USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 65
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MAJOR GENERAL HENRY W. HALLECK
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forces moved on Corinth by slow and regular approaches, and it was not until May 27 that his army appeared before that fortified city, to which strong- hold the army of General Beauregard had fallen back. Active preparations were made by Halleck on the 28th and 29th for an attack, but on the morning of the 30th it was found that Beauregard had evacuated during the previous night, and Corinth was occupied without resistance. After the campaign of Corinth Halleck was called to Washington as general-in-chief, and exercised that command until the grade of lieutenant-general was revived. He then continued under assignment as chief of staff of the army until transferred to command the military division of the James in 1865. Upon the termination of the war Halleck was ordered to the military division of the Pacific, assuming command in August, 1865, and in March, 1869, was transferred to that of the South, which he retained until his death, which occurred at Louisville, Ky., January 9, 1872. Union College, New York, conferred upon him the degrees of A. M. and LL.D Among the more important of General Halleck's pub- lished works may be mentioned his treatise on International Law, or Rules Regulating the intercourse of States in Peace and War (1861), and a trans- lation of Jomini's Vie Politique et Militaire de Napoléon. He also served in the Seminole (Florida) and Mexican wars.
COLONEL CHARLES WHEELOCK was born in the town of Claremont, Sullivan county, N. H., December 14, 1812. He removed to Boonville, Oneida county, where he was engaged in business up to the breaking out of the Civil War. He was a farmer and a dealer in produce; had been for ten years a member of the state militia, and held a Captain's commission at the time of the break- ing out of the Rebellion. In September, 1861, he undertook the organization of a regiment of volunteers for the war. The regiment was stationed at Boon- ville during the winter of 1861-62, and, as it was difficult to procure means to take care of them from the public treasury, Colonel Wheelock paid most of the expenses of the men during the winter from his own private purse. The ladies of Boonville held a fair for the purpose of securing means to purchase a stand of colors for the regiment. The standard was presented to the regiment by Hon. Richard Hurlburt, and the command left for the seat of war on the 12th of March, 1862. It took part in many of the great battles, and is ranked among the first in service of all the regiments that served during the entire war. Colonel Wheelock was in command of the regiment continuously, and was in the front rank wherever danger called; was taken prisoner at Gettys- burg, but escaped from Lee's army at night in the mountains of Pennsylvania during Lee's retreat, and, after being without food for two or three days, he gained the Union lines, where he was welcomed with great enthusiam by the regiment. He was taken sick with typhoid fever, and died January 21, 1865, his funeral occurring at Boonville, January 27, 1865. He was breveted brigadier general for meritorious service, and left a most enviable reputation among his fellow citizens. The Albany Journal said of him at the time, "Entirely without military experience and with but very limited general education, he became one of the best volunteer officers in the service, and so signally distin-
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guished himself that he was breveted brigadier general for bravery and good soldiership."
GENERAL DANIEL BUTTERFIELD was born in Utica, October 31, 1831, and was the son of John Butterfield, one of the foremost business men of Oneida county. He was prepared for college at the Utica Academy, and graduated from Union College at Schenectady at the age of 18. He then read law, but never practiced the profession. In early life he traveled quite extensively through the United States, and was for a time superintendent of the Eastern Division of the Ameri- can Express Company. His military life began in the Utica Citizens' Corps, but early in life he located in New York and joined the 71st regiment as a cap- tain on staff duty. Soon afterwards he was elected major, and promoted to lieutenant colonel. Without solicitation in December, 1859, he was elected colonel of the 12th militia regiment, and when the Civil War broke out he tendered his own and the services of the regiment to the governor; and, at the request of the general government, they were accepted. The regiment left for Washing- ton, April 21, 1861, and Colonel Butterfield was made lieutenant colonel in the regular army in September, 1861. In August, 1861, he obtained a furlough of a month in consequence of the death of his only son. On the expiration of the furlough he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers, and was connected with Mcclellan's army. He took part in many of the early battles of the war, was wounded at Gains Mills, and was made a major general of volun- teers. In his brigade in this battle there was a federal loss of 602. When General Hooker was made commander of the Army of the Potomac General Butterfield was made his chief of staff, and he held this position until Hooker was relieved June 28, 1863. General Hooker was relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac while it was on its way to head off the advance of Lee's army into Pennsylvania, the dispatch coming at midnight, and Major General George G. Meade was placed in command. Butterfield remained as chief of staff to General Meade. It will be noted that he was in a position to know more about the advance of the army than any other man after the relief of Hooker, and his services to Meade were of inestimable value in the great bat- tle of the war which was about to occur. General Meade afterward in a letter dated July 14, 1863, wrote General Butterfield, among other things, as follows: "I shall never cease to remember, and to bear testimony to the efficient assist- ance you so heartily rendered me, and without which I hardly know how I should have gotten through with the new and arduous duties imposed upon me." General Butterfield was wounded at Gettysburg by a piece of a spent shell, which struck him just below the heart. Years afterward a number of his army comrades sent him this relic beautifully mounted and ornamented in silver, and decorated with cannon and other military emblems. In one of Butterfield's letters he described the consultation of the leading generals after the first day's fight at Gettysburg-what was done and said by the leading generals-the re- sult of the conference being, "Stay and fight it out." He also did service with the Army of the Cumberland, and took part in many of the severe engagements while he remained with the army, one of which was the battle of Resaca, Georgia, but he left the army before Sherman had reached Atlanta. He commanded the
MAJOR-GENERAL DANIEL BUTTERFIELD
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BATTLE OF RESACA, GA, MAY FIFTEENTH. 1864
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Third Division 20th Army Corps. At the close of the war he was requested by the president to remain in the army, but he resigned, and became assistant sec- retary of the United States in New York. He devoted himself to travel and to literary pursuits, delivering many addresses before literary societies, colleges, and public celebrations of important historic events. He founded a course of lectures at Union College, and spent of his large means much money each year for benevolent objects. He was an elegant and strong writer, and it is to be regretted that he did not write more fully of his experiences in the War of the Rebellion, as few men, who occupied important military offices during the war had better facilities for knowing the history of the great Civil War than Gen- eral Butterfield. He died July 17, 1901, at Cold Springs, N. Y. His funeral took place at St. Mary's church at Cold Springs three days thereafter, and he was buried at West Point with the military rights of a major general. A mag- nificent white marble monument has been erected to his memory.
HIRAM CRONK-The last survivor of the War of 1812 was Hiram Cronk. It is a notable fact that this last survivor of the second war of the Revolution should have resided in Oneida county. Mr. Cronk was born at Frankfort, Her- kimer county, N. Y., April 19, 1800. He enlisted at North Western, Oneida county, August 2, 1814, in the company commanded by Captain Edmund Fuller, and served until the close of the war, when he received his honorable discharge. He then returned to his father's home in North Western, and remained with him until he was married, which occurred when he was 25 years of age. His wife's name was Mary Thornton, who also resided at North Western. He had six children who lived to mature age, as follows: The eldest, Philander, is still liv- ing at Ava, and is in his 88th year; Hiram, who died at the age of 21; Van- Rensselaer, who was killed at the battle of Pittsburgh Landing; Sarah, widow of Jeremiah Rowley, who is still living in Rome at the age of 79, and the person from whom the writer obtained the information in regard to Mr. Cronk; Will- iam, who is still living at Rome at the age of 77; John, who died April 6, 1911, at Rome, at the age of 70; Wayne, who died at Lee, aged 34; and George, who now resides in Oklahoma, and is 60 years of age. Mr. Cronk was a farmer, and lived upon his farm in the town of Ava from the time of his marriage up to the time of his death. Much attention was paid to him after it became well established that he was the last survivor of the War of 1812, and his funeral was made a display of great military pomp, the body having been taken to Brooklyn, after a large funeral had occurred at his residence. His body lay in state at the city hall in New York City for twenty-four hours, and he was buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery, Brooklyn, with great military display.
GENERAL JAMES MCQUADE was born in Utica; the son of Michael McQuade, a prominent citizen; was educated in the public schools, but gave early atten- tion to military affairs, and when the war of the Rebellion broke out he imme- diately undertook to raise a regiment, and was one of the first in the field, as the number of his regiment was 14. He served in many of the great battles of the war, notably at Malvern Hill, where although he was in the thickest of the fight, he was the only regimental commander who was not killed, in Griffin's
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Brigade. He took part, also, in many other battles of the Rebellion and won an enviable reputation. At the close of the war he returned to Utica, was prom- inent in politics, made mayor of the city, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.
GENERAL RUFUS DAGGETT entered the army as captain of Company B of the 117th Regiment in August, 1862, but was immediately promoted to the posi- tion of major. He served with that regiment throughout the entire war, and returned with it after Lee's surrender. He was at Alexandria, Va., Suffolk, Charleston Harbor, on the James in the Army of the Potomac; took part and commanded the regiment at the battle of Drury's Bluff, after Colonel White had been wounded; was at the battle of Cold Harbor; was with the Butler Ex- cursion in its attack upon Fort Fisher, and also in the second attack, which re- sulted in the capture of that stronghold. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel May 1, 1864, and for gallant service in the field was made a brevet brigadier general. He returned to Utica, became interested in the hardware business, was appointed postmaster by President Mckinley, and served two terms ac- ceptably in that capacity.
NAVAL OFFICERS
COMMODORE U. S. N. MELANCTHON TAYLOR WOOLSEY (1782-1838)-In 1808 he was sent to the lakes to superintend the construction of our armaments on those inland seas. Commanded the only large vessel, the brig "Oneida." After his retirement he lived in Utica, and died there, his remains now resting in Forest Hill Cemetery. Three of his sons served in the war for the union. Two of them rest in Forest Hill-Commodore M. B. Woolsey, U. S. N. (1818-1874), and J. T. Woolsey (1821-1894), born in Whitesboro.
WILLIAM MERVIN (1790-1868), Rear Admiral, U. S. N. At the beginning of the Civil War, although seventy years of age, he reported promptly for duty and did good service during the first year of the war. Ill health compelled his retirement in November, 1861. His home was in Utica. His son, Catharinus B. Mervin, died in the volunteer military service in 1864.
SAMUEL LIVINGSTON BREESE (1794-1870), Rear Admiral, U. S. N., served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. He was elder brother of Judge Sidney Breese. Their early lives were spent in Whitesboro and Utica, and the admiral's body rests in Forest Hill Cemetery.
COMMODORE WILLIAM INMAN (1797-1874), born in Utica, Commodore U. S. N. Saw constant service on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812, and afterward on the African coast, where, in 1859-61, he recaptured and landed 3,600 slaves. In early youth he was a student of law at Whitesboro.
REAR ADMIRAL MONTGOMERY SICARD was born in the city of New York Sep- tember 30, 1836. He was the son of Stephen Sicard of New York and his wife, Lydia E. Hunt, daughter of Montgomery Hunt, of Utica, N. Y., originally of Hunt's Point on Long Island Sound. After his father's death his mother re-
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turned with her children to Utica, and when he was of sufficient age he was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy, entering October 1, 1851, and graduat- ing June, 1855. He then served as a midshipman on board of the frigates Potomac and Wabash until the spring of 1857, when he passed the required ex- aminations for promotion, and served again on the steam frigate Wabash as acting master on the Mediterranean station until early in 1859. His next duty was in the steamer Dacotah on the East India station, where he remained until the breaking out of the Civil War caused the squadron in those seas to be or- dered home. Meanwhile, May 31, 1860, he had been commissioned lieutenant.
On arriving home he was attached to the U. S. S. Oneida, as executive officer. The vessel joined the squadron under Admiral Farragut at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and took an active part in the bombardments and final pas- sage of forts Jackson and St. Phillip; the destruction of the confederate flotilla and gunboats under the protection of the forts, the engagement with and cap- ture of the batteries at Chalmette, La., and the capture of the city of New Or- leans. During the summer of 1862 the Oneida took part in two bombardments of Vicksburg and one of Grand Gulf, and at Millikins Bend took part in the engagement with the confederate ironclad Arkansas. When operations on the Mississippi closed for that year the Oneida was assigned to the blockade of Mo- bile. In the meantime, Lieut. Sicard had been commissioned lieutenant com- mander, July 16, 1862. Subsequently he was transferred to the steam frigate Susquehanna as executive officer, in which vessel he continued serving on the Mobile blockade until May, 1865, when the Susquehanna returned to New York and went out of commission. He was then on temporary duty at the navy yard, Portsmouth, N. H., but was soon attached to the U. S. S. Ticonderoga, as execu- tive officer, the ship being mostly engaged in the pursuit of the confederate cruisers that were then committing depredations on our commerce. Early in the winter of 1864-5 he was given command of the U. S. S. Seneca, attached to the fleet of Rear Admiral D. D. Porter, then about to proceed to the attack of Fort Fisher, N. C. In this vessel he took part in all the bombardments of the famous stronghold, and commanded the left wing of the second naval division in the land assault upon the fort January 15, 1865 After the fall of Fort Fisher the Seneca, with some of the lighter vessels of the fleet, entered the Cape Fear River, where she took part in the bombardment of Fort Anderson, and was subsequently at the occupation of Wilmington, N. C.
At the conclusion of the active naval campaign Lieut. Commander Sicard was detached from command of the Seneca and ordered to the Naval Academy, where he remained until the summer of 1868. At first he served as an instructor in ordnance and gunnery, and afterwards as a "Head of Department" and member of the "Academic Board." He then served on the North Pacific sta- tion until the spring of 1870, at first as executive officer of the U. S. Flagship Pensacola, and afterwards in command of the U. S. S. Saginaw. He was com- missioned commander March 2, 1870. Subsequently he was employed on ord- nance duty at the navy yard, New York, and in the spring of 1872 was ordered as inspector of ordnance at the navy yard, Washington, D. C. In this important position he served over four years, and designed and constructed the first steel- rifled breech loading guns for the navy, the general type of breech closing sys- Vol. I-34
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tem used having been selected by Commodore W. N. Jeffers, then chief of the bureau of ordnance. Commander Sicard also designed and constructed the carriages for these guns, as well as for the long Gatling gun, which had been recently introduced. After a year spent subsequently as assistant in the bureau of naval ordnance, he served at sea (1876-7) in command of the U. S. S. Swatara. In 1878 he re-wrote and compiled the text for a new edition of the "Ordnance Instructions for the Navy," and afterwards was ordered to duty as inspector of ordnance at the navy yard, Boston, where his principal service was the design and construction of some heavy gun carriages for naval use.
In the summer of 1880 Commander Sicard was appointed by the president "Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance in the Department of the Navy" with the relative rank of commodore; being promoted to the lineal rank of captain Au- gust 7, 1884. He held the office of chief of the bureau of ordnance for over eight years, covering that most important period during which our new navy was commenced and far advanced in development, and he took a prominent part in many of the most vital measures connected with this great work. His most conspicuous service, however, was the reconstruction of our navel ord- nance on the basis of modern requirements, and the introduction upon our new ships of the system of high power cannon that still prevails in the navy. This most important work was entirely committed to his hands, and his success is evidenced by the fact that none of our guns have failed in service. He directed the entire design and manufacture of our naval cannon, the procurement of the steel therefor, and the manufacture or purchase of all the modern ordnance equipments for our new ships. He introduced the first rapid fire guns into the service, directed and supervised the design of carriages for them, caused the first torpedo search lights to be manufactured in this country, and made many efforts to introduce automobile torpedoes of the "Whitehead" type, but this latter result could not be accomplished until some years later. He was also much interested in the directive qualities of the Howell torpedo, and had a few built by the navy under the supervision of the inventor. He purchased the first modern armor-piercing forged and tempered steel shell for the navy, and caused many experiments to be made, with a view to their manufacture on a practical basis in the U. S. He introduced the manufacture of cast steel common shell and shrapnel, and it was by his direction, also, that brown pusmatic powder for high power guns was first successfully manufactured in this country and furnished to our ships. Under his supervision and direction our first designs for working heavy naval guns by hydraulic power were made, and he also placed on shipboard our first apparatus for training guns by electrical power. He earnestly advised the use of steel armor on our new ships, and one of the most important services he rendered concerned the introduction of the manu- facture of steel armor into this country. It was under his direction and imme- diate supervision that was drawn up the first book of specifications for the in- spection, trials and tests of steel armor, and the forged and tempered armor- piercing steel shell was therein, for the first time, prescribed for use in the ballistic acceptance tests of armor, a requirement which was more severe than any adopted in Europe up to that time; also, during his incumbency, the fine shops at the navy yard, Washington, for the manufacture of ordnance were
REAR ADMIRAL MONTGOMERY SICARD
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY AT WESTERNVILLE Where General William Floyd and Rear Admiral Sicard are buried
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built and put in operation. The armament and armor of all the ships of our new navy then in existence were provided by Captain Sicard, and he was also a member of the Construction Board of the Navy Department. In the original discussions concerning the kind of material that should be used in the con- struction of the hulls of the new ships, he was an urgent advocate of the use of steel as against wrought iron, which latter had at that time some influential advocates-being used in the construction of the English ships of war.
On the expiration of his second term of service as chief of the bureau of ordnance, Captain Sicard was appointed president of the Steel Inspection Board, which had supervision of the manufacture, inspection and tests of all the steel made for naval construction purposes. He held this office for about two years, after which he was ordered to command the U. S. double turreted monitor Mian- tonomoh, at that time the only armored vessel with a modern battery possessed by the United States. He served on this vessel two years, and in January, 1894, became commander of the U. S. navy yard and station at Portsmouth, N. H., which position he held rather less than a year; in the meantime, having been commissioned a commodore July 10, 1894. Shortly afterwards he was made commandant of the navy yard and station at New York, the most important naval shore station in the country. He was promoted to the grade of rear ad- miral April 6, 1897, and made commander in chief of the U. S. naval force on the North Atlantic station May 1, 1897. This command, which included our only squadron of powerful armored ships, was, in effect, largely a squadron of practice and evolution. During the winter of 1897-8 his health gradually failed, and finally became so bad that the secretary of the navy considered it neces- sary to order him before a board of medical survey, which pronounced him to be unfit for service, by reason of disease incurred in the line of duty, and rec- ommended that he be detached from duty and placed on sick leave of absence. The navy department accordingly detached him from command.
After remaining for a time in Florida on sick leave, he went north, and at Washington, his health being somewhat improved, he was ordered to duty in the office of the secretary of the navy, and was shortly made president of the Naval War Board, which very important position he occupied until the con- clusion of the active war with Spain, when the board ceased to exist. He was subsequently appointed president of a board for making recommendations re- garding the promotion of officers of the navy, and, on the formal proclamation of peace with Spain, he was detached from all duty, having served over forty- seven years. His name had previously been placed on the list of officers retired by reason of age-September 30, 1898.
He married in 1863 Elizabeth Floyd, daughter of William Floyd, and great grand-daughter of General William Floyd, a conspicuous patriot. of the Revo- lution, member of every Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died at Westernville, N. Y., September 14, 1900, and is buried in the cemetery connected with the Presbyterian church in that village.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND PHILOLOGISTS
HENRY ROWE SCHOOLCRAFT (1793-1864). Chemist, philologist and traveler, and was in his youth a resident of Utica. For a time the family home was at
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Verona. He spent many years among the Indians of the Northwest Territory, and discovered the source of the Mississippi river in Lake Itasca. In 1823 he married Miss Johnston, the granddaughter of a noted Ojibway chief, an ac- complished woman who had received her education in Europe. Mr. School- craft's ethnological writings, says R. G. Griswold, "are among the most impor- tant contributions that have been made to the literature of this country." Ar- chives of Aboriginal Knowledge; Notes on the Iroquois; Algic Researches; Thirty Years with the Indians; The Myth of Hiawatha.
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