Barlow, Francis C., 1834-1896

Variant names

Hide Profile

Barlow was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a Unitarian minister, but was raised in his mother's home town of Brookline, Massachusetts. He studied law at Harvard University, graduated first in his class, and was practicing law on the staff of the New York Tribune newspaper when the Civil War broke out in 1861.

In April 1861, Barlow enlisted as a private in the 12th Regiment, New York State Militia, leaving behind his new bride, Arabella Wharton Griffith Barlow, ten years his senior, after one day of marriage. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in his first month of service. His regiment had only a three-month term of enlistment and he mustered out with his men, but soon found a new regiment. By November he was a lieutenant colonel in the 61st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and by the time of the Peninsula Campaign in the spring of 1862, he became its colonel.

Barlow saw his first action at the Battle of Seven Pines as part of the brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. Oliver O. Howard in the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac. At Glendale, in the Seven Days Battles, his regiment became separated from the rest of the brigade; and he exercised personal initiative by advancing his men to the sound of the fighting, encountering a Confederate battle line and leading his men in a bayonet charge against it. The enemy fled, and Barlow picked up a fallen Confederate flag. At the Battle of Malvern Hill, Barlow and his men successfully defended the line against repeated Confederate assaults.

At the Battle of Antietam, commanding the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, II Corps, Barlow's men were in the center of fighting at the infamous sunken road ("Bloody Lane") and captured about 300 prisoners. He was wounded by an artillery shell in the face and by grapeshot in the groin. Brig. Gen. John C. Caldwell wrote about Barlow in his official report:

Whatever praise is due to the most distinguished bravery, the utmost coolness and quickness of perception, the greatest promptitude and skill in handling troops under fire, is justly due to him. It is but simple justice to say that he has proved himself fully equal to every emergency, and I have no doubt that he would discharge the duties of a much higher command with honor to himself and benefit to the country.

— John C. Caldwell, Official report from the Battle of Antietam

Two days after the battle, Barlow was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers. He was an unusual general, slight of build with a peaceful, boyish face, colorless cheeks without a typical general's beard, and a thin voice. He dressed informally, often wearing a "checked flannel lumberjack shirt" under an unbuttoned uniform coat. One of General George G. Meade's staff officers wrote that he looked "like a highly independent mounted newsboy." But Barlow had a reputation as an aggressive fighter with strong personal confidence. Rather than carrying the Army-issued officer sword, he wore a heavy enlisted man's cavalry saber, which he used to whack the backsides of stragglers. (His disdain for stragglers became a personal obsession. His columns on the march would be followed by a company in skirmish line with fixed bayonets to move them along.)

Barlow suffered from his Antietam wound for months, becoming emaciated and suffering from what doctors called an "influence of malaria." Although he was not fully recovered, he returned to the Army in April 1863 and commanded the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XI Corps, at the Battle of Chancellorsville. There, his corps was subjected to the devastating flank attack of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson that routed it, but Barlow's brigade had been detached to support the III Corps and thus escaped the humiliation. After the battle, General Howard promoted Barlow to command of the 1st Division, XI Corps, replacing its wounded commander, with orders to restore the fighting qualities of its defeated brigades. Barlow immediately angered his men by arresting the popular Col. Leopold von Gilsa, and they considered him a "petty tyrant."

On July 1, 1863, Barlow commanded his unhappy division at the Battle of Gettysburg. While awaiting the expected Confederate assault, Barlow left his assigned position to move to higher ground on Blocher's Knoll (now known as Barlow's Knoll). His move left the remaining XI Corps division, that of Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz, at risk, and exposed both of his own flanks. The Confederates took advantage of his error: Maj. Gen. Jubal Early's division overwhelmed Barlow's division and forced the retreat of the entire XI Corps with great loss. Barlow himself was wounded and left for dead on the field. He was found and cared for by Confederate Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon, who sent him to a field hospital. According to an account written by Gordon in 1901, he allowed Barlow's wife Arabella to enter the Confederate camp to tend to her wounded husband, but this account is deemed apocryphal. The popular story continued that Gordon presumed Barlow had died and that both men met years later, being very surprised each was still alive. An examination of Barlow's subsequent war record makes this story very unlikely.

As the Confederates retreated from Gettysburg on July 4, Barlow was left behind and recovered by Federal forces. He was hospitalized for a lengthy period and could not return to the Army until April 1864, just in time for Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign. He commanded the 1st Division of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps, at the Battle of the Wilderness. At Spotsylvania Court House, his division incorporated shock tactics developed by Col. Emory Upton to quickly assault the rebel entrenchments in the "Mule Shoe", effecting a breakthrough that could be exploited by reinforcements. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued for 21 hours, the longest hand-to-hand combat in the entire war, before Barlow's division finally broke through. On December 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Barlow for the award of the brevet grade of major general, to rank from August 1, 1864, for his leadership at the Battle of Spotsylvania, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on February 14, 1865. He fought at the Battle of Cold Harbor and the Siege of Petersburg in the same command.

At Petersburg, Barlow took another convalescent leave in July, but returned to the army on April 6, 1865. He was appointed to lead the 2nd Division, II Corps after Gen. William Hays failed to wake his troops in time for departure. Barlow thus joined the Appomattox Campaign and engaged immediately in the Battle of Sailor's Creek.

The next day, Barlow played a decisive role in the Battle of High Bridge near Farmville, Virginia. Barlow was pursuing Confederate troops who had crossed High Bridge the previous day. The Confederate troops included men led by Gen. Gordon, who at the time believed that he had killed Barlow at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of High Bridge included two skirmishes, the first of which took place in the evening of April 6, prior to Barlow's arrival. Confederate forces captured roughly 800 men and wounded or killed others. They then planned to destroy the bridge afterward in order to prevent its use by Union forces. However, a delay in sending an order to destroy the bridge proved to be advantageous for Barlow's men, who arrived in the early morning of April 7 to find the lower level of the bridge in flames and collapsing. Barlow commanded some of his men to charge the bridge and put out the fire, and the second skirmish of the battle ensued. Union forces successfully crossed the upper level of the bridge and fought with the Confederates. The Confederate forces eventually retreated towards Appomattox Station, away from Farmville, where they hoped to find food and supplies. These actions by Barlow and his men potentially shortened the war by several days and put additional pressure on Gen. Robert E. Lee to surrender.

Barlow was appointed major general of volunteers on May 26, 1865, to rank from May 25, 1865, but the promotion was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate until February 23, 1866, after the war was over and Barlow had resigned from the army.

Barlow was one of only a few men who entered the Civil War as an enlisted man and ended as a general.

Arabella Barlow, serving as an Army nurse, died of typhus on July 27, 1864, while Francis was battling in the Overland Campaign. After the war, he married Ellen Shaw, sister of Col. Robert Gould Shaw.

Leaving the army on November 16, 1865, Barlow served as a United States Marshal and the New York Secretary of State and New York State Attorney General, prosecuting the Boss Tweed ring, before he returned to his law practice. As U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York, during May–July 1869 Barlow prosecuted Cuban independence rebels for violating the Neutrality Act and disbanded the filibuster expeditions on the Perit, Quaker City, and Whiting steamers. He was a founder of the American Bar Association. He was active in Republican politics and investigated the 1876 presidential election, the Hayes-Tilden election, for irregularities.

Barlow died of Bright's disease in New York City on January 11, 1896. He was buried in Walnut Street Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Barlow is featured in Winslow Homer's painting Prisoners from the Front, depicting a scene from a June 21, 1864, engagement at Petersburg, Virginia.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Robert Gould Shaw letters to his family and other papers, 1852-1947 (inclusive) 1855-1863 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Palfrey family papers, 1713-1915 Houghton Library
referencedIn Brinton, Daniel Garrison, 1837-1899. Dr. Daniel Garrison Brinton papers, 1863-1899 (bulk 1863-1864). Chester County Historical Society
referencedIn Meade, George Gordon, 1815-1872. Letter : Headquarters, [Army of the Potomac], to unknown person, n.p., 1864 June 10. Texas Christian University
referencedIn United States American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission records, 1862-1864. Houghton Library
referencedIn Barlow, Robert Shaw, b. 1869. Diary, 1884. Nantucket Hist Association
referencedIn Emerson family papers, 1699-1939. Houghton Library
referencedIn Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 Series: Carded Records Relating to Civil War Staff Officers, 1890 - 1912 File Unit: Barlow, Francis C. -- Major General National Archives at Washington, D.C
creatorOf Barlow, Francis C. (Francis Channing), 1834-1896. Francis C. Barlow letters, 1861-1865. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part III: The Civil War: The Union, 1804-1915. Houghton Library
referencedIn Charles Eliot Norton papers Houghton Library
referencedIn Francis James Child papers, 1842-1925. Houghton Library
referencedIn Letters from various persons, 1860-1893. Houghton Library
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
creatorOf Dalton, Charles Henry, 1826-1908. Correspondence, 1859-1881, bulk: 1860-1865. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Thomas B. Buell Papers (#4915), 1991-1998 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
referencedIn Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery of the State of Massachusetts Civil War collection, 1724-1933 (inclusive); 1861-1912 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Bowles, Samuel, 1826-1878. Samuel Bowles papers, 1852-1893 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn Sam Schaefler historical and literary letters and documents, 1674-1970s Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Hay, John, 1838-1905. Correspondence, 1854-1914, "Badeau" to "Best". Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Concord (Mass.). Committee of Arrangements (1875). Concord Committee of Arrangements for the celebration in Concord of the centennial anniversary of the Battle of Concord records, 1873-1876. Concord Free Public Library, Special Collection
referencedIn James Russell Lowell papers, 1835-1919. Houghton Library
referencedIn Philip Case Lockwood memorial collection of Civil War portraits and autographs, 1862-ca. 1886. Houghton Library
referencedIn Emerson family papers, 1699-1939. Houghton Library
referencedIn Shaw family. Letters received, 1859-1940. Boston Athenaeum
referencedIn Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery of the State of Massachusetts Civil War collection, 1724-1933 (inclusive); 1861-1912 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Cornell, Alonzo B., 1832-1904. Alonzo B. Cornell papers, 1830-1904. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Meade, George Gordon, 1815-1872. Letter : Headquarters, [Army of the Potomac], to unknown person, n.p., 1864 June 10. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Ralph Waldo Emerson letters from various correspondents, ca. 1814-1882. Houghton Library
referencedIn Autograph File, B, ca.1500-1982 Houghton Library
creatorOf Francis Channing Barlow miscellany, 1860, 1861 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 Series: Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Civil War, 1899 - 1927 File Unit: [New York] Barlow, Francis C - Unit: 12th State Militia, Infantry (3 Months, 1861), Company: F Engrs - Enlistment Rank: Pvt, Discharge Rank: Pvt National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 Series: Letters Received, 1805 - 1889 File Unit: 1862 - Barlow, Francis C - File No. B1546 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 Series: Letters Received, 1863 - 1917 File Unit: Barlow, Francis C - Virginia - 1863 National Archives at Washington, D.C
referencedIn Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 Series: Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Civil War, 1899 - 1927 File Unit: [New York] Barlow, Francis C - Unit: 61st Infantry, Company: F & C - Enlistment Rank: Lt Col, Discharge Rank: Colonel National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 Series: Letters Received, 1805 - 1889 File Unit: 1869 - Barlow, Francis C - File No. B592 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 Series: Letters Received, 1863 - 1917 File Unit: Barlow, Francis C - State: New York - Year: 1866 National Archives at Washington, D.C
Relation Name
founderOf American bar association corporateBody
associatedWith Barlow, Almira Penniman, b. 1807. person
associatedWith Barlow, Robert Shaw, b. 1869. person
associatedWith Bowles, Samuel, 1826-1878. person
associatedWith Brinton, Daniel Garrison, 1837-1899. person
associatedWith Buell, Thomas B. person
correspondedWith Child, Francis James, 1825-1896 person
associatedWith Concord (Mass.). Committee of Arrangements (1875) corporateBody
associatedWith Cornell, Alonzo B., 1832-1904. person
associatedWith Dalton, Charles Henry, 1826-1908. person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
correspondedWith Emerson family. family
correspondedWith Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882 person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Harvard University corporateBody
associatedWith Hay, John, 1838-1905. person
associatedWith Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897 person
correspondedWith Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891 person
associatedWith Meade, George Gordon, 1815-1872. person
associatedWith Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Commandery of the State of Massachusetts, collector. corporateBody
leaderOf New York Secretary Of State corporateBody
leaderOf New York (State) Attorney General corporateBody
memberOf New York (State). Militia. Regiment, 12th. corporateBody
employeeOf New York Tribune corporateBody
associatedWith Norton, Charles Eliot, 1827-1908 person
correspondedWith Palfrey family. family
associatedWith Sanborn, F. B. (Franklin Benjamin), 1831-1917 person
associatedWith Schaefler, Sam, 1920-, person
associatedWith Shaw family. family
correspondedWith Shaw, Robert Gould, 1837-1863 person
correspondedWith Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874 person
correspondedWith United States. American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission. corporateBody
leaderOf United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 61st. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army of the Potomac. Corps, 11th corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army of the Potomac. Corps, 2nd corporateBody
memberOf United States. Marshals Service corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Brooklyn NY US
Virginia VA US
Albany NY US
Petersburg VA US
Brookline MA US
Gettysburg PA US
Cambridge MA US
Manhattan NY US
Subject
Antietam, Battle of, Md., 1862
Appomattox Campaign, 1865
Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863
Civil War, 1861-1865
Cold Harbor, Battle of, Va., 1864
Fair Oaks, Battle of, Va., 1862
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863
High Bridge (Va.), Battle of, 1865
Malvern Hill, Battle of, Va., 1862
Overland Campaign, Va., 1864
Peninsula Campaign, 1862
Seven Days' Battles, Va., 1862
Siege of Petersburg, Va. (Richmond--Petersburg Campaign), 1864-1865
Spotsylvania Court House, Battle of, Va., 1864
Wilderness, Battle of the, Va., 1864
Occupation
Civil servants
Lawyers
Soldiers
United States marshals
Activity

Person

Birth 1834-10-19

Death 1896-01-11

Male

Americans

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64m9q7h

Ark ID: w64m9q7h

SNAC ID: 52709314