Report of Major General Loring, of Battle of Baker's Creek, and Subsequent Movements of His Command
(With the ownership stamps of the Department of State Libr...)
With the ownership stamps of the Department of State Library and the Library of Congress. The Battle of Baker's Creek, also known as the Battle of Champion Hill, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign. Loring initially refused to move his troops, contributing to the Confederate defeat.
(General Loring was one of many Confederate officers who a...)
General Loring was one of many Confederate officers who after the close of the War of the Rebellion offered their services to foreign rulers. A number of these officers took their way to Egypt, and the author of this book was one of the most successful of them all. He was made Pasha by the Khedive, and he rendered that ruler honorable and efficient service. It was natural that Loring Pasha should have been led to give his Egyptian experiences durable shape, and his book gives a clear and agreeably written account of the country. Such a writer has much more authority than the mere traveler. General Loring lived long in the country, and in intimate relations with persons at the center of affairs; being withal a man of thought and intelligence he could not, with his opportunities, fail to acquire and retain impressions and facts of interest and value.
William Wing Loring was an American soldier and author. During his military career, he rose to the rank of major-general.
Background
William Wing Loring was descended from Thomas Loring who emigrated to America in 1634 and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts. His father, Reuben Loring, a native of Hingham, moved to Wilmington, North Carolina and there married Hannah Kenan. William was born on December 4, 1818, in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States but at an early age moved with his parents to Florida.
Education
In 1837, William Loring was sent to Alexandria Boarding School in Alexandria, Virginia to complete his secondary education. Then he attended Georgetown College (present-day Georgetown University) and went on to study law. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1842.
As a youth Loring fought with the 2nd Florida Volunteers against the Seminoles in engagements at Wahoo Swamp, Withahoochee, and Alachua, and at nineteen years of age, won for himself a second lieutenancy. In 1843 he was elected to the state legislature for three years. On May 27, 1846, he enlisted in the newly formed regiment of Mounted Rifles as a captain. He was appointed major, February 16, 1847, accompanying General Scott's expedition to Mexico and participating in the campaign from Vera Cruz to the capture of the city of Mexico. He commanded his regiment at Contreras and led the fighting at Chapultepec where he lost an arm. For these acts of gallantry, he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, August 20, 1847, and colonel, September 13, 1847. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel in the regular army, March 15, 1848, and the following year crossed the continent with his regiment in the van of the army of gold-seekers. After a march of some twenty-five hundred miles, he assumed command of the military department of Oregon, 1849-1851.
During the five years following he was stationed with his regiment in Texas, being promoted colonel, December 30, 1856, and engaging hostile Indians in several skirmishes in New Mexico, 1856-1858. In the latter year, he marched his command into Utah, taking part during the years 1858-1859 in the so-called Mormon War under General Albert Sidney Johnston. Granted leave of absence thereafter, he spent a year traveling in Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land, studying foreign armies. Returning to the United States, he commanded the Department of New Mexico during the years 1860-1861, and although he was opposed to secession, he approved of state rights and resigned from the army on May 13, 1861, to join the Confederacy. His ability as a military commander was promptly recognized by his appointment as brigadier-general on May 20, 1861.
He was given a command in West Virginia but in December 1861 his army was included in General "Stonewall" Jackson's command. He took part in Jackson's Valley campaign in 1862 but after a violent controversy with Jackson, he was detached and placed in command of the army in southwestern Virginia. Meanwhile, he had been promoted major-general, February 1862. Late in 1862, he was transferred to the Southwest where he participated in engagements at Grenada, Mississippi, and Champion Hills. Thereafter he served as a corps commander in Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and was active in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, where he was second in command to General John B. Hood. His last Civil War service was under General Joseph E. Johnston in the Carolinas, where, in April 1865, he surrendered to Sherman.
For a time he engaged in banking in New York City but in 1869, in company with certain other officers of the late Confederacy, Loring entered the military service of the Khedive of Egypt with the rank of brigadier-general, first acting as inspector-general, and later, in the year 1870, assuming command of the defenses of the city of Alexandria and of all Egyptian coast defenses. In the years 1875-1876, he took part in the Egyptian expedition against Abyssinia and participated in the important battle of Kaya-Khor. He was promoted to the grade of general of division. In the year 1879, in company with other American officers, he was mustered out of the Khedive's service and returned to the United States, residing for a time in Florida and later making his home in New York City.
He contributed articles to magazines and to the press and in 1884 published a book: A Confederate Soldier in Egypt, which gives an entertaining narrative of his ten years' service under the Khedive. At the time of his death, he had in preparation an autobiography, "Fifty Years a Soldier."
(With the ownership stamps of the Department of State Libr...)
1864
Politics
William Wing Loring was an opponent of secession, he nevertheless worked to persuade other officers to join the Confederate Army.
Views
Quotations:
"The South is my home, and I am going to throw up my commission and shall join the Southern Army, and each of you can do as you think best."
Personality
"Old Blizzards," or "Fereck Pasha," William Wing Loring, "was not only a very charming companion, but he was also altogether a remarkable man. A braver man never lived."
Physical Characteristics:
William Wing Loring was short and heavy-set.
Quotes from others about the person
"A portion of the First Artillery... the Third Infantry... and the Mounted Riflemen under Major Loring, all under the temporary command of Colonel Harvey of the Second Dragoons. The styled execution was brilliant and decisive. The Brigade ascended the long and difficult slope of Cerro Gordo, without shelter and under the tremendous fire of artillery and musketry, with the utmost steadiness, reached the breastworks, drove the enemy from them, and planted the colors of all units with the enemy flag still flying. After some minutes of sharp fighting, they finished the conquest with their bayonets. It is a most pleasing duty to say that the highest praise is due to Harvey, Plympton, Loring, and Alexander, their gallant officers, and men for their brilliant service. In his first battle as a Rifleman, Loring had been praised by the top general in the army. During the next several months, the army made its way toward Mexico City. On August 20 Loring saw action in two battles on the city's outskirts, Contreras and Churubusco. While the first battle was brief, Churubusco was a tougher nut to crack, due to the fierce defense by the San Patricio Battalion (a group of immigrant deserters from the U.S. Army). That same day, Major Loring was brevetted, lieutenant colonel." - General Winfield Scott
"Notwithstanding disagreeable weather, muddy roads high waters and scarcity of food the officers cheerfully underwent the fatigues and privation of the journey performing all the duties of common soldiers. The Col. himself tho an invalid setting the example by taking his regular tour of 3? hours every other night as sentinel. Tho undergoing in his own person these fatigues and privations extraordinary for an officer of his rank, to capture men guilty of a high crime‹of the 70 retaken to all but 2 who were incorrigible. He extended his pardon‹a higher proof of the goodness of his heart or the soundness of his judgment could not be given." - Jesse Applegate