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Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. Known to his Army colleagues as "Hancock the Superb",〔Eicher, pp. 277–78.〕 he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. One military historian wrote, "No other Union general at Gettysburg dominated men by the sheer force of their presence more completely than Hancock."〔Tagg, pp. 33–35.〕 As another wrote, "his tactical skill had won him the quick admiration of adversaries who had come to know him as the 'Thunderbolt of the Army of the Potomac'."〔Tucker, p. 15.〕 His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the Army's presence at the Western frontier. Hancock's reputation as a war hero at Gettysburg, combined with his rare status as a prominent figure with impeccable Unionist credentials and pro-states' rights views, made him a potential president. His noted integrity was a counterpoint to the corruption of the era, for as President Rutherford B. Hayes said, "... ()f, when we make up our estimate of a public man, conspicuous both as a soldier and in civil life, we are to think first and chiefly of his manhood, his integrity, his purity, his singleness of purpose, and his unselfish devotion to duty, we can truthfully say of Hancock that he was through and through pure gold."〔Jordan, p. 319.〕 When the Democrats nominated him for President in 1880,〔Tucker, pp. 300–301.〕 he ran a strong campaign, but was narrowly defeated by Republican James A. Garfield. ==Early life and family== Winfield Scott Hancock and his identical twin brother Hilary Baker Hancock were born on February 14, 1824, in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania, a hamlet just northwest of Philadelphia in present-day Montgomery Township.〔Jordan, p. 5.〕 The twins were the sons of Benjamin Franklin Hancock and Elizabeth Hoxworth Hancock.〔Cluff, pp. 922–23.〕〔Walker, p. 7.〕 Winfield was named after Winfield Scott, a prominent general in the War of 1812.〔 The Hancock and Hoxworth families had lived in Montgomery County for several generations, and were of English, Scottish and Welsh descent. Benjamin Hancock was a schoolteacher when his sons were born. A few years after their birth, he moved the family to Norristown, the county seat, and began to practice law.〔 Benjamin was also a deacon in the Baptist church and participated in municipal government (as an avowed Democrat).〔 Hancock was at first educated at Norristown Academy, but removed to the public schools when the first one opened in Norristown in the late 1830s.〔Jordan, p. 6.〕 In 1840, Joseph Fornance, the local Congressman, nominated Hancock to the United States Military Academy at West Point.〔Tucker, pp. 18–21; Walker, p. 10.〕 Hancock's progress at West Point was average. He graduated 18th in his class of 25 in 1844, and he was assigned to the infantry.〔Jordan, pp. 10–11; Walker, pp. 12–15; (list of West Point officers in the Civil War ).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Winfield Scott Hancock」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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