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Joseph Wheeler
Biography (Written and Submitted by Mr. Gabe Weaver)
General Joseph Wheeler was born on September 10, 1836 in Augusta, Georgia. He
graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1859. Wheeler
resigned from the U.S. Army in April 1861 and became First Lieutenant of
Artillery in the Confederate Army. Wheeler was appointed Colonel of the 19th
Alabama in September 1861. At the Battle of
Shiloh, Colonel Wheeler commanded a brigade covering the Confederate
retreat on the second day of fighting. Colonel Wheeler was then given the
command of Cavalry in the Army of Mississippi under
General Braxton Bragg in July 1862.
Throughout the war Wheeler would be wounded three times and would loose
sixteen horses.
Wheeler was promoted to Brigadier-General in October 1862, after leading
General Bragg's invasion of Kentucky
in August and September. He protected the Confederate retreat at the Battle
of Perryville on October 8th. At the Battle of Murfreesboro General Wheeler
skillfully delayed the advance of General William Rosecran's troops. General
Wheeler was promoted to Major-General in January 1863. General Wheeler began
to oppose General Sherman's March
to Atlanta in early 1864.
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General
Joseph Wheeler
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General Wheeler was promoted to Major-General in February of 1865. He
would then fight under
General Joseph E. Johnston
in the Carolinas until the end of the war. General Wheeler was captured near
Atlanta. After the war, he entered
business in New Orleans and then moved to Alabama. In March 1880, General Wheeler entered Congress and would resign in 1900. General Wheeler
then served as a Major-General in the Spanish-American War, and would retire
in September 1900. Major-General Joseph Wheeler died in Brooklyn, New
York at his sister's house, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on
January 25,1906. Many thanks to Mr. Gabe Weaver for Writing and Submitting this Biography. |
