Mathew Brady - Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, Family & Staff - at Arlington House - Oct. 18, 1862 - With List of ID's

A restored half stereo negative (16 x 9 crop) of "Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman and Staff at Arlington House," from the Library of Congress at: www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/item/2018670640/

 

On Oct. 18, 1862, Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner took six photographs of Gen. Heintzelman and staff officers, in different arrangements on the steps of Arlington House, Robert E. Lee's former home overlooking the Potomac. This classic version, taken by Gardner, has a sense of spontaneity, and is by far the best of the lot. The inclusion of the women and Mathew Brady, among the well dressed officers, most in informal poses, has the look of a high society social event, as opposed to an obligatory group portrait of the General’s staff.

 

While restoring the image, I became interested in who these people were, and what they did during the war. I had identified a few individuals when I spotted a version of the group in a web article on Union Private Robert Knox Sneden. He served on Gen. Heintzelman’s staff as a topographical engineer, kept a diary and made hundreds of sketches and watercolors of what he saw and experienced. Afterwards, Sneden put together a five volume scrapbook, his own history of the Civil War, based on his writings and illustrated by his own artwork. In Vol. 3, page 993, Sneden pasted a copy, an alternate version, of "Gen. Heintzelman and Staff," and underneath he numbered each officer.

 

Eventually, it dawned on me that Sneden must have identified these officers on the next scrapbook page, which is unpublished, sitting in the collection of the Virginia Historical Society. I emailed the society and they kindly sent me a copy of page 994, and it contained the numbered key and names that I had been searching for. In his own handwriting, Sneden remarked, “Brady and Gardiner [sic] Photographers of New York took this picture Octr 18th 1862.”

 

To learn more about Heintzelman, I purchased a copy of Jerry Thompson’s book, “Civil War to the Bloody End: The Life and Times of Major General Samuel P. Heintzelman,” published in 2006. Thompson mentions that Heintzelman kept a diary, beginning in 1824, and maintained it for the next forty-seven years. The diary and related journals, where Heintzelman jotted down everything – from the weather to what he saw and did, the letters he read, his private thoughts, and conversations with others, these Thompson uses to great effect to create a most interesting biography. By coincidence, Thompson includes in his book the same image (of Heintzelman and Staff at Arlington), that Sneden used in his scrapbook. However, without Sneden’s numbered key, none of the individual officers are identified. If you read Thompson’s book, you can use this flickr post to put faces to much of his narrative.

 

For this 16 x 9 crop, I've removed the numbers along the bottom (looks a little better) - see my previous post if it's too confusing without them. The officers’ identities are based on Sneden’s scrapbook photo and key, but with the ID's reordered to go with the changed positions in this particular version. I’ve given the names that Sneden listed a sanity check, by consulting service records, biographical sources, and by scrutinizing individual portraits (if available) to see if their appearance matches up. The listed ranks and positions are from “General Orders, No. 11,” dated Dec. 6, 1862, issued “By Command of Major-General Heintzelman,” issued soon after this photograph was taken.

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The ID's going from left to right:

 

1. Lieut. Col. Samuel McKelvy – commissary of subsistence, born 1814, died 1889, aged 74.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identified this man as, “Capt. Saml. McKelvy of Pittsburg. Commissary –“

 

A bio on McKelvy, from the book “History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania,” by Thomas Cushing, published 1889: “COL. SAMUEL MCKELVY was born May 1, 1814, in Pittsburgh, Pa., son of Hugh McKelvy, Jr. ….Samuel succeeded his father in business, became the founder of the cast-steel business in Pittsburgh, and started the McKelvy & Blair Cast-steel and File Manufacturing company…. In 1855 he had a tract of land in Pridevale, W. Va., of 13,000 acres, on which he had three blast-furnaces in operation. When the war broke out he abandoned business and volunteered for the service. He was early connected with the Duquesne Greys, of which organization he was for a time captain.

 

He was appointed to the commissary department, eventually becoming chief of the commissary of the third army corps, on the staff of Gen. Heintzelman. After the second battle of Bull run he was placed in charge of the convalescent camp near Washington, DC., where he did duty until toward the close of the war, when he was appointed chief commissary of cavalry under Gen. Sheridan. He resigned, but Secretary Stanton declined his resignation. After the war Col. McKelvy was appointed United States marshal for the western district of Pennsylvania and took an active part in politics…..He died somewhat suddenly, March 24, 1889, having been in ill health for some years…..”

 

Find a Grave link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/123935106/samuel-mckelvy

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2. Unidentified Man. Of the six different photographs of “Gen. Heintzelman and staff” taken by Brady and Gardner, this is the only version where this particular man is included, therefore he’s not in Private Sneden’s scrapbook photo with ID’s. I don’t believe he is an officer - his “uniform” doesn’t appear to be standard issue - no insignia, no shiny buttons, no side arms, etc. Perhaps he was one of Mathew Brady’s assistants?

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3. Capt. Henry Norton – aide-de-camp, born 1841, died 1878, aged 37.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identifies him as, “Lt Norton (nephew of Genl Heintzelman.) Aide.” Henry Norton is the son of Mary Stuart, sister of Gen. Heintzelman’s wife, Margaret Stuart.

 

On July 10, 1862, Brig Gen. Joseph Hooker writes a letter addressed to the Secretary of War: “1st Lieut. Henry Norton 63d New York Vols., now Aide de Camp to Brig. Gen’l Heintzelman desires to obtain a commission in the army, and it gives me great pleasure to commend him to your favorable consideration….He is a young gentleman of good attainments, has been well reared, and is of irreproachable moral character. Not many candidates for the army are of more promise.”

 

In camp near Harrison's Bar, Va., July 24, 1862, Gen. Heintzelman’s report on the Battle of Malvern Hill states that, “Lieut. Henry Norton, one of my aides, particularly distinguished himself at Malvern Hill by communicating with General Couch at the extreme front during the hottest part of the engagement and previously, showing much personal gallantry.”

 

On Sept. 3, 1862, Norton writes a letter from Ft. Lyon, Va., to Brig. Gen. Thomas: “I have the honor to accept the appointment of Aide de Camp with the rank of Captain. I am twenty one (21) years of age – birthplace Albany N.Y. – and reside permanently in the State of New York….”

 

In a Nov. 5, 1870 letter to an examination board, Gen. Heintzelman summarizes Norton’s service and disability: “From his conduct since his relapse after an attack of yellow fever at Galveston Texas in 1867, his friends believe that his mind has been seriously impaired. He served with me as Aide de Camp on the Peninsular Campaign…at the second Bull Run; with me whilst in command of the Defenses South of the Potomac, with me whilst in the command of the Defenses of Washington of the Northern Department. During all this time he was a perfectly sober active energetic officer performing his duties thoroughly & efficiently. After Texas relieved from my command of the Northern Department he was commissioned Major of the 6th NY Volunteers served until some time after the close of the war actively & efficiently on our Indian frontier. For these services he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 17th Infy & served under my command at Galveston until a very short time before the yellow fever broke out there. He had it & a relapse. When I left there in 1867, he was a perfectly sober exemplary Officer. His case should come before the Retiring Board for disability contracted in the service – S.P Heintzelman, Major Gen’l Retd ”

 

Notwithstanding the good reports on Norton’s character, at one point he apparently succumbed to the stress of military service during wartime. Author Thompson writes of an episode in Cincinnati, recorded in Heintzelman’s diary, of Norton getting into an argument with an Army quartermaster and beating him “so badly with a rawhide whip” that Heintzelman thought he would be reported and dismissed. Heintzelman characterized the beating as “unjustifiable.”

 

Norton's field desk recently came up for auction and can be seen at this link: bid.fleischersauctions.com/online-auctions/fleischers-auc...

 

Find a Grave link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/286195061/henry-norton

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4. Unidentified Woman. None of the women appear in the Sneden scrapbook photo, and I’ve been unable to find another source to ID her. Perhaps she is Fanny McKeever, the wife of Chauncey McKeever, as she is sitting near him in this photo and standing next to him in another.

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5. Capt. Edwin Cody Sturges (sitting next to column) - commander of ambulance corps, born 1837, died 1900, aged 63 years.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identified this man as, “Capt ----Sturgis, chief of ambulances.”

 

This is the officer that has an uncanny resemblance to the famous Union cavalryman, Hugh Judson Kilpatrick. Over a couple months of research, I tried to make the connection but to no avail – it’s not him. Note that Sturges has multiple name spellings in the historical records. From “General Order 11,” issued by Major-General Heintzelman, “…the following named officers will be transferred to these headquarters for duty, in addition to the present staff…Capt. E. C. Sturges, commander ambulance corps…”

 

The 1870 book, “History of the Seventh Regiment National Guard, State of New York, during the War of the Rebellion,” lists Sturges in the “Roll of Honor,” (he was previously a member of the Seventh), and provided his regiment: “Captain Edward C. Sturgis. Captain, One Hundred and First Regiment, New York Volunteers. Aide-de-Camp to General Heintzelman.”

 

The roster of the One Hundred and First, published in a NY Adjutant Report provided the correct name spelling and a brief summary of his service, but only up to the time he was officially discharged from the NY regiment in Dec 1862: “STURGES, EDWIN C—Age, 21 years. Enrolled, November 1, 1861, at New York city, to serve three years; appointed captain, Co. G, First Regiment, Union Brigade, January 28, 1862....mustered out on consolidation, December 24, 1862; prior service as private, Seventh Militia...."

 

An obituary for Sturges from the New York Daily Tribune of Feb 19, 1900: “STURGES— On Friday, 16th inst. At his residence, 141 East 18th-st., Edwin C Sturges, in his 63d year. Funeral from his late residence. Monday, February 19, at 10 a. m. Military Order, Loyal Legion, United States, Commandery State of New-York….Funeral services will be held this morning at 10 o’clock…Companions are requested to attend. By Order of Brigadier General Henry L. Burnett, U.S. Volunteers…”

 

Find a Grave link (which provides his middle name): www.findagrave.com/memorial/169171652/edwin-cody-sturges

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6. Lieut. Edward Parker Deacon (standing next to and leaning on column) – volunteer aide, birth date 1843-44, died unknown.

 

In Robert Knox Sneden’s scrapbook photo, he has apparently switched the identities of two officers by mistake. This man (No. 6), who looks like a teenager, is identified as, “Maj. John Milhau, Chief Surgeon.” According to Thompson’s book, John Milhau resigned from Heintzelman’s staff in early September 1862. John Milhau was born in 1828, and based on other Civil War period photographs of him on the web, looked nothing like a teenager. The older looking officer, who doesn’t appear in this image, Sneden has mistakenly identified as “Lt. E.P Deacon of Boston, Volunteer Aide.” So this man is not John Milhau, but is he E.P. Deacon of Boston?

 

The sixth version of this group portrait at Arlington, is in the Army’s MOLLUS-MASS collection, Vol. 31, Page 1510. Handwritten in the lower margin, are the names of Gen. Heintzelman, and three of the other nine officers, including this man, identified as, “Capt. E. P. Deacon.” The MOLLUS-MASS collection has another photo of Deacon in Vol. 98, page 5016, that also matches his appearance, a Cdv labeled “Capt. E. Parker Deacon, A.D.C., U.S.V.,” placed right next to a photo of Gen. Heintzelman.

 

Prior to his military service, Deacon was an undergraduate student, mentioned in a letter dated Oct 4, 1862, concerning the closing of the Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Psi Fraternity at Brown University: “….The "Old Fraternity" no longer exists in Brown University…. At the time the Rebellion broke out, our Chapter numbered twelve members within the mystic circle. Of these, eight have since engaged in the services of their country, thus reducing our chapter below the minimum. And as there appeared no probability of its being continued as we could wish, we decided to close it. I give you a list of those of our chapter now in service with their rank. It may serve to show the character of our members….Capt. E. P. Deacon, aid on Gen'l Heintzelman's staff….”

 

Upon leaving Brown University, in early 1862, Deacon perhaps used family connections and secured a position on Heintzelman’s staff, which lasted only a year or less, but in time to participate in McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign. In “General Orders No. 6,” dated Feb. 25, 1863, “Edward Deacon is relieved from duty as Acting Aide-de-camp on the Major General’s Staff. To Lieutenant Deacon the Major General commanding returns his thanks for his valuable services during the late campaign on the Peninsula.”

 

Deacon’s file at NARA contains a handwritten letter, dated Nov. 2, 1863, from the Union cavalryman, General Wesley Merritt, addressed to “My dear Deacon” informing him that, ”there are vacancies in the Regular Cavalry Service,” and encouraging him to apply. It continues, “I need not tell you that having served with you and known you for some time past that I would use every exertion in my power to secure you an appointment…”

 

A month later, Deacon does apply, in a letter addressed to Edwin Stanton, dated Dec. 18, 1863, “Sir, I respectfully apply for a 2nd Lieutenancy in the U.S Cavalry. I served during the Peninsular Campaign…and during the Pennsylvania Campaign on the staff of Genl Merritt.”

 

In 1868, Brown University published a book titled, “Brown University in the Civil War - A Memorial,” with a “Roll Call” of students who served, including a brief summary of their wartime service. The entry for Deacon: “Edward P. Deacon. Aide-de-Camp, on staff of Major-General Heintzelman, commanding Third Army Corps, May, 1862 ; Captain, Second United States Cavalry, February, 1864 ; June, 1864, ordered to duty with Eighteenth Army Corps ; Acting Aide-de-Camp to Brevet Major-General Devens, commanding Third Division, Twenty-Fourth Army Corps ; Twice Officer at Aiken's Landing, Virginia ; Brevet Major, United States Volunteers ; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. Served in Virginia and Maryland. Mustered out of service, June 25, 1865.”

 

After 1865, online records concerning Deacon’s life peter out. However, using the MOLLU-MASS Cdv description, and his service records, Deacon’s full name can be pieced together – “Edward Parker Deacon.” If you Google this name (put it in quotes) some interesting results come up for an individual that the NY Times described as a “member of a wealthy Boston family, prominent in society some years ago, and principal in a sensational shooting affair in Paris.” In 1892, this Edward Parker Deacon (also born 1844), an American who had lived in Paris for some years, shot and killed his wife’s lover in a Paris apartment, after the man jumped out of her bed and attempted to hide. Deacon was imprisoned in France for a year, and was later sent to an insane asylum where he died in 1901. There are dozens of newspaper articles on Deacon and the “sensational shooting,” but by 1892, no one seemed to know much about his background. Although I could find no period articles (1892-1901) that discussed him having previous service with the U.S. military, I suspect this Deacon might be the same “E.P Deacon of Boston” on Heintzelman’s 1862 staff – more research is needed to confirm.

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7. Lieut. Col. Chauncey McKeever (sitting second to right from column) – adjutant general, born 1829, died 1901, aged 72.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identified this man as, “Capt. Chauncey McKeever – Chief of Staff.”

 

Author Jerry Thompson writes of a Heintzelman journal entry, made on Nov. 3, 1862, (a couple weeks after this Gardner photograph) that two staff officers, Leavitt Hunt (No. 14) and Granville E. Johnson (No. 9) had, “submitted their resignations, saying they could no longer work with recently promoted Lieutenant Colonel McKeever. He has made himself so obnoxious.” Shortly after, Heintzelman confronted McKeever, informing him of the situation. The Nov. 1862 journal entry spells out the situation: “no one will serve with him or have anything to do with him.” Thompson writes that McKeever then found another position in the War department and resigned from Heintzelman’s staff.

 

From the Saint Paul, Weekly Pioneer and Democrat, of Dec. 5, 1862: “Assistant Adjutant General Chauncey McKeever, who has been acting lately upon General Heintzelman’s staff in that capacity, has been assigned to duty in the War Department, and ordered to report to the Secretary of War in person.”

 

An obituary for McKeever, from the book, “Annual Reunion, United States Military Academy. Association of Graduates,” published in 1901: “CHAUNCEY MCKEEVER….Class of 1849, Died, September 4, 1901, at Bad Reichenholl-Bavaria, aged 72. Brevet Brigadier General CHAUNCEY MCKEEVER, Colonel United States Army, retired, was a son of Commodore Isaac McKeever, United States Navy. He was born in Baltimore, Md., August 31, 1829, and graduated from the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1849, entering the service as Brevet Second Lieutenant, First Artillery. His first active service was in Florida against the Seminole Indians, 1849-50…..appointed Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Military Academy, serving in that capacity until September, 1855. He then joined his regiment at Fort Vancouver, Puget Sound, with the active service incidental to the Indian hostilities in that quarter in 1855 and 1856, taking part in the Utah expedition and in the march of the first train of artillery across the Plains, of which he always retained lively interest.

 

…..After serving as Instructor of Artillery to Major W. T. Sherman's command at Washington at the outbreak of the Civil War, he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General, serving as such on the staffs of General Heintzelman, General McDowell and General Fremont, with the rank of Captain, August 3, 1861, participating in the Battle of Bull Run, July 26, 1861, in the Virginia Peninsula Campaign of the Army of the Potomac he was engaged in the siege of Yorktown, battle of Williamsburg, Oak Grove, Glendale and Malvern-Hill, and in the Northern Virginia Campaign the Battle of Manassas.

 

Appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers, August 20, 1862. Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, September 24, 1864, for meritorious and faithful services during the Rebellion; Brevet Colonel, March 13, 1865, for diligent, faithful and meritorious services in the Adjutant General's Department during the Rebellion, and Brevet Brigadier General, United States Army, March 13, 1865, for faithful and meritorious services during the Rebellion; promoted Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Adjutant General, March 3, 1875, and Colonel and Assistant Adjutant General, February 28, 1887. After continuous active services at various Departments and Divisions, he was retired by age limit on August 31, 1893.

 

General McKeever died at Bad Reichenholl-Bavaria, after a very short illness, September 4, 1901, and his remains brought back to his native country and buried beside his father in the family plot at Greenwood Cemetery, New York….”

 

Find a Grave Link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/5951268/chauncey-mckeever

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8. Unidentified Woman (standing next to Mathew Brady). This woman is not included in the Sneden scrapbook photo, and I’ve been unable to find another source to ID her. She is looking towards Mathew Brady, could she possibly be Mrs. Brady? I could find only two photos of his wife on the web, one very young, the other much older, and neither looks like the other. She could possibly be one of Heintzelman’s sisters, as she is next to him in a second pose, and they did visit Arlington around this time.

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9. Capt. Granville E. Johnson (back to camera) – aide-de-camp, born 1839, died 1876, aged 37.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identified this man as, “Capt. Granville E. Johnson of Boston – Aide.” In the Sneden scrapbook photo, Johnson’s face is turned towards the camera (not his backside), identified here by his clothing and process of elimination. This same man is also identified as “Captain G. E. Johnson” in the MOLLUS-MASS version, Vol. 31, Page 1510.

 

The Library of Congress has two very good carte de visite portraits of Johnson, where you can see what he looks like. Links are below, and note that the “unidentified Union Officer” in the second photo is No. 3, above, Capt. Henry Norton. By some twist of fate, both officers survived the war but died at the same relatively young age of 37.

 

(1): www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/item/2025160274/

 

(2): www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/item/2025160275/

 

Johnson was with Heintzelman during the Peninsula Campaign, and is mentioned in his report on the Battle of Williamsburg, as having “behaved with much gallantry.”

 

Johnson remained on Heintzelman’s staff, and was later transferred with him to Ohio. In the files at NARA is a letter dated April 30, 1864, in which Johnson states he is “on duty at Head Quarters, Northern Department, Columbus, Ohio.” In another NARA file, a note states he was “nominated for appt. of Major & A.D.G. and confirmed but the resolution of confirmation was recalled by the Senate… There have been charges against him in the Judge Advocate General’s Office…”

 

The nature of the charges against Johnson I couldn’t find at NARA, but author Thompson mentions an incident, from Heintzelman’s journal, where Johnson was arrested for badly beating a restaurant owner in an argument over a bill. The last straw was apparently a report, that got back to Washington, that Johnson had spoken disrespectfully of President Lincoln, and was in favor of Gen. McClellan for President in the 1864 election. The end of Johnson’s military career is noted in a record at NARA, dated Sept. 14, 1864, stating that Granville E. Johnson is “to be mustered out of the service By order of the Secy of War.”

 

After the Civil War, the 1870 Federal census shows Johnson, age 30, living with his parents in the Boston sixth ward, with an annotation of “no occupation.”

 

Six years later, on Nov. 23, 1876, Granville E. Johnson, age “37 years, 20 days,” dies of double pneumonia, as recorded in the Boston City deaths register.

 

Find Grave Link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/154460517/granville-e-johnson

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10. Mathew B. Brady (wearing a fancy top hat), born 1822, died 1896, aged 73.

 

Mathew Brady, the famous Civil War photographer, is standing next to Gen. Heintzelman in this image; this is the only one of six versions where he is included. Author Jerry Thompson characterized Brady as a close friend of Gen. Heintzelman, but unfortunately provided no reference. I previously posted a 3D image of Brady and included some background information on his photography career. That flickr post can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/110677094@N05/54546313782/in/datepo...

 

Find a Grave Link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/128/mathew-b-brady

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11. Mary Lathrop Heintzelman (sitting on steps under Mathew Brady) – Gen. Heintzelman’s Daughter, born 1848, died 1927, aged 79.

 

Mary Lathrop was the Heintzelman’s second child, born Feb. 27, 1848, in Buffalo, while Gen. Heintzelman was stationed in Mexico City, at the conclusion of the Mexican War. In this group portrait, Mary’s age would be 14 yrs and 7 months; I’ve identified her here based on her apparent age and placement near her parents, with whom she was living in 1862.

 

The Library of Congress has another group portrait titled, “Gen. S. P. Heintzelman and group, convalescent camp, near Alexandria, Va.” (LC-DIG-ppmsca-34102) where Mary is pictured again (a year or so older) standing right next to Heintzelman, her mother Margaret standing to the General’s other side, within the doorway. NARA apparently has the negative, and an excellent scan can be seen at this link: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Gen._Samuel_P...

 

Author Jerry Thompson indicated that at birth she had some sort of leg deformity and would “be slightly crippled, walking with a limp for the rest of her life.” Thompson relates how an army surgeon convinced Heintzelman that she needed a leg operation, which did not go well, the chloroform wearing off too soon and leaving the young girl screaming in agony.

 

On at least a couple of occasions, Mary accompanied her parents to White House parties where she would have met President and Mrs. Lincoln. Thompson writes that Mary was Gen. Heintzelman’s constant companion when he was older, “vigilantly guarding his military reputation.” The 1870 Federal Census shows Mary, age 22, living with her parents in Brooklyn, NY.

 

Her obituary from the Evening Star of March 25, 1927: “HEINTZELMAN. On March 24. 1927 at Washington. D. C., MARY LATHROP, daughter of the late Maj. Gen. S. P. Heintzelman, U.S.A. Services and interment in Buffalo, N. Y.”

 

There is no “Find a Grave record” for Mary Heintzelman. Thompson has a note that the “beloved semi-invalid daughter” is buried next to her parents in Forest Lawn cemetery.

 

Mary kept her father’s papers after his death, and used them as evidence to rebut criticisms of his Civil War record. Later, in 1913 and 1914, she deposited the huge collection at the Library of Congress – diaries, journals, notebooks, military documents, letters, etc., (now on 13 microfilm rolls), they were converted to a gift by his great-granddaughter, Dorothy Heintzelman Mallan, in 1953.

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12. Major-General Samuel Peter Heintzelman (standing to the right of Brady), born 1805, died 1880, aged 74.

 

Below, a brief summation of Heintzelman’s career, from an obituary, published in the Congressional Record.

 

“HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, May 1, 1880. The General announces to the Army and the country the death of Maj. Gen Samuel P. Heintzelman (retired), at his residence in this city at 1 o'clock this morning, at the age of seventy-five years.

 

Thus parts another link in the golden chain of memory which binds us to the past, and naught now remains of this noble soldier and gentleman except his example and the record of deeds which have contributed largely to the development and glory of his country in the last half century.

 

Samuel P. Heintzelman was born at Mannheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1805; entered the military academy at West Point July 1, 1822; graduated in 1826; commissioned as brevet second lieutenant Third Infantry and second lieutenant Second Infantry July 1, 1826. In this capacity he served on the northern frontier at Forts Gratiot, Mackinac, and Brady, when, on the 4th of March, 1833, he was appointed first lieutenant, and served on quartermaster's duty in Florida and the Creek country.

 

On the 7th of July, 1838, he was commissioned as captain of the staff in the Quartermaster's Department, remaining in Florida till the close of that war in 1842, and in 1847 joined General Scott's army in Mexico, taking an active part in several engagements, for which he was brevetted major October 9, 1847.

 

In 1848-'49 he accompanied his regiment around Cape Horn to California, and for several years was very busily employed in what is now the Territory of Arizona, receiving the brevet of lieutenant-colonel for his conduct in the campaign against the Yuma Indians, which terminated hostilities in that quarter.

 

March 3, 1855, he was promoted to major of the First Infantry, and served with that regiment on the Texas frontier, rendering most valuable service against the organized marauders under Cortinas, and contributing largely to the safety of that newly-acquired region of our country.

 

The civil war of 1861 found him at Fort Columbus, New York Harbor, superintending the general recruiting service, and with the ardor of his nature, and with his whole soul and might he embarked in that terrible conflict; first, appointed colonel of the now Seventeenth Infantry, he was rapidly advanced to brigadier and major general, holding high and important commands throughout the entire war, attaining the rank of major-general of volunteers, and brevet major-general of the regular Army. A record of these services would pass the limits of this obituary notice, but when the war closed no name on our register bore a more honorable record.

 

On the 22d of February, 1869, having attained the age of sixty-five, and having served continuously in the Army forty-five years, he voluntarily retired, as major-general, and has since spent most of his time here in Washington till this bright day of May, 1880.

 

General Heintzelman was a man of an intense nature, of vehement action, guided by sound judgment and a cultivated taste. Universally respected and beloved, at a ripe old age he leaves us, universally regretted. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." May our end be as peaceful and as much deplored as his.

 

The funeral will take place from his residence, No. 1123 Fourteenth street, at 9 a. m., on Monday, May 3 instant, and will be escorted to the Sixth-street depot by a battalion of the Marine Corps and a battalion of the Second Artillery. The commanding officer of the artillery troops at the Washington Arsenal will detail an officer, a non-commissioned officer, and three men to accompany the remains to Buffalo for final interment.

 

The officers of the Army in this city are requested to attend the funeral ceremonies on Monday. By command of General Sherman.”

 

Find a Grave link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/3138/samuel-peter-heintzelman

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13. Margaret Stuart Heintzelman - Wife of Gen. Heintzelman (standing in center of column at right), born abt. 1818, died 1893, aged abt. 75.

 

Heintzelman met Margaret Stuart in 1843 when he was 38 years old, while stationed in Buffalo, NY; she was from Albany and was 25 years old. They were married in Buffalo, in Dec. 1844, and a year later their son Charles Stuart was born, in Dec. 1845. They had four children in all, a daughter Mary Lathrop (No. 11 above), and two others that died as infants. Margaret Heintzelman is identified by Thompson (in this same image) in his 1998 book on Gen. Heintzelman, “Fifty Miles and a Fight.”

 

Margaret Heintzelman led an interesting life, accompanying her husband to many of his military posts, and moving in elite social circles while he was stationed in Wash., D.C. Thompson relates that in March 1862, she traveled with the general and his staff aboard the steamer “Kent” to Fortress Monroe, and was an eye witness to the immense floating armada which ferried the Union army down the Chesapeake to launch Gen. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign. She and her husband attended numerous White House parties, hosted by President and Mrs. Lincoln, with another author stating that she was a personal friend of Mary Lincoln. On April 18, 1863, the couple, along with daughter Mary, spent the evening at the White House with Mrs. Lincoln, who told Margaret that “Charles Heintzelman will go to West Point.” This and other White House visits are documented in the Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission book, “Lincoln Day by Day.”

 

On August 8, 1862, while the General was at Harrison’s Landing, during the Peninsula Campaign, she went to the Old Soldiers Home (Lincoln’s summer retreat) and met with Lincoln to transmit her husband’s views on the military situation. The next day she wrote Lincoln a letter which provided more details as to Gen. Heintzelman’s proposed strategy; this document is online at the Library of Congress.

 

Throughout her husband’s career, she did what she could to advance it or protect it from political intrigue, on one occasion denying admittance to her home for two radical senators, who came to enlist the General’s support. When Heintzelman was to be forcibly retired, she went to see Gen. Grant, who “refused to change the order,” writes author Jerry Thompson.

 

With all that she saw and experienced in her lifetime – all the famous people that she knew and met - the obituary for Margaret Heintzelman is striking for its brevity. From the Army and Navy Journal of Aug. 19, 1893: “Mrs. Margaret Stuart Heintzelman, widow of Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, U.S. Army, died suddenly at Boyce, Va., Aug. 9. Gen. Heintzelman died May 1, 1880.”

 

Find a Grave link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/119815343/margaret-heintzelman

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14. Major Leavitt Hunt – aide-de-camp, born 1831, died 1907, aged 75.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identified this man as, “Major Leavitt Hunt of Vermont – Asst Adjt Genl.” The sixth version print in Vol. 31, Pg. 1510, of the MOLLUS-Mass collection of Civil War photographic prints also identifies this same man as “L Hunt.”

 

Without the Sneden scrapbook photo with accompanying ID’s, probably no one would know that besides Mathew Brady, there was Alexander Gardner, and a third accomplished photographer, Leavitt Hunt, largely forgotten today, present at this Oct. 18, 1862, photo shoot at Arlington House.

 

From Wikipedia: “Col. Leavitt Hunt (1831–February 16, 1907) was a Harvard-educated attorney and photography pioneer who was one of the first people to photograph the Middle East. He and a companion, Nathan Flint Baker, traveled to Egypt, the Holy Land, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece on a Grand Tour in 1851–52, making one of the earliest photographic records of the Arab and ancient worlds……..Hunt's and Baker's photographs were dazzling, especially for a brand-new medium many had never seen before. They photographed the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza, the temple complex at Karnak, the Ramesseum at Thebes, and the ruins on the Island of Philae. They travelled farther to photograph the Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai, the tombs and temples of Petra, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the ruins at Baalbek, and finally the buildings of the Acropolis in Athens.The 60 extant photographs from their journey show that Hunt and Baker were keen on the new medium and familiar with its techniques….

 

Following their extraordinary journey, the two men took divergent paths…Hunt completed his studies at the Swiss Military Institute, then returned to America, where he took a second law degree, this one from Harvard. He began practicing law in New York City, the home of his brother Richard Morris Hunt, until the outbreak of the American Civil War, when he enlisted as lieutenant on the staff of General Heintzelman. Eventually he was promoted to lieutenant colonel for bravery at the Battle of Malvern Hill. Hunt subsequently attained the rank of full colonel and assistant adjutant general in the Union Army.”

 

….As far as is known, neither Hunt nor his companion Baker ever showed much interest in the photographic medium after their journey. Their prints are rarely seen, very scarce, and are among the most valuable early photographic images. Hunt's personal album is now in the collection of the Bennington Art Museum, Bennington, Vermont. Baker's album evidently disappeared…..Hunt's personal negatives are believed lost, but the prints he made became the property of his brother Richard Morris Hunt and were donated to the American Institute of Architects. The photos are now at the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division in Washington, D.C….”

 

A brief excerpt from Hunt’s obituary in the Vermont paper, The United Opinion, of Mar. 15, 1907:

 

“Col. Leavitt Hunt, aged 77 years, a member of one of Brattleboro’s most distinguished families who died February 16 at the Hotel Claremont in Claremont, N. H., where he had been since last fall with his wife, daughter and private secretary…

 

…..He engaged in business for a time after the war, but for many years his home had been in Weathersfield, where he owned a valuable estate. He lost the sight of one eye while in the military service. In 1880 the sight of the other eye began to fail and the last twelve years of his life he was blind…”

 

A link to Leavitt Hunt’s leather bound album of 55 calotype images of Egypt and Nubia at the Bennington Museum website: bennington.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/E3AE6BA0-B2D2-...

 

Find a Grave Link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/44674333/leavitt-hunt

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15. Lieut. Col. Elias M. Greene (full beard - facing the camera) - chief quartermaster, born 1831, died 1899, aged 68.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identified this man as, “Elias M. Greene – Chief Quartermaster.”

 

From the National Park Service: “On May 5, 1863, Lieutenant Colonel Elias M. Greene, chief quartermaster of the Department of Washington, and Danforth B. Nichols of the American Missionary Association officially selected the Arlington Estate as the site for Freedmen’s Village, which they intended to be a model community for freedpersons.

 

As Greene wrote to Major General S. P. Heintzelman in 1863, the creators believed that the open air would improve the health of the freedmen and have other benefits: “There is the decided advantage afforded to them of the salutary effects of good pure country air and a return to their former healthy avocations as field hands under much happier auspices than heretofore which must prove beneficial to them and will tend to prevent the increase of disease now present among them.”

 

Within a few weeks, 100 formerly enslaved people settled on the chosen site, located about one half mile to the south of the Arlington mansion. The following December, Freedmen’s Village was officially dedicated with a ceremony attended by members of Congress and other notables.”

 

Obituary for Greene from the New York Daily Tribune, Dec. 9, 1899:

 

“Elias M. Greene died at 2:30 o'clock morning at the Colonnade Hotel after a brief illness. He suffered about a week ago with the grip, and on Tuesday night last had a stroke of apoplexy, which caused his death. Mr. Greene was a son of Dr. Daniel Greene and Anna Thompson Greene, both of this city, and a great grandson of the famous General Nathaniel Greene, of the Revolutionary Army. He was educated in this city and at Bowdoin College, and when seventeen years old he engaged in business. When war against Mexico was declared in 1846, he enlisted in the United States Army and served throughout that war. At the outbreak of the Civil War he again enlisted, and in 1862 was made a quartermaster, with the rank of captain, Later he was promoted to be an assistant quartermaster general, with the rank of colonel of volunteers, serving under General Meigs. Mr. Greene was at one time a member of the firm of Burtis & Greene, dealers in crockery ware, of this city, and of the clothing house of Gardner & Greene, Afterward he became a promoter of various enterprises. He had always lived in this city. He leaves two nieces…”

 

Find a Grave link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/124205578/elias-m-greene

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16. Lieut. Col. Solon H. Lathrop - assistant inspector general , born 1823, died 1867, aged 44.

 

Robert Knox Sneden identified this man as, “Lt-Col. Solon H. Lathrop – Inspector Genl.” Lathrop was married to Elizabeth Stuart, sister of Heintzelman’s wife, Margaret Stuart. In his book, Thompson wrote that Lathrop was Heintzelman’s closest friend and confidant. The obituary below appeared in the Army and Navy Journal of Oct 26, 1867, without any credit line. Upon reading, it’s pretty obvious that it was written by Gen. Heintzelman himself. In the last paragraph, a heart-broken Heintzelman paints Lathrop as almost without human faults, but previously, in his daily journals, the General was more candid.

 

In 1867, Heintzelman noted how Lathrop had developed a bad drinking problem – and could “soon go to the dogs.” Apparently, Elizabeth Lathrop had severe mental issues, with Heintzelman writing that Solon was living “in a house with a half-crazed woman.” Author Thompson relates that at his San Antonio post, early in 1867, Lathrop once “took a large dose of laudanum while consuming alcohol,” and became abusive toward his commanding officer, “for which he was arrested and charged.” Heintzelman got the commanding officer to drop the charges and destroy the paperwork.

 

From the Army and Navy Journal, Oct 26, 1867: “OBITUARY. BREVET MAJOR SOLON H. LATHROP. We must add another to the long list of brave and good men of the Regular Army who have fallen at their posts in the Gulf States during the present terrible epidemic of yellow fever. On the 7th of October, Brevet Major Solon H. Lathrop, captain in the Thirty-fifth Infantry, U. S. A. died at Victoria, Texas, of yellow fever, aged 44 years.

 

Major Lathrop was with his company on his way from San Antonio to Indianola, when he received orders to halt at Victoria, and await the cessation of the fever at the place of his destination. There the fever found him and there he died. Born at Lebanon, N. H., in 1822, Major Lathrop's early life was that of an eminently successful business man. Removing at an early age to Buffalo, N. Y., he became a partner in the well-known firm of E. R. Jewett & Co, of the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. The senior partner retiring in 1853, the firm became known as Thomas & Lathrop under which title it did a large publishing and printing business, until in 1857 it was swept away by the financial crisis of that year….

 

In his emergency he soon accepted the responsible and difficult position of Treasurer of the Heintzelman Silver-Mining Company in Arizona, and spent three years on that frontier, hunting Apaches, controlling turbulent Mexican miners and advancing the interests of his company. Forewarned of the approach of the war, he joined his brother-in-law, Major, now General, Heintzelman, at Camp Verde, Texas; and the two came north in time to escape the disgraceful Twiggs surrender, and to be present at the first inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, where Lathrop, with many others, wore his pistols in anticipation of a disturbance from the Secessionists with whom Washington was crowded.

 

Remaining at the capital when the war actually broke out, he enlisted as a private in that memorable company commanded by Cassius M. Clay, which made its camp in the parlors of the White House…..early in the Summer of 1861 he accepted a commission as captain in the Seventeenth U. S. Infantry, a regiment in the organization of which he assisted as Adjutant at Fort Preble, Maine. After the peninsular campaign Lathrop was appointed an assistant inspector general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of Volunteers, a position which he held successively on the different staffs of General Heintzelman, commanding the defences of Washington, Twenty-second Army Corps, and subsequently the Northern Department; Gen. Hooker, commanding the Northern Department, and General Ord, commanding the Department of the Lakes. During a considerable part of this tour of duty, he was the president of an inspection board, visiting the various hospitals and correcting the serious abuse of the detention of able-bodied men as attendants. At the close of the war, he was returned to his company with the rank of brevet major. In the breaking up of the" three-battalion regiments" the Seventeenth Infantry was divided and Lathrop was assigned to the Thirty-fifth Infantry….

 

He died leaving a wife and one child, the former convalescing from the fever, the latter in comparative safety with the family of General Mason at San Antonio. He was the brother-in-law and attached friend of General Heintzelman, and the Uncle of Lieutenant Henry Norton, of the Seventeenth Infantry, who also had the fever at Galveston where he is stationed.

 

In all the various positions held by Major Lathrop, he was distinguished for an entire devotion to the service, mingled with a spirit of leniency for the short-comings of others. The accidents of the service deprived him of the privilege of distinction in the field, but as an executive officer his reputation was excellent. All the various generals with whom he served have spoken in earnest words of his high merit as a man and soldier…..The cheerful steadfast heart that never faltered; the brave soul that met all sorrows with a smile; the honest, manly spirit that never thought a meanness; the shrewd well-tempered brain that always had an excuse for the faults of others, and always had a friend to help; are sleeping in death beside the rapid-running Colorado. One, at least, of his oldest friends who knew him long and well, will mourn his loss.”

 

Finda a Grave Link (Cenotaph): www.findagrave.com/memorial/100077426/solon-huntington-la...

Find a Grave Link (actual grave Site): www.findagrave.com/memorial/51474577/solon-huntington-lat...

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