Ranald S. Mackenzie

Ranald S. Mackenzie

Infobox Military Person
name= Ranald Slidell Mackenzie
born=birth date|1840|7|27
died=death date and age|1889|1|19|1840|7|27
placeofburial=West Point Cemetery


caption=Ranald S. Mackenzie
nickname= "Bad Hand"
placeofbirth= Westchester County, New York
placeofdeath= Staten Island, New York
allegiance= flagicon|United States United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears= 1862–1884
rank= Brevet Major General
commands= 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery 4th U. S. Cavalry
battles= American Civil War
*Battle of Second Bull Run
*Battle of Antietam
*Battle of Gettysburg
*Overland Campaign
*Battle of Petersburg II
*Battle of Cedar Creek
*Battle of Five Forks
*Battle of Appomattox Courthouse
Indian Wars
*Battle of the North Fork
*Red River War
**Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
*Dull Knife Fight
relations=John Slidell (uncle) Alexander Slidell Mackenzie (father)
Alexander Slidell MacKenzie {brother}

Ranald Slidell Mackenzie (July 27, 1840 – January 19, 1889) was a career United States Army officer and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, described by General Ulysses S. Grant as its most promising young officer. He also served in the following Indian Wars.

Early life and education

Mackenzie was born in Westchester County, New York, the nephew of Confederate States of America diplomat John Slidell and the brother of Lt. Commander Alexander Slidell MacKenzie, United States Navy. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at the head of his class in 1862 and immediately joined the Union forces already fighting in the Civil War.

Military career

Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, Mackenzie served in the battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, and through the Overland Campaign in 1864.

He was appointed colonel of the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, which served as infantry during the assaults on Petersburg, where he was wounded. This incident, in which he lost two fingers, was the probable cause for his nickname, "Bad Hand". He moved with the VI Corps when it opposed Early's Washington Raid. He was given command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, VI Corps and was again wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek. Upon his recovery, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and assumed command of the Cavalry Division in the Army of the James, which he led at the battles of Five Forks and Appomattox Courthouse. He was appointed brevet major general of volunteers in 1865 for services in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Mackenzie was known for his harsh discipline and was not well liked by troops serving under him, who called him the "Perpetual Punisher". However, he was respected by his peers and superiors for his skill and abilities, prompting General Ulysses S. Grant to refer to him as the "most promising young officer" in the entire Union army. He had been wounded six times and seven Brevets.

ervice in the Indian Wars

After the Civil War, Mackenzie stayed in the regular army and reverted to his permanent rank of captain in the Army Corps of Engineers. He then served in the West during the Indian Wars and was appointed colonel in the regular army in 1867 in the 41st U.S. Infantry (later 24th U.S. Infantry, one of the Buffalo Soldier regiments) and fought against the Apache Indians in the Southwest. On February 25, 1871, he took command of the 4th U.S. Cavalry at Fort Richardson in Jacksboro, Texas. He led the regiment at the Battle of the North Fork in the Llano Estacado of West Texas, where he perfected a strategy for that unique terrain for defeating Indians who resisted the government policy of moving them to reservations. In late 1871 he was wounded a seventh time by an arrow in the leg.

Mackenzie fought in the Red River War, routing a combined Indian force at the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon far to the north from his headquarters at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas. In 1876, he defeated the Cheyenne in the Dull Knife Fight, which helped bring about the end of the Black Hills War. This led to his appointment as commander of the District of New Mexico in 1881. In 1882, he was appointed brigadier general and assigned to the Department of Texas (October 30, 1883). He bought a Texas Ranch and was engaged to be married; however he began to demonstrate odd behavior which was attributed to a fall from a wagon at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in which he injured his head. Showing signs of mental instability, he was retired from the Army on March 24, 1884 for "General paresis of the insane".

Mackenzie died at his sister's home in New Brighton, Staten Island, New York, and is buried in West Point National Cemetery.

The 1958 television program "McKenzie's Raiders" is loosely based on his time in Texas.

ee also

* List of American Civil War generals

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.

External links

* [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/MM/fma7.html MacKenzie's biography at the "Handbook of Texas Online"]

Persondata
NAME= Mackenzie, Ranald S.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Union army general
DATE OF BIRTH=July 27, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH=Westchester County, New York
DATE OF DEATH=January 19, 1889
PLACE OF DEATH=Staten Island, New York


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