On July 1, 1864 Union General Irwin McDowell assumed command of the Department of the Pacific, a far inferior position for the officer who commanded Union troops at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. After his defeat at Bull Run, McDowell remained a division commander first under George McClellan and then under John Pope. McDowell was blamed for the Union fiasco at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862 but escaped culpability by testifying against General Fitz John Porter, whom Pope court-martialed for insubordination. As a result of his testimony, McDowell spent the following two years in exile from the leadership of the Army. After July 1864 Irwin McDowell would spend the remainder of the war in California, effectively isolated from further battlefield command.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.