Almost President: Winfield Scott Hancock
For the period following the Civil War, military service seemed to be a must for a presidential candidate's resume. For the Republicans, Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes and James Garfield all used their war service for political recognition. After two non-soldiers at the head of their ticket, the Democrats turned to a prominent Union General to carry their banner in the election of 1880. Winfield Scott Hancock was a career soldier who served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. He was especially popular for his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Winfield Scott Hancock and his identical twin brother Hilary Baker Hancock were born on February 14, 1824, in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania. Winfield was named after the famous general Winfield Scott. In 1840, Joseph Fornance, the local Congressman, nominated Hancock to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hancock was an average cadet. He graduated 18th in his class of 25 in 1844, and he was assigned to the infantry. When war with Mexico began in 1846, Hancock joined his regiment in Puebla, Mexico, part of the army led by his namesake, General Scott. Scott's army moved inland and attacked Mexico City from the south. During that campaign in 1847, Hancock first saw combat at Contreras and Churubusco. Hancock was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for gallant and meritorious service in those actions. Hancock was wounded in the knee at Churubusco and developed a fever. Fever kept him from participating in the final siege of Mexico City. After the final victory, Hancock remained in Mexico with the 6th Infantry until the treaty of peace was signed in 1848.
After returning home from the war, Hancock was posted in a Fort Snelling, Minnesota and St. Louis, Missouri. It was in St. Louis that he met Almira ("Allie") Russell and they were married on January 24, 1850. They had two children. Hancock was promoted to captain in 1855 and assigned to Fort Myers, Florida. His tour in Florida coincided with the end of the Third Seminole War but as a quartermaster, and he did not see action in that campaign. Hancock was reassigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he served during the partisan warfare of "Bleeding Kansas". He was stationed in southern California in November 1858 where he remained until the Civil War began.
Hancock returned east to assume quartermaster duties for the rapidly growing Union Army, but was quickly promoted to brigadier general on September 23, 1861, and given an infantry brigade to command in Army of the Potomac. In the Peninsula Campaign, in 1862, he led a critical counterattack in the Battle of Williamsburg. In the Battle of Antietam, Hancock assumed command of the 1st Division, II Corps, following the death of Major General Israel B. Richardson. He was promoted to major general of volunteers on November 29, 1862. He led his division in the Battle of Fredericksburg, where he was wounded in the abdomen. At the Battle of Chancellorsville, his division covered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's withdrawal and Hancock was wounded again.
Hancock's most famous service was as a new corps commander at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to 3, 1863. After his friend, Major General John F. Reynolds, was killed early on July 1, Major General George G. Meade, the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, sent Hancock to assess the situation. Hancock was in command of the "left wing" of the army. He organized the Union defenses on Cemetery Hill against the more numerous Confederate forces. On July 2, Hancock's corps was positioned on Cemetery Ridge. On July 3, Hancock continued in his position on Cemetery Ridge and bore the brunt of Pickett's Charge. Hancock was wounded severely by a bullet striking the pommel of his saddle, entering his inner right thigh. Despite his pain, Hancock refused evacuation to the rear until the battle was over.
Hancock suffered from the effects of his Gettysburg wound for the rest of the war. He returned in the spring of 1864 to join Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. He commanded at the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House on May 12. His corps suffered enormous losses during a futile assault Grant ordered at Cold Harbor. Hancock was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army, effective August 12, 1864. His only significant military defeat occurred during the Siege of Petersburg. He was promoted to brevet major general in the regular army for his service at Spotsylvania, effective March 13, 1865.
At the close of the war, Hancock was assigned to supervise the execution of Abraham Lincoln's assassination conspirators. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, and by May 9 of that year, a military commission had been convened to try the conspirators. The actual assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was already dead, but the trial of his co-conspirators proceeded quickly, resulting in convictions. President Andrew Johnson ordered the executions to be carried out on July 7. Although he was reluctant to execute some of the less-culpable conspirators, especially Mary Surratt, Hancock carried out his orders.
In 1866, on Grant's recommendation, Hancock was promoted to major general and was transferred to command of the military Department of the Missouri. Hancock reported to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and took up his new posting. Soon after arriving, he was assigned by General Sherman to lead an expedition to negotiate with the Cheyenne and Sioux, with whom relations had worsened since the Sand Creek massacre. Hancock's time in the West was brief. President Johnson was unhappy with the way Republican generals were governing the South under Reconstruction. The general who offended Johnson the most was Philip Sheridan, and Johnson soon ordered General Grant to switch the assignments of Hancock and Sheridan, believing that Hancock, a Democrat, would govern in a style more to Johnson's liking. Although neither man was pleased with the change, Sheridan reported to Fort Leavenworth and Hancock to New Orleans. Hancock's new assignment put him in charge of the Fifth Military District, covering Texas and Louisiana. Hancock encouraged white Democrats across the South who hoped to return to civilian government.
Hancock's popularity within the Democratic party grew and he was considered a potential presidential nominee for that party in the 1868 election. Following General Grant's 1868 presidential victory, the Republicans were firmly in charge in Washington. Hancock found himself transferred once again, this time away from the sensitive assignment of reconstructing the South and into the relative backwater that was the Department of Dakota.
In 1872, General Meade died, leaving Hancock the army's senior major general. This entitled him to a more prominent command, and President Grant, still wanted to keep Hancock from a Southern post, so he assigned him command of the Division of the Atlantic, headquartered at Fort Columbus in New York City. His time in this position was uneventful except for the army's involvement in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. When railroad workers went on strike to protest wage cuts, the nation's transportation system was paralyzed. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland asked President Hayes to call in federal troops to re-open the railways. Once federal troops entered the cities, most of the strikers dispersed, but there were some violent clashes.
While Hancock was posted in New York, he did his best to keep his political ambitions alive. He received some votes at the Democrats' 1876 convention but focused his ambition on 1880. President Hayes had promised not to run for a second term, and the previous Democratic nominee, Samuel Tilden, declined to run again due to poor health. Hancock's support in the south meant that Hancock, had nationwide support. When the Democratic convention assembled in Cincinnati in June 1880, Hancock led on the first ballot, but did not have a majority and won on the second.
The Republicans nominated Congressman James A. Garfield of Ohio. Hancock and the Democrats expected to carry the Solid South, but needed to add a few of the Northern states to win the election. The Republicans were reluctant to attack Hancock personally because of his heroic reputation. The one policy difference the Republicans were able to exploit was the Democrat's endorsement of low tariffs. Garfield's campaigners used this to paint the Democrats as unsympathetic to the plight of industrial laborers, a group that would benefit by a high protective tariff. In the end, the Democrats failed to carry any of the Northern states except for New Jersey. Garfield received 39,213 more votes than Hancock, the popular vote being 4,453,295 for Garfield and 4,414,082 for Hancock. The electoral vote count had a much larger spread: Garfield polled 214 electoral votes and Hancock.
Hancock took his electoral defeat in stride and attended Garfield's inauguration. Following the election, Hancock carried on as commander of the Division of the Atlantic. He was elected president of the National Rifle Association in 1881, explaining that "The object of the NRA is to increase the military strength of the country by making skill in the use of arms as prevalent as it was in the days of the Revolution." He was commander-in-chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States veterans organization from 1879 until his death. Hancock's last major public appearance was to preside over the funeral of President Grant in 1885, and he also made a less publicized trip that year to Gettysburg.
Hancock died on February 9, 1886 at Governors Island, five days before his 62nd birthday. He was still in command of the Military Division of the Atlantic. He died from an infected carbuncle, complicated by diabetes. He is buried in Montgomery Cemetery in West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near Norristown, Pennsylvania. His wife, Almira, published Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock in 1887.
Winfield Scott Hancock and his identical twin brother Hilary Baker Hancock were born on February 14, 1824, in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania. Winfield was named after the famous general Winfield Scott. In 1840, Joseph Fornance, the local Congressman, nominated Hancock to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hancock was an average cadet. He graduated 18th in his class of 25 in 1844, and he was assigned to the infantry. When war with Mexico began in 1846, Hancock joined his regiment in Puebla, Mexico, part of the army led by his namesake, General Scott. Scott's army moved inland and attacked Mexico City from the south. During that campaign in 1847, Hancock first saw combat at Contreras and Churubusco. Hancock was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for gallant and meritorious service in those actions. Hancock was wounded in the knee at Churubusco and developed a fever. Fever kept him from participating in the final siege of Mexico City. After the final victory, Hancock remained in Mexico with the 6th Infantry until the treaty of peace was signed in 1848.
After returning home from the war, Hancock was posted in a Fort Snelling, Minnesota and St. Louis, Missouri. It was in St. Louis that he met Almira ("Allie") Russell and they were married on January 24, 1850. They had two children. Hancock was promoted to captain in 1855 and assigned to Fort Myers, Florida. His tour in Florida coincided with the end of the Third Seminole War but as a quartermaster, and he did not see action in that campaign. Hancock was reassigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he served during the partisan warfare of "Bleeding Kansas". He was stationed in southern California in November 1858 where he remained until the Civil War began.
Hancock returned east to assume quartermaster duties for the rapidly growing Union Army, but was quickly promoted to brigadier general on September 23, 1861, and given an infantry brigade to command in Army of the Potomac. In the Peninsula Campaign, in 1862, he led a critical counterattack in the Battle of Williamsburg. In the Battle of Antietam, Hancock assumed command of the 1st Division, II Corps, following the death of Major General Israel B. Richardson. He was promoted to major general of volunteers on November 29, 1862. He led his division in the Battle of Fredericksburg, where he was wounded in the abdomen. At the Battle of Chancellorsville, his division covered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's withdrawal and Hancock was wounded again.
Hancock's most famous service was as a new corps commander at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to 3, 1863. After his friend, Major General John F. Reynolds, was killed early on July 1, Major General George G. Meade, the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, sent Hancock to assess the situation. Hancock was in command of the "left wing" of the army. He organized the Union defenses on Cemetery Hill against the more numerous Confederate forces. On July 2, Hancock's corps was positioned on Cemetery Ridge. On July 3, Hancock continued in his position on Cemetery Ridge and bore the brunt of Pickett's Charge. Hancock was wounded severely by a bullet striking the pommel of his saddle, entering his inner right thigh. Despite his pain, Hancock refused evacuation to the rear until the battle was over.
Hancock suffered from the effects of his Gettysburg wound for the rest of the war. He returned in the spring of 1864 to join Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. He commanded at the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House on May 12. His corps suffered enormous losses during a futile assault Grant ordered at Cold Harbor. Hancock was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army, effective August 12, 1864. His only significant military defeat occurred during the Siege of Petersburg. He was promoted to brevet major general in the regular army for his service at Spotsylvania, effective March 13, 1865.
At the close of the war, Hancock was assigned to supervise the execution of Abraham Lincoln's assassination conspirators. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, and by May 9 of that year, a military commission had been convened to try the conspirators. The actual assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was already dead, but the trial of his co-conspirators proceeded quickly, resulting in convictions. President Andrew Johnson ordered the executions to be carried out on July 7. Although he was reluctant to execute some of the less-culpable conspirators, especially Mary Surratt, Hancock carried out his orders.
In 1866, on Grant's recommendation, Hancock was promoted to major general and was transferred to command of the military Department of the Missouri. Hancock reported to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and took up his new posting. Soon after arriving, he was assigned by General Sherman to lead an expedition to negotiate with the Cheyenne and Sioux, with whom relations had worsened since the Sand Creek massacre. Hancock's time in the West was brief. President Johnson was unhappy with the way Republican generals were governing the South under Reconstruction. The general who offended Johnson the most was Philip Sheridan, and Johnson soon ordered General Grant to switch the assignments of Hancock and Sheridan, believing that Hancock, a Democrat, would govern in a style more to Johnson's liking. Although neither man was pleased with the change, Sheridan reported to Fort Leavenworth and Hancock to New Orleans. Hancock's new assignment put him in charge of the Fifth Military District, covering Texas and Louisiana. Hancock encouraged white Democrats across the South who hoped to return to civilian government.
Hancock's popularity within the Democratic party grew and he was considered a potential presidential nominee for that party in the 1868 election. Following General Grant's 1868 presidential victory, the Republicans were firmly in charge in Washington. Hancock found himself transferred once again, this time away from the sensitive assignment of reconstructing the South and into the relative backwater that was the Department of Dakota.
In 1872, General Meade died, leaving Hancock the army's senior major general. This entitled him to a more prominent command, and President Grant, still wanted to keep Hancock from a Southern post, so he assigned him command of the Division of the Atlantic, headquartered at Fort Columbus in New York City. His time in this position was uneventful except for the army's involvement in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. When railroad workers went on strike to protest wage cuts, the nation's transportation system was paralyzed. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland asked President Hayes to call in federal troops to re-open the railways. Once federal troops entered the cities, most of the strikers dispersed, but there were some violent clashes.
While Hancock was posted in New York, he did his best to keep his political ambitions alive. He received some votes at the Democrats' 1876 convention but focused his ambition on 1880. President Hayes had promised not to run for a second term, and the previous Democratic nominee, Samuel Tilden, declined to run again due to poor health. Hancock's support in the south meant that Hancock, had nationwide support. When the Democratic convention assembled in Cincinnati in June 1880, Hancock led on the first ballot, but did not have a majority and won on the second.
The Republicans nominated Congressman James A. Garfield of Ohio. Hancock and the Democrats expected to carry the Solid South, but needed to add a few of the Northern states to win the election. The Republicans were reluctant to attack Hancock personally because of his heroic reputation. The one policy difference the Republicans were able to exploit was the Democrat's endorsement of low tariffs. Garfield's campaigners used this to paint the Democrats as unsympathetic to the plight of industrial laborers, a group that would benefit by a high protective tariff. In the end, the Democrats failed to carry any of the Northern states except for New Jersey. Garfield received 39,213 more votes than Hancock, the popular vote being 4,453,295 for Garfield and 4,414,082 for Hancock. The electoral vote count had a much larger spread: Garfield polled 214 electoral votes and Hancock.
Hancock took his electoral defeat in stride and attended Garfield's inauguration. Following the election, Hancock carried on as commander of the Division of the Atlantic. He was elected president of the National Rifle Association in 1881, explaining that "The object of the NRA is to increase the military strength of the country by making skill in the use of arms as prevalent as it was in the days of the Revolution." He was commander-in-chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States veterans organization from 1879 until his death. Hancock's last major public appearance was to preside over the funeral of President Grant in 1885, and he also made a less publicized trip that year to Gettysburg.
Hancock died on February 9, 1886 at Governors Island, five days before his 62nd birthday. He was still in command of the Military Division of the Atlantic. He died from an infected carbuncle, complicated by diabetes. He is buried in Montgomery Cemetery in West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near Norristown, Pennsylvania. His wife, Almira, published Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock in 1887.