View source for John Schofield

{{short description|United States Army Medal of Honor recipient and Union Army general (1831–1906)}}
{{About|the United States military officer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name= John Schofield
| image= John Schofield - Brady-Handy.jpg
| office= [[Commanding General of the United States Army|Commanding General of the U.S. Army]]
| president= [[Grover Cleveland]]<br />[[Benjamin Harrison]]<br />Grover Cleveland
| term_start= August 14, 1888
| term_end= September 29, 1895
| predecessor= [[Philip Sheridan]]
| successor= [[Nelson A. Miles]]
| office1 = 28th [[United States Secretary of War]]
| president1= [[Andrew Johnson]]<br />[[Ulysses S. Grant]]
| term_start1= June 1, 1868
| term_end1= March 13, 1869
| predecessor1= [[Edwin Stanton]]
| successor1= [[John Aaron Rawlins]]
| birth_name= John McAllister Schofield
| birth_date= {{birth date|1831|9|29}}
| birth_place= [[Gerry, New York]], U.S.
| death_date= {{death date and age|1906|3|4|1831|9|29}}
| death_place= [[St. Augustine, Florida]], U.S.
| restingplace= [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| signature= Appletons' Schofield John McAllister signature.jpg
| party= [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| education= [[United States Military Academy]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
| allegiance= United States<br />{{*}}[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]
| branch= United States Army<br />{{*}}[[Union Army]]
| serviceyears= 1853–1860<br />1861–1895
| rank= [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]]
| commands= [[Superintendent of the United States Military Academy]] {{small|(1876–1881)}}<br />[[Army of the Frontier]]<br />[[Department of the Missouri]]<br />[[XXIII Corps (Union Army)|XXIII Corps]]<br />[[Army of the Ohio]]
| battles= {{Tree list}}
* [[American Civil War]]
** [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]]
** [[Atlanta campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Utoy Creek]]
** [[Franklin–Nashville campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Franklin (1864)|Battle of Franklin]]
*** [[Battle of Nashville]]
** [[Campaign of the Carolinas]]
*** [[Battle of Wyse Fork]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| mawards=[[Medal of Honor]]
| module= {{Infobox person
|embed= yes
|employer= [[United States Military Academy]]<br>[[Washington University in St. Louis]]
}}
}}
'''John McAllister Schofield''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|oʊ|f|iː|l|d}}; September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Mcallister Schofield {{!}} U.S. Civil War {{!}} U.S. Army {{!}} Medal of Honor Recipient |url=https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/john-m-schofield |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=Congressional Medal of Honor Society |language=en}}</ref> He was appointed [[U.S. Secretary of War]] (1868–1869) under President [[Andrew Johnson]] and later served as [[Commanding General of the United States Army]] (1888–1895).<ref>Schofield was Secretary of War 6/1/1868 to 3/13/1869. Grant took office on 3/4/1869; While it is technically correct that Schofield held the office under Grant for 10 days, it is misleading and confusing to suggest he served as Secretary of War for both presidents. Schofield had the position as a [[Lame duck (politics)|lame duck]] during the transition period between presidential administrations.</ref>

==Early life==
John McAllister Schofield was born September 29, 1831, in [[Gerry, New York]], the son of the Reverend James Schofield and his first wife, the former Caroline (McAllister) Schofield. His father, a Baptist minister in Sinclairville became a domestic missionary and moved his family (which then included six children and would include 10 who survived infancy) to [[Bristol, Illinois]]. When John was 12, they finally settled in [[Freeport, Illinois]], where Rev. Schofield became the town's first Baptist minister in 1845, and where he was ultimately buried in 1888.<ref name="VVJY3" />

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], his family consisted of both Patriots and Loyalists.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8L1lm7Fa49kC&q=Grandfather%20James%20S.%20Schofield,%20too%20young%20to%20serve%20in%20the%20Revolution,%20settled%20in%20New%20York%20and%20served%20in%20the%20militia%20during%20the%20War%20of%201812. | isbn=978-0-8078-3007-9 | title=John M. Schofield and the Politics of Generalship | date=2006 | publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press }}</ref> His grandfather at the time was considered below the age to fight during the Revolution. Though, after settling in New York, he fought in the New York Militia during the [[War of 1812]]. His earliest ancestor who arrived in America was Richard Schofield, who came to the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] from England in 1635.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LiQTAQAAMAAJ&q=Schofield%20england | title=The Washington Ancestry, and Records of the McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families: Prepared for Edward Lee McClain | date=1932 | publisher=Priv. print. }}</ref>

As a young man John Schofield was educated in the public schools, helped his family farm and build their home, and then surveyed land in northern Wisconsin before spending a year teaching school in [[Oneco, Illinois]]. Then U.S. Rep. [[Thomas J. Turner]] secured John Schofield an appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point. He sold land for travel expenses and reported on June 1, 1849.<ref name="auto" /> In his final year at the Academy, while a teaching assistant in the mathematics section, cadet Schofield was accused of allowing others in his classroom to make offensive jokes and drawings on the blackboard. He was dismissed from West Point, but after meeting with Illinois' U.S. Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]], appealed the decision to the [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]], who referred the matter back to a Board of Inquiry at the Academy. A majority of the review board voted to rescind the expulsion, but one of the two officers who voted to sustain it, cavalry and artillery instructor Lt. [[George H. Thomas]], later became a commander of Schofield during the Civil War. Although Schofield's eventual memoirs did not mention Thomas on the review board, his persistent criticism of Thomas's generalship after the war may reflect this incident.<ref name="Kmf8i" /> Schofield graduated in 1853, ranking seventh in his class, and was commissioned a [[brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the artillery.<ref name="Eicher" />

Schofield served for two years in the artillery. His first post was at [[Fort Moultrie, South Carolina]], which he later noted involved the same guns that were used to bombard [[Fort Sumter]] in 1861. He then served at various places in Florida during the armed truce with the [[Seminole Nation]], but contracted fevers and [[dysentery]] and was ultimately evacuated (with the assistance of future [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] General [[A. P. Hill]]) and recovered at [[Culpeper, Virginia]].

Upon regaining his health, First Lieutenant Schofield returned to West Point as assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy from 1855 to 1860. His career seemed stalled, so he took leave (1860–1861), to work as professor of [[physics]] at [[Washington University in St. Louis]].<ref name="auto" /> Several of his brothers had settled in [[St. Louis]], following the lead of his eldest brother Rev. James Van Pelt Schofield (1825–1898).

==Civil War==
[[File:John Schofield Arlington National Cemetery.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Grave at Arlington National Cemetery]]
When the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] broke out, Schofield helped assure [[Missouri]] did not join the [[Confederate States of American|Confederacy]]. He became a major in the [[1st Missouri Infantry Regiment (Union)|1st Missouri Infantry Regiment]] and served as chief of staff to [[Major general (United States)|Maj. Gen.]] [[Nathaniel Lyon]] until Lyon's death during the [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]] ([[Missouri]]) in August 1861.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=345}} Schofield acted with "conspicuous gallantry" during the battle, and decades later received the [[Medal of Honor]] for that action.<ref name="Bobrickmedal" />

Schofield was promoted to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers on November 21, 1861. From 1861 to 1863 he held various commands in the [[Trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War|Trans-Mississippi Theater]]. He commanded the District of St. Louis from that date to April 10, 1862, the Military District of Missouri from June 5 to September 24, 1862, and the District of Southwest Missouri to November 10, 1862. He led the [[Army of the Frontier]] from October 12, 1862 to May 30, 1863. He was promoted to [[major general]] of volunteers on November 29, 1862, at the age of 31, making him one of the youngest major generals in the Civil War.{{sfn|Boatner|1959|p=726}}

On September 30, 1862, a Federal brigade suffered a defeat at the [[First Battle of Newtonia]] in southwest Missouri. Both [[James G. Blunt]] and Schofield rushed to [[Newtonia, Missouri]], with reinforcements and sent the Confederate force fleeing south into Arkansas. The department commander [[Samuel Ryan Curtis]] created the Army of the Frontier with Schofield in command. Blunt led the 1st Division, [[James Totten]] the 2nd Division, and [[Francis J. Herron]] the 3rd Division. The army numbered 20,000 men, but probably 14,000 were fit for duty. Schofield's army crossed into northwest Arkansas on 17 October.{{sfn|Shea|2009|pp=27–29}} Blunt's division soon moved west into [[Indian Territory]] where it won the [[Battle of Old Fort Wayne]] on October 22.{{sfn|Shea|2009|pp=37–41}} Meanwhile, Schofield with the 2nd and 3rd Divisions occupied [[Huntsville, Arkansas]].{{sfn|Shea|2009|p=47}} Schofield's troops clashed with forces led by [[Thomas C. Hindman]], and the Confederates retreated south on 29 October.{{sfn|Shea|2009|p=59}} On November 4, with the approval of Curtis, Schofield's two divisions withdrew northeast to [[Springfield, Missouri]] while Blunt's division remained in northwest Arkansas.{{sfn|Shea|2009|p=63}}

He was eventually relieved of duty in the West, at his own request, due to altercations with his superior [[Samuel R. Curtis]].

From April 17 to May 10, 1863, Schofield led the 3rd [[division (military)|Division]] in the [[XIV Corps (Union Army)|XIV Corps]], [[Army of the Cumberland]]. He returned to Missouri as commander of the [[Department of Missouri]] from May 24, 1863 to January 30, 1864.{{sfn|Boatner|1959|p=726}} His command in Missouri was marred by controversy after a massacre at [[Lawrence, Kansas]], when Schofield refused to allow a posse to pursue the combatants into Missouri. Pro-Union Missourians sent a delegation to Washington, D.C., in October to plead with President Lincoln to dismiss Schofield for sympathizing with pro-Confederate Bushwhacker para-military marauders who were attacking loyal Union citizens. Lincoln backed Schofield's position, attributed the carnage to wartime conditions rather than the commander's inadequacy, and instructed Schofield to respect civil liberties unless assemblies or newspapers were working palpable harm to the military.<ref name="t5ZtT" />

In 1864, as commander of the [[Army of the Ohio]], Schofield participated in the [[Atlanta campaign]] under Major General [[William T. Sherman]]. Sherman placed him in command of a major operation to break the rail lines in late July 1864. Schofield became embroiled in another controversy with the commander of the US XIV Corps (Volunteer), Major General [[John M. Palmer (politician)|John Palmer]], who resigned rather than serve under Schofield, whom he considered to be of lower rank, but whom Gen. Sherman backed, at Utoy Creek (becoming the only resignation during a major operation in U.S. history, although Palmer was ultimately reassigned to Kentucky and helped maintain federal control over that border state). Schofield with his XXIII Corps and the XIV Corps then spent the month in front of Atlanta and East Point with lackluster results. Sherman resorted to a flanking movement to defeat the Confederates under Hood. Schofield was sent to cut off Hardee's retreat at Jonesboro but failed to move. He became embroiled in a further controversy, when placed under General Stanley commanding the US IV Corps, on August 30, 1864.

[[File:John Schofield.jpg|thumb|left|John Schofield during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]]]
Sherman, after the fall of Atlanta, took the majority of his forces on a [[Sherman's March to the Sea|March to the Sea]] through Georgia. Schofield's Army of the Ohio was detached to join Major General [[George Henry Thomas|George H. Thomas]] in Tennessee. When [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] General [[John Bell Hood]] invaded Tennessee and nearly cut off Schofield's command at Spring Hill, Hood's rash assault to regain momentum at the subsequent [[Second Battle of Franklin|Battle of Franklin]] resulted in a significant defeat. On December 15–16, Schofield took part in Thomas's crowning victory at the [[Battle of Nashville]] where Hood's [[Army of Tennessee]] was decisively defeated, and effectively destroyed as a fighting force for the remainder of the war. However, during the buildup towards the battle Schofield intrigued against Thomas, feeding Grant false information, in order to try to succeed his senior in command.<ref name="dtY9o" /> For his services at Franklin he was awarded the rank of brigadier general in the [[Regular Army (United States)|regular army]] on November 30, 1864, and the [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] rank of major general on March 13, 1865.<ref name="Eicher" />

Ordered to operate with Sherman in [[North Carolina]], Schofield moved his corps by rail and sea to [[Fort Fisher]], North Carolina, in 17 days, [[Battle of Wilmington|occupied Wilmington]] on February 22, 1865, fought the action at [[Battle of Wyse Fork|Kinston]] on March 10, and on March 23, joined Sherman at [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=346}}

==Reconstruction==
After the war, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Andrew Johnson]] sent Schofield on a special diplomatic mission to [[France]], urging withdrawal of French troops in [[Mexico]].  General Schofield also joined the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]], a military society composed of officers of the Union armed forces and their descendants. After retiring from active duty, Schofield served as the Order's commander-in-chief (from 1899 to 1903).

During [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]], President Johnson appointed Schofield to serve as military governor of [[Virginia]] and of the [[First Military District]]. Thus, he oversaw the elections (in which blacks and whites voted) which resulted in the [[Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868]]. When Radicals took over that convention and proposed to disenfranchise former Confederates Schofield voiced concerns about corruption to Congress as well as his commander, General [[Ulysses Grant]]. Schofield's position was of high importance and sensitivity, due to the region's proximity to Washington as well as Confederate President [[Jefferson Davis]]'s incarceration in Norfolk and awaiting trial under Judge [[John Curtiss Underwood]], who chaired the Constitutional Convention and had close links with Congressional Republicans. After President Johnson forced [[Edwin M. Stanton]], a [[Radical Republicans|Radical Republican]] who had served as [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] since 1862, to resign, Schofield served as Secretary of War from June 1868 to March 1869.

==Postwar career==

Schofield was promoted to major general in the Regular Army on March 4, 1869, the same day General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] was sworn in as president of the United States. Schofield then served for a year as head of the [[Department of Missouri]], the Army's second largest military department.

Following General George Thomas' death, Schofield succeeded him in commanding the [[Military Division of the Pacific]], the country's largest.

In 1873, Schofield was given a secret task by Secretary of War [[William W. Belknap|William Belknap]] to investigate the strategic potential of a United States presence in the Hawaiian Islands. Schofield's report recommended that the United States establish a naval port at [[Pearl Harbor]].

Starting in 1876 until 1881, Schofield became [[Superintendents of the United States Military Academy|superintendent]] of the [[United States Military Academy]]. A major focus was reducing hazing and increasing professionalism within the academy. In 1878, Schofield drew the ire of Radical Republicans when President [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] asked him to reopen the case of [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Fitz John Porter]], who had been [[Court-martial of Fitz John Porter|convicted by a court-martial]] for cowardice and disobedience at the [[Second Battle of Bull Run]]. Schofield's review board used new evidence from Confederate generals who had participated in the battle, and then found that Porter had been wrongly convicted and that his actions might have saved the entire Union army from complete defeat caused by the ineptitude of Maj. Gens. [[John Pope (general)|John Pope]] and [[Irvin McDowell]].

On April 5, 1880, an African American cadet at West Point, [[Johnson Chesnut Whittaker]], was found bruised and beaten in his cot. He claimed that he had been attacked by fellow cadets, but the administration claimed he had fabricated his story to win sympathy. Whittaker was [[court-martial]]ed and expelled for allegedly faking an assault on himself staged by his fellow cadets. A Congressional investigation into the incident resulted in Schofield's removal from his post as superintendent in 1881.

Schofield then served in the [[Department of the Gulf]] (1881–82), the [[Military Division of the Pacific]] (1882–83), the [[Military Division of the Missouri]] (1883–86), and the [[Military Division of the Atlantic]] (1886–88). He also went to France to witness military maneuvers there. Gen. Schofield was also the first President of the Army and Navy Club (founded 1885, incorporated 1891).<ref name="6mST3" />

[[File:SchofieldOfficialPortrait.jpg|thumb|Official U.S. Army Chiefs of Staff portrait, by [[Stephen William Shaw|Stephen W. Shaw]], 1874
<ref name="Bell, 2005" />]]

Upon the death of General Philip Sheridan in 1888, General Schofield, by virtue of his seniority in rank, became the commanding general of the [[United States Army]]. He supported military professionalism, including subordination to the civilian Secretary of War. Schofield also supported adoption of lineal promotions and initiated performance reviews which limited political patronage considerations from the promotion process.<ref name="6cgYx" /> Writing from South Dakota, General Schofield seconded a report of General [[Thomas H. Ruger]] which urged the federal government to honor treaty obligations with Native Americans.<ref name="8lXfH" />

General Schofield received the [[Medal of Honor]] on July 2, 1892, for his actions at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in 1861.  During the unrest of the [[Pullman Strike]], Schofield worked with President Cleveland in a discreet advisory role.<ref name="fc4m7" /><ref name="aEgWW" /><ref name="xtnsx" /><ref name="I43qs" />  On February 5, 1895, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. Lieutenant General Schofield retired on September 29, 1895, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64.

However, he remained active in government affairs, supporting [[Elihu Root]], testifying before congressional committees in support of the Army Reorganization Act of 1901 and the Dick Act of 1903 which established the [[U.S. National Guard]].

==Personal life==
[[File:Georgia Wells Kilbourne, Mrs Schofield.jpg|thumb|left|Georgia Wells Kilbourne, the second Mrs Schofield]]

John Schofield married Harriet Whitehorn Bartlett, daughter of W.F.C. Bartlett (Chairman of West Point's Department of Philosophy) and they had two daughters and four sons. Two sons, John (1858–1868) and Henry (1862–1863), died before reaching adulthood. William Bartlett Schofield (1860–1906) survived to adulthood and began a U.S. Army career, rising to Major, as did Richmond McAlister Schofield (1867–1941). After Harriet died in 1888, she was buried with her father and son John in the United States Military Academy Post cemetery.

At age 60, in Keokuk, Iowa in June 1891, Schofield remarried, to 27-year-old Georgia Wells Kilbourne, with whom he had a daughter, Georgiana.<ref name="7Ava6" /> Georgia Wells Kilbourne was a native of Keokuk, Iowa. She was the daughter of George Kilbourne, and was named Georgia for her father. She attended school in New York, and afterwards studied abroad. Her mother, Mrs. Kilbourne, and her younger sister, Miss Emma Kilbourne, spent a part of the year at her Washington home. Emma Kilbourne devoted much of her time to reading and study.<ref name="jsLBe" />

[[File:Emma Kilbourne.jpg|thumb|Emma Kilbourne, Schofield's sister-in-law]]

During his military career, perhaps because of his reformer image, Schofield was dogged by accusations of favoritism toward family members. His brother [[George W. Schofield|George Wheeler Schofield]] (1833–1882) also became a brevet Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers during the American Civil War, originally volunteering with the 1st Missouri Volunteer Infantry in November 1861 and promoted to Captain in the 1st Missouri Light Artillery after the [[Siege of Vicksburg]], and rising to command the 2nd Regiment Missouri Volunteer Light artillery and ultimately being commissioned as a Major in the Regular Army after the Civil War and serving in the 10th Cavalry and later the 6th Cavalry on the Western Frontier, and for whom the .45 caliber Smith and Wesson Schofield revolver was named. Another brother Charles Brewster Schofield (1849–1901) graduated from West Point in 1870. C.B. Schofield later served as his Gen. J.M. Schofield's aide during the Indian Wars from 1878 to 1885. After rising to the rank of Captain during the Spanish–American War, he died of a heart attack in Matanzas, Cuba in 1901 and was also buried at Arlington National Cemetery. While Gen. John Schofield was in charge of Military District No. 1 in Virginia, his brother Elisha McAllister Schofield (1835–1870) was the assessor for the City of Richmond, Virginia and was among many killed on April 26, 1870, as a result of the infamous collapse of the balcony at the State Capitol during a session of the Virginia Court of Appeals. His son in law, Brig. Gen. [[Avery D. Andrews]] and his wife Mary Campbell Schofield Andrews are also buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

==Death and legacy==
Before his death, Schofield became the last surviving member of Andrew Johnson's cabinet. His memoirs, ''Forty-six Years in the Army'', were published in 1897.<ref name="wXvSj" /> General Schofield became an honorary companion of the [[Military Order of Foreign Wars]].

General Schofield died at [[St. Augustine, Florida]] on March 4, 1906. He is buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CglzY2hvZmllbGQSBGpvaG4aAW0-/ Burial Detail: Scholfiedl, John M (Section 2, Grave 1108)] – ANC Explorer</ref><ref name="Eicher" /> [[Schofield Barracks]], Hawaii are named in his honor.

Today, Schofield is also remembered for a lengthy quotation that all cadets at the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point, [[The Citadel]], [[Officer Candidate School (United States Army)|Officer Candidate School]] at Fort Benning, and the [[United States Air Force Academy]] are required to memorize. It is an excerpt from his graduation address to the class of 1879 at West Point:

{{Blockquote|The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling, but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them respect for himself. While he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect towards others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.|John M. Schofield}}

==Medal of Honor citation==
[[File:medal of honor old.jpg|80px|left]]
'''Rank and organization:'''
:Major, 1st Missouri Infantry. Place and date: At Wilsons Creek, Mo., August 10, 1861. Entered service at: St. Louis, Mo. Born: September 29, 1831, Gerry, N.Y. Date of issue: July 2, 1892.
'''Citation:'''
:Was conspicuously gallant in leading a regiment in a successful charge versus the enemy.<ref name="AMOHW1" /><ref name="AMOHW2" />

{{Clear}}
The medal was recommended by Schofield himself when he was interim U.S. Secretary of War (1868–69). Historian Benson Bobrick is critical of this and notes the vagueness of the details in the citation.<ref name="Bobrickmedal" />

General Schofield was posthumously entitled to the [[Civil War Campaign Medal]] and the [[Indian Campaign Medal]].  Both medals were created in 1907, a year after Schofield died.

==Dates of rank==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! Insignia !! Rank !! Date !! Component
|-
|[[File:Union 2nd lt rank insignia.svg|60px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United States|Brevet Second Lieutenant]] || July 1, 1853 || 2nd Artillery
|-
|[[File:Union 2nd lt rank insignia.svg|60px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United States|Second Lieutenant]] || August 31, 1853 || 1st Artillery
|-
|[[File:Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[First lieutenant#United States|First Lieutenant]] || March 3, 1855 || 1st Artillery
|-
|[[File:Union army maj rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Major (United States)|Major]] || April 26, 1861 || 1st Missouri Infantry
|-
|[[File:Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] || May 14, 1861 || 1st Artillery
|-
|[[File:Union army maj rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Major (United States)|Major]] || June 26, 1861 || 1st Missouri Artillery
|-
|[[File:Union army brig gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] || November 21, 1861 || [[United States Volunteers|Volunteers]]
|-
|[[File:Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || November 29, 1862 || Volunteers
|-
|[[File:Union army brig gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] || March 4, 1863 || [[United States Volunteers|Volunteers]]
|-
|[[File:Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || May 12, 1863 || Volunteers
|-
|[[File:Union army brig gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] || November 30, 1864 || [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]]
|-
|[[File:Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || Brevet [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || March 13, 1865 || Regular Army
|-
|[[File:Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || March 4, 1869 || Regular Army
|-
|[[File:Union army lt gen rank insignia.jpg|60px]] || [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] || February 5, 1895 || Regular Army
|} <ref name="wvi1H" />

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
* [[List of Medal of Honor recipients]]
* [[List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: Q–S#S|List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: Q–S]]
* [[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name="auto">In Memoriam pp. 8–9</ref>
<ref name="Eicher">Eicher, pp. 472–73.</ref>
<ref name="Bobrickmedal">Bobrick, p. 288, states "Much later, as secretary of war (1868–69), he would award himself the Congressional Medal of Honor (actual award was in 1892) for undocumented valor at Wilson's Creek."</ref>
<ref name="Bell, 2005">{{cite book | last =Bell | first =William Gardner | title =Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775–2005 | publisher =Center of Military History, United States Army | year =2005 | location =Washington, D.C. | pages =90 | url =http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/cg&csa/Schofield-JM.htm | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20000823114415/http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/cg&csa/Schofield-JM.htm | url-status =dead | archive-date =August 23, 2000 }}</ref>
<ref name="AMOHW1">{{Cite web |publisher = AmericanCivilWar.com |title = "Civil War Medal of Honor citations" (S–Z): Schofield, John M. |url = https://americancivilwar.com/medal_of_honor8.html |access-date = November 9, 2007}}</ref>
<ref name="AMOHW2">{{Cite web |publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |title=Medal of Honor website (M–Z): Schofield, John M. |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html |access-date=November 9, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223063700/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html |archive-date=February 23, 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="VVJY3">Military order of the Loyal Legion, In Memoriaam, Companion Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield, P. 8 available at google books ID Yi5caaaaiaaj</ref>
<ref name="Kmf8i">Einolf, p. 64; Schofield, pp. 13–14.</ref>
<ref name="t5ZtT">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1863/10/24/news/missouri-troubles-president-lincoln-s-reply-missouri-delegation-gen-schofield.html|title=The Missouri Troubles; President Lincoln's Reply to the Missouri Delegation Gen. Schofield Sustained.|date=October 24, 1863|website=The New York Times}}</ref>
<ref name="dtY9o">Bobrick, pp. 287–88, 329–31, 336–37.</ref>
<ref name="6mST3">imdb</ref>
<ref name="6cgYx">Review of Connelly, John M. Schofield and the Politics of Command at Humanities and Social Sciences Online January 13, 2007</ref>
<ref name="8lXfH">{{cite web|url=http://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/events/native-history|title=Native History: 1638 Treaty of Hartford Meant to Quell Fear of Devil|website=indiancountrymedianetwork.com – Indian Country Media Network}}</ref>
<ref name="fc4m7">[https://books.google.com/books?id=q6neAAAAMAAJ&q=Gen.+John+M.+Schofield+pullman+grover+cleveland Soldiers and Civilians: The U.S. Army and the American People]</ref>
<ref name="aEgWW">[https://books.google.com/books?id=ot392Z890gIC&pg=PA113 Failures of the Presidents: From the Whiskey Rebellion and War of 1812 to the Bay of Pigs and War in Iraq]</ref>
<ref name="xtnsx">[https://archive.org/details/theodorerex00morr <!-- quote=Schofield veteran. --> Theodore Rex], p. 165</ref>
<ref name="I43qs">[https://books.google.com/books?id=OmwmBxUIufUC&pg=PA365 Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief: The Great Chicago Fire, the Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman, Second Edition]</ref>
<ref name="7Ava6">Iowa marriage records</ref>
<ref name="jsLBe">{{cite book|last1=Hinman|first1=Ida|title=The Washington Sketch Book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924081310785|date=1895|page=65|publisher=Hartman & Cadick|location=Washington, D.C.}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>
<ref name="wXvSj">John M. Schofield, Forty Six Years in the Army (1897) available at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21417</ref>
<ref name="wvi1H">Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789–1903. Francis B. Heitman. 1903. Volume 1. p. 865.</ref>
}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Boatner |first=Mark M. III |author-link=Mark M. Boatner III |title=The Civil War Dictionary |year=1959 |publisher=David McKay Company Inc. |location=New York |isbn= 0-679-50013-8 }}
* Bobrick, Benson. ''Master of War: The Life of General George H. Thomas''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-7432-9025-8}}.
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]]. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}.
* Einolf, Christopher J. ''George Thomas: Virginian for the Union''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-3867-1}}.
* McDonough, James L. "John Schofield as Military Director of Reconstruction in Virginia." ''Civil War History'', September 1969, pp.&nbsp;237–256.
* Schofield, John M. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21417 ''Forty-Six Years in the Army'']. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-3080-4}}. First published 1897 by The Century Co.
* {{cite book|last=Shea |first=William L. |title=Field of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign |year=2009 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill, NC |isbn=978-0-8078-3315-5 }}
* {{cite book|last=Sword |first=Wiley |title=The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville |publisher=University Press of Kansas for HarperCollins |year=1992 |isbn=0-7006-0650-5 |location=New York}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Schofield, John McAllister|volume=24|pages=345–346}}

==External links==
* {{Gutenberg author | id=9910| name=John McAllister Schofield}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=John McAllister Schofield}}
* {{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Schofield, John McAllister|year=1900 |short=x |notaref=x}}

{{Navboxes
|title=Offices and distinctions
|list1=
{{s-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=none}}
{{s-ttl|title= Commander of the [[Army of the Frontier]]|years=October 12, 1862 – March 30, 1863}}
{{s-aft|after= [[James G. Blunt]]}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Thomas H. Ruger]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = [[Superintendents of the United States Military Academy]]|years = 1876–1881}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Oliver O. Howard]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Philip H. Sheridan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commanding General of the United States Army]]|years=1888–1895}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nelson A. Miles]]}}
{{S-off}}
{{U.S. Cabinet official box
| before= [[Edwin M. Stanton]]
| after= [[John Aaron Rawlins]]
| years= June 1, 1868 – March 13, 1869
| president= [[Andrew Johnson]]
| department= Secretary of War}}
{{S-end}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Articles related to John Schofield
|list1=
{{USSecWar}}
{{Andrew Johnson cabinet}}
{{US Army Chiefs of Staff}}
{{United States Military Academy superintendents}}
{{Missouri in the Civil War}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schofield, John}}
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor]]
[[Category:Andrew Johnson administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Commanding Generals of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Florida Republicans]]
[[Category:Missouri Republicans]]
[[Category:New York (state) Republicans]]
[[Category:People from Chautauqua County, New York]]
[[Category:People of Missouri in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People of New York (state) in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Superintendents of the United States Military Academy]]
[[Category:Union army generals]]
[[Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of war]]
[[Category:Washington University in St. Louis physicists]]