George Stoneman

Who was George Stoneman?

George Stoneman, Jr. was a United States Army cavalry officer, trained at West Point, where his room-mate was the future Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. In the Civil War, he became Adjutant to McClellan, who did not appreciate the use of centralised cavalry, and was therefore outperformed by the Confederates, who did.

At Chancellorsville, under Hooker, Stoneman failed in an ambitious attempt to penetrate behind enemy lines, getting bogged down at an important river crossing. Hooker’s sharp criticism of Stoneman may have been partly aimed at deflecting the heavy blame being directed at himself for the loss of this major battle that most generals believed to be winnable. While commanding cavalry under Sherman in Georgia, Stoneman was captured, but soon exchanged. In the last weeks of the war, he led raids into Virginia that inspired the song The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band.

Stoneman was governor of California between 1883 and 1887.