Major General James Birdseye McPherson, 1828-1864
By William F and James MacPherson Jarrett

But for the untimely death of this country's highest ranking Civil War officer killed in action, the United States may well have been able to erase the scars of war through his outstanding leadership. Certainly one of the profound facets of U S History, was the bitterness between the north and the south caused by that war. The struggle to full together these people took the lives of many hard fighting, but loving patriots.

Major General James Birdseye McPherson was Commander of the Army of the Tennessee at the time of his death. He was an alumnus of the US Military Academy at West Point that was graduated first in his class of 1853. He was described as six feet tall, graceful, captivating, polished of manner, totally unconscious of fear and full of natural sweetness. Hs creed was forthright and simple: "when the time comes, that to be a soldier, a man has to forget or overlook the claims of humanity, I do not want to be a soldier."

Promoted to Captain toward the end of 1861, he was made a Lieutenant Colonel in the Spring of 1862 and was chief engineer to Grant. Later that year he was promoted to Major General and commander of a division. At Vicksburg in 1863 he was one of three Union Corps Commanders engaged there and his corps made the final assault that captured that Mississippi bastion and split the Confederacy in two. It was on that occasion that Grant referred to McPherson and Sherman as "the men to whom above all others , I feel indebted for whatever I have had of success."

In 1864 he was given command of the Army of the Tennessee and joined Sherman in the famous march through Georgia. On the 22nd of July, the Confederates under his old classmate, Hood made a sudden and violent attack on Union lines. McPherson rode up through the woods to the enemy's firing line and was killed. Upon learning of this loss, Grant is reported to have wept and sad " The nation had more to expect of him than from almost anyone living. I knew him well; to know hi was to love him. The country has lost one of its best soldiers, and I have lost my friend."

McPherson is regarded as a paladin of the Clan in modern times. A monument marks the place of his death in Atlanta on an avenue named after him. Exactly 100 years ago, a statue was erected in his honor in what is now known as McPherson Square in the heart of downtown Washington, DC. Under the Legal tender Act of July 14, 1890, a two dollar bill was issued in commemoration of his service. . . . Adapted from MacPherson, Touch Not the Cat but a Glove, by William F. and James MacPherson Jarrett, 1975 Virginia Scottish Games Souvenir Program.