[The following timeline was compiled and contributed by Mr. Mike Scruggs, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Fighting Joe Wheeler Camp 1372, Birmingham, Alabama -- http://www.fightingjoewheeler.net -- We are most grateful for this excellent contribution.  Primary Source:  "From Shiloh to San Juan," Dyer, John P.,  LSU Press, 1992.]

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A Chronology of the Life and Career of Joseph

"Fightin’ Joe" Wheeler

Famous Southern Cavalry Leader, Alabama Congressman, and Hero of the Spanish-American War

                 

Flags under which Wheeler served: (L to R) 32 Star US Flag (Late 1850s), Confederate Battle Flag (1861-65), 3rd National Confederate Flag (1865), 45 Star US Flag (1896–1908)
Timeline Key Events
1819 Wheeler’s father, also named Joseph, left Connecticut because of hard economic times in New England. The senior Joseph Wheeler established himself as a merchant and planter near Augusta, Georgia. Shortly after arriving in Georgia his first wife, Sarah, died and he married Julia Hull, the daughter of Revolutionary War General, William Hull.
September 10, 1836 Joseph Wheeler was born near Augusta, Georgia, the youngest of four children (two boys and two girls) of Joseph and Julia Wheeler. He was christened in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Augusta.
1842 to 1854 After the death of his mother, Julia, in 1842 he was raised by aunts in Connecticut and New York.
July 1, 1854 Entered U. S. Military Academy at West Point at age 17. Robert E. Lee was Superintendent of West Point at that time.
June 1859 Graduated from a five year program at West Point. Ironically his lowest grades were in cavalry tactics. He was breveted a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania for cavalry training. He was promoted to the full rank of 2nd. Lt. In two months.
Ca. September 1859 2nd Lt. Wheeler was assigned to a regiment of mounted rifles at Fort Craig, New Mexico. There he gained experience in the tactics of mounted infantry, traveling light and ranging far.
June 2, 1860 Wheeler was assigned to escort duty for a wagon train traveling from Hannibal, Missouri, to Fort Craig, New Mexico.
June 5, 1860 Wheeler was left behind the main wagon train to escort an ambulance carrying a mother and her new baby attended by a surgeon and a wagon driver. When the ambulance was attacked by a small band of marauding Indians, Wheeler shot down one with his musket and charged them on horseback, blazing away at them with his Colt pistol, succeeding in putting the Indians to flight. From this event he received the nickname, "Fightin’ Joe," which stuck with him the rest of his life.
January 9, 1861 Georgia seceded from the Union. Like most of the officers of his mounted cavalry regiment, Wheeler sympathized with the South. He resigned his commission in the U. S. Army and headed to his family in Augusta, hoping to receive a commission with the Georgia regiments that were forming.
February 23, 1861 With the help of his brother, William, he received a commission as a First Lt. in the Georgia Forces. His initial duty in Pensacola, Florida, as an artillery officer brought him the favorable attention of Confederate General Braxton Bragg and Confederate politician and General Leroy Pope Walker.
September 1861 Leroy Pope Walker succeeded in getting 1st Lt. Wheeler promoted to full Colonel, a rather controversial jump of four ranks.
September 4, 1861 Col. Wheeler was made commander of the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment.
April 6-7, 1862 Col. Wheeler and the 19th Alabama distinguished themselves at the Battle of Shiloh.
April to August 1862 Wheeler distinguished himself in conducting rear guard operations as the Army of Mississippi retreated from Shiloh to Corinth, and then to Tupelo. His command was expanded to include not only the 19th Alabama, but also the 25th and 26th Alabama, and the 4th Mississippi.
August 28, 1862 Col. Wheeler was given three cavalry regiments and assigned to the command of General William J. "Old Reliable" Hardee in the Army of Mississippi.
September 1862 Wheeler distinguished himself as a cavalry leader in raids into Tennessee and Kentucky. Wheeler’s cavalry destroyed Union General Buell’s railroad and telegraph lines North of Nashville He also distinguished himself as very effective in routine cavalry functions such as covering the front and flanks of an army from surprise, intelligence gathering, and delaying actions against enemy advances. Wheeler was given part of N. B. Forrest’s cavalry during this time.
October 1862 The "Lumberjack Cavalry." Wheeler developed tree-felling tactics in delaying Union Army advances gaining his men the nickname of "the Lumberjack Cavalry." He also further developed the use of mounted infantry and was the first to use it extensively.
October 6, 1862 At Perryville, Kentucky commanding a cavalry brigade under General Hardee.
October 13, 1862 Appointed Chief of Cavalry for the Army of Mississippi.
October 30, 1862 Promoted to Brigadier General, CSA, at the age of 26.
November 14, 1862 Brigadier General Wheeler received orders to take charge of all cavalry under General Joseph E. Johnston including the forces of the famous Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Hunt Morgan.
December 1862 to January 1863 Wheeler’s cavalry wreaked havoc with Union General Rosecrans’ supply train in Tennessee, burning over 450 Union supply wagons and capturing over 2400 Union prisoners. This left Rosecrans’ forces temporarily ineffective.
February 1863 Wheeler’s forces burned bridges and captured and destroyed a union gunboat and four transports on the Cumberland River in Tennessee, gaining the additional nickname, "the Horse Marines."
May 1, 1863 Wheeler earned his second star, being promoted to the rank of Major General, CSA by the Confederate Congress on the recommendation of General Braxton Bragg.
May 1863 Major General Wheeler published a manual entitled, Cavalry Tactics, which proved very valuable in systematizing Bragg’s cavalry. It was also adopted by General Johnston’s Army of Tennessee. The manual advocated mounted infantry over heavy cavalry.
June 27, 1863 Wheeler experienced a near disaster trying to rescue Forrest from being cut-off by Union forces at Duck River, near Shelbyville, Tennessee. Wheeler personally led a small cavalry charge against Union forces to drive them back across the bridge at Duck River, then had to plunge on horseback 15 feet down into a sweeping current while under fire to escape.
June to July 1863 Wheeler permitted John Hunt Morgan to take 2000 men to raid Union forces at Louisville, Kentucky and disrupt their supply, transportation, and communication systems. Morgan, however, went further than his orders. The daring and flamboyant Morgan took his famous raiders across the Ohio River and raided across Indiana and Ohio. This threw the Union forces and state governments of Indiana and Ohio into panic and perhaps diverted Union strength from opposing Lee’s advance into Pennsylvania, but resulted in Morgan and most of his men being captured when they could not escape across the Ohio into West Virginia because heavy rains upstream made the Ohio unfordable at their planned exit point, Buffington Bar.
September 19-21, 1863 Major Confederate victory at Chickamauga, Georgia. Wheeler’s cavalry protected Bragg’s flanks and harassed Union General Rosecrans’ forces withdrawing to Chattanooga.
October 3, 1863 Wheeler’s Cavalry destroyed at least 500 (Union estimate) of Rosecrans’ supply wagons. Some estimate the number of union supply wagons destroyed to be as high as 1800, leaving a smoking corridor of destruction.
October 9, 1863 Major General Wheeler encamped near Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and at nearby Courtland met and courted his future wife, the recently widowed, Mrs. Daniella Jones Sherrod, the daughter of Col. Richard Jones.
November 1863 Wheeler assisted Longstreet at Kingston and Knoxville.
November 26, 1863 Wheeler’s cavalry repulsed the forces of Union General Hooker near Ringold, Georgia.
December 2, 1863 General Hardee temporarily replaced Bragg as Commander of the Army of Tennessee.
December 27, 1863 General Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of the Army of Tennessee and retained Wheeler as his Cavalry Commander supporting Hood’s and Hardee’s Corps.
February 22, 1864 Wheeler turned back federal forces at Tunnel Hill near Dalton, Georgia, delaying the Union assault on Atlanta until May.
May 1864 Wheeler again broke the federal movement into North Georgia and slowed Union General Sherman’s movement toward Atlanta. With the death of Lee’s Cavalry Commander, Lt. General J. E. B. Stuart on May 12 in Virginia, Wheeler became the highest ranking cavalry officer in the Confederate Army.
May 24, 1864 Wheeler’s cavalry captured 80 Union supply wagons and captured 100 prisoners near Cassville, Georgia, receiving the personal congratulations of General Johnston.
July 17, 1864 John B. Hood replaced Joseph E. Johnston as Commander of the Army of Tennessee.
July 29-30, 1864 Wheeler routed Sherman’s Cavalry, mauling and defeating McCook at Newnan, routing and capturing Stoneman at Macon, and forcing back Garrard. For the Union this was the most disastrous cavalry defeat of the War. In all the Confederates took 3200 prisoners including Maj. General Stoneman and five Brigadier Generals in addition to numerous supply wagons and artillery batteries.
August 10 to September 2, 1864 General Hood ordered Wheeler to raid into middle Tennessee with 2000 men, but he returned demoralized with less than one thousand and perhaps only 500 of them combat effective. Meanwhile the absence of effective cavalry at Atlanta left Hood unable to gather intelligence effectively.
August 30 to September 1, 1864 At Jonesboro, Georgia, Hardee’s Corp with portions of Stephen D. Lee’s Corps and units of Wheeler’s Cavalry, in an attempt to parry a death blow to the strategic city of Atlanta, defended the remaining railroad connection to that city against overwhelming odds.
September 2, 1864 General Hood was forced to evacuate Atlanta.
October 4, 1864 Wheeler’s men felled trees near Dalton, Georgia, and used them as rafts to destroy the Chattahooche bridge at Resaca, Georgia.
October to November 1864 Wheeler’s cavalry continually harassed Sherman as he marched through Georgia. Sherman, however, succeeded in leaving a wide path of path of destruction, burning towns, homes, farms, and crops, devastating the Georgia economy.
November 26, 1864 Wheeler nearly captured infamous Union cavalry general and West Point classmate, Judson "Killcavalry" Kilpatrick, at Waynesboro, Georgia much to the latter’s embarrassment.
December 1864 Wheeler came under criticism of Confederate Generals D. H. Hill and P. T. G. Beauregard, which came to the attention of President Davis. Against Wheeler’s specific orders, as his cavalry, as always traveling very light, foraged for food and supplies, some stole chickens, livestock, and food and made similar depredations on an already hard pressed civilian population. General Hardee, however, came to Wheeler’s defense. Most charges were proven false.
January 28, 1865 Responding to complaints that Wheeler’s forces were out of control, General Beauregard’s Inspector General found Wheeler’s Corps lacking in discipline, organization, and leadership, but noted that the same conditions also prevailed in the commands of Forrest and Hampton. No charges were brought against Wheeler, but a recommendation was made that Wade Hampton take over his command. Beauregard stated that while Wheeler was a modest, gallant, zealous, and indefatigable officer, he was unable to control such a large cavalry force. Of course, Wheeler was only 28 years-old.
February 11, 1865 Wheeler succeeded in driving back the cavalry forces of his frequent rival, Union General Kilpatrick, at Aiken, South Carolina.
February 17, 1865 Wheeler was put under the command of General Wade Hampton. This reduced Wheeler’s responsibility by half, but he continued to serve faithfully without bitterness or complaint.
February 1865 Wheeler’s cavalry units continued to dog and harass Sherman’s marauding forces as they destroyed and burned their way through South Carolina.
February 28, 1865 The Confederate Congress awarded Wheeler his third star, promoting him to the rank of Lieutenant General. *

* Debate exists regarding whether Wheeler was ever officially promoted to the rank of Lt. General.  Some references conflict on this point.  "The Campaigns of Wheeler and His Cavalry 1861-65" indicates this, and indeed, Wheeler had for a time assumed the responsibilities of this posting; however, no record of official action conferring this rank upon him has yet been confirmed.  For additional information on this subject, readers are invited to reference:

"Lieutenant General or Major General?  The Debate over "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler's Highest Rank," by Mr. Myers Brown, Military Collector & Historian - Journal of The Company of Military Historians, Washington, DC, Vol. 56, No. 3, Fall 2004, pp. 194-195.

"Major General Joseph Wheeler - the Controversy," Kerry Webb, August 2003 Webpage link:  http://alia.org.au/~kwebb/wheeler.htm
March 9, 1865 General Wheeler again forced union rival Kilpatrick to flee in the night, this time in his night clothes.
April 26, 1865 Following the surrender of Lee at Appamattox, Virginia, on April 9, Johnston, again in command of the Army of Tennessee, was forced to surrender at Bentonville, near Durham, North Carolina. Wheeler issued a farewell message to his cavalry command and departed to assist President Davis, who had been forced to flee to Georgia.
May 10, 1865 President Davis was captured at Irwinsville, Georgia.
Ca. May 13, 1865 General Joseph Wheeler was himself captured near Athens, Georgia.
May 1865 Joe Wheeler in the company of President Davis, Vice President Alexander H. Stephens, and other Confederate Cabinet members, assisted with the care of the President’s infant daughter, Winnie. He planned an escape for Davis, but it was easily foiled.
Late May to June 8, 1865 Wheeler was a Prisoner of War at Fort Delaware.
June 1865 On release from Fort Delaware, Wheeler returned to his home in Augusta, and then proceeded to Courtland, Alabama, and proposed marriage to Daniella Jones Sherrod.
July 1865 to February 1866 Wheeler entered the carriage business in New Orleans.
February 8, 1866 Wheeler married Daniella Jones Sherrod at Courtland, Alabama.
February 1866 to 1870 Wheeler became a partner in the carriage business in New Orleans.
1870 to 1880 The Wheelers moved to Lawrence County, Alabama and Joseph became a planter and later a lawyer. He successfully invested in railroad stock.
November 1880 Wheeler was elected to the U. S House of Representatives as a Democrat in one of the most hotly contested and controversial elections in Alabama history, defeating incumbent Col. William M. Lowe. The election results were contested.
1881-2 Wheeler had served 10 of the 11 months that Congress was in session for that term, when Congress finally ruled that Lowe was the winner of the 1880 election. Lowe, however, died in October of 1882. Wheeler was re-elected to Congress and continued to increase his vote margins in each election thereafter.
1882 Wheeler defended former Union General Fitz John Porter before the U.S. House against accusations made by Union General John Pope, trying to make Porter the scapegoat for losing the 2nd Battle of Manassas. Porter was acquitted and commended by Congress.
1882 to 1898 Wheeler distinguished himself in Congress as a forward thinking scholar, energetic defender of constitutional liberties, and when necessary a fiery crusader for justice and fairness. He became an outspoken opponent of Spanish misrule in Cuba and an advocate for Cuban independence.
April 26, 1898 Following the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Wheeler petitioned President McKinley to serve in the U. S. Army to liberate Cuba. McKinley, a Republican, appointed Wheeler as a Major General of Volunteers in the U. S. Army.
June 14, 1898 Wheeler sailed for Cuba with his dismounted cavalry including the "Rough Riders" under Theodore Roosevelt.
June 24, 1898 Wheeler’s dismounted cavalry effected a minor victory over the Spanish at Guasimas that opened up the route to the principal Spanish defenses at Santiago.
July 1-2, 1898 Wheeler’s dismounted men were at the center of the attack on San Juan Hill. Although racked with fever, on the second day he was able to direct and encourage his men, who took the heights of San Juan Hill.
Mid July 1898 After assisting in negotiating a peace treaty with the Spanish forces in Cuba, he returned to the United States a hero and symbol of a reunited nation.
Early 1899 His fellow Democrats in Congress were, however, not happy with his foreign policy views and alignments with the Republicans. Pointing to a constitutional provision that prohibited serving in Congress while holding a federal office, they tried to remove him; however, the attempt was voted down by a comfortable majority.
June 20, 1899 to January 15, 1900 Major General Wheeler, still a Congressman, arrived for duty in the Philippines reporting to General Arthur McArthur.
June 16, 1900 President McKinley appointed Wheeler a Brigadier General in the Regular Army and assigned him to Chicago to command the Department of the Great Lakes. He retired in the fall of 1900.
October 1900 to January 1905 During the last five years of his life Joseph Wheeler was involved in many speaking tours and civic projects.
January 25, 1906 Joseph Wheeler, famed Confederate cavalry leader, highly respected Congressman, and hero of the Spanish-American War died while on a visit to his sister in Brooklyn, New York. The whole nation, North and South, mourned his passing. He is one of the few Confederate officers buried at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. His life and character could very well be summed up by the West Point Motto: Duty, Honor, Country.
 

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