Brig. Gen. Rufus King

[jkBluesman]

Brig. Gen. Rufus King (b. 1814, d. 1876). Born in New York City Rufus King was named after his grandfather who had been a delegate to the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention. He graduated from Columbia College, where his father served as president, before attending the United States Military Academy. After graduation in 1833 he became an officer of the engineer corps but resigned his commission after three years of service. In New York City he started his career as an editor and served as adjutant general to William Seward, when the latter was governor of the state (1838-1842). In 1845 King left for Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he became not only involved in journalism, but also politics as one of the state’s members of the constitutional convention and education: King organized the first three baseball games in the state. In 1861, Pres. Abraham Lincoln appointed King as Minister to the Papal States. Before he left the country however, the Civil War had started with the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12. King at once asked for a leave of absence and volunteered his service to his state. Commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers in May, he was charged with the duty of commanding all Wisconsin regiments in the Washington area in August: those were the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin who formed an all-Western brigade in the East with the 19th Indiana – under King’s successor Gen. John Gibbon it would be named “Iron Brigade”. Edward S. Bragg, officer in the 6th Wisconsin called him “bland and genial”. But King was only in charge of the brigade during the winter of 1861/1862. In March 1862, the establishing of corps in the Army of the Potomac brought him the promotion to divisional command. As part of the I corps it was sent to the area of Fredericksburg, while the bulk of the army started on the Peninsula campaign. Neither there nor when summoned to the Shenandoah Valley at the end of May to trap Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and his men did the corps see much fighting. When the Army of Virginia was organized in June, King was offered the command of the I corps but declined, probably for health reasons as he suffered from epilepsy. Illness may have been one reason for his failures during the Second Manassas campaign. On August 28 his former brigade clashed with the Confederates under Jackson. King however did not sent support but decided to follow his original marching orders instead of asking for reinforcements and thus the opposing forces moved away from each other, buying time for the Southerners to bring their I corps under Gen. James Longstreet to the battlefield where they would crush the Federals two days later. By then King had already turned over command to Gen. John P. Hatch due to his bad health. A court of inquiry formally relieved King on September 14, 1862. He would later be shortly on garrison duty at Fort Monroe, serve as military governor of Norfolk, Virginia and sitting on the Fitz John Porter court-martial before resigning from the army in October 1863 for health reasons. He then went to the Papal States to resume his post as Minister. When Congress failed to appropriate funds for representatives at the Vatican, King resigned his ministry and returned to the United States in 1868. Due to bad health he could only work one more year as deputy collector of customs for the port of New York City. He died in the city in 1876. His son Rufus King, Jr. served in the Horse Artillery Brigade during the Civil War.

Ldr: 3
Tact: 2
Init: 1
Cmd: 2
Cav: 0

Teaches: Organized

[Gil R.]

Copied, thanks.

[Gil R.]

Here’s King’s bio. I took out the bit about sitting on Porter’s court-martial for space reasons, as well as the bit about being involved in baseball games, both for space reasons.

Brig. Gen. Rufus King (b. 1814, d. 1876). Born in New York City, Rufus King was named after a grandfather who had been a delegate to the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention. He graduated from Columbia College, where his father served as president, before attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduation in 1833 he became an officer of the engineer corps but resigned his commission after three years of service. In New York City he started his career as an editor and served as adjutant general to William Seward, when the latter was governor of the state (1838-1842). In 1845 King left for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he became involved not only in journalism, but also politics, serving as one of the members of the state’s constitutional convention in 1848 and holding later as superintendent of Milwaukee schools and a regent of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 1861, Pres. Abraham Lincoln appointed King as Minister to the Papal States. Before he had left for Europe, however, the Civil War had started with the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12. King at once asked for a leave of absence and volunteered his service to his state. Commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers in May, he was charged with the duty of commanding all Wisconsin regiments in the Washington, D.C. area in August. These regiments were the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin Infantry, which along with the 19th Indiana Infantry formed an all-Western brigade in the Eastern Theater – under King’s successor Gen. John Gibbon they would become famous as the “Iron Brigade.” King, labeled as “bland and genial” by an officer in the 6th Wisconsin, was only in charge of the brigade during the winter of 1861-62. In March 1862, the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac by means of the creation of multiple corps brought him a promotion to divisional command. As part of the I Corps, King’s Division was sent to the area of Fredericksburg, while the bulk of the army started on the Peninsula Campaign. The corps saw little fighting either in the Fredericksburg area or when summoned to the Shenandoah Valley at the end of May to trap Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and his men. When the new Army of Virginia was organized under Gen. John Pope in June, King was offered the command of the I Corps but declined, probably for health reasons due to his suffered from epilepsy. Illness may have been one reason for his failures during the Second Manassas Campaign. On August 28 his former brigade clashed with Jackson along the Warrenton Turnpike near Manassas. King, however, did not send support or call for reinforcements, and instead decided to follow his original marching orders. As a result, when darkness fell the Confederates were able to withdraw to an unfinished railroad grade that proved over the next two days to be one of the most formidable defensive positions of the war. This inconclusive engagement also bought time for Gen. James Longstreet’s corps to reach the battlefield and crush Pope’s army two days later. By then King had already turned over command to Gen. John P. Hatch due to his bad health. A court of inquiry formally relieved King on September 14, 1862. He would later serve on garrison duty at Fort Monroe for a short time and then as military governor of Norfolk. King resigned from the army in October 1863 for health reasons, and finally headed to the Papal States to resume his post as Minister. When Congress failed to appropriate funds for its representatives at the Vatican, King resigned his ministry and returned to the United States in 1868. Due to his continuing health problems he could only work one more year, as deputy collector of customs for the Port of New York City, where King died in 1876. His son Rufus King, Jr. served in the Horse Artillery Brigade during the Civil War. (Bio by Joern Kaesebier)

Ldr: 3
Tact: 2
Init: 1
Cmd: 2
Cav: 0

Teaches: Organized