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Philip Kearny Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Philip Kearny | |
| Nickname | "Kearny the Magnificent" |
| Born | (1815-06-01)June 1, 1815 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 1, 1862(1862-09-01) (aged 47) † Chantilly, Virginia, U.S. |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America Second French Empire |
| Branch |  United States Army French Army |
| Service years | 1837–1851; 1861–1862 (US) 1859–1861 (France) |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | First New Jersey Brigade |
| Conflicts | |
| Signature |  |
Philip Kearny Jr. (/ˈkɑːrni/; June 1, 1815 – September 1, 1862) was aUnited States Army officer, notable for his leadership in theMexican–American War andAmerican Civil War. He served inFrench EmperorNapoleon III'sImperial Guard at theBattle of Solferino.
The first U.S. citizen to be awarded the FrenchLégion d'Honneur, he was killed in action in the 1862Battle of Chantilly.
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Kearny was born in New York City to a wealthy Irish American family. His father and mother were Philip Kearny Sr. and Susan Watts.[1] His maternal grandfatherJohn Watts, the last Royal Recorder of New York City,[2] was one of New York's wealthiest residents, who had vast holdings in ships, mills, factories, banks, and investment houses. Kearny's father was aHarvard-educated, New York City financier who owned his own brokerage firm and was also a founder of theNew York Stock Exchange.
Early in life, Kearny desired a career in the military. His parents died when he was young, and he was consequently raised by his grandfather. Against the younger Kearny's wishes, his guardian insisted that Kearny pursue a law career. Kearny attendedColumbia College, attaining a law degree in 1833. His cousinJohn Watts de Peyster, who had also attended Columbia, wrote the first authoritative biography on Kearny.
In 1836, his grandfather died, leaving Kearny a fortune of over $1 million ($28.6 million in 2024 dollars). He chose to make the army his profession. The following year, Kearny obtained a commission as asecond lieutenant of cavalry, assigned to the1st U.S. Dragoons, who were commanded by his uncle, ColonelStephen W. Kearny, and whose adjutant general wasJefferson Davis. The regiment was assigned to the western frontier.
Kearny was sent to France in 1839 to studycavalry tactics, first attending school at the famous cavalry school inSaumur. He participated in several combat engagements with theChasseurs d'Afrique inAlgeria. Kearny rode into battle with a sword in his right hand, pistol in his left, and the reins in his teeth, as was the style of the Chasseurs. His fearless character in battle earned him the nickname from his French comrades ofKearny le Magnifique ("Kearny the Magnificent"). He returned to the United States in the fall of 1840 and prepared a cavalry manual for the Army based on his experiences overseas.
Shortly afterward, Kearny was designatedaide-de-camp to GeneralAlexander Macomb, and served in this position until Macomb's death in June 1841. After a few months at the cavalry barracks inCarlisle, Pennsylvania, Kearny was assigned to the staff of GeneralWinfield Scott, soon becoming his aide-de-camp. He did additional duty on the frontier, accompanying his uncle's unit on an expedition to the South Pass of theOregon Trail in 1845.
Kearny, disappointed with the lack of fighting he was seeing in the Army, resigned his commission in 1846, but returned to duty a month later at the outbreak of theMexican–American War. Kearny was assigned to raise a troop of cavalry for the 1st U.S. Dragoons, Company F, inTerre Haute, Indiana. He spared no expense in recruiting his men and acquired 120 matched dapple gray horses with his own money. The unit was originally stationed at theRio Grande but soon became the personal bodyguard for General Scott, the commander-in-chief of the Army in Mexico. Kearny was promoted tocaptain in December 1846.
Kearny and his men participated in the battles ofContreras andChurubusco; in the latter engagement, Kearny led a daring cavalry charge and suffered a grapeshot wound to his left arm. It later had to be amputated. Kearny's courage earned him the respect of his soldiers and fellow officers alike; General-in-Chief Winfield Scott called him "a perfect soldier" and "the bravest man I ever knew."[3] Kearny quickly returned to duty. When the U.S. Army entered Mexico City the following month, he had the personal distinction of being the first man through the gates of the city.
Kearny was an original member of theAztec Club of 1847, a military society for Army officers who served in Mexico in 1847. Its membership qualifications were later modified to include all American officers who served during the Mexican War and their male descendants.
After the war, Kearny did a stint with the Army recruiting service in New York City. While there, he was presented with a sword by theUnion Club for his service during the war, and was brevetted tomajor.
In 1851, he was a member of a unit that saw action against theRogue River Indians inOregon. After the failure of his marriage, frustrated with the slow promotion process of the Army, Kearny resigned his commission in October of that year. He embarked on a trip around the world, visiting China,Ceylon, and France. In Paris, Kearny fell in love with a New York City woman named Agnes Maxwell, but was unable to marry her because his first wife would not grant him a divorce. In 1854, Kearny was injured when the horse he was riding fell through a rotten bridge. Maxwell moved in to take care of him.
By 1855, Agnes and Kearny had left New York to escape the disapproval of society. They settled in Kearny's new mansion, Bellegrove, overlooking thePassaic River (in what is nowKearny, New Jersey). It was a short distance and across the river from his family's old manor inNewark, New Jersey. In 1858, his wife finally granted a divorce. Kearny and Maxwell moved to Paris, where they were married.
In 1859, Kearny returned to France, re-joining theChasseurs d'Afrique, who were at the time fighting againstAustrian forces in Italy. Later, he was withNapoleon III'sImperial Guard at theBattle of Solferino, where he charged with the cavalry underGénéralLouis-Michel Morris, which penetrated the Austrian center and captured the key point of the battle. For this action, Kearny was awarded the FrenchLégion d'honneur, becoming the first U.S. citizen to be thus honored.
When theAmerican Civil War broke out in 1861, Kearny returned to the United States and was appointed abrigadier general, commanding theFirst New Jersey Brigade, which he trained. The Army had been reluctant to restore his commission due to his disability, but the shockingUnion defeat at theFirst Battle of Bull Run made them realize the importance of seasoned combat officers. His brigade, even after he left to command adivision, performed spectacularly, especially at theBattle of Glendale.
He received command of the 3rd Division of theIII Corps on April 30, 1862. He led the division into action at theBattle of Williamsburg and theBattle of Fair Oaks. At Williamsburg, as he led his troops onto the field, Kearny shouted (in a notable quote), "I'm a one-armed Jersey son-of-a-gun, follow me!" The general led the charge with his sword in hand, reins in his teeth. He is noted for urging his troops forward by declaring, "Don't worry, men, they'll all be firing at me!" His performance during thePeninsula Campaign earned him much respect from the army and his superiors. He disliked the commander of theArmy of the Potomac, Maj. Gen.George B. McClellan, whose orders (especially those to fall back) he frequently ignored. After theBattle of Malvern Hill, which was a Union victory, McClellan ordered a withdrawal, and Kearny wrote:
I, Philip Kearny, an old soldier, enter my solemn protest against this order for retreat. We ought instead of retreating should follow up the enemy and take Richmond. And in full view of all responsible for such declaration, I say to you all, such an order can only be prompted by cowardice or treason.
Kearny is credited with devising the firstunit insignia patches used in the U.S. Army. In the summer of 1862, he issued an order that his officers should wear a patch of red cloth on the front of their caps to identify themselves as members of his unit. The enlisted men, with whom Kearny was quite popular, quickly followed suit voluntarily. Members of other units picked up on the idea, devising their own insignia, and these evolved over the years into the modern shoulder patch. (Daniel Butterfield is credited with taking Kearny's idea and standardizing it for allcorps in the Army of the Potomac, designing most of the corps badges.) Kearny was promoted tomajor general on July 4, 1862, in a blanket promotion of McClellan's corps and division commanders.[4]
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By the end of August 1862, General Kearny led his division at the disastrousSecond Battle of Bull Run, which saw the Union Army routed and nearly destroyed byGen.Robert E. Lee'sConfederateArmy of Northern Virginia. The Union army retreated toward Washington and fought with the pursuing Confederate corps underStonewall Jackson on September 1, 1862, at theBattle of Chantilly. In a violent storm with lightning and pouring rain, Kearny decided to investigate a gap in the Union line. Responding to warnings of a subordinate, he said, "The Rebel bullet that can kill me has not yet been molded." Encountering Confederate troops, Kearny ignored a demand to surrender and, while he tried to escape on horseback, a "half dozen muskets fired" and he was shot with aMinié ball that entered his hip and came out his shoulder, killing him instantly.[5] ConfederateMaj. Gen.A.P. Hill, upon hearing the gunfire, ran up to the body of the illustrious soldier with a lantern and exclaimed, "You've killed Phil Kearny! He deserved a better fate than to die in the mud."
Kearny's body was borne to the rear after the Confederates realized that a general officer had been killed. Confederate soldiers quickly proceeded to strip Kearny's body of his coat, boots, pocket watch, papers, and other items of value. However, after it was realized who the deceased was, Robert E. Lee ordered all of his belongings returned over the objections of poorly clad soldiers who protested that a dead man no longer needed a warm coat and boots. Kearny's papers were given to Lee for examination, but they merely consisted of personal letters to his wife and contained no useful military documents; Lee quickly burned them. General Lee sent his body back to the Union forces with a condolence note.
At the time of Kearny's death, there were rumors in Washington that PresidentAbraham Lincoln was contemplating replacingGeorge B. McClellan with "Kearny the Magnificent".
Kearny was buried atTrinity Churchyard in New York after his remains were transported from his residence inEast Newark, New Jersey.[6] In 1912, his remains were exhumed and re-interred atArlington National Cemetery,[7] where there is a statue byEdward Clark Potter in his honor, one of only two equestrian statues at Arlington. The re-interment drive was spearheaded byMedal of Honor recipientCharles F. Hopkins, who had served under General Kearny in the First New Jersey Brigade. The statue was dedicated by PresidentWoodrow Wilson in November 1914. It was refurbished in 1996 by the General Philip Kearny Memorial Committee, a New Jersey nonprofit corporation.
