Civil War
Owen entered the Civil War as the commander of the nine-month 25th Pennsylvania Infantry. When that unit was discharged, he took command of the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry, a predominantly Irish regiment that was part of the Philadelphia Brigade. He eventually rose to the command of the Philadelphia Brigade in the II Corps, Army of the Potomac. He led the brigade at Chancellorsville, where it performed barely any service. Owen was arrested and relieved of brigade command for reasons unknown. He was then replaced by Alexander S. Webb, who led the brigade admirably at Gettysburg.
Owen later returned to his brigade after Gettysburg and led it at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, where he failed to support another brigade in the famed assault. He was arrested by Maj. Gen. John Gibbon on the charges of cowardice and was discharged from the army.
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Famous quotes related to civil war:
“The principle of majority rule is the mildest form in which the force of numbers can be exercised. It is a pacific substitute for civil war in which the opposing armies are counted and the victory is awarded to the larger before any blood is shed. Except in the sacred tests of democracy and in the incantations of the orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend that the rule of the majority is not at bottom a rule of force.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)