He was one of the five highest general officers (along with Winfield Scott, David E. Twiggs, William S. Harney, and Joseph E. Johnston) of the United States Army on the eve of the American Civil War in 1861, and was the one who had the most seniority of service.

[4][5][6] After recovering from his wound, Wool was promoted major of the 29th United States Infantry Regiment on April 13, 1813, which he led with distinction at the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814.

John E. Wool and his 250 regulars fell back in front of the British column, finding cover behind the fences and trees of the roadway.

[7] At Halsey's corner, near the Platt farm on the Beekmantown road, American regulars accompanying the artillery masked their three cannons in the middle of the roadway behind a stone wall.

An orphan with little formal education, Wool remained in the military service and was promoted to colonel and Inspector General of the Army on April 29, 1816.

As part of this effort, he established Fort Butler at present-day Murphy, North Carolina, as the eastern headquarters of the military removal of the Cherokee.

After leading his troops 900 miles from San Antonio, Texas, he joined General Zachary Taylor at the Battle of Buena Vista.

... the war against the Indians will be prosecuted with all vigor, promptness and efficiency, I am master of, at the same time without wasting, unnecessarily, the means and resources at my disposal, by untimely and unproductive expeditions.

Whilst I was in Oregon, it was reported to me, that many citizens, with due proportion of volunteers, and two newspapers, advocated the extermination of the Indians- This principle has been acted on in several instances without discriminating between enemies and friends, which has been the cause, in Southern Oregon, of sacrificing many innocent and worthy citizens, as in the case of Maj. Lupton and his party (volunteers) who killed 25 Indians, eighteen of whom were women and children.

By the same mail which brought me your communication, I received one, now before me, from a person whom I think incapable of misrepresentation, which informs me that the friendly Cayuses are every day menaced with death by Gov.

They have become indignant, and will not be much longer restrained from resisting conduct unworthy of the whites, who have made them so many promises to respect and protect them if they remain faithful friends.

It is such conduct as here complained of, that irritated and greatly increases the ranks of the hostile tribes, and if the Nez Perces join in war against us, which I hope to prevent, we shall require a much larger force than we now have in Washington and Oregon Territories to resist savage barbarities and to protect the whites.When the Civil War began in April 1861, Wool had just turned 77 years old, two years older than commander-in-chief of the US Army Winfield Scott.

The fort guarded the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay and the James River, overlooking Hampton Roads and the Gosport Navy Yard, which the Confederates had seized.

The septuagenarian Wool thought McClellan was not aggressive enough in his push towards Richmond and in May 1862, he sent troops to occupy the Navy yard, Norfolk, and the surrounding towns after the Confederates abandoned them.

The 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln personally witnessed the capture of Norfolk and afterwards rewarded Wool by promoting him to a full major general in the regular army thereby becoming only the 23rd man to hold this rank since its creation in 1791.

Deciding that Wool should have a less demanding assignment at his advanced age, the president transferred him to be the 2nd Commander of the Middle Department in June 1862, which then became the VIII Corps on July 22, 1862.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, he led troops diverted from that region in military operations to regain control in New York City during and after the draft riots in July of that year.

US troops reached the city after rioters had already destroyed numerous buildings, including the Colored Orphan Asylum, which they burned to the ground.

[14] Wool, who believed he was still healthy and fit enough for duty, was stunned and outraged at his dismissal and wrote a series of letters to the War Department in protest, but to no avail.