Rufus King (general)
Rufus King | |
|---|---|
United States Minister to the Papal States | |
| In office January 8, 1864 – August 17, 1867 | |
| President | Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson |
| Preceded by | Richard M. Blatchford |
| Succeeded by | Diplomatic relations severed |
| 17th Adjutant General of New York | |
| In office January 1839 – January 1843 | |
| Preceded by | Allan Macdonald |
| Succeeded by | Lyman Sanford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 26, 1814 Jamaica, New York |
| Spouses | Ellen Eliot
(m. 1836; died 1838)Susan Eliot (m. 1843–1876) |
| Children | Charles King (father) |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army New York Militia United States Volunteers Union Army |
| Years of service | 1833–1836 (USA) 1839–1843 (NY) 1861–1863 (USV) |
| Rank |  Brigadier General, USV |
| Commands | Iron Brigade |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Rufus King (January 26, 1814 – October 13, 1876) was an American newspaper editor, public servant, diplomat, and soldier. He served as a
Early life
King was born in
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
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
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), and education (superintendent of schools in Milwaukee in 1859–1860, and a regent of the University of Wisconsin in 1848–1854).[5][6] 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.[7]
Civil War
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.[8]
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.[9][10] 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
King performed garrison duty at
Postbellum career
Returning to New York from Rome in 1868, King served for two years as deputy
Legacy
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
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- 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
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
External links
- "Rufus King". Find a Grave. Retrieved February 12, 2008.
- Rufus King at Wisconsin People
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