Emory Upton

Introduction

Emory Upton (August 27, 1839 - March 15, 1881) was a U.S. Army general and military strategist, prominent for his role in the main infantry attack successfully entrenched positions in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during the Civil War American, but he also excelled at the assignments of the artillery and cavalry. His work, The Military Policy of the United States, which analyzed U.S. military policies and practices and presented the first systematic examination of the military history of the nation, had an enormous effect on the U.S. Army when it was published posthumously in 1904.

Early life

Upton was born on a farm near Batavia, New York, the tenth child and sixth son of Daniel and Electra Randall Upton. He was the brother of Andrew J. Alexander and P. ex. Blair, Jr. He studied under famous evangelist Charles G. Finney at Oberlin College for two years before being admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1856 (Cassidy 2003, p 130-143). He graduated eighth in his class of 45 cadets on May 6, 1861, just for the outbreak of civil war.

Youthful Reformer

He was the epitome of a professional soldier. Courageous to the point of recklessness, Emory Upton always went into battle at the head of his column. Devoted to his duty, he was honest and hard-working. Dedicated to his profession, he attempted to improve the American army's prestige and efficiency. Impatient with things as he found them, he tried to reform everything that he touched.

Upton was single-minded in his purpose. He never drank, smoked, or cursed, and seldom laughed. He was asocial to the point of being acutely uncomfortable in the presence of civilians (Cassidy 2003, p 130-143). Except for a concern with religion, his interests were narrow. He read nothing outside his field. His ambition was great. “There was no enterprise too perilous for Upton,” a friend said of him, “if only he might hope to gain credit or promotion thereby.

As a young man his rise was so rapid and constant that he became convinced that nothing was beyond him. He aimed to become America's most renowned soldier. When, at forty years of age, this goal seemed unattainable, he considered his entire life a failure and became mentally ill.

Born on August 27, 1839, on a farm near Batavia, in the northwestern corner of New York State, Emory Upton was the tenth child and sixth son of Daniel and Electra Upton. Emory grew up on the edge of the “Burned-over District,” an area SO named because of the religious revivals and Pentecostal beliefs prevalent there. While Emory was a youth, Dorothea L. Dix toured the region to advocate kinder, more intelligent treatment of the insane (Cassidy 2003, p 130-143). William Miller, of Hampton, New York, convinced thousands in the area that the Second Coming of Christ would take place on October 22, 1843.

The Millerites sold all their goods and, to be closer to heaven, awaited the Second Coming on roofs, hilltops, and ...