This is part one of a two
part article on the story of William French an officer not generally know or
highly regarded in the annals of Civil War, and his instrumental role in saving
five valuable artillery companies located in secessionist Texas in the final
weeks of the Buchanan Administration. Part
1 is the story of French’s career as an artillery officer up to the beginning
of the Civil War.
At
the Battle of Antietam, William French commanded a newly organized infantry division
in the Second Corps. Before that he
earned a reputation as a solid fighter leading a brigade in Israel Richardson’s
division. French earned a brevet for
gallantry ninety days before Antietam at the Battle of Fair Oaks. Oliver Howard
once said that his fellow brigade commander had “a mind of unusual quickness, well replenished by a long
experience in his profession. French
somehow was able to take more men into action and have less stragglers than any
of his parallel commanders.”[i]
While
French had established a name for himself up till then as a competent infantry
commander, he was much better known before the war as one of the United States
Army’s premier artillerists. William
French was born in Baltimore on January 13, 1815. His father William was a veteran of the War
of 1812. His mother was the noted singer
Anna Rosetta Halverson who appeared in performances in Baltimore and
Philadelphia. He grew up with 3 sisters
and two brothers. His mother died when
William was 13 shortly after the family moved to Washington. His father was an
employee of the Post Office. The youth received
his appointment to West Point from the District of Columbia in 1833. He graduated in 1838 and his classmates were
a veritable stellar cast of future Civil War luminaries. They included John
Pemberton, Arnold Elzey, Braxton Bragg, Eliakim Scammon, Jubal Early, Bennett
Hill, John Sedgwick, Joseph Hooker, and Robert Chilton. Also attending the Academy at the time were
future artillerists Henry Hunt and William Barry. French’s ranking in the top half of the class
earned him an appointment in the First Artillery.
Upon graduation, French and
Hooker were sent to Florida and saw action in the Second Seminole War. In 1838 they followed each other to the Northern
Frontier with Canada during border disturbances there. Along the way French married Caroline Read,
daughter of George Read III scion of one of Delaware’s oldest and most
influential families. All of their sons
served in the military and their daughters both married military officers. One grandson served in the Third Army with
General Patton in World War 2.[ii] Their first child, Frank was born on April
18, 1842 while the young couple was stationed at remote Hancock Barracks in
Maine.[iii] Their
second son, William followed two years later while the young couple was stationed
at Fort Adams, Rhode Island.[iv] In
August 1845 orders came for the movement of Lieutenant French’s Company F to
Louisiana to form part of Zachary Taylor’s Army of Observation. Caroline took their two young boys back to
her father’s house at New Castle Delaware as her husband prepared to move
south. Company F commanded by Captain
George Nauman (USMA 1823) was a foot artillery company without guns or
horses. In the Mexican War these
companies became known as red leg infantry and fought as such. In May of 1846 the company went to Fort Brown
on the Rio Grande in Texas. For seven
months French was stuck at Point Isabel Texas as a commissary officer. In May of 1847 his fortunes changed when he
was attached to Francis Taylor’s (USMA 1825) Light Company K, First Artillery. The company was one of the Army’s original
four light artillery companies. It was
mounted with horses and guns in 1838 by order of Secretary of War
Poinsett. Nine years later, Taylor a
Virginian, was still in command. In
February 1847, Light Company K boarded the SS Arkansas and moved to Vera Cruz
to join Winfield Scott’s army. French
was attached as acting Adjutant General to the staff of division commander
Robert Patterson. The 32-year-old French
earned a brevet promotion for gallant and meritorious conduct at Cerro Gordo on
April 18 1847. He earned a second brevet
at the Battle of Churubusco. I cannot
find any accounts of what French’s actions were at either battle. At Cerro Gordo, he was on Patterson’s
staff. At Churubusco, the monthly
returns indicate he was attached to Taylors Light Company K, a battery of
six-pounders. “K’ got hammered at Churubusco
losing 2 officers, 20 enlisted men and 13 horses.[v]
French
served as aide de camp to future president Franklin Pierce in October and
November of 1847. In December he was transferred to Captain “Prince John”
Magruder’s Light Company I. Magruder was
sick at the time and French as the senior officer relieved Second Lieutenant
Thomas J. Jackson of command. French and
Jackson’s associations over the next two years did no credit to either
officer. In January 1848 Jackson was
promoted to First Lieutenant and transferred to Light Company I. Another young Virginian, Lieutenant Ambrose
Powell Hill took his place. French
served with Hill until October 1848. In
that month he was promoted to Captain of Company E. Its previous captain James H. Prentiss (USMA
1830) died of yellow fever on September 22, 1848 at the company’s encampment at
Fort Polk Texas. Company ‘E’ was another
foot artillery company and also fought in Mexico as red leg infantry. One of French’s new lieutenants was John
Brannan (USMA 1841). Brannan later had a
distinguished career in the Civil War rising to command a division of infantry
at Chickamauga where he was brevetted for gallantry. He went on to serve as
Chief of Artillery for the both the Army of the Cumberland and Tennessee. The other lieutenant was Abner Doubleday who
commanded an artillery company at Fort Sumter and an infantry division in the
First Corps at Antietam. In October 1850
as French’s company prepared to embark for Florida, Doubleday and Thomas
Jackson traded companies. Doubleday
moved to Light Company K and Jackson moved under French’s command in Company
E. Jackson was unhappy about moving from
one of the elite light companies into a foot artillery company. He also deeply respected and admired Captain Francis
Taylor, his commander at ‘K’ and Taylor
returned that feeling. It was not to be
the same with William French. Almost
immediately, sparks flew over French’s apparent tendency to micromanage the
relocation of several of the buildings at Fort Meade to a higher more healthy
elevation. Jackson was in charge of the
project and resented the perceived interference. French’s wife Caroline lived at Fort Meade. She was a kind and considerate woman who
welcomed the awkward and shy Jackson into her home. Caroline had given birth to their first
daughter Annie and was frequently ill. [vi]She had a servant named
Julia. Apparently the puritanical
Jackson felt it was inappropriate for Captain French to escort Julia back to
her quarters on the other side of the post at the end of the day. Jackson who already smarted from his
commanding officer’s micromanagement style felt compelled to formally prefer
charges about this behavior. The flurry
of charges and countercharges between the two men roiled Company E causing
another officer to request a transfer and the noncommissioned officers to take
sides. It finally took General David Twiggs, the department commander to put an
end to the bickering between the men. He
dismissed Jackson’s charges as without merit.
Jackson resigned from the Army to take a position at VMI. French would not let the incident go but he
too was finally ordered to move on by Twiggs.
French and his former subaltern would next find themselves in the fields
around Sharpsburg Maryland nine years later.
Company
E left the miserable swamps and stifling heat of Florida and relocated to the
Artillery School of Practice at Fort Monroe in December of 1853. This move to the east coast brought a period
of relative stability for French and his family. A third son Frederick was born in 1855.[vii] In May of that year, Francis Taylor the long
serving commander of Light Company K was promoted to Major, of the First
Artillery. Regulations required that
captaincies of light artillery companies be filled, not by the senior first
lieutenant in the regiment but by the officer “best qualified” for the
position.[viii] It is a measure of French’s abilities that he
was selected over the other eleven captains of the First Artillery to replace
Taylor in command of Light Company K. The
company was located at Fort McHenry outside of Baltimore. French,
a Marylander was no doubt pleased with this new assignment. It was also close to his wife’s ancestral
family estate at New Castle Delaware. The
family’s fourth son, George Ross French was born in 1857. [ix]
At
this time, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis selected French to be part of a
three-man panel of light artillery company commanders to modernize the system
of instruction for field artillery. The
other panel members were old friends William Barry and Henry Hunt, both
captains in the Second Artillery. Secretary
Davis chose wisely. Barry was an
original officer in Ringgold’s battery C, Third U.S. Artillery the first light
artillery company organized by the army back in 1839. Barry had been an artillery company commander
since 1852, most recently commanding Light Company Second Artillery. Henry Hunt, like French was a combat veteran
of the Mexican War and was the foremost champion and proponent of the light
artillery in the army. Hunt commanded
Light Company M, Second Artillery. The
three men’s work, Instructions in Field
Artillery was published in 1860. Instructions was the primary artillery
manual used by the army throughout the Civil War. It standardized artillery organization,
drill, tactics and ammunition supply for American artillery forces. The importance of this work cannot be over
emphasized.
As part of the Army’s periodic reshuffling of artillery
companies, Light Company K was ordered to Texas in June of 1859. Caroline and the five children accompanied
him on the move.[x] Travelling by rail and river, the company reached
Helena Arkansas on June 17. The rest of
the journey was an overland march of 700 miles to their new post at Fort Clark
Texas where they arrived on September 26.
In June of 1860 the company moved to Fort Duncan at Eagle Pass, 45 miles
further down the Rio Grande.
There were two foot artillery companies of the First
Artillery at Fort Duncan that were not mounted with guns or horses. Lieutenant Henry Clossen (USMA 1854)
commanded Company F and Lieutenant James Robinson (USMA 1852) commanded Company
L. In total, 8 officers, 219 enlisted
men, 60 horses and 4 guns garrisoned the post.[xi]
At Fort Brown
325 miles down river were the other two other artillery companies assigned to the
Department of Texas. French’s West
Point classmate and friend Captain Bennett Hill (USMA 1837), First Artillery
commanded this post. The fort was just
outside of Brownsville opposite the town of Matamoros about 30 miles inland
from the coast. With Hill were his own
Company M, First Artillery, and Light Company M, Second Artillery. The captain of Light Company M was Henry
Hunt, French’s colleague from the Artillery Board. Hunt was absent on special duty commanding
the arsenal at Harpers Ferry Virginia.
In Hunt’s absence, First Lieutenant Edward Platt (USMA 1849) was in
command. Light Company “M”s guns were
particularly valuable because they were the new Model 1857 Light 12-pounders
eventually known as Napoleons – the only company in the army equipped with
these advanced weapons. The Fort Brown garrison had a total of 6 officers, 134
enlisted men, 60 horses and 4 guns.[xii]
With the
election of Abraham Lincoln, the southern states began seceding from the
Union. On February 1, 1861 Texas became
the seventh state to secede. There was great danger that the rebels would
capture the men, guns and valuable artillery accouterments of the five
artillery companies stationed along the Rio Grande. While small in numbers of men and equipment,
these artillery companies were extremely valuable. In a future war, they could form the nucleus
of a powerful artillery arm if they could be saved.
End of Part 1
[ii] John French Conklin (1891-1973) graduated from West
Point in the Class of 1915 “the class the stars fell on.” Classmates were Dwight Eisenhower, Omar
Bradley and James Van Fleet. He participated
in the expedition into Mexico in 1916 and World Wars I and II. He served as
Company Commander, Regimental Commander, at the Command and General Staff
School, at the Army War College; as an instructor at West Point and in civil
assignments through the Corps of Engineers. He was an Engineer of the Third
Army under General George S. Patton, preceded by
his designation as Engineer of the I Armored Corps, also under General Patton.
He saw service in North Africa and on the beaches of Normandy to the Bavarian
Alps. He was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Rhine, the Isar
and the Inn, en route to Austria. His conspicuous service won him promotion to
General rank in 1945. Subsequent assignments were with the Office of the Chief
of Engineers, 1945-1947 and in Japan. He retired in 1951, and died in 1973.
[iii] Frank Sands French (1842-1865) was born at Houlton
Maine. He was commissioned as a
lieutenant in the First US Artillery on September 27 1861. He was wounded at Ball’s Bluff and again at
Antietam. Frank earned brevets for
gallantry at Fair Oaks, Antietam and Cold Harbor. He never recovered from his wounds and died
on September 6, 1865 at his grandfather’s estate at New Castle Delaware.
[iv] William Henry French (1844-1923) was born at Newport
Rhode Island. He was commissioned as a
lieutenant in the 57th New York Infantry on March 8, 1862. The 57th was assigned to his
father’s brigade in the Second Corps.
French earned a brevet for gallantry at Cold Harbor. He was transferred to the 61st New
York in December 1864. French was
honorably mustered out of the Army in March 1865. He accepted a commission in the 19th
Infantry in 1866 and resigned from the Army in 1870. He married Emily Ott in 1870 and had 15
children. French died in 1923.
[v] Dillon, Lester R. American
Artillery in the Mexican War 1846-1847 Austin TX Presidio Press 1975 page
46
[vi] Annie Read French (1852 - 1899), born the
24th of May, 1853, at Tampa, Hillsborough County, Fla., while her father was
stationed there; married, the 24th of May, 1875, to Captain John M. Clem, of
the United States army. He was born at Newark, Licking county, Ohio, in 1853,
entered the United States army in 1862 as a drummer-boy, and distinguished
himself in the battles of Chickamauga, and Shiloh, and became famous as the
"Drummer-boy of Chickamauga," and for his distinguished services and
gallantry was appointed, when only ten years of age, a sergeant in the United
States army ; became second lieutenant in 1870, first lieutenant in 1874, and
captain and assistant quartermaster in 1882. They had one son, John Clem.
[vii] Lieutenant Frederick Halverson French, (1855 -
1906)* an 1877 graduate of West Point in 1877, commissioned in
the Third Cavalry. Resigned in
1885. Died, June 26, 1906, at Washington, D. C.:
Aged 51.
[ix] Lieutenant George Ross French, (1857 -
1895) United States Navy, born 8th July, 1857, at Fort McHenry,
Baltimore, Maryland, while his father was stationed there; a graduate of the
Academy, Annapolis, in 1880; midshipman of the United States Navy in 1882;
ensign, June, 1884; married, in Baltimore, 26th of March, 1885, Elizabeth
Hollingsworth, daughter of Charles Findlay, Esq. Mrs. French was born the 17th
of November, 1856. They have one son, Findlay French.
[x] Based on the 1860 census records for Fort Clark Texas
that list Caroline, Frank, Willliam, Anna, Frederick, and Ross as family
members.
[xi] At Fort Duncan were Light Company “K”, First
Artillery with Captain William French commanding, First Lieutenant James
Slaughter, and Second Lieutenant Douglas Ramsay, Post Adjutant. There were 73 enlisted men, 60 artillery
horses, and four guns. Company “F”, First Artillery
had First Lieutenant Henry Clossen commanding and Second Lieutenant Douglas
Ramsay who served as Post Adjutant. “F”
had 70 enlisted men. Company “L”, First
Artillery had First Lieutenant James Robinson commanding with Second Lieutenant
Richard Jackson and 76 enlisted men.
[xii] At Fort Brown were Company “M”, First Artillery
with Captain Bennett Hill commanding, First Lieutenant Lewis Morris and Second
Lieutenant William Graham. There were 71
enlisted men. Light Company “M”, Second
Artillery had First Lieutenants Edward Platt commanding, First Lieutenant James
Thompson and Second Lieutenant Guilford Bailey.
There were 63 enlisted men, 60 artillery horses, and four Light 12 pounders. Light Company “M” was Henry Hunts company but
he was on detached service at the time commanding the garrison at Harpers Ferry
Virginia.
[2] John French Conklin (1891-1973) graduated from West
Point in the Class of 1915 “the class the stars fell on.” Classmates were Dwight Eisenhower, Omar
Bradley and James Van Fleet. He participated
in the expedition into Mexico in 1916 and World Wars I and II. He served as
Company Commander, Regimental Commander, at the Command and General Staff
School, at the Army War College; as an instructor at West Point and in civil
assignments through the Corps of Engineers. He was an Engineer of the Third
Army under General George S. Patton, preceded by
his designation as Engineer of the I Armored Corps, also under General Patton.
He saw service in North Africa and on the beaches of Normandy to the Bavarian
Alps. Conklin was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Rhine, the Isar
and the Inn, en route to Austria. His conspicuous service won him promotion to
General rank in 1945. Subsequent assignments were with the Office of the Chief
of Engineers, 1945-1947 and in Japan. He retired in 1951, and died in 1973.
[3] Frank Sands French (1842-1865) was born at Houlton
Maine. He was commissioned as a
lieutenant in the First US Artillery on September 27 1861. He was wounded at Ball’s Bluff and again at
Antietam. Frank earned brevets for
gallantry at Fair Oaks, Antietam and Cold Harbor. He never recovered from his wounds and died
on September 6, 1865 at his grandfather’s estate at New Castle Delaware.
[4] William Henry French (1844-1923) was born at Newport
Rhode Island. He was commissioned as a
lieutenant in the 57th New York Infantry on March 8, 1862. The 57th was assigned to his
father’s brigade in the Second Corps.
French earned a brevet for gallantry at Cold Harbor. He was transferred to the 61st New
York in December 1864. French was
honorably mustered out of the Army in March 1865. He accepted a commission in the 19th
Infantry in 1866 and resigned from the Army in 1870. He married Emily Ott in 1870 and had 3
daughters. French died in 1923.
[5] Dillon, Lester R. American
Artillery in the Mexican War 1846-1847 Austin TX Presidio Press 1975 page
46
[6] Annie Read French (1852 - 1899), born the
24th of May, 1853, at Tampa, Hillsborough County, Fla., while her father was
stationed there; married, the 24th of May, 1875, to Captain John M. Clem, of
the United States army. He was born at Newark, Licking county, Ohio, in 1853,
entered the United States army in 1862 as a drummer-boy, and distinguished
himself in the battles of Chickamauga, and Shiloh, and became famous as the
"Drummer-boy of Chickamauga," and for his distinguished services and
gallantry was appointed, when only ten years of age, a sergeant in the United
States army ; became second lieutenant in 1870, first lieutenant in 1874, and
captain and assistant quartermaster in 1882. They have one son, John Clem.
[8] Lieutenant George Ross French, (1857 -
1895) United States Navy, born 8th July, 1857, at Fort McHenry,
Baltimore, Maryland, while his father was stationed there; a graduate of the
Academy, Annapolis, in 1880; midshipman of the United States Navy in 1882;
ensign, June, 1884; married, in Baltimore, 26th of March, 1885, Elizabeth
Hollingsworth, daughter of Charles Findlay, Esq. Mrs. French was born the 17th
of November, 1856. They have one son, Findlay French.
[9] Rosalie French, (1861 – 1891) was born at New Castle,
Delaware. She married Lieutenant J. Conklin, of the United States army. Their
son John French Conklin (1891–1973) was also a graduate of the U.S.
Military Academy and a brigadier general in the United States Army.
[10] At Fort Duncan were Light Company “K”, First
Artillery with Captain William French commanding, First Lieutenant James
Slaughter, and Second Lieutenant Douglas Ramsay, Post Adjutant. There were 73 enlisted men, 60 artillery
horses, and four guns. Company “F”, First Artillery
had First Lieutenant Henry Clossen commanding and Second Lieutenant Douglas
Ramsay who served as Post Adjutant. “F”
had 70 enlisted men. Company “L”, First
Artillery had First Lieutenant James Robinson commanding with Second Lieutenant
Richard Jackson and 76 enlisted men.
[11] At Fort Brown were Company “M”, First Artillery
with Captain Bennett Hill commanding, First Lieutenant Lewis Morris and Second
Lieutenant William Graham. There were 71
enlisted men. Light Company “M”, Second
Artillery had First Lieutenants Edward Platt commanding, First Lieutenant James
Thompson and Second Lieutenant Guilford Bailey.
There were 63 enlisted men, 60 artillery horses, and four Light 12
pounders. Light Company “M” was Henry
Hunts company but he was on detached service at the time commanding the
garrison at Harpers Ferry Virginia.
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