{{Short description|American military officer (1827–1870)}} {{Infobox military person |name= Joseph Anthony Mower |birth_date= {{birth date|1827|8|22}} |death_date= {{death date and age|1870|1|6|1827|8|22}} |birth_place= [[Woodstock, Vermont]], US |death_place= [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], US |burial_place=[[Arlington National Cemetery]] |burial_label= Place of burial |image= J A Mower.jpg |caption= Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Mower |allegiance= [[United States of America]] |branch= [[United States Army]]<br />[[Union Army]] |service_years=1847–1848<br />1855–1870 |rank= [[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] |commands= [[11th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Union)|11th Missouri Infantry]]<br>[[XX Corps (Union Army)|XX Corps]]<br />[[39th Infantry Regiment (United States)|39th U.S. Infantry]]<br />[[25th Infantry Regiment (United States)|25th U.S. Infantry]] |unit= [[1st U.S. Infantry]] |battles= [[Mexican–American War]]<br />[[American Civil War]] * [[Battle of Iuka]] * [[Second Battle of Corinth|Battle of Corinth]] * [[Battle of Jackson, Mississippi|Battle of Jackson]] * [[Siege of Vicksburg]] * [[Battle of Richmond (1863)|Battle of Richmond]] * [[Battle of Fort DeRussy]] * [[Battle of Pleasant Hill]] * [[Battle of Old River Lake]] * [[Battle of Tupelo]] * [[Battle of Rivers Bridge]] * [[Battle of Bentonville]] |awards= |other_work=carpenter }} '''Joseph Anthony Mower''' (August 22, 1827 – January 6, 1870) was a [[Union Army|Union]] general during the [[American Civil War]]. He was a competent officer, and he was well respected by his troops and fellow officers. He was known among his troops as "Fighting Joe". Major General [[William Tecumseh Sherman]] said of Mower, "he's the boldest young officer we have".
==Biography== Mower was born in [[Woodstock, Vermont]]. He [[United States Volunteers|volunteered]] as a private in the [[Mexican–American War]]. In 1855 he entered the U.S. army as a 2nd Lieutenant in the [[1st U.S. Infantry]].<ref>''The Civil War: A Narrative, Red River to Appomattox'', Page 834. Shelby Foote</ref> As part of the 1st US Infantry, Mower saw action in the [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]] in August 1861. Still with the regiment during the [[Battle of Island No. 10]], Major-General [[John Pope (general)|John Pope]] selected Mower to construct a siege battery in front of New Madrid, leading to the capture of that river port early in the campaign. He later became colonel of the [[11th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Union)|11th Missouri Infantry Regiment]] and fought at the [[Siege of Corinth]]. He assumed command of the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division in the [[Army of the Mississippi]] and led it into action at the [[Battle of Corinth II|Battle of Corinth]]. He was wounded in the neck and taken [[prisoner of war|prisoner]] by Confederate forces but he was recovered by Union soldiers the same day.
He was promoted to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers on November 29, 1862. He recovered from his wounds and returned to command a brigade during the [[Vicksburg Campaign]] and [[siege of Vicksburg]] where he caught the attention of [[William T. Sherman]]. During the [[Red River Campaign]] he commanded the 1st and 3rd Divisions of the [[XVI Corps (ACW)|XVI Army Corps]] and won brevets in the regular army for actions at the battles of [[Battle of Fort DeRussy|Fort DeRussy]] and [[Battle of Yellow Bayou|Yellow Bayou]]. He commanded the 1st Division of the Right Wing, XVI Corps at the [[Battle of Tupelo]].
He was promoted to [[Major general (United States)|major general]] on August 12, 1864, and General Sherman ordered Mower to join the Union forces in [[Atlanta]]. He commanded the 1st Division of the [[XVII Corps (ACW)|XVII Army Corps]] during the [[Sherman's March to the Sea|March to the Sea]] and the [[Carolinas campaign]]. His division played a significant role in the battles of [[Battle of Rivers' Bridge|Salkehatchie]] and [[Battle of Bentonville|Bentonville]]. Sherman made him commander of [[XX Corps (Union Army)|XX Corps]] in the [[Army of Georgia]] late in the war. After the fighting had ceased, he sailed for Texas along with General [[Gordon Granger]]. He was placed in command of the District of Eastern Texas. After the war he stayed in the army and became Colonel of the [[39th Infantry Regiment (United States)|39th U.S. Infantry]] and the [[25th Infantry Regiment (United States)|25th U.S. Infantry]]. He died in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], on January 6, 1870.
==See also== {{Portal|American Civil War}} * [[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]
==References== {{reflist}} * Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}. * {{Handbook of Texas|id=fmo84|name=Joseph Anthony Mower}} * Foote, Shelby., ''The Civil War: A Narrative, Red River to Appomattox'', Random House, {{ISBN|0-394-46512-1}}
==External links== * {{Commons cat inline|Joseph Anthony Mower|Joseph A. Mower}} * [https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgVtb3dlchIGam9zZXBo/ Arlington National Cemetery]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mower, Joseph A.}} [[Category:1827 births]] [[Category:1870 deaths]] [[Category:American Civil War prisoners of war]] [[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]] [[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Louisiana]] [[Category:People from Woodstock, Vermont]] [[Category:People of Vermont in the American Civil War]] [[Category:Union army generals]]