Stanley attended the U.S. Military Academy and graduated ninth out of a class of forty-three; he was initially posted to the dragoons.
Born in Cedar Valley, Ohio, he was apprenticed to a physician at the age of fourteen. Attracted to military life, he eagerly accepted a West Point appointment where he was a diligent student.
As an officer of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons and later in the 1st Cavalry, he served on the frontier in the Kansas border disturbances and in Indian fighting. Refusing a commission in the Confederate army early in 1861, he was promoted to captain in the 1st U.S. Cavalry. He fought at Forsyth, Dug Spring, and Wilson's Creek, before being being commissioned a brigadier general in September of 1861. Breaking his leg in November, he was disabled until January, 1862. He fought at New Madrid and Island No. 10 and then at Corinth, Mississippi, in a campaign which Stanley considered to be strategically senseless.
In November, 1862, Rosecrans made Stanley Chief of Cavalry of his Army of the Cumberland. During his tenure after April, 1863, as a Major General, Stanley massed his scattered cavalry command, greatly enhanced its effectiveness, and tripled its strength. He left mounted service that September to command the 1st Division of the IV Corps which he led through much of the Atlanta Campaign, including Snake Creek Gap, Reseca, Kennesaw Mountain, and Vining's Station. Promoted to corps leader in July, 1864, he was criticized by Sherman for slowness at Jonesborough and Stanley attributed his delay to Sherman having ordered the IV Corps to wait to advance until it had wrecked the railroad above the town. His reputation was regained when he was sent west in November to oppose General John B. Hood in the Tennessee Campaign.
He received praise at Columbia, Spring Hill, and especially at Franklin, where he was severely wounded leading Opdycke's Brigade in a charge that staved off Union disaster. Following the war, Stanley continued in the Regular Army and retired in 1892. He was given the Medal of Honor in 1893 for his role in the Battle of Franklin.
Confederate General Otho French Strahl
Back to The Zouave Vol VIII No. 4 Table of Contents
Back to The Zouave List of Issues
Back to Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1994 The American Civil War Society
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com