A Theorist Fights: Emory Upton in the Civil War

?? -mst JS.¦•".Vi ff/. A THEORIST FIGHTS: EMORY UPTON IN THE CIVIL WAR Stephen E. Ambrose Emoby Upton's The Military Policy of the United States, a collection of proposals for a radical change in the management of American military affairs, is the most influential book ever printed on this subject. Although Upton left the work uncompleted when, suffering from a mental illness, he committed suicide in 1881, the manuscript was generally known and widely read in army circles before the book was finally published in 1904. Every army reformer since the turn of the century has referred to Upton's Military Policy, and Elihu Root, the greatest of these, confessed that Upton's writings "gave me the detail on which I could base recommendations and overcome my ignorance as a civilian."1 Most of the demands for army reorganization which Upton made—for a three-battalion regiment, a general staff, universal military training, interchangeable service in staff and line, the extension of postgraduate military education, linear promotion, tactical changes to keep pace with weapon system advances, and greater federal control over the state militia—were enacted into law, and the American armies that fought World War I and World War II were organized largely in accordance with his recommendations. Upton's dazzling career as a writer and proponent of a modern army for tibe United States has obscured his important experience as a Civil War officer, which strongly influenced his later contributions. A West Point graduate of the class of 1861, Upton served with distinction in the artillery, infantry, and cavalry during the war. He eventually attained brevet major general and command of a cavalry division. An Mr. Ambrose is assistant professor of history at Louisiana State University, and author of a recently published biography of Henry Halleck. His fulllength study of Upton will appear in 1964. He is currently working on a history of the U.S. Military Academy. !Philip C. Jessup, Elihu Root (New York, 1938), I, 242-243. R. Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy, Military Heritage of America (New York, 1956), p. 735, term Upton's work "the classic study of the military policy of the United States to, and into, the Civil War, and one of the most important military works ever published in the United States." 341 342STEPHENE. AMBROSE excellent leader and courageous officer, Upton was also willing to experiment in the field, and he made significant contributions in practical tactics. After the conflict General James H. Wilspn said of him: "He was a military enthusiast and student of extraordinary ability, courage, and judgment, and, young as he was, I have never doubted that when the war ended he was the best all-round soldier of his day."2 The tenth child and sixth son of Daniel and Electra Upton, Emory was born August 27, 1839, in Batavia, New York. His parents were zealous Methodists, staunch advocates of temperance, and uncompromising abolitionists. Upton spent his early years on the family farm and attended the public schools of Batavia. In the winter of 1854-1855 his parents sent him to Ohio to attend Oberlin College, then an abolitionist institution. The teen-age student paid his own way by working in the local sash factory for eight cents an hour. Thin and wiry, he gave the impression of being always in a hurry; when talking, he spoke rapidly and tended to interrupt to make a point. Soon after arriving at Oberlin, Upton read a biography of Napoleon and immediately expressed a desire to go to West Point and become a soldier. He took to sleeping without a pillow on a perfectly level bed in order to avoid becoming round-shouldered. He would not crack a nut with his teeth or do anything to injure them, because healthy teeth were an important part of the West Point physical exam. An ambitious youth, Upton exerted himself to get an appointment to the military academy. In 1856, he finally succeeded when his representative , Judge Benjamin Pringle, yielded to pressure from Upton's parents and friends. Before leaving Oberlin, he entered into an agreement with a classmate: If Upton should become a general before reaching the age of forty-five...