Henry Halleck

Military Person

1815 – 1872

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Who was Henry Halleck?

Henry Wager Halleck was a United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory, "Old Brains." He was an important participant in the admission of California as a state and became a successful lawyer and land developer. Early in the American Civil War, he was a senior Union Army commander in the Western Theater and then served for almost two years as general-in-chief of all U.S. armies. Halleck became chief of staff to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, when he assumed the position of general-in-chief.

Halleck was a cautious general who believed strongly in thorough preparations for battle and in the value of defensive fortifications over quick, aggressive action. He was a master of administration, logistics, and the politics necessary at the top of the military hierarchy, but exerted little effective control over field operations from his post in Washington, D.C. President Abraham Lincoln once described him as "little more than a first rate clerk."

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Born
Jan 16, 1815
Oneida County
Also known as
  • Халлек, Генри
  • 亨利·韦杰·哈勒克
Nationality
  • United States of America
Education
  • United States Military Academy
  • Union College
Died
Jan 9, 1872
Louisville
Resting place
Green-Wood Cemetery

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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"Henry Halleck." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/henry_wager_halleck>.

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