Irvin mcdowell hat

Early Years

McDowell was born on October 15, 1818, in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Abram and Eliza Seldon McDowell. In his youth his family emigrated to France, where he attended the College of Troyes in Troyes, southeast of Paris. Returning to Ohio, where his father became mayor of Columbus, McDowell sought and obtained admission to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. On July 1, 1838, he graduated ranked twenty-third in a class of forty-five. Fellow cadets included Pierre G. T. Beauregard of Louisiana, who would command the Confederate forces at the First Battle of Manassas. From 1841 to 1845, McDowell taught tactics at West Point and rose to become adjutant of the academy. On November 13, 1844, he married Helen Burden of Troy, New York, and during the Mexican War he served on the staff of his wife’s acquaintance, Major General John E. Wool, winning the brevet rank of captain for gallantry at the Battle of Buena Vista (1847).

Appointment to Command

Following the war in Mexico, McDowell moved steadily through the administrative ranks of the army, gaining

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