The Quirky History,Savannah,Georgia And The United States

  William McKinley  was a Civil War veteran himself. President McKinley, who had fought for the Union, showed no animosity toward men who had fought for the other side.Incidentally,  William McKinley  was a Civil War veteran himself. President McKinley, who had fought for the Union, showed no animosity toward men who had fought for the other side.

Joseph Wheeler , another Confederate officer in the Civil War, served in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. Wheeler (West Point, 1859) commanded the 19th Alabama at the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth, and went on to command the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi. General Wheeler clashed repeatedly with Nathan Bedford Forrest, but retained Bragg’s faith in his ability. Joe Wheeler’s Civil War career ended in 1865, when Union troops captured him at Conyer’s Station, near Atlanta. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, President William McKinley appointed Wheeler major general of volunteers. General Wheeler took charge of the cavalry division (Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders were part of his command). In 1899 Wheeler headed to the Philippines to command the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division in the Philippine-American War.

Maj. Gen. Matthew Calbraith Butler , Confederate States Army, became a major general of U.S. Volunteers in the Spanish-American War—despite having lost his right foot in the battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863.

Sherman marched through South Carolina, capturing the state capital, Columbia, in February. Union forces reached Fayetteville, North Carolina, on March 11 and began a push toward Goldsboro. Sherman's forces clashed with Johnston's army at Averasboro on March 16 and again at Bentonville in a multiday battle that ended on March 21. Johnston's Confederate army was reduced to around 30,000 following the battle of Bentonville. This amounted to about half the size of Sherman's Union command. When Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's Union force joined Sherman at Goldsboro several days later, the combined Union force reached approximately 80,000 men. Sherman was now on a rail line that connected him directly with Petersburg, Virginia. Sherman went to City Point, Virginia, where he met with Grant and Lincoln on March 27 and 28 to discuss the coming end of the war. After the meetings ended, Sherman returned to his army to resume his pursuit of Johnston. As the two adversaries conti...