Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield, A Soldier's Story
Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield, A Soldier's Story
In 1849, Schofield received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1853 and was initially assigned to Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, before being sent to Florida to guard U.S. installations during the uneasy truce preceding the Third Seminole War. While stationed there, he contracted tropical fever, likely malaria, along with dysentery, and was evacuated, an early reminder of the physical toll of nineteenth-century military service.
Schofield later returned to West Point as an instructor of natural and experimental philosophy. Feeling professionally constrained, he took a brief leave of absence to teach physics at Washington University in St. Louis before reentering active service at the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1861, he joined the 1st Missouri Infantry as Missouri descended into internal conflict.
During the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Schofield distinguished himself through leadership and composure under fire, actions for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. He went on to command forces that routed Confederate troops at the First Battle of Newtonia and played a central role in holding Union control over critical regions of Arkansas and Missouri. His responsibilities extended beyond the battlefield into the delicate wartime governance of Missouri, a border state deeply divided by loyalty and violence.
As the war progressed, Schofield participated in major operations including the Atlanta Campaign, the Battle of Franklin, and the Battle of Nashville. He also commanded Union forces during the occupation of Wilmington, North Carolina, one of the Confederacy’s final vital ports. By the war’s end, he had established himself as both an effective field commander and a trusted administrator.
After the Civil War, Schofield’s career expanded into diplomacy and Reconstruction governance. He undertook a diplomatic mission to France and later served as military governor of Virginia during the state’s constitutional convention. He was appointed Secretary of War ad interim and subsequently returned to command of troops, leading the Department of Missouri and the Military Division of the Pacific.
Schofield returned to West Point again, this time as superintendent, influencing generations of officers with his emphasis on professional conduct and civilian control of the military. In his later years, he commanded the Gulf, Pacific, Missouri, and Atlantic Divisions before reaching the apex of his career as Commanding General of the United States Army.
Lieutenant General Schofield retired from active service on September 29, 1895. He authored his memoir, Forty-Six Years in the Army, and remained active in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States until his death on March 4, 1906.
Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His legacy endures not only in the battles he fought, but in the principles of leadership and mutual respect that continue to shape the American military profession.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
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