Manning Ferguson Force (December 17, 1824 - May 8, 1899) was a lawyer, judge, and soldier from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He became known as the commander of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and was a recipient of the Army

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for gallantry in action.

Early life and career

Manning F. Force was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where his father,

Peter Force Peter Force (November 26, 1790 – January 23, 1868) was an American politician, newspaper editor, printer, archivist, and early American historian. He was twice elected the twelfth Mayor of Washington D.C. During his lifetime he ama ...

, was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. He turned down an appointment to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and went on to attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

until 1845, and graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1848. The following year, Force moved to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and began his law practice.

Civil War

With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Force joined the Union forces as

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in the Western Theater as part of General

James B. McPherson James Birdseye McPherson (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. McPherson was on the General's staff of Henry Halleck and late ...

's 17th Corps. Colonel Force's 20th Ohio bore the brunt of the

Battle of Raymond The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union (American Civil War), Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River cit ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, in the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Riv ...

. Osborn Oldroyd related the number of casualties from the 20th Ohio to his commander:

I took the roll-book from the pocket of our dead sergeant and found that while we had gone in with thirty-two men, we came out with but sixteen— one-half of the brave little band, but a few hours before so full of hope and patriotism, either killed or wounded. Nearly all the survivors could show bullet marks in clothing or flesh, but no man left the field on account of wounds. When I told Colonel Force of our loss, I saw tears course down his cheeks, and so intent were his thoughts upon his fallen men that he failed to note the bursting of a shell above him, scattering the powder over his person, as he sat at the foot of a tree.

Following the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

, Force marched on to northern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where he fought in the Atlanta Campaign. He was severely wounded in the face during the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Uni ...

and was disfigured for life. For his valor during the Atlanta Campaign, Force was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of volunteers in March 1865. Following the Battle of Atlanta, he participated in

Sherman's March to the Sea Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major ...

. The thirty-seven-year-old lawyer began the conflict as a major and ended as a brevetted major general. Sgt. Osborn Oldroyd noted his leadership when he wrote in his diary: As Colonel Force called us to 'Attention' this morning one of the boys remarked, 'I love that man more than ever.' Yes, we have good reason to be proud of our Colonel, for upon all occasions we are treated by him as volunteers enlisted in war form pure love of country. ... " In his memoirs printed after the war, Force stated:

When lying there (in the trenches outside Vicksburg) it sometimes occurred to me, what a transformation it was for these men, full of individuality and self-reliance, accustomed always to act upon their own will, to so completely subordinate their wills to the wills of other men ... Their practical sense had told them an army differs from a mob only in discipline, and discipline was necessary for self-preservation.

Postbellum activities

After the war, Force returned to Cincinnati, where he became a justice of the Superior Court of Cincinnati. He also authored several law books and became a prominent writer as well as a lecturer. In 1892, he received the

. Manning Force is buried in

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham L ...

in Cincinnati. His papers and documents are housed in the Manning Ferguson Force Collection of the

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center is a complex comprising several buildings related to the life and presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. It is the first presidential library, built in 1916, and one of three such libraries for US presidents ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Atlanta, Ga., July 22, 1864. Entered service at: Cincinnati, Ohio. Born: Washington, D.C. December 17, 1824. Date of issue: March 31, 1892. Citation:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Brigadier General Manning Ferguson Force, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 22 July 1864, while serving with U.S. Volunteers, in action at Atlanta, Georgia. Brigadier General Force charged upon the enemy's works, and after their capture defended his position against assaults of the enemy until he was severely wounded.

File:Force, Manning Ferguson c1865 public domain.jpg, Medal of Honor recipient Manning Ferguson Force, Brevet MGEN USV c1865 File:Manning Force.jpg, Manning Force, pen and ink from Osborn H. I. Oldroyd, ''A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg'', 1885 File:20-13-021-vicksburg.jpg, Bust by T.A.R. Kitson at

Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi (flanking the Mississippi River), also commemorates the greater ...

Notes

References

*Oldroyd, Osborn H. I., ''A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg'', 1885. *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Force, Manning United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Union Army generals People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War People of Ohio in the American Civil War American legal writers Lawyers from Cincinnati Ohio lawyers Ohio state court judges Judges of the Superior Court of Cincinnati Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery 1824 births 1899 deaths American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Harvard Law School alumni 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers