Henry Warner Slocum

Henry Warner Slocum
Portrait of General Henry W. Slocum by Mathew Brady, ca. 1861
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's at-large district
In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885
Preceded by	Lyman Tremain
Succeeded by	At-large district temporarily abolished John Fitzgibbons Elmer E. Studley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873
Preceded by	William E. Robinson
Succeeded by	Stewart L. Woodford
Personal details
Born	(1827-09-24)September 24, 1827 Delphi, New York
Died	April 14, 1894(1894-04-14) (aged 66) Brooklyn, New York
Political party	Democratic
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1852–1856; 1861–1865
Rank	Major General
Commands	27th New York Infantry Brigade Commander, Franklin's Division Divisional Commander, VI Corps XII Corps XIV Corps XX Corps Army of Georgia
Battles/wars	American Civil War First Battle of Bull Run Peninsula Campaign Siege of Yorktown Gaine's Mill Seven Days' Battles/Malvern Hill Second Battle of Bull Run Battle of South Mountain Battle of Antietam Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Gettysburg Atlanta Campaign Battle of Bentonville

Henry Warner Slocum (September 24, 1827 – April 14, 1894), was a Union general during the American Civil War and later served in the United States House of Representatives from New York. During the war, he was one of the youngest major generals in the Army and fought numerous major battles in the Eastern Theater and in Georgia and the Carolinas. While commanding a regiment, a brigade, a division, and a corps in the Army of the Potomac, he saw action at Bull Run, the Peninsula, South Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Harpers’ Ferry. At Gettysburg, he was the senior Union General in the Field. During the battle, he held the Union right from Culp’s Hill to across the Baltimore Pike. His successful defense of Culp’s Hill was crucial to the Union victory at Gettysburg. After the fall of Vicksburg, Slocum was appointed military commander of the district. Slocum participated in the Atlanta campaign and was the first commander to enter the city on September 2, 1864. He then served as occupation commander of Atlanta. Slocum was appointed the commander of the left wing of Sherman’s march through Georgia and the Carolinas, commanding the XIV and XX Divisions, comprising the Army of Georgia. During this campaign, he captured the capitol of Georgia, Milledgeville, and the seaport of Savannah. In the Carolinas campaign, Slocum’s army saw victories in the battles of Averasborough and Bentonville, North Carolina. The March to the Sea and the Carolinas campaign were crucial to the overall Union victory in the Civil War. After the surrender of Confederate forces, Slocum was given command of the Department of Mississippi. Slocum declined an appointment in the postwar Army. He was a successful political leader, businessman and railroad developer.

Early life and career

Slocum was born in Delphi, a hamlet in Onondaga County, New York. His father was Matthew B. Slocum, and his mother was Mary Ostrander. He attended the state school in Albany and the Cazenovia Seminary and worked as a teacher. He obtained an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1848, where he did well academically, graduating seventh of 43 in the class of 1852. He tutored his roommate, cadet Philip Sheridan, in mathematics. In his memoirs, Sheridan credited Slocum with helping him pass his examination and graduate from the academy.^[1] Slocum was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery on July 1, 1852. He served in the Seminole War in Florida and at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. While stationed there, he went on leave to marry Clara Rice in 1854.^[2] They had four children. Slocum was promoted to first lieutenant on March 3, 1855. He resigned his commission October 31, 1856, and settled in Syracuse, New York.^[3]

While serving in the Army, Slocum studied law under B. C. Presley, who was later elected Supreme Court Justice of South Carolina. Slocum was admitted to the bar in 1858 and practiced in Syracuse. He served as the county treasurer and was a member of the New York State Assembly (Onondaga Co., 2nd D.) in 1859. During this period he also served as an artillery instructor in the New York Militia with the rank of Colonel.^[4]

Civil War

Early commands

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Slocum was appointed colonel of the 27th New York Infantry, which was a two-year regiment mustered in at Elmira, New York. He led the regiment in Maj. Gen. David Hunter's division at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) on July 21, 1861, where his regiment suffered 130 casualties and he was severely wounded in the left thigh. On August 9, 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers and commanded the 2nd Brigade of Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin's 1st Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac, during the Peninsula Campaign. Slocum commanded the 1st Division, VI Corps at the Seven Days Battles, culminating at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1861. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Gaines' Mill on June 27, 1861.^[5] General Fitz-John Porter complimented Slocum’s division in the Virginia campaigns as “one of the best divisions in the Army.”^[6]

On July 25, 1862, Slocum was promoted to major general of volunteers to rank from July 4, the second youngest man in the Army to achieve that rank.^[4] Still in command of the 1st Division, he led it covering the retreat of Maj. Gen. John Pope after the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 29–30, 1861.^[4] At Crampton's Gap during the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1861, Slocum assaulted the enemy line behind a stone wall and routed it.^[5] Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin, corps commander, described the victory as “the completest victory gained up to that time by any part of the Army of the Potomac.”^[7] For his successes in the campaigns of 1861 and 1862, on October 20, 1862, Slocum was promoted to the command of the XII Corps after its commander, Maj. Gen. Joseph K. Mansfield, was killed at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, a battle where Slocum's division was kept in reserve.^[8] He led the corps in the Fredericksburg campaign (his troops participated in the campaign but were not involved in the actual fighting of the battle). At the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 1–5, 1863, Slocum commanded the Union right wing, including the XII Corps and the V Corps of Maj. Gen. George G. Meade and the XI Corps of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, a combined force of 46,000 men. Slocum executed well and maneuvered his wing into the rear of Gen. Robert E. Lee's army, halting the Confederate advance.

By the summer of 1863, Slocum proved himself to be a seasoned corps commander. He possessed a manner that inspired confidence in his men.

Gettysburg

Maj. Gen. Slocum played a decisive role in the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863. His XII Corps troops’ defense of Culp’s Hill on the Union right is credited with ensuring Meade’s ultimate victory against Lee’s army.^[9]

Despite this, some modern historians of Gettysburg have questioned the actions of Maj. Gen. Henry Warner Slocum on the afternoon of July 1, 1863.^[10] They allege that he failed to come to the immediate aid of General Howard’s XI Corps and engage Confederate troops in a timely way at Gettysburg. Information from recently accessed records, however, including Gen. Meade’s archives, shows that Slocum, in fact, dispatched the First Division of his Corps to Gettysburg immediately upon hearing the first report of the fighting. Further, Gen. Slocum’s First Division commander, Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams, verified this as he reported in late 1865 that “when reports of the battle going on in advance of Gettysburg were brought to Gen. Slocum… orders were issued to put the corps in motion,” and the “corps was immediately put in rapid march toward the scene.”^[11] A report by Maj. Guindon, whom Slocum had sent on a reconnaissance mission, corroborates Williams’ report; Maj. Guindon indicated that Slocum moved out troops even before he received a request for aid from Gen. Howard.^[12][13] Furthermore, Slocum advanced his First Corps despite an order (known as the “Pipe Creek Circular”) issued by General Meade that morning, and received by Slocum at 1:30 pm, to “halt your command where this order reaches you.” Contrary to modern interpretation, Slocum’s actions in fact showed initiative.

Slocum arrived at the battlefield marching from Two Taverns on the Baltimore Pike, about 5 miles southeast of the battlefield, late in the afternoon on July 1, 1863.

As the ranking general on the field, Slocum commanded the Union army for about six hours, until Meade arrived after midnight. During this time, Slocum was responsible for the supervision of the formation of the Union defensive lines. For the duration of the battle, Slocum would command the Union line from the “point of the fish hook” from Culp’s Hill to the south. Slocum’s XII Corps would successfully defend Culp’s Hill for three days, denying a Confederate victory at this most crucial of battles. During the battle of Culp’s Hill, in addition to his own XII Corps, Slocum commanded elements of the I, VI and XI Corps.

On July 2 at midnight, Gen. Meade called for a council of war with his corps commanders. It was held at his field headquarters in the front room of the Leister house. He asked his commanders whether the Union Army should remain in its present position, or to retire to another position nearer its base of supplies. Further, if the Army remained in its present position, should it attack or await the attack of the enemy. It is then that Slocum gave his recommendation to “Stay and fight it out.”^[14]

Meade planned an attack from the Power's Hill area into the Confederate left flank, to be led by Slocum the following day, utilizing the V Corps and the XII Corps as the army's "right wing." Slocum reported to Meade that he believed the plan was not feasible, as the terrain was too difficult for an assault. General Gouvernor K. Warren agreed with Slocum’s assessment.^[15]

When Meade ordered Slocum to send the entire XII Corps to assist the defense against Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's assault on the Union left flank on July 2, Slocum wisely recommended holding one brigade back in its position on Culp's Hill. This brigade, under Brig. Gen. George S. Greene, was able to hold out against a massive Confederate assault and saved the critical hill for the Union. This brigade was composed of five regiments of infantry, of only 1,350 soldiers. The regiments were: the 60th New York, Colonel Abel Godard; the 78th New York, Colonel Herbert von Hammerstein; the 102nd New York, Colonel Lewis R. Stegman; the 137th New York, Colonel David Ireland; and the 149th New York, Colonel Henry A. Barnum. General Greene later wrote in an article for Century Magazine, “To the discernment of General Slocum who saw the danger to which the army would exposed by the movement ordered by Meade to deplete the Right Wing the afternoon of July 2, and who took the responsibility of modifying the orders which he had received from Meade is due the honor of having saved the army from a great and perhaps fatal disaster.”^[16] General Oliver O. Howard later recalled of Slocum’s troops and the defense of Culp’s Hill: “The fighting at Culp’s Hill was the most impressive incident of the Battle of Gettysburg…a step all-important and essential to victory… Slocum… prevented Meade from losing the Battle of Gettysburg.”^[17] Slocum’s XII Corps received no medals of honor for the defense of Culp’s Hill and the Union right wing."

Western Theater

After Gettysburg, Howard's XI Corps and Slocum's XII Corps were sent to relieve the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the Western Theater, under the command of Joseph Hooker. When Slocum found out he was going to be serving under Hooker, he submitted two letters of resignation to President Abraham Lincoln stating his derogatory opinion of Hooker as both an officer and a gentleman. Lincoln refused the resignation and assured Slocum he would not have to serve under Hooker. A compromise was reached whereby one division of the corps, under Slocum, was assigned to protect the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad while the other division served directly under Hooker.^[4]

During the summer of 1864, Slocum commanded the District of Vicksburg and the XVII Corps of the Department of the Tennessee.^[3] Slocum’s administration of the district of Vicksburg was so efficient and successful that attempts to transfer Slocum to a fighting command in Georgia were prevented by Union Army commander General Ulysses S. Grant.^[7]

When Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson was killed in action during the Atlanta Campaign, command of Army of the Tennessee opened up, and when Hooker did not get it he resigned his commission. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman selected Slocum to command the new XX Corps (formed from the remnants of the XI Corps and XII Corps). Slocum took command on August 26, 1863. His former XII Corps soldiers cheered their previous commander's return. When Atlanta fell to Sherman on September 2, 1864, Gen. Slocum and his corps were the first to enter the city.^[2]

Slocum was occupation commander of Atlanta for 10 weeks. Slocum tried to make the occupation as tolerable for civilians as he could. Slocum wrote to his wife in a letter on November 7, 1864: “I wish for humanity’s sake that this sad war could be brought to a close. While laboring to make it successful, I shall do all in my power to mitigate its horrors.”^[18]

At the start of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, Sherman left Slocum in command of 12,000 troops in Atlanta as Sherman pursued Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood and his army.

March to the Sea - Savannah Campaign

One of General Slocum’s most important commands was that of the Army of Georgia, which participated in the famous March to the Sea. Slocum and his Army of Georgia participated in all engagements from the beginning of the March on November 16 until the surrender of the Confederate forces of General Joseph E. Johnston.

General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea, also called the Savannah Campaign, was among the most effective campaigns of the Civil War.^[19] The plan was conceived by Sherman himself, and approved by General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln.

Sherman’s objective was to divide the Confederacy in two along a West to East path following its strategic rail lines. Sherman’s Army would exchange its inland base of Atlanta for the more secure base (Savannah) on the Atlantic coast, which was controlled by the Union Navy. Disrupt the Southern economy by limiting access to vast food stores, manufacturing and destroying their rail and communication systems. Further it would demonstrate that Southern Army could not defend their heartland. The campaign would prevent reinforcing of Lee’s troops defending Petersburg, Virginia, and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Sherman’s Savannah campaign was considered a major Union success. Historians have stated that this was a major contribution to the overall Union victory in the war. The March was considered revolutionary, and in some ways unique, in the annals of modern warfare.^[20]

Sherman’s Army was composed of two armies, called wings, and a cavalry division. During the March, they followed separate paths along four parallel routes, 20–60 miles apart. Columns of men could stretch up to 50 miles long. Wagon columns could stretch up to 30 miles. The right wing (southern column; Army of the Tennessee) marched along the Georgia railroad, the Macon and Western railroad. The left wing (northern column; Army of Georgia) marched following the Georgia railroad, feinting toward Augusta. Sherman’s plan was to confuse the Confederate Army as to his objectives. The city he was heading for was Milledgeville, the Georgia state capital, which was captured on November 22, 1864. The ultimate objective of the March was the port city of Savannah, which was captured and occupied on December 21, 1864.

Sherman later placed Slocum in command of the newly created Army of Georgia, composed of the XIV Corps and the XX Corps from the Army of the Cumberland, which served as the left wing in Sherman's March to the Sea. The total number of officers and men in Slocum’s Army of Georgia was 26,703.^[21] The XIV Corps, commanded by Brig. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, had 13,962 officers and men. The XX Corps, commanded by Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams, had 13, 714 officers and men. The other wing, consisting of the XV and XVII Corps of the Army of the Tennessee, was commanded by Gen. Oliver O. Howard.

Sherman’s Army travelled light. Individual soldiers carried only minimal amounts of supplies, ammunition, rations. The Army, cut off from its supply base, partially lived off captured supplies. Sherman brought sufficient rations for the initial campaigns. He wrote, “I had wagons enough loaded with essentials, and beef cattle enough to feed on for more than a month, and had the census statistics showing the produce of every county through which I desired to pass. No military expedition was ever based on sounder or surer data.”^[22]

Each brigade had 50 enlisted man and one officer foraging team for supplying food.

Approximately 3,000 infantrymen were engaged in foraging on any given day of the March. That represents 5% of all infantrymen on the March.

The Savannah campaign was launched on November 15 and concluded with the capture and occupation of Savannah on December 21, 1864 (36 days).^[21] There were 25 days of actual marching. Slocum’s army traversed approximately 300 miles (480 km). Slocum’s Army of Georgia moved, on average, 12 to 15 miles per day and passed through 31 counties in Georgia. The Union column traversed 15 major creeks, streams and rivers that required pontoon bridges. During the march, Slocum’s troops employed individuals who were newly freed from slavery as pontoon builders and road-building detachments. The average distance of each crossing was 230 feet. Between Sherman’s two armies, pioneers were required to build over 100 miles of corduroy roads. Weather was relatively clear, as it only rained on two days.

For Slocum’s Army of Georgia, there were no major battles fought during the Savannah campaign. Most of the actions were, by Union accounts, skirmishes or small actions.

General Sherman’s Army captured two major cities during the March to the Sea. These cities were the Milledgeville, Capitol of Georgia, and Savannah, Georgia, the principal seaport city of Georgia. Both cities were occupied by the Union Army and there was little destruction of property caused by soldiers. Both cities remained intact. The Union Army, in both cases, was credited with protecting these cities. In Savannah, the mayor of the city and aldermen thanked General Sherman and Slocum’s subordinate, General Geary.^[23]

Upon reaching Savannah, Slocum took the surrender of the city on September 21, 1864. Slocum then set up fire guards and prevented the city of Savannah from being damaged. On September 22, Sherman telegraphed Abraham Lincoln, presenting Savannah as a Christmas present to Lincoln and the Union.

After the capture of the city, Slocum recommended to Sherman that Confederate Gen. William J. Hardee's corps, whose only escape route was north over a causeway, be cut off. But Sherman rejected Slocum's plan, and Hardee escaped, to fight again at Bentonville.

Carolinas Campaign

The Carolinas Campaign was launched leaving Savannah in late January 1865. Slocum’s troops marched a total of 425 miles (684 km) in 50 days. The march had been far more demanding than the March to the Sea, as the terrain was more difficult and there was much more rain. The Confederate forces opposing Sherman’s army were even smaller than during the Savannah campaign.

In mid-April, Confederate Gen. Johnston met with Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Greensboro, North Carolina. He confessed:

Our people are tired of the war, feel themselves whipped, and will not fight. Our country is overrun, its military resources greatly diminished, while the enemy’s military power and resources were never greater and may be increased to any extent desired. … My small force is melting away like snow before the sun.

During the Carolinas Campaign, Slocum's army was heavily engaged at the Battle of Averasborough, on March 15–16, 1865, and the Battle of Bentonville, on March 19, 1865, where Slocum successfully held off a surprise assault by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. After Slocum’s defeat of the Confederate forces at Bentonville, an officer of Sherman’s staff wrote: “Slocum was more than equal to the necessity of the hour, and his success justified General Sherman’s selection of him as commander of the Left Wing of the Army.”^[7]

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Gen. Sherman and his army on April 17, 1865, at Bennett’s farm, Durham Station, North Carolina.

Most of the damage inflicted by Sherman’s army was in destruction of railroads, factories, cotton supplies and manufacturing, livestock, confiscation of food stores. Sherman imposed strict rules regarding both foraging and destruction of property.^[24] The principle loss to the Confederacy was the freeing of individuals from slavery. Estimated Confederate losses: 100 million dollars (1.4 billion in 2010 dollars) - Estimated (General Sherman estimated this damage, but it was not based on any actual tallying of figures); 20 million dollars – General Sherman estimated that this amount was confiscated by the Union Army during the March. The left wing of Sherman’s march destroyed 125 miles of railroad track.

As a direct result of Sherman’s March through the South, thousands of slaves left their plantations and workplaces and joined Sherman’s army as refugees.^[25][26] It is estimated that between 17,000 and 25,000 newly freed enslaved people followed Sherman’s army during the march through Georgia. It is estimated that 8,000 of these newly freed individuals followed the army into Savannah. In addition, it is estimated that 7,587 individuals were freed from slavery in Savannah and its surrounding areas on December 21, 1864. Wherever Sherman’s March went throughout Georgia and the Carolina’s, he was enforcing the provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Both Army commanders under General Sherman were abolitionists who opposed slavery. General Oliver O. Howard of the Army of the Tennessee and General Henry W. Slocum were active in the anti-slavery movement.^[27][28] Several other general officers were abolitionists.

Hundreds of men liberated from slavery served in the columns as teamsters, cooks, and cleared and built roads, etc. They helped in convoys, as wagoneers and teamsters, and helped in various camp duties. They provided service as guides and scouts, provided military intelligence about the position of the Confederate Army. Individuals liberated from slavery also informed Union commanders about where provisions could be found. Union officers praised these highly valued individuals.

Formerly enslaved men also aided escaped Union soldiers.

A Union officer wrote: “What they have done for the Army entitles them to their freedom or whatever they may desire.”

Many of the Union soldiers saw the evils of slavery for the first time. Many of them commented in their letters home that it had changed their ideas about why the war was being fought.^[29]

End of the War

After the Confederate surrender, Slocum commanded the Department of the Mississippi from April through September 1865.^[2] In this role, his "General Orders No. 22" appear as attachment number 12 in Carl Schurz's 1865 Report to Congress on the Condition of the South. The orders countermanded the attempt by the provisional governor of Mississippi, William Sharkey, to form a state militia independent of federal control. The militia was created to prevent newly freed slaves from exercising their rights as citizens. Section VII of his "General Orders No. 10" also appear in this report in attachment number 27. Here he makes it clear that, as long as courts grant equal privileges, ex-slaves are to be regulated by the same criminal statues as other citizens.^[30]

Slocum resigned from the Army on September 28, 1865 and returned to Syracuse, New York.^[2]

Postbellum life

Slocum ran as the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State of New York in 1865, but was defeated by fellow Gettysburg General Francis C. Barlow. Slocum and his wife, Clara, and family moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1866. After resuming work as a lawyer, he declined an offer to return to the U.S. Army as a colonel. On January 6, 1869 he was elected as a companion of the New York Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Slocum was elected as a Democrat to the 41st and 42nd Congresses (March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873). Slocum took an active interest in military and veterans’ affairs. He worked in Congress for the exoneration of Major General Fitz John Porter who was court-martialed after the Second Battle of Bull Run.^[31] Slocum gave a strong speech on Porter’s behalf in Congress on January 18, 1884. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1872. Instead, he resumed the practice of law in Syracuse.

Slocum was a trustee of the Park Savings Bank of Brooklyn, New York. The bank failed in the depression of 1876. (15)

He was appointed Commissioner of the department of city works of Brooklyn, New York in 1876 and was involved in many civic improvements, from surface transportation to the Brooklyn Bridge, where his name is prominent on a bronze tablet. He advocated unsuccessfully for having no bridge tolls.^[32] In 1880, he travelled with his family to Europe. He was again elected in 1882 as a representative-at-large to the 48th Congress (March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885). He was president of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Bath, New York, and was a member of the New York Monuments Commission for the battlefield of Gettysburg. He served on this commission until his death.^[4][9]

Slocum remained friends with Gen. W. T. Sherman until Sherman’s death in 1891. Both Gen. O. O. Howard and Gen. Slocum planned Sherman’s funeral and were honorary pall bearers.

Slocum never wrote his memoirs, as had other prominent Union generals. He, however wrote a number of articles about his wartime service for popular magazines, such as Century Magazine. These articles were later reprinted in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War in 1887.^[33][34]

Henry Slocum died on April 14, 1894, in Brooklyn, New York. He was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery, where Gen. Fitz-John Porter also is interred.

A former member of his staff wrote of him, in memoriam: “In all the sterling qualities that go to make up a man, I have seldom met the equal or superior of Major General Henry W. Slocum. Firm and resolute of purpose, yet with so much modesty, so little of self-assertion; so faithful in the performance of whatever he believed to be his duty; so independent in his speech and conduct, whatever might be the future result.”^[7]

Namesakes

Equestrian statues of Slocum are located at Steven’s Knoll and Culp’s Hill, Gettysburg battlefield, and in Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York.

A steamship, the General Slocum, was named for him; it had a disastrous fire on board in 1904 with much loss of life.

Fort Slocum, New York, guarded the entrance to New York Harbor from Long Island Sound from 1867 to 1965 when it was deactivated by the US Army.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals

Notes

15 Brooklyn Eagle Online - NYPL

References

• Brown, William H. "Henry Warner Slocum." In Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. ISBN 0-393-04758-X.
• Coddington, Edwin B. The Gettysburg Campaign; a study in command. New York: Scribner's, 1968. ISBN 0-684-84569-5.
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Melton, Brian C. Sherman's Forgotten General: Henry W. Slocum. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8262-1739-4.
• Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg – The First Day. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8078-2624-3.
• Sears, Stephen W. Gettysburg. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. ISBN 0-395-86761-4.
• Tagg, Larry. The Generals of Gettysburg. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.

• United States Congress. "Henry Warner Slocum (id: S000496)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.  Retrieved on 2008-10-30
• Biography at Antietam on the Web

Archives

• Samuel P. Bates Collection, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
• John B. Bachelder Papers, New Hampshire Historical Society.
• Colonel Joseph Howland papers, New York Historical Society, letters 1862-1866.
• Slocum, Henry W. “U.S. Army Generals’ Report of Civil War Service, 1846-1887.” National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.

Further reading

• Bowman, S. M., & Irwin, R. B. Sherman and His Campaigns: A Military Biography. New York: Charles B. Richardson, 1865.
• Cox, Jacob D. The March to the Sea: Franklin and Nashville. New York: Scribner’s, 1882.
• Coyningham, David P. Sherman's March through the South, with Sketches and Incidents of the Campaign. New York: Sheldon and Co., 1865.
• Drago, Edmund L. “How Sherman’s March through Georgia Affected the Slaves.” Georgia Historical Quarterly, 57 (Fall, 1973): 361-374.
• Fox, William F. and the New York Monuments Commission. In Memoriam: Henry Warner Slocum, 1826-1894. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon, 1904. Also known as Slocum and His Men: The Twelfth Corps.
• Gallagher, Gary W., ed. The Second Day at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0873384827.
• The George Gordon Meade Collection, microfilm, 14 reels (Scholarly Resources, 1998), reel 5, frame 0035. The originals of Meade’s papers are housed at the Pennsylvania Historical Society in Philadelphia. Cited in Himmer, 2010.
• Glatthaar, Joseph T., The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman’s Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1985. ISBN 978-0-8071-2028-6.
• Himmer, Robert. "New Light on Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum's Conduct on the First Day at Gettysburg." Gettysburg Magazine 43 (July 2010): 49–60.
• Howard, Oliver O. “To the Memory of Henry Slocum: A Eulogy by Oliver O. Howard.” In Civil War Times Illustrated, ed. Thomas E. Hilton, 21, March 1982, 38-41.
• Long, E. G., with Barbara Long. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861-1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. ISBN 978-0-307-81904-8.
• Nevins, Allan. The War for the Union: Volume IV: The Organized War to Victory, 1864-1865. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971. ISBN 9780684104287.
• Nichols, George Ward. The Story of the Great March: From the Diary of a Staff Officer. New York: Harper & Bros., 1865.
• O'Donnell, Edward T. Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat "General Slocum". New York: Broadway Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7679-0906-2.
• Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0807849965.
• Sherman, William T. The Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. New York: Appleton & Co., 1875.
• Sherman, William T. The Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. Edited by Charles Royster. New York: New York Library of America, 1990. ISBN 9780940450653.
• Slocum, Charles E. History of the Slocums, Slocumbs, and Slocombs of America. Syracuse, NY: Author; Vol. 1, 1882, Vol. 2, 1908.
• Slocum, Charles E. The Life and Services of Major-General Henry Warner Slocum. Toledo: Slocum Publishing, 1913.
• Slocum, Henry W. "Sherman’s March from Savannah to Bentonville." In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 4, Century Magazine, New York: Thomas Yoseloff, Inc., 1887, 681-695.
• Slocum, H. W. "Final operations of Sherman’s Army." In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 4, Century Magazine, New York: Thomas Yoseloff, Inc., 1887, 754-758.
• Trudeau, Noah Andre. Southern Storm: Sherman’s March to the Sea. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN 9780061860102.
• United States War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 70 vols. In 128 parts (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901), series 1, vol. 27, pt. 1, The Gettysburg Campaign, and pt. 3; vol. 44, Operations in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. November 14-December 31, 1864; and vol. 47, Operations in North Carolina (from February 1), South Carolina, Southern Georgia, and East Florida. January 1-June 30, 1865, pt. 1.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry Warner Slocum.

• "Henry Warner Slocum". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
• Army of Georgia Historical Society
• Texts on Wikisource:
  • "Slocum, Henry Warner". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 
  • "Slocum, Henry Warner". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 
  • "Slocum, Henry W.". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914. 
  • "Slocum, Henry Warner". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. 
  • "Slocum, Henry Warner". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. 

Military offices
Preceded by Alpheus S. Williams	Commander of the XII Corps (Army of the Potomac) October 20, 1862 – July 1, 1863	Succeeded by Alpheus S. Williams
Preceded by Alpheus S. Williams	Commander of the XII Corps (Army of the Potomac) July 4, 1863 – August 1, 1863	Succeeded by Alpheus S. Williams
Preceded by Alpheus S. Williams	Commander of the XII Corps (Army of the Potomac) September 13, 1863 – September 25, 1863	Succeeded by command transferred to Army of the Cumberland
Preceded by Himself as commander of XII Corps within the Army of the Potomac	Commander of the XII Corps, Army of the Cumberland September 25, 1863 – April 18, 1864	Succeeded by command absorbed by XX Corps
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by William E. Robinson	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd congressional district 1869–1873	Succeeded by Stewart L. Woodford
Preceded by Lyman Tremain	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's at-large congressional seat 1883–1885	Succeeded by John Fitzgibbons Elmer E. Studley