John C. Pemberton

Infobox Military Person
name= John Clifford Pemberton
born= August 10, 1814
died= July 13, 1881


caption= John Clifford Pemberton
nickname=
placeofbirth= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
placeofdeath= Penllyn, Pennsylvania
allegiance= United States of America Confederate States of America
branch= United States Army Confederate States Army
branch=
serviceyears= 1837–61 (USA) 1861–65 (CSA)
rank= Captain (USA) Lieutenant General (CSA)
unit=
commands= Army of Mississippi
battles=
Seminole Wars Mexican–American War American Civil War
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

John Clifford Pemberton (August 10, 1814 – July 13, 1881), was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War.

He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in the summer of 1863. After the war he took up farming.

Early life and career

Pemberton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1814. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1833, and graduated four years later, standing 27th out of 50 cadets.Eicher, p. 423.] He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery Regiment on July 1, 1837. He participated with the 4th during the U.S. actions against the Seminoles in 1837 and 1838, fighting in Florida at the Battle of Locha-Hatchee on January 24, 1838.cite web|url=http://www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/MexicanWar/pembertonjc.htm|title="Military biography of John C. Pemberton"|publisher="www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us"|accessdate=2008-09-04]

Pemberton and the 4th Artillery served in garrison duty at Fort Columbus, New York, in 1838 and into 1839, and then at the Camp of Instruction located near Trenton, New Jersey, in 1839. He then served along the northern U.S. frontier during the Canada Border Disturbances. Pemberton and the 4th were next stationed in Michigan, serving at Detroit in 1840, at Fort Mackinac in 1840 and 1841, and at Fort Bradyin in 1841. He then served in Buffalo, New York, in 1841 to 1842, and was promoted to first lieutenant on March 19, 1842. Pemberton and the 4th returned to garrison duty at Fort Monroe, Virginia in 1842, then were stationed at the U.S. Army Cavalry School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, in 1842 and 1843, and returned to Fort Monroe from 1844 to 1845.

Mexican War

From 1845 to 1846, Pemberton and the 4th Artillery were part of the U.S. Military Occupation of Texas, and then the 4th was sent to Mexico as the start of the Mexican-American War. He fought at the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8, 1846, and at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma the next day. He then fought well at the Battle of Monterrey in that fall, and was brevetted to the rank of captain ["for Gallant Conduct in the several Conflicts at [Monterrey] "] on September 23.

Pemberton then fought in the Army's 1847 actions in Mexico, including the Siege of Vera Cruz in March, the Battle of Cerro Gordo in April, the skirmish near Amazoque in May, the capture of San Antonio and the Battle of Churubusco in August, and most notably in the Battle of Molino del Rey that September. Pemberton was brevetted to the rank of major ["for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Molino del Rey"] for his performance at Molino del Rey on September 8. He then was part of the storming of Chapultepec Castle on September 13, and the Battle for Mexico City that day and the next, where Pemberton was wounded. Pemberton held the position of aide-de-camp to Brev. Brig. Gen. William J. Worth from August 4, 1846, to May 1, 1849.

After the war with Mexico ended, Pemberton and the 4th Artillery served in garrison duty at Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida, in 1849. He then fought in Florida during hostilities against the Seminoles in 1849 and 1850. The 4th returned to garrison duty at New Orleans Barracks in Louisiana in 1850, and Pemberton was promoted to captain on September 16. He next served in Fort Washington, Maryland, in 1851 and 1852, at Fort Hamilton, New York, in 1852 to 1856. He and the 4th fought again in Florida during hostilities against the Seminoles from 1856 to 1857.

Pemberton and the 4th was then on frontier duty at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from 1857 to 1858, and participated in the Utah War in 1858. He was the stationed at Fort Kearny in the New Mexico Territory in 1859, at Fort Ridgely in present-day Minnesota from 1859 to 1861, and in garrison duty at the Washington Arsenal in Washington, D.C., in 1861.

Civil War service

At the start of the American Civil War in 1861, Pemberton chose to resign his commission and join the Confederate cause, despite his Northern birth, and resigned his U.S. Army commission, which was accepted effective April 29. His decision was due the influence of his Virginia-born wife and many years of service in the southern states before the war.cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/cs_cmnd/pembertn.htm|title="US National Park Service biography of Pemberton"|publisher="www.nps.gov"|accessdate=2008-09-07] He was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army on March 28, and was made assistant adjutant general of the forces around and in the Southern capital of Richmond, Virginia, on April 29. He was promoted to colonel on May 8, and the next day was assigned to the Virginia Provisional Army Artillery, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Pemberton was then appointed a major in the Confederate Army Artillery on June 15 and quickly promoted to brigadier general two days later. His first brigade command was in the Department of Norfolk, leading its 10th Brigade from June to November.

Pemberton was promoted to major general on January 14, 1862, and given command the Confederate Department of South Carolina and Georgia, an assignment lasting from March 14 to August 29, with his headquarters in Charleston. As a result of Pemberton's abrasive personality, his public statement that if he had to make the choice he would abandon the area rather than risk the loss of his outnumbered army,cite web|url=http://www.civilwarhome.com/pembertonbio.htm|title="Civil War Home biography of Pemberton"|publisher="www.civilwarhome.com"|accessdate=2008-09-07] and the distrust of his Northern birth, the governors of both states in his Department petitioned Confederate President Jefferson Davis for his removal. Davis needed a commander for a new department in Mississippi and also a command for Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, so he sent Pemberton west and assigned the more popular Beauregard to Charleston.Foote Vol. I, pp. 776-78.]

Vicksburg

On October 10, 1862, Pemberton was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and assigned to defend the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the Mississippi River, known as the Department of Mississippi and West Louisiana. Davis gave him the following instructions regarding his new assignment: "...consider the successful defense of those States as the first and chief object of your command." Pemberton arrived at his new headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, on October 14. His forces consisted of less than 50,000 men under the command of Maj. Gens. Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price, with around 24,000 in the permanent garrisons at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Louisiana. He faced his former Mexican War colleague, [Grant and Pemberton were staff lieutenants in the same division in Mexico] the aggressive Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and over 100,000 Union soldiers in the Vicksburg Campaign.

In an attempt to carry out his orders from both Davis and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, Pemberton and his Army of Mississippi set out east to combine with Johnston's forces gathering around Jackson, while remaining in contact and covering Vicksburg. [This was more or less conflicting orders, as Pemberton could not do both, but he tried to.] Another order from Johnston changing their proposed meeting location caused Pemberton to turn around, and when he did he accidentally collided with Grant's army at the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16 and suffered a major defeat. Pemberton retreated to the Big Black River, where he fought and suffered even more heavy losses on May 17. Pemberton resolved to defend Vicksburg and led his defeated men back into its defenses on May 18. Although advised by Johnston to escape with his army, sacrificing the city, Pemberton held firm for over six weeks, while soldiers and civilians were starved into submission. (Pemberton, well aware of his reputation as a Northerner by birth, was probably influenced by his fear of public condemnation as a traitor if he abandoned Vicksburg.)

On the evening of July 2, 1863, Pemberton asked in writing his four division commanders if they believed their men could "make the marches and undergo the fatigues necessary to accomplish a successful evacuation" after 45 days of siege. With four votes of no, the next day Pemberton asked the Federals for an armistice to allow time for the discussion of terms of surrender, and on 10:00 a.m. on July 4 he surrendered the city and his army to Grant. The written terms (which in the first talks were simply unconditional surrender) were negotiated so that the Confederate soldiers would be paroled and:Foote Vol. II, pp. 606-13.]

Pemberton surrendered 2,166 officers and 27,230 men, 172 cannon, and almost 60,000 muskets and rifles to Grant. This, combined with the successful Siege of Port Hudson on July 9, gave the Union complete control over the Mississippi River, resulting in a major strategic loss for the Confederacy, and cutting off Lt. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith's command and the Trans-Mississippi Theater from the Confederacy for the rest of the war.

After his surrender, Pemberton was exchanged as a prisoner on October 13, 1863, and he returned Richmond. There he spent some eight months without an assignment. At first Gen. Braxton Bragg thought he could use Pemberton, but after conferring with his own ranking officers he advised Davis that taking on the discredited lieutenant general "would not be advisable." Pemberton finally wrote Davis directly, asking he be returned to duty "in any capacity in which you think I may be useful." Davis replied that his own personal confidence in his remained unshaken, saying:Foote Vol. II, p. 645.]

Pemberton resigned as a general officer on May 9, 1864, and Davis offered him a commission as a lieutenant colonel of artillery three days later, which he accepted, a testimonial of his loyalty to the South and the Confederate cause. [Foote, Vol II. p. 646. "In this capacity Pemberton served out the war, often in the thick of battle, thereby demonstrating a greater devotion to the cause he had adopted than did many who had inherited it as a birthright."] He commanded the artillery of the defenses of Richmond until January 9, 1865. He was appointed inspector general of the artillery as of January 7, and held this position until he was captured in Salisbury, North Carolina, on April 12. Along with Pemberton and his 14 remaining guns, the Federals rounded up about 1,300 men and nearly 10,000 small arms.Foote Vol. III, p. 967.] There is no record of his parole after his capture.

Postbellum

After the war, John Pemberton lived on his farm near Warrenton, Virginia, from 1866 to 1876, and then moved to Pennsylvania. He died in the village of Penllyn, Pennsylvania, five years later and is buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery, located in Philadelphia.

A statue depicting Pemberton was erected in the Vicksburg National Military Park.

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
* Foote, Shelby, ": Vol. I Fort Sumter to Perryville", Vintage Books, 1986, ISBN 0-394-74623-6.
* Foote, Shelby, "The Civil War: A Narrative: Vol. II Fredericksburg to Meridian", Vintage Books, 1986, ISBN 0-394-74621-X.
* Foote, Shelby, "The Civil War: A Narrative: Vol. III Red River to Appomattox", Vintage Books, 1986, ISBN 0-394-74622-8.
* [http://www.civilwarhome.com/pembertonbio.htm Civil War Home biography of Pemberton]
* [http://www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/MexicanWar/pembertonjc.htm Online military biography of John C. Pemberton]
* [http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/cs_cmnd/pembertn.htm US National Park Service biography of Pemberton]

Notes