American Civil War Union officer, General of the Iron Brigade, U.S. Minister to the Papal States
Rufus King
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Rufus_King_Civil_War_General_-_Brady-Handy.jpg/220px-Rufus_King_Civil_War_General_-_Brady-Handy.jpg) A photograph of King taken between 1855-1865
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In office
January 8, 1864 ? August 17, 1867
|
President
| Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
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Preceded by
| Richard M. Blatchford
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Succeeded by
| Diplomatic relations severed
|
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In office
January 1839 ? January 1843
|
Preceded by
| Allan Macdonald
|
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Succeeded by
| Lyman Sanford
|
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|
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Born
| (
1814-01-26
)
January 26, 1814
New York City
,
New York
, U.S.
|
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Died
| October 13, 1876
(1876-10-13)
(aged 62)
New York City, New York, U.S.
|
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Resting place
| Grace Episcopal Churchyard
,
Jamaica, New York
|
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Spouses
|
Ellen Eliot
(
m.
1836; died 1838)
Susan Eliot
(
m.
1843–1876)
|
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Children
| Rufus, Jr.
Charles
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Parents
| |
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Signature
| ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Signature_of_Rufus_King_%281814%E2%80%931876%29.png/128px-Signature_of_Rufus_King_%281814%E2%80%931876%29.png) |
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|
Allegiance
| United States
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Branch/service
| United States Army
New York Militia
United States Volunteers
Union Army
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Years of service
| 1833–1836 (USA)
1839–1843 (NY)
1861–1863 (USV)
|
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Rank
| Brigadier General
, USV
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Commands
| Iron Brigade
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Battles/wars
| American Civil War
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Rufus King
(January 26, 1814 – October 13, 1876) was an American newspaper editor, public servant, diplomat, and soldier. He served as a
Union Army
brigadier general
in the
American Civil War
, and was responsible for assembling the famed
Iron Brigade
of the
Army of the Potomac
. He was later
U.S. minister (ambassador) to the Papal States
from 1864 to 1867 and was instrumental in the capture of accused
Lincoln assassination
plotter
John Surratt
. Earlier in life, he had been a member of the first board of regents of the
University of Wisconsin
.
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
King was born in
New York City
,
New York
, to
Charles King
, president of
Columbia College
, and Eliza Gracie.
[2]
He was the grandson of
Rufus King
, delegate for
Massachusetts
to the
Continental Congress
and the
Constitutional Convention
and U.S. Senator from New York. The Kings were part of the
King family
of Massachusetts, New York, and Maine. After graduation from
Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School
, King enrolled in the
United States Military Academy
at West Point in 1829 and graduated fourth in his class.
[3]
He was commissioned into the
United States Corps of Engineers
in 1833 but resigned in 1836 to become the civil engineer for the
New York and Erie Railroad
.
[4]
After three years with the railroad, King decided to change his career path and became a newspaper editor. He worked at the
Albany Daily Advertiser
and the
Albany Evening Journal
, which were published by
Thurlow Weed
, a leading figure in the New York's
Whig Party
. In 1839, King was appointed adjutant general of the New York State Militia by Governor
William H. Seward
, a political ally of Weed, and held this post until 1843.
Family
[
edit
]
In 1836, King married Ellen Eliot, who died two years into marriage; they had no children. After five years, King married her sister Susan Eliot, and they had two children. His son
Rufus King Jr.
became a
Union Army
officer of the
U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade
and was awarded the
Medal of Honor
; his other son,
Charles King
became a brigadier general of
volunteers
during the
Spanish?American War
and a writer of Western novels.
Moving to Wisconsin
[
edit
]
In 1845, he left New York and moved to the
Wisconsin Territory
, accomplishing a mixture of politics (member of the 1848
Wisconsin
constitutional convention), journalism (editor and part owner of the
Milwaukee Sentinel and Gazette
)
[5]
, and education (superintendent of schools in
Milwaukee
in 1859?1860, and a regent of the
University of Wisconsin
in 1848?1854).
[6]
[7]
King organized and played in the first three baseball games played in the state of Wisconsin. The matches were played at the old State Fairgrounds, now the
Marquette University
campus, during the winter of 1859.
[8]
Civil War
[
edit
]
King was appointed by
President
Abraham Lincoln
as Minister to the
Papal States
in 1861 after being recommended by Secretary of State Seward. On his way to
Rome
when the Civil War broke out, he took a leave of absence to join the
Union Army
. He was appointed a brigadier general of the Wisconsin militia on April 15, 1861, and of
U.S. Volunteers
on May 17, and was given authorization to raise a Wisconsin
regiment
. King helped organize what came to be known as the famous
Iron Brigade
, the Second, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Wisconsin, and Nineteenth Indiana volunteers, which he commanded briefly.
[9]
Before the Iron Brigade saw combat, King was promoted on March 13, 1862, to command of a
division
, which included the Iron Brigade, in the
I Corps
of the
Army of the Potomac
replacing general
Irvin McDowell
. The Division's first action was in the
Second Battle of Bull Run
in August 1862.
[10]
[11]
On August 28, 1862, King received orders to advance on
Warrenton Turnpike
towards
Centreville, Virginia
. Later in the day, his division was attacked by Confederate forces under
Stonewall Jackson
's command.
Suffering from epileptic seizures, King spent the battle in an ambulance wagon and turned over command of the division to Brig. Gen
John P. Hatch
, the ranking brigade commander. Hatch then led King's division at Second Bull Run and during the Maryland Campaign until being wounded at South Mountain. In December 1862, King served on the
court-martial of Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter
for disobedience and cowardice at Second Bull Run.
King performed garrison duty at
Fort Monroe
,
Virginia
, and was a
military governor
of
Norfolk
. His epileptic seizures became more frequent, and in October 1863, King resigned his commission. He succeeded
Richard Milford Blatchford
as
Minister to the Papal States
. He served until the end of 1867, and was instrumental in apprehending
John Surratt
in Rome.
[12]
Postbellum career
[
edit
]
Returning to New York from Rome in 1868, King served for two years as deputy
comptroller
of customs for the
Port of New York
. He then retired on account of failing health. He quietly lived in retirement until he died in New York City on October 13, 1876.
[13]
He is buried in Grace Churchyard,
Jamaica, New York
.
Legacy
[
edit
]
Rufus King International High School
, formerly Rufus King High School, in Milwaukee is named for him. The school's teams are known as the Generals.
In the
SCP Foundation
universe,
G. D. Falksen
depicts King as O5-6, the oldest of the O5 council and founder of the first Mobile Task Force.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"King, Gen. Rufus (1814-1876)"
.
Wisconsin Historical Society
. October 3, 2012
. Retrieved
November 22,
2022
.
- ^
Eicher, p. 333, cites the July date of birth; Warner, p. 269, January.
- ^
Cullum, George W.
Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. from its Establishment, in 1802, to 1890 with the Early History of the United States Military Academy
. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1891.
- ^
"Rufus King"
.
The Civil War in the East
. Retrieved
January 6,
2015
.
- ^
Mielewczik, Michael; Jowett, Kelly; Moll, Janine (2019).
"Beehives, Booze and Suffragettes: The "Sad Case" of Ellen S. Tupper (1822?1888), the "Bee Woman" and "Iowa Queen Bee"
"
.
Entomologie heute
.
31
: 113?227.
- ^
Still, Bayrd.
Milwaukee: The History of a City.
Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1948.
- ^
Charles King. "
Rufus King: Soldier, Editor, and Statesman
".
Wisconsin Magazine of History
, vol. 4, no. 4 (June 1921), pp. 371-381.
- ^
Podoll, Brian.
The Minor League Milwaukee Brewers
. McFarland & Company, 2003.
ISBN
978-0-7864-1455-0
.
- ^
Ethan S. Rafuse.
King, Rufus
,
American National Biography Online
. February 2000. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^
Hennessy, John J.
Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
- ^
Gaff, Alan D.
Brave Men's Tears: The Iron Brigade at Brawner Farm.
Dayton, Ohio: Morningside, 1988.
- ^
Stock, Leo F.
United States Ministers to the Papal States: Instructions and Despatches, 1848-1868.
Washington, D.C: Catholic University Press, 1933, pp. 278-440.
- ^
Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1904).
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans
. Vol. VI. Boston: The Biographical Society
. Retrieved
May 2,
2022
– via Internet Archive.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Other
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