Born in Gerry, New York, on September 29, 1831, John McAllister Schofield graduated from West Point in 1853, seventh in a class of fifty-two graduates. Commissioned a lieutenant in the artillery, he served in Florida and taught at West Point, and in 1861 was a professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis.

When the Civil War broke out, Schofield was commissioned major of the 1st Missouri Infantry, served as chief of staff to Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, and fought with the general at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. In the fall of 1861, Schofield was commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers and a brigadier general in the Missouri Militia.

He commanded the District of St. Louis, the Army of the Frontier, and the Missouri Militia at various times in 1862, and, after his promotion to major general, commanded the Department of the Missouri from May 1863 to January 1864.

In the spring of 1864, Schofield led the Army of the Ohio through the Atlanta campaign. That November, he defeated General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, and led the 23rd Army Corps in the Battle of Nashville the following month.

Schofield ended the war in command of the Department of North Carolina and mustered out of the volunteer service in September 1866.

Schofield served as Secretary of War and superintendent of West Point in the post-Civil War period, and was commanding general of the U.S. Army from 1888 until 1895. He retired from the army as a lieutenant general.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1892 for conspicuously gallant behavior “in leading a regiment in a successful charge upon the enemy” at Wilson’s Creek. Schofield died in St. Augustine, Florida, on March 4, 1906, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Carte-de-Visite by E. & H.T. Anthony, New York, N.Y.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30699