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John Pope Biography

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POPE, John (1822-92). An American soldier. He was born at Louisville, Ky., March 16, 1822, and was the son of Nathaniel Pope, who for many years was United States judge for the District of Illinois. He graduated at West Point in 1842. After graduation he served as brevet second lieutenant in the topographical engineers and in 1846 joined General Taylor in Mexico. He was brevetted first lieutenant for gallantry at the siege of Monterey and captain for services at the battle of Buena Vista. After the close of the war he conducted an expedition which explored the region of the Red River of the North, was on engineering service in New Mexico in 1851-53, and from 1853 to 1859 had charge of the work of surveying a route for the Pacific Railroad. He was commissioned captain in 1856. Upon the beginning of the secession movement Pope came out on the side of the Union and in the winter of 1860-61 delivered a number of Union speeches. For criticizing the policy of President Buchanan in one of these speeches he was summoned to appear before a court-martial, but the trial never took place. In May, 1861, he was appointed a brigadier general and received command of the District of Northern Missouri. In the following December he defeated Gen. Sterling Price at Blackwater, capturing about 1500 prisoners and a large quantity of supplies. He next coöperated with the flotilla of gunboats under Foote in the operations against Island No. 10, which place surrendered in April, 1862, with about 7000 men and 158 cannon. He then took part in the operations against Corinth, after which he was promoted major general of volunteers and brigadier general in the regular army and received command of the Army of Virginia, comprising the corps of Generals Frémont, Banks, and McDowell.

He entered upon the new campaign with a somewhat bombastic proclamation, but after some engagements between portions of his army and the forces of General Jackson, and after he had been reënforced by a large part of the Army of the Potomac, he was badly defeated by Lee and Jackson at the second battle of Bull Run (q.v.), Aug. 29 and 30, 1862, and was forced to retire to the defenses of Washington. He attributed his defeat to the inactivity of the army under McClellan and to the failure of certain officers, particularly of Gen. Fitz-John Porter, to carry out his orders. A court-martial found Porter guilty and dismissed him from the service, but years afterward the decision was reversed. Pope himself asked to be relieved from command; the request was granted and he was sent to carry on the war against the Sioux Indians. There has been much dispute as to Pope's responsibility for the disastrous outcome of his campaign against Jackson and Lee, but the weight of opinion has on the whole been unfavorable to him. In January, 1865, after the close of the Indian war, Pope was placed in command of the military Division of the Missouri, which was later enlarged into the Department of the Missouri. In 1867-68 he commanded the Third Military District, organized under the Reconstruction Act; in 1868-70, the Department of the Lakes; from 1870 to 1884, the Department of the Missouri; in 1882 was made major general in the regular army; and from 1884 until his retirement in 1886 commanded the Department of the Pacific. Pope died at Sandusky, Ohio, Sept. 23, 1892. He published a report in vol. ii of Reports of Explorations for a Railroad (1855) and The Virginia Campaign (1863). For an excellent account of his campaign against Lee and Jackson, consult Ropes, The Army under Pope (New York, 1881).