John Alexander McClernand (May 30, 1812 – September 20, 1900) was an American lawyer, politician, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois and a member of the United States House of Representatives before the war. McClernand was firmly dedicated to the principles of Jacksonian democracy and supported the Compromise of 1850.
McClernand was commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers in 1861. His was a classic case of the politician-in-uniform coming into conflict with career Army officers, graduates of the United States Military Academy. He served as a subordinate commander under Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater, fighting in the campaigns of Belmont, operations on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, Shiloh in 1861–62 and later briefly as a commander of the Army of the Mississippi in late 1862 to early 1863, afterwards serving as a corps commander under Grant again during the campaign against Vicksburg.
A friend and political ally of Abraham Lincoln, McClernand was given permission to muster a large force to conduct offensive operations against the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi, a campaign that would rival the effort of General Grant, his department commander. Grant and Halleck machinated against McClernand, and most of the troops he raised in Illinois for his expedition were instead diverted to Grant's army without McClernand's knowledge. Later on, McClernand's own expeditionary force departed southwards before his arrival, by design, commanded by General William T. Sherman, an ally of Grant. McClernand chased after his expedition southwards and assumed command, designating this expeditionary force as the Army of the Mississippi. Grant was later able to neutralize McClernand's independent effort after it conducted an expedition to capture the vital Fort Hindman on the Arkansas river; this unassuming victory had secured an important milestone in the future of the operations around the Mississippi river for months to come, and McClernand became the senior corps commander in Grant's army for the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863. During the Siege of Vicksburg, Grant relieved McClernand of his command by citing his intemperate and unauthorized communication with the press, finally putting an end to a rivalry that had caused Grant discomfort since the beginning of the war. McClernand left the Army in 1864 and served as a judge and a politician in the postbellum era.
Early life and political career McClernand was born in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, near Hardinsburg, on May 30, 1812, but in 1816, his family moved to Shawneetown, Illinois.Warner, p. 293.John H. Eicher, p. 372. His early life and career were similar to that of another Illinois lawyer of the time, Abraham Lincoln, with whom he was a friend.Hughes, p. 9.Nevins, The War for the Union. Volume 1, p. 185. Largely self-educated, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1832. In that same year he served as a volunteer private in the Black Hawk War (Lincoln briefly served as a captain.)
In 1835 McClernand founded the Shawneetown Democrat newspaper, which he edited. As a Democrat he served in 1836 and from 1840 to 1843 in the Illinois House of Representatives.
He served in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1843, until March 3, 1851. A bombastic orator, his political philosophy was based on Jacksonian principles. McClernand vigorously opposed the Wilmot Proviso when it was introduced in 1846, 1847 and 1848.Kiper, p. 8. He disliked abolitionists which generated favor among his constituents, many of whom were originally natives of slaveholding states.Sifakis, p. 408 Nonetheless, historian Allan Nevins described him as a general favorite in Congress in 1850 as being a man of courtesy and urbanity.Nevins, Ordeal of the Union: Fruits of Manifest Destiny: 1847–1852. Volume I., p. 303. On the other hand, John Hay later described him as "a vain, irritable, overbearing, exacting man."Hughes, p. 12. Nevins himself described McClernand in 1861 as an independent brigadier with "a headlong, testy, irascible manner."Nevins, The War for the Union. Volume 1, p. 323. He was an important ally to Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas played a crucial role in formulating the Compromise of 1850, and McClernand served as a liaison for him in the House of Representatives during the debate over the proposed compromise. McClernand also served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands from 1845 to 1847 and on the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1849 to 1851. In 1850, McClernand declined to be a candidate for renomination, and his term expired in 1851. In the eight years he was out of Congress, he developed a large law practice and engaged in land speculation.
In 1859, McClernand was again elected to the House to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Thomas L. Harris.Kiper, p. 15. His term began on November 8. He was a strong Unionist and introduced the resolution of July 15, 1861, pledging money and men to the national government. In 1860 he was defeated in a bid for the speakership of the House of Representatives.Kiper, pp. 15-16. The small coalition of Democratic representatives from Alabama and South Carolina opposing him objected to his moderate views on slavery and the importance of retaining the Union.Hughes, p. 10.Potter, p. 390.
McClernand supported the campaign of his friend, Stephen Douglas, in the 1860 presidential election.Kiper, p. 17. He served as one of his campaign managers during the divisive Democratic presidential nomination convention held in Charleston, South Carolina in 1860.Nevins, Volume II,The Emergence of Lincoln: Prologue to Civil War 1859–1861, pp. 205-206.
In November 1842, McClernand married Sarah Dunlap of Jacksonville, Illinois, a close friend of Mary Todd Lincoln.Kiper, p. 6. Sarah was a daughter of James Dunlap,David J. Eicher, p. 218. who served as a quartermaster in the Union Army during the Civil War, resigning as lieutenant colonel and quartermaster of the XIII Corps of the Army of the Tennessee on June 11, 1864.On December 11, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Dunlap for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865. The appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 6, 1867. John H. Eicher, p. 744. John and Sarah's son, Edward John McClernand, was notable as a West Point graduate in 1870,Kiper, p.293. U.S. Army brigadier general in the Indian Wars, Medal of Honor recipient and later fought in the Philippines.Kiper, p. 22. After Sarah's death on May 8, 1861, McClernand married her sister, Minerva Dunlap on December 23, 1862.Kiper, pp. 21, 153
Civil War
McClernand's brigade at Cairo
Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, McClernand raised the "McClernand Brigade" in Illinois, and was appointed brigadier general of volunteers on August 7, 1861, to rank from May 17, 1861.John H. Eicher, 724. His commission as a general was based on Lincoln's desire to retain political connections with the Democrats of Southern Illinois, not on his brief service as a private in the Black Hawk War. McClernand eventually resigned his Congressional seat effective October 28, 1861. He was an effective recruiter of volunteers for the Union Army. He raised the McClernand Brigade from southern Illinois, an area of mixed sentiments with respect to preservation of the Union. The brigade was placed in the Western Department which was under the command of Major General John C. Fremont on August 21, 1861.Kiper, 28. At the same time, the brigade was placed in the District of Southeast Missouri commanded by Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, a subordinate of Fremont. In the summer of 1861, McClernand commanded and trained his brigade at Springfield, Illinois and Jacksonville, Illinois, moving them to Cairo, Illinois at the beginning of September. The brigade soon began to cut off shipments of arms and supplies to the Confederacy.
Battle of Belmont McClernand was second in command under Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Belmont in Missouri on November 7, 1861.Hughes, p. 205. In response to orders from Fremont on November 2 and 3, 1861, Grant sent regiments from his district in seven columns to demonstrate against Confederate forces on both sides of the Mississippi River.Hughes, 47. The objective was to prevent Confederate reinforcement of other Confederate units in Missouri and Arkansas.Hughes, 45-46.Kiper, 41. On the afternoon of November 6, two brigades under Grant's direct command moved down the river. One was commanded by McClernand; the other by Colonel Henry Dougherty.Hughes, 48-59.Kiper, 42. Grant picked up two regiments before stopping overnight, bringing his force to 3,119 men. His plan was to launch a surprise attack on the Confederate camp at Belmont, Missouri with part of his force while other regiments from his command were moving to attack the Confederates under Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson, then at Bloomfield, Missouri and to reinforce Union Colonel Richard Oglesby operating in southeastern Missouri.Hughes, 53-55.
Near 8:00 a.m. on November 7, Grant's force began to disembark from transports about three and one-half miles (5.6 km) north of Belmont, out of range of Confederate artillery batteries across the river at Columbus, Kentucky.Hughes, 57, 85. Union gunboats made futile attempts to attack Confederate artillery batteries during the landings.Hughes, 60-64. The Confederate camp at Belmont, named Camp Johnston, had been established by Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk as an observation post. When Polk learned of Grant's movement early on November 7, he sent four regiments under Brigadier GeneralHughes, 50. Gideon Pillow from Columbus to Belmont as reinforcements to intercept Grant's force.Hughes, 65.
After his troops had disembarked from the gunboats, McClernand led his brigade toward the Confederate line formed in part by the recently arrived regiments of Gideon Pillow, about 3,000 men in total.Hughes, 74-75, 77. By 10:00 a.m., McClernand's skirmishers began to encounter the Confederate skirmishers.Hughes, 86. McClernand extended his battle line to outflank the Confederate line.Kiper, 44. A gap in the Union line was covered by two regiments shifting to the right.Hughes, 92. When McClernand saw that one of his regiments under Colonel Napoleon Buford had outflanked the Confederate line, McClernand ordered a general attack.Kiper, 44, 45. Some Confederate battalions began to run out of ammunition.Hughes, 115. By 2:00 p.m. the Union battle line broke the Confederate battle line about one mile (1.6 km) from the Confederate camp.