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The Jewish Home | MAY 19, 2022
Forgotten Her es
Generals Who Led Courageously by Avi Heiligman
A statue of Major General John Stark
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OctOber 29, 2015 | the Jewish Home
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he duties and commands that are held by generals and flag officers vary and increase in responsibilities in proportion to the higher rank of the officer. Not all commanders and generals are well-known, and only the leading general or admiral of a country during wartime can even be expected to become a household name. There are exceptions, though – for example, General William Sherman and General George Patton, but they held large commands and made deep inroads into enemy territory. Some generals were exceptional in the line of duty but their stories never made the headlines. George Washington’s Continental Army was comprised of volunteers or those recruited from state’s militias. They weren’t a professionally trained army as there were many farmers among their ranks. Their numbers never grew to more than 50,000. They lost many battles, especially in the early years of the war, but due to some amazing work by certain commanders, they were able to stop the British from winning the war. One of these generals was New Hampshire native Major General John Stark. Stark’s parents were born in the British Empire, and he was a veteran of the French and Indian War. On April 19, 1775, Stark heard of the news that fighting began at Lexington and Concord and recruited 400 men from the New Hampshire militia. When he arrived on the
General David McMurtrie Gregg
scene, he was allowed to deploy his men as he saw fit. Stark placed the men in an obvious gap in the American lines, and they were able to provide covering fire when the rest of the army had to retreat. Even though the Continental Army lost the Battle of Bunker Hill, Stark and his men were able to inflict serious casualties on the British Army.
General Gregg, sitting on right, with his staff
President Lincoln had trouble finding a suitable general to lead his most important command, the Army of the Potomac, several other Union generals served with incredible distinction. Most of the cavalry generals that fought during the Battle of Gettysburg are well-known, but that is not the case with General David McMurtrie Gregg. He was a Pennsylva-
“As a commander of New England militia, Stark had one rare and priceless quality: he knew the limitations of his men.”
Later in the war, Stark was again able to stop British momentum and prevented the capture of Bennington, Vermont. Historian Mark Boatner wrote about Stark: “As a commander of New England militia, Stark had one rare and priceless quality: he knew the limitations of his men. They were innocent of military training, undisciplined, and unenthusiastic about getting shot. With these men, he killed over 200 of Europe’s vaunted regulars with a loss of 14 Americans killed.” Over 1,000 generals served on both sides of the American Civil War. While
nia native who got his start in the U.S. Dragoons (heavy cavalry) after attending West Point with two other cavalry greats, Phil Sheridan and JEB Stuart. During the first two years of the war, he saw action in several battles and expertly screened the retreat at the Seven Days Battle. During the lead up to the Battle of Gettysburg, Gregg led two cavalry divisions against Confederate General Stuart’s headquarters, surprising his old classmate and gaining valuable intelligence on the future plans for the Confederate Army. Even though they were repulsed, Gregg still sent his mounted soldiers on
a mission to screen the advance of the Union Army and then cover the army’s rear once it arrived in Gettysburg. On the third day of the battle, Gregg’s men, together General Custer’s cavalry, clashed with Stuart’s troops in a fierce hand-tohand combat on East Cavalry Field. Gregg kept up the pressure during the Confederate retreat and clashed with more enemy cavalry. World War II generals typically stayed well behind enemy lines and conducted the battle from the rear. The biggest exceptions to this were during invasions and airborne jumps, as generals often landed or jumped with their men. However, they rarely picked up a weapon and went to look for the enemy. Major General Robert Frederick of the 1st Special Service Force was a different type of general and had a record eight Purple Hearts to prove his tenacity. He was tasked with creating a unit made up of both American and Canadian soldiers that would be sent on tough operations. They trained for cold weather operations, and their first mission was to Kiska in the Aleutian Islands off of Alaska. Once they realized that the island had been abandoned by the Japanese, the force then prepared for operations in Morocco and Italy. In January 1944, during a battle near Mount Vischiataro, Italy, General Frederick personally led a reconnaissance
