citing Death, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,324,115.

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32782220

• https://www.aoc.gov/art/national-statuary-hall-collection/joseph-wheeler

• Obituary: "U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current"
  Corvallis Gazette; Publication Date: 30 Jan 1906; Publication Place: Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Clipping
  Ancestry Record 61843 #870908942 (accessed 10 May 2023)
  Name: General Joseph Wheeler; Gender: Male; Death Age: 69; Birth Date: 10 Sep 1836; Birth Place: Augusta, Georgia; Marriage Date: 1866; Marriage Place: Wheeler, Alabama; Residence Place: Santiago; Death Date: Abt 1906; Obituary Date: 30 Jan 1906; Obituary Place: Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Newspaper Title: Corvallis Gazette; Parents: Richard Jones; Lucy W. Jones; Spouse: Daniella.V; Child: Joseph Thomas H. Lucy Louise Annie Early Julia Hull Carrie Peyton; Siblings: Sterling Smith.