Life span: 03/18/1822 to 09/23/1892TabsLife SummaryFull name: John PopePlace of Birth: Louisville, KYBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: NorthOrigins: Slave StateNo. of Spouses: 1No. of Children: 5Education: West Point (US Military Academy)Occupation: MilitaryRelation to Slavery: White non-slaveholderPolitical Parties: RepublicanMilitary: US military (Pre-Civil War)Union ArmyUS military (Post-Civil War) Note Cards John Pope (American National Biography) Scholarship[Pope] saw his first Civil War action in Missouri in late 1861 when his Illinois unit was assigned to John C. Frémont's Department of the West. In March 1862 Pope took command of the Army of the Mississippi and that same month captured New Madrid, Missouri, in a lightning campaign, moving on in April to take Island Number 10 in a joint army-navy operation that opened the Mississippi south to Memphis. In May he led his army against Corinth, Mississippi, as the left wing of Henry W. Halleck's Grand Army. In June 1862, while George B. McClellan and the Army of the Potomac were attacking Richmond, Abraham Lincoln called Pope to Washington to command a new Army of Virginia, which would guard Washington, drive the Confederates out of the Shenandoah Valley, and help McClellan by drawing Confederate forces away from Richmond. Pope was a questionable choice. A Republican, he was expected to support McClellan, a Democrat and his rival. Fellow officers mistrusted Pope as a blowhard, more so when easy conquests in the West led him to boast about western victories and scoff at eastern defeats. Pope did not in fact want the command, saying that it put his fate in McClellan's hands. Anything that tied up McClellan could leave Pope's army in the field alone. Only Lincoln's personal coaxing and promises to stand behind Pope whatever happened convinced a reluctant Pope to accept. Walter N. Trenerry, "Pope, John," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00627.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 09/27/1861 09/27/1861 General Frémont consolidates his forces and moves against the Confederate invasion of Missouri with five divisions 12/19/1861 12/19/1861 In central Missouri, Union forces capture hundreds of newly recruited Missouri State Guardsmen 02/25/1862 02/25/1862 At Columbus, Kentucky, Confederate forces begin the abandonment of "the Gibraltar of the West" 03/03/1862 03/03/1862 At Columbus, Kentucky, Union forces take possession of "the Gibraltar of the West" 03/14/1862 03/14/1862 Confederate troops hastily evacuate New Madrid, Missouri in the face of a powerful Union advance 04/04/1862 04/05/1862 The U.S.S. Carondelet makes her daring night run past the Confederate blockade on the Mississippi 04/07/1862 04/07/1862 On the Kentucky Bend of the Mississippi, Island Number Ten falls to Union army and navy forces 03/11/1867 03/11/1867 President Johnson appoints the commanders of the five new military reconstruction districts. Documents Subject Docs Date Title 06/08/1861 Jesse K. Dubois to Abraham Lincoln, June 8, 1861 07/30/1861 John C. Fremont to Abraham Lincoln, July 30, 1861 Images John Pope John Pope, detail John Pope, engraving John Pope, engraving, detail John Pope, engraving, 1862 John Pope, engraving, 1862, detail Bibliography
John Pope (American National Biography) Scholarship[Pope] saw his first Civil War action in Missouri in late 1861 when his Illinois unit was assigned to John C. Frémont's Department of the West. In March 1862 Pope took command of the Army of the Mississippi and that same month captured New Madrid, Missouri, in a lightning campaign, moving on in April to take Island Number 10 in a joint army-navy operation that opened the Mississippi south to Memphis. In May he led his army against Corinth, Mississippi, as the left wing of Henry W. Halleck's Grand Army. In June 1862, while George B. McClellan and the Army of the Potomac were attacking Richmond, Abraham Lincoln called Pope to Washington to command a new Army of Virginia, which would guard Washington, drive the Confederates out of the Shenandoah Valley, and help McClellan by drawing Confederate forces away from Richmond. Pope was a questionable choice. A Republican, he was expected to support McClellan, a Democrat and his rival. Fellow officers mistrusted Pope as a blowhard, more so when easy conquests in the West led him to boast about western victories and scoff at eastern defeats. Pope did not in fact want the command, saying that it put his fate in McClellan's hands. Anything that tied up McClellan could leave Pope's army in the field alone. Only Lincoln's personal coaxing and promises to stand behind Pope whatever happened convinced a reluctant Pope to accept. Walter N. Trenerry, "Pope, John," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00627.html.
