HANCOCK, WINFIELD SCOTT. 



419 



lar army " for gallant and distinguished services 

 in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, 

 and Cold Harbor, and in all the operations of 

 the army under Gen. Grant in Virginia." At 

 noon the same day he set out with his corps 

 on the second movement to Deep Bottom with 

 the same general design as on the former occa- 

 sion. On the whole the expedition was futile, 

 but, though it was attended with some morti- 

 fying incidents, it has never been said that the 

 commander failed to do all that lay in his power 

 to make it successful. The Second Corps was 

 brought to Petersburg August 21 by a long 

 night march, and after a rest long enough to 

 allow the men to make coffee, was put in mo- 

 tion again for the Weldon Railroad, and by noon 

 August 22 was at work tearing up the track as 

 far as Reams's Station, twelve miles south of Pe- 

 tersburg. August 24, Hancock was in command 

 and intrenched at that place, and there on the 

 following day the only notable disaster in his 

 career occurred. His lines were carried by a 

 powerful force of the enemy, and many of his 

 men captured. In all quarters during the action 

 the troops forming the remnants of his great 

 corps refused to bestir themselves. Even the 

 few of his veterans left seemed disheartened 

 by the slaughters they had seen and the fatigues 

 they had undergone. " His horse was shot 

 under him, and a ball cut his bridle-rein in two 

 as he exposed himself to rally his men. The 

 corps flag, which always followed him, was 

 pierced by five balls, and another splintered 

 the flag-staff. Gen. Morgan's account of the 

 battle describes the commander covered with 

 dust, begrimed with powder and smoke, laying 

 his hand upon a staff-officer's shoulder, and 

 saying, 'Colonel, I do not care to die, but I 

 pray to God I may never leave this field ! ' ' 

 In the movement against the South Side Rail- 

 road, along the Boydton plank-road, which 

 began October 26, Hancock took a leading 

 part, and his troops once more acted with their 

 old spirit, so that, although the expedition 

 failed, Hancock's share in it was brilliant and 

 successful. This was his last action. Novem- 

 ber 26, he turned over the command of the 

 Second Corps to Gen. Humphreys, and, at the 

 request of the Secretary of War, undertook the 

 task of organizing a corps of veteran troops 

 for service in the campaign of 1865, to consist 

 of 50,000 men. 



He was appointed Feb. 26, 1865, commander 

 of the Middle Military Division, comprising 

 the Departments of Washington, West Virginia, 

 and Pennsylvania, with a force of 35,000 ; and 

 March 13 he was made brevet major-general in 

 the regular army " for gallant and meritorious 

 service in the battle of Spottsylvania." When 

 the pursuit of Lee began, he was prompt to 

 take steps to join in it in case the retreat took 

 a different direction. July 26, 1866, Gen. 

 Hancock was made major-general and assigned 

 to the Department of Missouri. He was trans- 

 ferred to the command of the Fifth Military 

 District, comprising Texas and Louisiana, Aug. 



26, 1867, succeeding Gen. Sheridan, whose 

 course was not approved by President John- 

 son. In this position Hancock, who had always 

 been a Democrat, made it plain that his opinion 

 as to the duties of a military commander in 

 time of peace and as to the rights of the South- 

 ern States were not consistent with the recon- 

 struction policy determined upon by Congress. 

 It is worth while to give the statement of his 

 position contained in General Order No. 40, 

 issued at New Orleans : 



The general commanding is gratified to learn that 

 peace and quiet reign in this department. It will be 

 his purpose to preserve this condition of things. As 

 a means to this great end he regards the maintenance 

 of the civil authorities in the faithful execution of the 

 laws as the most efficient under the existing circum- 

 stances. In war it is indispensable to repel force by 

 force, and overthrow and destroy opposition to lawful 

 authority. But when insurrectionary force has been 

 overthrown and peace established, and the civil au- 

 thorities are ready and willing to perform their duties, 

 the military power should cease to lead, and the civil 

 administration resume its rightful dominion. Sol- 

 emnly impressed with these views, the general an- 

 nounces that the great principles of American liberty 

 are still the lawful inheritance of this people, and ever 

 should be. The right of trial by jury, the habeas cor- 

 pus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, 

 the natural rights of persons, and the rights of prop- 

 erty must be preserved. Free institutions, while they 

 are essential to the prosperity and happiness of the 

 people, always furnish the strongest inducements to 

 peace and order. Crimes and offenses committed in 

 this district must be referred to the consideration and 

 judgment of the regular civil tribunals, and those tri- 

 bunals will be supported in their lawful jurisdiction. 

 While the general thus indicates his purpose to re- 

 spect the liberties of the people, he wishes all to un- 

 derstand that armed insurrection or forcible resistance 

 to the law will be instantly suppressed by arms. 



These declarations, coming from a soldier of 

 the Union at such a time, will remain forever 

 classic phrases in the literature of civil liber- 

 ty ; but Hancock's orders, and his action in the 

 spirit of them, put him in antagonism to the 

 sentiment then prevailing at the North, and 

 he was relieved at his own request, March 28, 

 1868, and transferred to the Division of the 

 Atlantic, created Feb. 12, 1868, with head- 

 quarters at New York. After Gen. Grant be- 

 came President, he was sent, March 5, 1869, to 

 the Department of Dakota, but on the death of 

 Gen. Meade, which took place Nov. 6, 1872, he 

 was again assigned to the Division of the At- 

 lantic, and retained that command until his 

 death, with headquarters in New York city, 

 until 1878, and subsequently Governor's Island. 



General Hancock was frequently mentioned 

 as a Democratic candidate for the presidency ; 

 but, though willing to accept a nomination, 

 he was not politician enough to seek it. At 

 the National Democratic Convention held in 

 New York in 1868, he received 144 votes 

 on the eighteenth ballot. In the convention 

 of 1880 he was nominated for the presidency, 

 receiving 705 votes on the second ballot. 

 The election was close, for though Garfield 

 received 214 electoral votes to 155 for Han- 

 cock, the popular vote for the former was 

 4,449,053 to 4,442,035. The following States 



