| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Theron Seward Winship (March 25, 1839 - June 30, 1892) was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. Born in Ohio, he joined the 29th Ohio Infantry as a First Lieutenant on September 16, 1861. Although he was present during the Antietam Campaign his unit was held in reserve and he did not see any action. He later resigned on January 26, 1863.
From 1885 until his death, Winship was president of Conneaut Banking & Trust Co.
Theron Winship in Southern Victory []
When the War of Secession broke out, Lt. Theron Winship joined the Army of the Potomac, and fought alongside it for the duration of the war. After General Pope was defeated by General Lee and sent West to deal with the Sioux uprising, Lt. Winship, who at the time was stationed in Washington, gave a recommendation to President Lincoln that George McClellan be reinstated as the commander of the Army. Lincoln agreed with Winship and McClellan was placed back in command, only to be defeated at the Battle of Camp Hill. After the USA's defeat, Lt. Winship stayed on in the army.
By 1881, Winship was now a Lieutenant Colonel and in charge of the forces defending the stamping mills and refiners of Contention City, New Mexico Territory. When the Second Mexican War broke out that year, Winship chose to dig in and await an attack after he learned his opponent would be Confederate General Jeb Stuart. Although he had a force consisting of eight companies of infantry and a battery of artillery, the Confederate force he opposed was actually smaller in strength than his own.
Realizing this, General Stuart invited Winship to talk with him at dusk, while he concocted an elaborate hoax to convince Winship that he'd managed to bring along a whole division. Winship fell for the hoax, and remembering his time in the Army of the Potomac when Stuart had rode all around his forces during the Seven Days, agreed to surrender all his forces to Stuart.
When he discovered the truth, Winship was greatly embarrassed and begged for a rematch, which Stuart declined. Upon seeing the disgusted looks from his subordinate officers, Winship confessed to Stuart that his military career was now over. Disgraced, Winship was sent down to a prisoner-of-war camp in Hermosillo, Sonora, for the remainder of the war.
