Winfield S. Hancock
| Winfield Scott Hancock | |
|---|---|
General Winfield Scott Hancock
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Hancock the Superb |
| Born |
February 14, 1824 Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania |
| Died | February 9, 1886 (aged 61) Governors Island, New York |
| Place of burial | Montgomery Cemetery, Norristown, Pennsylvania |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1844–1886 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Commands held | II Corps |
| Battles/wars | |
| Other work | Democratic candidate for President of the United States, 1880 |
Mexican-American War
American Civil War
Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. Known to his Army colleagues as "Hancock the Superb", he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. One military historian wrote, "No other Union general at Gettysburg dominated men by the sheer force of their presence more completely than Hancock." As another wrote, "his tactical skill had won him the quick admiration of adversaries who had come to know him as the 'Thunderbolt of the Army of the Potomac'." His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the Army's presence at the Western frontier.
Hancock's reputation as a war hero at Gettysburg, combined with his status as a Unionist and supporter of states' rights, made him a potential presidential candidate. His noted integrity was a counterpoint to the corruption of the era, for as President Rutherford B. Hayes said, "[i]f, when we make up our estimate of a public man, conspicuous both as a soldier and in civil life, we are to think first and chiefly of his manhood, his integrity, his purity, his singleness of purpose, and his unselfish devotion to duty, we can truthfully say of Hancock that he was through and through pure gold." When the Democrats nominated him for President in 1880, he ran a strong campaign, but was narrowly defeated by Republican James A. Garfield.
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