Editing Joseph Wheeler (section)

==Early life==
Although of old [[New England]] ancestry (descended from the English [[Puritans]] who came to New England during the [[Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640)|Puritan migration to New England]]), Joseph Wheeler was born near [[Augusta, Georgia]], and spent some of his early childhood growing up with relatives in Derby, [[Connecticut]] while also spending about half of each year in Georgia.<ref name="Dupuy793-4" /> Joseph Wheeler and Julia Knox Hull Wheeler were his parents. He was the grandson of Brigadier General [[William Hull]], a veteran of the [[American Revolution]].<ref>{{cite news |title=30 Years Ago Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/501222059/ |access-date=12 July 2023 |work=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Windsor Star |date=13 May 1929 |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=11 |language=en |quote=(From Newspaper Files of May 13, 1899) General Joe Wheeler, grandson of William Hull...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Gen. Wheeler Is Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373243516 |access-date=12 July 2023 |work=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Baltimore Sun |date=26 Jan 1906 |page=2 |language=en |quote=His mother was Julia Knox Hull, a daughter of Gen. William Hull, a friend of Washington.}}</ref>

Despite his being partially brought up in the northern United States, and being appointed to the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]] from the state of New York,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/261746917 |access-date=12 July 2023 |work=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Daily Delta |date=11 Jul 1857 |location=New Orleans |language=en |quote=General Merit Roll of the Third Class, June, 1857... 21. Joseph Wheeler, Jr., New York. |title=The Daily Delta 11 Jul 1857, page 2 }}</ref> Wheeler always considered himself a Georgian and [[Southern United States|Southerner]].{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

[[File:JWheelerCadetWestPoint.JPG|left|thumb|Wheeler at [[West Point]]]]
Wheeler entered West Point in July 1854, barely meeting the height requirement at the time for entry. He graduated on July 1, 1859, placing 19th out of 22 cadets, and was commissioned a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Second Lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the 1st U.S. Dragoons.<ref name="Eicher563" /> He attended the [[Carlisle Barracks|U.S. Army Cavalry School]] located in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania]], and upon completion was transferred on June 26, 1860, to the [[3rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|Regiment of Mounted Rifles]] stationed in the [[New Mexico Territory]].<ref name="Dupuy793-4" />

It was while stationed in New Mexico and fighting in a skirmish with [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]] that Joseph Wheeler picked up the nickname "Fighting Joe."<ref name="Dupuy793-4" /> On September 1, 1860, he was promoted to the rank of [[Second Lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]].<ref name="Eicher563" />