John Rodgers Meigs (February 9, 1842 – October 3, 1864) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was the son of Brigadier General Montgomery C. Meigs, the Quartermaster General of the United States Army. He participated in the First Battle of Bull Run, and later testified in the court-martial trial of an officer involved in the retreat from the battle. He attended the United States Military Academy, where he was an acting assistant professor of mathematics and graduated first in his class in June 1863. He was lauded by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton for strengthening the defenses of Baltimore, Maryland; was an engineer and acting aide-de-camp on the staff of Brigadier General (Volunteers) William W. Averell; was Chief Engineer of the Shenandoah Valley for the Department of West Virginia; and was Chief Engineer of the Middle Military Division and aide-de-camp to General Phillip Sheridan. The circumstances under which Meigs died led to the burning of Dayton, Virginia, in retaliation. His funeral was a public event attended by President Abraham Lincoln, Stanton, and numerous government dignitaries. A book of Meigs' letters were published in 2006 under the title A Civil War Soldier of Christ and Country: The Selected Correspondence of John Rodgers Meigs, 1859-64.
Early life
Meigs was born February 9, 1842, in Washington, D.C., to Major General Montgomery C. Meigs and Louisa Rodgers Meigs. He was the oldest of seven children. Three of his siblings—Charles Delucena (1845-1853), Vincent Trowbridge (1851-1853), and an unnamed stillborn daughter (b. 1847)—died. He and three others (Mary Montgomery, Montgomery Jr., and Louisa Rodgers) survived into adulthood. John was also the maternal grandson of United States Navy Commodore John Rodgers, a hero of the War of 1812.
Meigs' father was assigned to a number of military posts while John was young, and the family moved often. After his birth, his father was assigned to Fort Wayne near modern-day Detroit, Michigan. He was largely taught at home in these formative years. He began speaking at an early age, learned the alphabet while still very young, and was reading and writing by the age of four. In 1849, the Meigs family returned to the District of Columbia, but in October 1850 they moved to Rouses Point, New York, where John's father was engaged in building Fort Montgomery. John had a violent temper and often bullied his siblings, behaviors which deeply concerned his parents.
The Meigs family returned to Washington, D.C., on November 3, 1852, after Montgomery Meigs was assigned to design and finish the Washington Aqueduct (a public works project which brought large amounts of fresh water to Washington, D.C., for the first time). His parents finally enrolled him in school (public or private is not clear). But his discipline problems continued. After one particularly violent temper tantrum, his father tied John's wrists together, tied him to a chest of drawers, and left him there all afternoon without allowing him to eat lunch. When Meigs learned that his son had untied himself, he spanked him with the rope.
John Rodgers Meigs was generally an excellent student in school. He liked a wide variety of subjects, excelled in science, and knew more than most children his age. In the fall of 1856, he enrolled at Columbian College in the District of Columbia as a freshman, even though he was only 14 years old.
Military career
Appointment to West Point
By 1858, John Rodgers Meigs was more interested in a military career like his father's than he was in obtaining a college education. In December 1857, he applied for entrance into the United States Military Academy (better known as "West Point"). His mother strongly supported the move, but his father was more equivocal.
John's application ran into problems, however. On December 16, 1857, Senator Jefferson Davis (Secretary of War from March 7, 1853, to March 4, 1857, and Montgomery Meigs' political protector) advised that since John was the son of an Army officer, he had to seek an "at large" appointment to West Point. But at-large appointments needed the approval of Secretary of War John B. Floyd, a corrupt and venal politician who strongly disliked Montgomery Meigs. At Montgomery Meigs' urging, Davis and 11 other senators wrote a letter to Floyd supporting John Meigs' application to West Point, noting as well his relationship to Commodore Meigs. But Floyd blocked the appointment.
John applied to West Point again in November 1858. Meigs' father met personally with President James Buchanan to win his son's appointment, but John was refused again when the new appointment list came out in March 1859. Montgomery Meigs learned that Floyd had again blocked his son's appointment. Meigs again approached President Buchanan, who told Meigs that he should meet with Floyd. On June 25, Meigs met with Floyd and openly admitted how distasteful the meeting was to him. He gave Floyd a letter in which he outlined his objections to the rejection of John's appointment, and requested that it be reconsidered. Floyd admitted to blocking John's appointment, but said that Meigs had opposed him "in everything" regarding construction of the Washington Aqueduct and the United States Capitol dome and said he would resign from the cabinet if John Meigs' appointment had been approved. Floyd was particularly offended that Montgomery Meigs had seen Buchanan about the appointment rather than him. Meigs apologized, claiming he did not intend to make an end run around Floyd. Floyd accepted the apology, and promised that John would get an appointment if a vacancy occurred.
A vacancy opened in September 1859, and Buchanan personally delivered the appointment to Montgomery Meigs. Meigs thanked Floyd in a letter. He gave a copy of it to John, telling him to save it and to remember that John B. Floyd was his patron.
West Point education John Rodgers Meigs entered West Point on September 7, 1859. He initially found it difficult to fit in at West Point. His parents wrote him frequently, advising him to maintain the highest moral standards, work on developing the highest social graces, and to seek as much glory and official recognition as possible. They criticized the smallest things, such as omitting to date a letter or slurping his soup. His father urged him to learn how to read Greek and Latin, and to read only the best books such as compilations of famous people's letters, histories, and those novels which taught only the highest moral values.
He seemed little able to take their advice. In November 1860, the academy sent a report to Meigs' parents, informing them that their son had received 74 demerits. Should he receive 100 demerits, he would be expelled. John argued that the demerits were unfair, since his first lieutenant disliked him irrationally and did not given the proper military or personal respect he deserved.
Bull Run
The Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861. Many of the cadets at West Point were eager to engage in the fighting, but many teachers at West Point resigned to fight for the Confederacy and the Union Army desperately needed more trained officers. By now, John's father had been promoted to brigadier general, and was helping to reinforce several Union-held forts in the Deep South. He took a ship to Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida, and retrieved Major Henry J. Hunt and a unit of artillery and brought them back to Washington, D.C. But with so few officers left in the Union Army's ranks, John felt it urgent that he join the fighting, at least temporarily. John asked his father for a furlough to join in the defense of Washington, and General Meigs gave his permission. The furlough commenced on July 2 and ended on August 28. On July 18, Cadet John Rodgers Meigs arrived at his parents' house.
The same day Meigs arrived back home, he joined Hunt's Light Company M, 2nd United States Artillery, newly reconstituted and now a reserve unit attached to General Irvin McDowell Army of Northeastern Virginia. The following day, McDowell assigned Company M to Colonel Israel B. Richardson 4th Brigade, Second Michigan Volunteers. Sources vary as to what John Meigs' official role was. Several, including the official U.S. Army biographical register, claim he was an aide-de-camp to Colonel Richardson. However, others note that he was formally assigned to Major Hunt's Light Company M. Among these are the Meigs' family, and Meigs himself. It is clear, however, that he carried orders and acted as an observer for Hunt and carried orders for Richardson.
On July 21, 1861, John participated in the First Battle of Bull Run, a disastrous Union defeat just a few miles from the national capital. Most of the Union Army panicked and fled in a disorderly retreat. For a time during the tumultuous battle, Meigs directed the fire and movement of troops in the absence of commanding officers. Meigs' unit fell back on Fairfax, Virginia. Without orders to do so, John left the unit and returned to the capital. He reached his parents' home at about 8 A.M., and let them know he was uninjured. He said he left Company M to report to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief of all Union armed forces. Although John wished to return to his unit, his father ordered him to depart for West Point after reporting to General Scott.
Cadet Meigs received high praise from his superiors. Major Hunt later wrote: On the death of Lieutenant Craig, Cadet Meigs performed his duties until the close of action with spirit and intelligence, and was very useful, after the affair was over, in conveying orders, observing the enemy, and rallying our troops. Colonel Richardson, too, lauded him. He wrote in his after-action report, "Meigs carried my orders promptly, and a braver and more gallant young man was never in service." He also praised John in a letter to General Meigs, saying, the "gallant conduct of your son, and his exertions in carrying orders for me in the field" "recommended him to be immediately made a Lieut. in the regular Army." Secretary of War Simon Cameron offered to give John a commission as a Second lieutenant, but General Meigs prevailed on the Secretary to send his son back to school. Instead, Cameron wrote a glowing letter of commendation to Cadet Meigs on December 15, 1861.
Remainder of West Point education Meigs was appointed sergeant in the Battalion of Cadets on August 29, 1861. Two days later, he was detailed to the mathematics department under the supervision of Professor Albert E. Church.
But on August 19, Meigs became a participant in a court-martial proceeding against Colonel Dixon S. Miles. Miles and Richardson covered the retreat of McDowell's forces at Bull Run. They argued during the retreat, and Richardson accused Miles of drunkenness. In his defense, Miles claimed that Cadet Meigs had issued orders which he was not authorized to give, and that this was part of the cause of the disagreement between himself and Richardson on July 21. Miles produced at least three witnesses who testified that Meigs had given orders. Meigs admitted to suggesting courses of action, but denied absolutely giving any orders.