Gouverneur Kemble Warren: Map Genius, Wronged Hero

The staff in the Army of the Potomac. Gouverneur Kemble Warren is far left. Public Domain

Gouverneur Kemble Warren possessed a keen eye for topography. His leadership in exploring expeditions during America’s westward expansion provided a precise vision of the open west. His eye for terrain would also serve him impeccably during the Civil War’s most crucial battle. Despite his accomplishments, a single injustice marred his name.

Mapping His Career

Gouverneur Kemble Warren (1830–82) was born in the small town of Cold Spring, New York, approximately 15 miles north of West Point along the Hudson River. At the age of 16, Warren received a commission to attend the Military Academy at West Point and exactly four years later, on July 1, 1850, he graduated second out of a class of 44. He would become the most accomplished of that class.

Gouverneur Kemble Warren was a mapmaking mastermind and capable Union general of the Civil War. Public Domain

Upon graduation, he joined the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, where his skill in surveying was put to the test. Shortly before his graduation, gold was found in California, and throughout the 1850s, America underwent a surge in its westward expansion. Many considered the discovery of gold and the settling of the western frontier as part of its Manifest Destiny. Whether it was destiny or mere happenstance, the march west required better maps than what existed.

Exploring Expeditions

During this expansion, the railroad companies, such as the Pacific Railroad and Central Railroad, conducted surveys and created maps. Their cartography left much to be desired. America’s second longest river, the Mississippi, was considered the dividing line between east and west. It was a gold mine for trade. For the next three years, Warren participated in several survey expeditions: The 1851 survey of the lower Mississippi Delta, a survey of the river’s northern Rock Island, and a survey of the Des Moines rapids in 1853. Warren also assisted in constructing the canal around the Ohio River falls.

From 1853 to 1855, Warren assisted in surveying the best route for the planned transcontinental railroad. The young topographer studied the landscape with impeccable precision while combing through the railroads’ and historical surveys, even those dating back to the Lewis and Clark Expedition (of which there were 83 manuscript maps).

It was a day of celebration when the last "golden" spike was driven into the first railroad line to cross the United States. Public Domain

From 1855 to 1857, Warren was chief topographical officer under Gen. William S. Harney during his march through the southern Nebraska Territory (today’s Nebraska and South Dakota). This march was part of an expedition against the Sioux nation.  Harney had been given permission to take whatever measures necessary to protect the Kansas and Nebraska frontiers.

Warren, however, focused less on fighting the Sioux and more on surveying the land, as he led his staff to explore, survey, and chart portions of the continent’s longest river the Missouri (which connects to the Mississippi), from St. Louis to what is today North Dakota and eastern Montana (the latter by way of the Yellowstone River). During the final leg of this expedition, the group became the first to explore the Black Hills and the Niobrara River.

During his time with Gen. Harney, Warren experienced combat for the first time during the Battle of Ash Hollow on Sept. 2 and 3 in 1855. Although his future military efforts would provide him acclaim, as well as great sorrow, it was his topographical efforts that, at least from a national expansion perspective, made the largest impact. In fact, when he reported his findings, Congress awarded him with greater authority and additional exploration expeditions.

Gathering all of his data, Warren finally compiled and completed his map in May 1857. According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the map “laid bare for the first time the basic contours of the vast American West and was a major landmark in American topography. Its significance went well beyond the Pacific Railroad surveys, and it remained the basic map of the Western states and territories for a generation.” The map, beautifully illustrated by Edward Freyhold, was called “Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.”

After completing this major achievement, Warren was hired as an assistant professor of mathematics at West Point on Aug. 29, 1859 and promoted to full professor two months later.

Entering the Civil War

Despite the accuracy of his map of the United States west of the Mississippi, Congress remained divided on what route to take for the transcontinental railroad. The split foreshadowed a deeper division as northern politicians wanted a northern route, while southern politicians preferred one closer to them. Congress decided on a northern route, but only after the outbreak of the Civil War. Congress, comprised primarily of northern congressmen, passed the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862.

When war broke out, Warren joined the Union as a lieutenant colonel for the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment in May 1861. The regiment marched to Hampton, Virginia outside of Fort Monroe. His first battle was the Battle of Big Bethel in early June, which many historians consider to be the war’s first major land battle. The battle was a debacle for the Union due to confusion, friendly fire, and a Confederate victory despite superior numbers. Perhaps due to this outcome, Warren was placed in command of the regiment and was promoted to captain in the regular army.

Warren served throughout the war, rising to major general. In 1862, he was part of Maj. Gen. George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign. McClellan placed Warren in command of the 3rd Brigade belonging to the 5th Corps’ 2nd Division. During the Battle of Gaines’ Mill on June 27, 1862, he suffered minor injuries during his “gallant and meritorious services” in the battle for which he was brevetted to lieutenant colonel.

Warren fought at Malvern Hill, Harrison’s Landing, and the Second Battle of Bull Run, the latter at which he lost more than half his brigade. Two months later, on Sept. 26, he was promoted to brigadier general of the volunteers. Though his brigade was held in reserve during the battles at Antietam and Fredericksburg, it did cover the Union Army’s retreat across the Rappahannock River after the Fredericksburg defeat.

Early the next year in 1863, Warren was appointed as the Army of the Potomac’s Chief Topographical Engineer. He served as Gen. Joseph Hooker’s assistant during the Battle of Chancellorsville from April 30 to May 6, another Confederate victory. The following month, the Corps of Topographical Engineers became the Corps of Engineers, and Warren maintained his position, though his title changed to Chief Engineer. He took a brief leave of absence to marry Emily Forbes Chase. In the coming weeks, his life would further alter.

Hero of Gettysburg

The turning point of the war, however, took place at the onset of July 1863 in a small town in southern Pennsylvania called Gettysburg. During the afternoon of the second day of fighting on July 2, Warren and Maj. Gen. George Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, rode along the Union lines. Meade heard gunfire coming from a hill. The commander ordered Warren to ride over and “if anything serious is going on,” to “attend to it.”

The Battle of Gettysburg included the Battle of Little Round Top, where Warren organized a defense of the hill against thousands of Confederate troops. Public Domain

Realizing the area, which overlooked the Union’s undefended left flank, was unoccupied and that its topography would benefit whoever held the position, he commandeered troops from 5th Corps and held the position known as Little Round Top. Almost immediately after stationing troops on the hill, 14,000 Confederates under the command of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet charged the area.

During the fighting, a Minié ball grazed Warren’s neck. He held a handkerchief over the wound and continued his command. The troops held out, turning the Confederates back, and, according to Robert E. Lee’s military secretary, Armistead Long, “the prompt energy of a single officer, General Warren, chief engineer, rescued Meade’s army from imminent peril.”

Fifth Corps division commander, Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford, wrote to Warren a decade later recalling the event, stating, “Your name ought to be forever connected with the saving of our left, for Round Top was saved by your foresight.”

Warren, again for his “gallant and meritorious services,” was brevetted and was made colonel. On Aug. 8, 1863, he was promoted to major general of the volunteers (he was also given temporary command of 2nd Corps on Aug. 12 when Gen. Winfield Hancock was severely wounded). Twenty-five years after the battle of Gettysburg, a statue of Warren was erected atop Little Round Top.

This monument on Little Round Top to Gouverneur Kemble Warren stands as a reminder of his excellence at strategy and courage as a Union military general. Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania. Keenie28/CC BY-SA 4.0

An Unjust Fall

In 1865, however, Warren’s prestige faltered. He had continued to command admirably, but after the Battle of Five Forks, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan relieved Warren of his command, citing he was too reticent in attacking the enemy. Sheridan did so with the blessing of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of the Union armies. Grant and Warren had disagreed on how to utilize their troops in the war. The former was known for throwing the weight of the Union’s numerical superiority against the Confederates, regardless of casualty numbers. The disagreements were unfortunately just a prelude to Sheridan’s decision, as unjust as it was.

Warren was stunned and hurt by the decision, which Sheridan refused to reconsider. Warren resigned his commission after the war and returned to the Corps of Engineers as a major (he was promoted to lieutenant colonel March 4, 1879).

For the next 14 years, Warren defended his honor and pleaded for a military inquiry into his actions and Sheridan’s decision. When Rutherford B. Hayes, who had been a Union general, became president after Grant, he ordered a board of inquiry on Dec. 11, 1879. The board heard more than 100 testimonies, but it took nearly three years for the board to submit its verdict. The board published its verdict on Nov. 22, 1882, completely exonerating Warren. Unfortunately, Warren would never get to bask in the decision as he died months prior on Aug. 8, 1882 due to “acute liver failure” from diabetes.

The tragedy of the circumstances, however, do not diminish Warren’s brilliance in topography and courage in battle. As the 5th New York Volunteer Regiment stated on Warren’s bronze tablet that rests under his statue at Little Round Top, “Major General Warren needs no eulogy. His name is enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen.”

Would you like to see other kinds of arts and culture articles? Please email us your story ideas or feedback at [email protected]