- Henry M. Judah
Henry Moses Judah (
June 12 ,1821 –February 14 ,1866 ) was a career officer in theUnited States Army , serving during theMexican-American War andAmerican Civil War . He is most remembered for his role in helping thwartMorgan's Raid in 1863 and for leading a disastrous attack during theBattle of Resaca .Early life and career
Judah was born at Snow Hill on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland to Henry Raymond Judah and Mary Jane (Reece) Judah. His father, a native ofConnecticut , was serving as aparish minister in an Episcopalian church. One of his brothers,Theodore Judah , later was chief engineer of theCentral Pacific Railroad and was instrumental in constructing thefirst transcontinental railroad . Another brother became a prominent attorney.Judah received an appointment to the
United States Military Academy , graduating 35th of 39 students in the Class of 1843. He was a classmate ofUlysses S. Grant . Commissioned as a second lieutenant in theU.S. 8th Infantry Regiment , he served on thefrontier . He served with distinction during the Mexican-American War and was promoted to first lieutenant onSeptember 26 ,1847 . He was commended for bravery during the storming of Monterrey, and again at theBattle of Molino del Rey and theBattle for Mexico City .He was promoted to
captain in theU.S. 4th Infantry Regiment and served in a variety of posts in thePacific Northwest in theWashington Territory before being assigned to duty inCalifornia . His Company E was stationed atFort Jones in Siskiyou County, where he joined theFreemasons , becoming a member of the North Star Lodge No. 91.In 1854, Judah participated in an expedition against local Native Americans, but was too inebriated to lead his company in an attack on a group of Indians who were hiding in a cave. Instead, he stayed with the pack train and straggled far behind the column. The commissary officer, Lt.
George Crook (a future Civil War general) later wrote, "It seemed that the rear guard had gotten some whiskey, and were all drunk, and scattered for at least 10 miles back. Judah was so drunk that be had to be lifted from his horse when the rear guard straggled into camp. The next day he was sick all day with thedelirium tremens ." [ [http://www.militarymuseum.org/FtJones.html Military Museum website] ] Crook and other officers discussed pressing charges against Judah, but the matter was dropped when Judah promised to arrange a transfer to a new post. He then served inPlacerville, California , in El Dorado County. However, Judah's reputation for bouts with alcohol would carry over into the Civil War.Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Judah was
colonel of the 4th California Volunteers atFort Yuma , a post on theColorado River opposite theArizona Territory . He commanded troops at Camp McClellan nearAuburn, California , until November, when he resigned his command and returned to the East. He served in the defenses ofWashington D.C. for several months. He was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers onMarch 21 ,1862 , and served as Grant'sinspector general during the Shiloh. Given field command of a division underHenry W. Halleck , Judah participated in the Corinth. He received a promotion in theRegular Army in June 1862 toMajor (United States) of the 4th Infantry. By autumn, he was performing administrative duties inCincinnati, Ohio before being ordered in October to join theArmy of Kentucky under Maj. Gen.Gordon Granger atCovington, Kentucky . Judah returned to a staff position during the winter of 1862–63, when he served as acting inspector general of theArmy of the Ohio .In June 1863, Judah was assigned to command the 3rd Division of the XXIII Corps, stationed in
Cincinnati, Ohio . DuringMorgan's Raid , Maj. Gen.Ambrose Burnside ordered Judah to pursue the Confederate raiderJohn Hunt Morgan . Judah'sIndiana andIllinois cavalry underEdward H. Hobson defeated Morgan at theBattle of Buffington Island , but failed to capture the general (who finally surrendered to other Federal troops onJuly 26 ). Judah was criticized for missing an opportunity earlier in the week to snare Morgan nearPomeroy, Ohio , where his slowness in flanking Morgan allowed the Confederates to escape. He then led his command back to Tennessee to rejoin the army ofWilliam S. Rosecrans .In 1864, Judah led an infantry division under Maj. Gen.
John M. Schofield during theAtlanta Campaign . Having been previously disciplined for poor performance andalcoholism by Schofield, Judah was given one last chance to redeem himself at theBattle of Resaca . In his haste to seize victory, he did not properly reconnoiter the battlefield terrain beforehand or use his artillery in the fight. It would be his last field command, as Schofield soon removed him from duty.Judah was placed on routine administrative duty in the Department of the Cumberland until the end of the war, stationed in
Marietta, Georgia . He was brevetted a lieutenant colonel andcolonel in the Regular Army onMarch 13 ,1865 . OnMay 12 , he received the surrender of Brig. Gen.William T. Wofford 's estimated 3,000 to 4,000 Confederate soldiers. Since no crops had been grown here on the battlefields in 1864 and, as the surrender had paralyzed the local economy and government, the citizens and former soldiers lacked food, funds and employment. Judah, seeing that aid was needed to prevent suffering, issued corn and bacon to the needy until a crop could be harvested. The rations helped put the Georgians and their economy back on a sound basis, and served as a humanitarian gesture.After the war, Judah mustered out of the volunteer army in August 1865 and reverted to his Regular Army rank of major. He served on garrison duty in
Plattsburg, New York , where he died a year later. He was entombed at Kings Highway Cemetery inWestport, Connecticut .ee also
* List of American Civil War generals
References
* Denslow, William R., "10,000 Famous Freemasons from A to J Part One." Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing, 1957. ISBN 1-4179-7578-4.
* Warner, Ezra J., "Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders", Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-3149-0.
* [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers/confedsurrenderhistmarker.htm Georgia historical marker for Wofford's surrender to Judah]
* [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers/howellhousehistmarker.htm Georgia historical marker commemorating Judah's benevolent issuance of food rations]External links
* [http://www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/MexicanWar/judahhm.htm Military biography of Henry Judah] from the Cullum biographies
Notes
Persondata
NAME= Judah, Henry M.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Union Army general
DATE OF BIRTH=June 12 ,1821
PLACE OF BIRTH=Snow Hill, Maryland
DATE OF DEATH=February 14 ,1866
PLACE OF DEATH=Plattsburg, New York
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.