Lt. Gen. Schofield's Trunk & Books

Trunk and book collection of Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield (1831-1906), comprising:

1. Wooden trunk with iron fittings. Labeled "Genl J. M. Schofield." to upper lid, "12" stenciled to front panel.

2. Collection of ten (10) books, many inscribed to Schofield by their authors or subjects.

John Schofield came from a distinguished military family and graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1853. At the start of the Civil War, he worked to ensure that Missouri did not join the Confederacy, becoming a major in the 1st Missouri Infantry and Chief of Staff to Major General Nathaniel Lyon. During the Battle of Wilson's Creek, which claimed the life of General Lyon, Schofield acted with "conspicuous gallantry" and later received the Medal of Honor for service there. Schofield was quickly promoted, holding several commands in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, and in 1864 participated in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.

After the war, Schofield was appointed military Governor of Virginia and of the First Military District, overseeing the elections which resulted in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868. After Radical Republican Edwin M. Stanton was forced to resign by President Johnson, Schofield was appointed Secretary of War and would serve from June 1868 to March 1869. His career continued with major roles including Superintendent of the United States Military Academy (1876-1881), several important military postings, and after Sheridan's death in 1888, he became the Commanding General of the Army.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Reconstruction, West Point, Politics, Books, Ephemera, Militaria]