“A group of foreign observers with Maj. Gen. George Stoneman (standing hands folded, center) at Falmouth, Virginia” – 1863. Stoneman was an Adjutant to George McClellan during the American Civil War and he was born on August 8, 1822, in Busti, New York.
Stoneman’s prominent placement among international military observers at Falmouth took place during a critical, transitional moment just before his career was derailed by one of the most controversial cavalry maneuvers of the war. As the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps under General Joseph Hooker, Stoneman was ordered to execute a massive, deep-penetration raid behind Confederate lines during the Chancellorsville campaign to cut off General Robert E. Lee’s supply lines and force a retreat.
The high-stakes raid turned into a strategic disaster that severely crippled the Union war effort. Stoneman divided his forces, became bogged down by heavy spring mud, and failed to destroy any vital Confederate infrastructure, leaving General Hooker completely blind and without cavalry support during Lee’s brilliant flank attack at Chancellorsville. Though he was heavily criticized for the failure and later suffered the humiliation of being captured by Confederate forces during a separate raid in Georgia, Stoneman’s deep experience allowed him to rebuild his life after the war, eventually moving west to serve as the 15th Governor of California.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
