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George Pickett George Pickett This article is about the American Confederate general. 2 Early military career For the British physicist, see George Pickett (physicist). Pickett was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in George Edward Pickett (January 16,[1] 1825 – July 30, the U.S. 8th Infantry Regiment. He soon gained na- 1875) was a career United States Army officer who be- tional recognition in the Mexican-American War when came a major general in the Confederate States Army he carried the American colors over the parapet during during the American Civil War. He is best remembered the Battle of Chapultepec. Wounded at the base of the for his participation in the futile and bloody assault at wall, Pickett’s friend and colleague Lt. James Longstreet the Battle of Gettysburg that bears his name, Pickett’s handed him the colors. Pickett carried the flag over the Charge. wall and fought his way to the roof of the palace, unfurl- ing it over the fortress and announcing its surrender. He received a brevet promotion to captain following this ac- 1 Early life tion. In 1849, while serving on the Texas frontier after the war, he was promoted to first lieutenant and then to captain in Pickett was born in Richmond, Virginia, the first of the [3] eight children of Robert and Mary Pickett,[2] a promi- the 9th U.S. Infantry in 1855. In 1853, Pickett chal- nent family of Old Virginia of English origins, and one lenged a fellow junior officer, future Union general and of the “first families” of Virginia. He was the cousin opposing Civil War commander Winfield Scott Hancock, of future Confederate general Henry Heth.[3] He went to a duel; (they had met only briefly when Hancock was to Springfield, Illinois, to study law, but at the age of 17 passing through Texas). Hancock declined the duel, a re- sponse not unlikely as dueling had fallen out of favor at he was appointed to the United States Military Academy. [9] Legend has it that Pickett’s West Point appointment was the time. secured for him by Abraham Lincoln, but this is largely In January 1851, Pickett married Sally Harrison Minge, believed to be a story circulated by his widow following the daughter of Dr. John Minge of Virginia, the great- his death. Lincoln, as an Illinois state legislator, could great-grandniece of President William Henry Harrison, not nominate candidates, although he did give the young and the great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Harrison, man advice after he was accepted;[4] Pickett was actu- a signer of the United States Declaration of Indepen- ally appointed by Illinois Congressman John T. Stuart, a dence. Sally died during childbirth that November, at friend of Pickett’s uncle and a law partner of Abraham Fort Gates, Texas.[10] Lincoln.[5] Pickett next served in the Washington Territory. In 1856 Pickett was popular as a cadet at West Point. He was mis- he commanded the construction of Fort Bellingham on chievous and a player of pranks, "... a man of ability, but Bellingham Bay, in what is today the city of Bellingham, belonging to a cadet set that appeared to have no ambition Washington. He also built a frame home that year which for class standing and wanted to do only enough study to still stands; Pickett House is the oldest house in Belling- secure their graduation.”[6] At a time when often a third ham and the oldest house on its original foundation in the of the class washed out before graduation, Pickett per- Pacific Northwest.[11] While posted to Fort Bellingham, sisted, working off his demerits and doing enough in his Pickett married a Native American woman of the Haida studies to graduate, ranking last out of the 59 surviving tribe, Morning Mist, who gave birth to a son, James Tilton students in the Class of 1846.[7] It is a position held with Pickett (1857–1889); Morning Mist died a few months some backhanded distinction, referred to today as the later.[11] “Jimmy” Pickett made a name for himself as a “goat”, both for its stubbornness and tenacity.[8] The posi- newspaper artist, before dying of tuberculosis at the age tion usually relegated its holder to a posting commanding of 32 near Portland, Oregon.[12] infantry in some far away outpost, which if no conflict arose, would offer little opportunity to advance. Two of the most famous “goats” were Pickett and George Arm- 2.1 Pig War strong Custer (as was also Pickett’s cousin, Harry Heth). All of them had the good fortune to graduate about the In 1859 Pickett was dispatched in command of Company time a war broke out, when the army had a sudden need D, 9th U.S. Infantry, to garrison San Juan Island in re- for officers, greatly improving their opportunities. sponse to discord that had arisen there between Ameri- 1 2 3 THE CIVIL WAR can farmers and the Hudson’s Bay Company.[13] The con- frontation was instigated when American farmer Lyman Cutler shot and killed a pig that had repeatedly broken into his garden. The pig belonged to the Hudson’s Bay Company, and though Cutler was prepared to pay a fair price for the pig, the Company was not satisfied, insisting he be brought before the British magistrate, thus initiat- ing the territorial dispute that came to be known as the Pig War. In response to the U.S. forces, the British sent a force of three warships and 1000 men. The British com- mander demanded that Pickett and his men leave. Pick- ett declined, and the British officer returned to his frigate, threatening to land his own men. Pickett with his 68 men appeared to be fully prepared to oppose a British landing, ordering them into a line of battle near the beach. “Don't be afraid of their big guns,” he told his men, “We'll make a Bunker Hill of it.”[14] Pickett’s presence and determi- nation prevented the landing, the British being under or- ders to avoid armed conflict with United States forces, if possible.[13] After initial tensions passed the crisis was averted, both sides being unwilling to go to war over a pig. President James Buchanan dispatched Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott to negotiate a settlement between the parties.[15] Confederate Major General George E. Pickett 3 The Civil War Pines, earning commendations from his superiors. At Gaines’s Mill he was shot off his horse while leading his 3.1 Early assignments brigade in its first assault.[17] Pickett continued to move forward with his men for a while, leading his horse on After the firing on Fort Sumter, Virginia seceded from the foot. A second assault by Pickett’s brigade, led by Col. Union, and native son Pickett journeyed from Oregon to Eppa Hunton, along with the brigade led by Cadmus serve his state. Arriving after the First Battle of Bull Run, Wilcox, broke the Union line. Pickett feared he'd taken he resigned his commission in the U.S. Army on June 25, a mortal blow to his shoulder, but the wound was ini- 1861; he had been holding a commission as a major in tially assessed by others as minor.[18] The shoulder wound the Confederate States Army Artillery since March 16.[3] turned out to be severe enough that Pickett was out of ac- Within a month he was appointed colonel in command of tion for the next three months, and his arm would remain the Rappahannock Line of the Department of Fredericks- stiff for at least a year.[19] burg, under the command of Maj. Gen. Theophilus H. When Pickett returned to the Army in September 1862, Holmes. Holmes’s influence obtained a commission for [3] he was given command of a two-brigade division in the Pickett as a brigadier general, dated January 14, 1862. corps commanded by his old colleague from Mexico, Pickett made a colorful general. He rode a sleek black Maj. Gen. James Longstreet, and was promoted to charger named “Old Black,” and wore a small blue kepi- major general on October 10. His division would not style cap, with buffed gloves over the sleeves of an im- see serious combat until the Gettysburg Campaign the maculately tailored uniform that had a double row of gold following summer. It was lightly engaged at the Battle buttons on the coat, and shiny gold spurs on his highly of Fredericksburg in December, suffering no fatalities. polished boots. He held an elegant riding crop whether Longstreet’s entire corps was absent from the Battle of mounted or walking. His mustache drooped gracefully Chancellorsville in May 1863, as it was detached on the beyond the corners of his mouth and then turned upward Suffolk Campaign. at the ends. His hair was the talk of the Army: “long Before the Gettysburg Campaign, Pickett fell in love ringlets flowed loosely over his shoulders, trimmed and with a Virginia teenager, LaSalle “Sallie” Corbell (1843– highly perfumed, his beard likewise was curling and giv- [16] 1931), commuting back and forth from his duties in Suf- ing up the scent of Araby.” folk to be with her. Although Sallie would later insist that Pickett’s first combat command was during the Peninsula she met him in 1852 (at age 9), she did not marry the 38- Campaign, leading a brigade that was nicknamed the year-old widower until November 13, 1863. The couple Gamecocks (the brigade would eventually be led by had two children, George Edward Pickett, Jr. (born July Richard B. Garnett in Pickett’s Charge).
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