Encyclopedia of Civil War Biography - Roa-Rya
ROACH, John, ship-builder, born in Mitchellstown, County Cork, Ireland, in 1815; died in New York City, 10 January, 1887. At the age of fourteen he came penniless to New York, and obtained work from John Allaire, in the Howell Iron-Works, New Jersey. In 1840 he went to Illinois to buy land, but he returned to New York, and worked as a machinist for several years, and then established a foundry with three fellow-workmen. The explosion of a boiler nearly ruined him financially, but he rebuilt his works, which were known as the Aetna Iron-Works. Here he constructed the largest engines that had been built in the United States at that time, and also the first compound engines. In 1868 he bought the Morgan Iron-Works in New York City, and also the Neptune, Franklin Forge, and Allaire Works, and in 1871 the ship-yards in Chester, Pennsylvania, that were owned by Rainer and Sons. He established a ship-building plant that covered 120 acres, and was valued at $2,000,000 under the name of the Delaware River Iron Ship-Building and Engine Works, of which he was the sole owner, and where he built sixty-three vessels in twelve years, chiefly for the U. S. government and large corporations. Among these were six monitors that were ordered during General Grant's administration. The last, vessels that he built for the U. S. Navy were the three cruisers "Chicago," "Atlanta," and "Boston," and the despatch-boat "Dolphin." On the refusal of the government to accept the "Dolphin" in 1885, Mr. Roach made an assignment, and closed his works; but they were reopened when the vessel was accepted. He constructed altogether about 114 iron vessels, and also built the sectional dock at Pensacola, Florida, and the iron bridge over Harlem River at Third Avenue, New York City, in 1860. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 268-269.
ROANE, John Selden, governor of Arkansas, born in Wilson County, Tennessee, 8 January, 1817; died in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 7 April, 1867. He was graduated at Cumberland College, Princeton, Kentucky, and served in the legislature of Arkansas as speaker in 1844. Participating in the Mexican War as lieutenant-colonel of Colonel Archibald Yell's Arkansas Cavalry, he served with gallantry at Buena Vista, and commanded the regiment after Colonel Yell was killed, being made colonel on 38 February, 1847. From 1848 till 1852 he was governor of Arkansas. Governor Roane served in the Civil War, being appointed brigadier-general in the Provisional Confederate Army on 20 March, 1862, commanding the District of Little Rock, Arkansas. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 269.
ROBB, James, banker, born in Brownville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 2 April, 1814; died near Cincinnati, Ohio, 30 July, 1881. His father died in 1819, and, after receiving a common-school education, the son left his home at the age of thirteen to seek his fortune, walking in the snow to Morgantown, Virginia, where he was employed in a bank and became its cashier. In 1837 he went to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, where he remained for twenty-one years, during which time he made six visits to Europe and fifteen to the island of Cuba. He built the first gas-works in the city of Havana in 1840 and was president of the Spanish Gaslight Company, sharing the capital with Maria Christina, the queen-mother of Spain. He was active in establishing eight banking-houses and commercial firms and agencies in New Orleans, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, and Liverpool, four of which were in existence in 1857. He was president of the Railroad Convention that met in New Orleans in 1851, and built the first railroad that connected New Orleans with the north. Mr. Robb was a member of the Louisiana Senate. In 1859 he moved to Chicago, where he was interested in railroad matters, declined the military governorship of Louisiana which was offered by President Lincoln, and the post of Secretary of the Treasury, to which Andrew Johnson wished to appoint him. Afterward he established in New Orleans the Louisiana National Bank, of which he was president in 1866-'9. His residence, standing in the centre of a block, was the finest in that city. In 1871 he retired from business, and from 1873 until his death he resided in ' Hampden Place," near Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a regent of the University of Louisiana, and was the author of several reports, essays, and pamphlets on politics and political economy. —His son, James Hampden, banker, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 27 October, 1846, was graduated at Harvard in 1866, and studied also in Switzerland, after which he engaged in banking and in the cotton business. He was a member of the legislature of New York in 1882 and state senator in 1884-'5, where he was active in securing the State reservation at Niagara, of which he was a commissioner from 1883 till 1887. He was also appointed commissioner of the parks of New York City, and is now (1888) president of the board. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 269.
ROBERT, Henry Martyn, soldier, born in Beaufort District, South Carolina, 2 May, 1837, was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1857. He received his commission with the rank of lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, and has ever since remained in that service. Soon after his graduation he was appointed assistant professor of natural philosophy at West Point, but he was subsequently transferred to the department of practical engineering. In 1858 he was stationed at Fort Vancouver, and during the northwest boundary difficulties between this country and Great Britain he had charge of the construction of defences on San Juan Island. At the beginning of the Civil War, though of southern birth and with all his relatives in the south, Colonel Robert unhesitatingly, espoused the Union cause. He served on the staff of General McClellan, and assisted in building the fortifications around Washington. He was subsequently employed in similar services at Philadelphia and New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was promoted captain in 1863, and at the close of the war he was placed again at the head of the department of practical engineering at West Point, where he remained till 1867. In that year he was made major, and in 1871, with headquarters at Portland, he had charge of the fortifications, lighthouses, and harbor and river improvements in Oregon and Washington Territory. He was transferred in 1873 to Milwaukee, and assigned to a like duty on Lake Michigan. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel in 1883, and is now (1888) superintendent of river and harbor improvements and defences in the District of Philadelphia. Colonel Robert is the author of “Robert's Rules of Order” (Chicago, 1876) and has supervised the preparation of “An Index to the Reports of the Chief Engineers of the U. S. A. on River and Harbor Improvements” (vol. i., to 1879, Washington, 1881; vol. ii., to 1887, in preparation). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 272.
ROBERTS, Benjamin Stone, soldier, born in Manchester, Vermont, in 1811; died in Washington, D.C., 29 January, 1875. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1835, and assigned to the 1st Dragoons, but after several years of frontier service he resigned on 28 January, 1839, and as principal engineer built the Champlain and Ogdensburg Railroad. He was assistant geologist of New York in 1841, and in 1842 aided Lieutenant George W. Whistler in constructing the Russian system of railways. He then returned to the United States, was admitted to the bar, and in 1843 began to practise in Iowa. He became lieutenant-colonel of state militia in 1844, and on 27 May, 1846, was reappointed in the U.S. Army as a 1st lieutenant of mounted rifles, becoming captain, 16 February, 1847. During the war with Mexico he served at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, where he led an advance party of stormers and for which he was brevetted major, and the capture of the city of Mexico. He then took part in the actions at Matamoras and the Galajara Pass against guerillas, and was brevetted lieutenant-colonel. At the close of the war he received, 15 January, 1849, a sword of honor from the legislature of Iowa. From this time till the Civil War he served on the southwestern frontier and on bureau duty at Washington, with frequent leaves of absence on account of feeble health. At the beginning of the Civil War he was in New Mexico, and after his promotion to major, on 13 May, 1861, he was assigned to the command first of the northern and then of the southern district of that territory, being engaged in the defence of Fort Craig against the Texan forces under General Henry H. Sibley in 1862, the action at Valverde in the same year, where he was brevetted colonel for gallantry, and the combats at Albuquerque and Peralta. On 1 June, 1861, he was ordered to Washington, and on 16 July he was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers, and assigned as chief of cavalry to General John Pope, with whose Army of Virginia he served during its campaign in 1862, acting also as inspector-general. In the latter part of the year he was acting inspector-general of the Northwestern Department, and led an expedition against the Chippewa Indians, and in 1863 he was in command first of the upper defences of Washington and then of an independent brigade in West Virginia and Iowa. In 1864, after leading a division of the 19th Corps in Louisiana, he was chief of cavalry of the Gulf Department, till he was ordered, early in 1865, to the charge of a cavalry division in western Tennessee. At the close of the war he was brevetted brigadier-general in the regular army for services at Cedar Mountain, and major-general of volunteers for that action and the second battle of Bull Run. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 3d U.S. Cavalry on 28 July, 1866, served on frontier and recruiting service till 1868, and then as professor of military science at Yale till his retirement from active service on 15 December, 1870. He was the inventor of the Roberts breech loading rifle, to the perfection and introduction of which he devoted many years of his life. In 1870 he formed a company for its manufacture, which finally failed, though General Roberts had secured a contract in Europe. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 272.
ROBERTS, Ellis Henry, journalist, born in Utica, New York, 30 September, 1827. He was prepared for college at Whitestown Seminary and was graduated at Yale in 1850, was principal of the Utica Academy, taught Latin in the female seminary, became editor and proprietor of the Utica " Morning Herald " in 1850, served in the legislature in 1867, and was a delegate to the National Republican Conventions of 1864, 1868, and 1876. He was elected to Congress as a Republican, serving on the Committee of Ways and Means from 4 March, 1871, till 3 March, 1875, after which he resumed the control of his paper in Utica, which he now (1888) continues, and to which he contributed in 1873 a series of letters entitled " To Greece and Beyond." He was a defeated candidate for Congress in 1876. Hamilton College gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1869. and Yale in 1884. He has been president of the Fort Schuyler Club, and is now (1888) president of the Oneida Historical Society. He delivered an address in Elmira, New York, on 29 August, 1879, at the Centennial celebration of the battle of Newtown, and a course of lectures on "Government Revenue" at Cornell and Hamilton in 1884, which i published (Boston, 1884). Mr. Roberts is also the author of "The Planting and Growth of the Empire State " in the "American Commonwealth Series" (Boston, 1887). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 273.
ROBERTS, George Washington, soldier, born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 2 October, 1833; died near Murfreesborough, Tennessee, 31 December, 1862. After graduation at Yale in 1857, he studied law and practised in his native county, and in Chicago after 1860. He was commissioned major of the 42d Illinois Volunteers on 22 July, 1861, and participated in the march of General John C. Fremont to Springfield, Illinois. He became lieutenant colonel and colonel. He won honor in the campaign of 1862, commanding a brigade of the Army of the Mississippi, served at the siege of Corinth in April and May, 1862, and at Farmington, Tennessee, 7 October, 1862. At the battle of Stone River, Tennessee, 31 December, 1862, he had the advance of the 20th Army Corps, drove the enemy to their breastworks, and was killed while leading the 42d Illinois in a successful charge. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 273.
ROBERTS, Jonathan Manning, 1771-1854, Upper Merion County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Senator, U.S. Congressman, opponent of slavery. Called for the prohibition of slavery from Missouri in the Senate. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, p. 274; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 1, p. 9)
ROBERTS, Jonathan Manning, investigator, born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 7 December, 1821; died in Burlington, New Jersey, 28 February, 1888, studied law, was admitted to the bar at Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1850, and practised his profession for about a year, but abandoned it and engaged in commercial pursuits. These proving financially successful, he found time to gratify his desire for metaphysical investigations. He also took an interest in politics, being an enthusiastic Whig and strongly opposed to slavery. He was a delegate to the Free-soil Convention at Buffalo, New York, that nominated Martin Van Buren for president in 1848, and subsequently canvassed New Jersey for that candidate. When the so-called spiritual manifestations at Rochester, New York, first attracted public attention, Mr. Roberts earnestly protested against the possibility of their having a supernatural origin. After several years of patient inquiry he came to the conclusion that they were facts that could be explained on scientific principles and resulted from the operation of natural causes. This conviction led to his establishing an organ of the new faith at Philadelphia in 1878 under the title of “Mind and Matter.” His fearless advocacy of his peculiar views involved him in litigation and caused his imprisonment. Finding the publication of a journal too great a tax on his resources, he abandoned it, and devoted the rest of his life to study and authorship. Among his manuscript, of which he left a large amount, is “A Life of Apollonius of Tyana” and “A History of the Christian Religion,” which he completed just before his death. Appletons’ Cyclopædia of American Biography, 1888. Vol. V, p. 274.
ROBERTS, Jonathan Manning, investigator, born in Montgomery County. Pennsylvania, 7 December, 1821; died in Burlington, New Jersey, 28 February, 1888. studied law, was admitted to the bar at Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1850, and practised his profession for about a year, but abandoned it and engaged in commercial pursuits. These proving financially successful, he found lime to gratify his desire for metaphysical investigations, he also took an interest in politics, being an enthusiastic Whig and strongly opposed to slavery. He was a delegate to the Free-soil Convention at Buffalo, New York, that nominated Martin Van Buren for president in 1848, and subsequently canvassed New Jersey for that candidate. When the so-called spiritual manifestations at Rochester, New York, first attracted public attention, Mr. Roberts earnestly protested against the possibility of their having a supernatural origin. After several years of patient inquiry he came to the conclusion that they were facts that could be explained on scientific principles and resulted from the operation of natural causes. This conviction led to his establishing an organ of the new faith at Philadelphia in 1878 under the title of "Mind and Matter." His fearless advocacy of his peculiar views involved him in litigation and caused his imprisonment. Finding the publication of a journal too great a. tax on his resources, he abandoned it, and devoted the rest of his life to study and authorship. Among his manuscript, of which he left a large amount, is "A Life of Apollonius of Tyana" and " A History of the Christian Religion," which he completed just before his death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 274.
ROBERTS, Joseph, soldier, born in Middletown, Delaware, 30 December, 1814. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1835, assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery, and served in the Florida War of 1836-'7 as captain in a regiment of mounted Creek Volunteers. From 1837 till 1849 he was assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy at the U. S. Military Academy, and he was made 1st lieutenant on 7 July, 1848, and captain on 20 August, 1848. In 1850-'8 he was engaged in hostilities against the Seminoles in Florida and on frontier duty in Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska, and in 1859 he was assigned to the artillery-school for practice at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was a member of the board to arrange the programme of instruction in 1859-'61. He was appointed major on 3 September, 1861, became chief of artillery of the 7th Army Corps on 19 September, 1862, and commanded Fort Monroe in 1863-'5 and Fort McHenry, Maryland, in 1865-'6, receiving the appointments of colonel of the 3d Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, 19 March, 1863, and lieutenant-colonel, 4th U.S. Artillery, 11 August, 1863. He was brevetted colonel and brigadier-general, U. S. Army, to date from 13 March, 1865. and brigadier-general of volunteers on 9 April, 1865, for meritorious and distinguished services during the war. On 9 November, 1865, he was mustered out of the volunteer service. From 1 May, 1867, till 1 April, 1868, he was acting inspector-general of the Department of Washington, when he was made superintendent of theoretical instruction in the artillery-school at Fort Monroe, Virginia, serving until 13 February, 1877. He was promoted colonel in the 4th Artillery on 10 January, 1877, and was placed on the retired list on 2 July, 1877. General Roberts is the author of a "Hand-Book of Artillery" (New York. 1860). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 274.
ROBERTS, Joseph Jenkins, president of Liberia, born in Norfolk. Virginia, 15 March. 1809; died in Monrovia, Liberia. 24 February, 1876. He was a Negro and the son of "Aunty Robos," as she was familiarly called in Petersburg, Virginia, whence she emigrated with her three sons to Liberia in 1829. When the colony of Liberia was founded by the American Colonization Society he was first lieutenant-governor and then governor of the colony, and. upon the formation of the republic in 1848, he was elected its first president, serving four years. When there was a revolt against President Edward J. Roye (q. v.) in 1871, he was again made president, serving until 1875. He encouraged agriculture, promoted education, favored emigration from the United States, and placed his people on friendly terms with European nations. From 1856 until his death he was president of Liberia College.—His brother, John Wright, M. E. bishop, born in Petersburg, Virginia, in 1815; died in Monrovia, Liberia, 30 January. 1875, was educated in Liberia, entered the Methodist ministry in 1838, served as pastor, presiding elder, and secretary, and was made bishop in 1866. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 274-275.
ROBERTS, Marshall Owen, merchant, born in New York City, 22 March, 1814; died in Saratoga Springs, New York, 11 September, 1880. His father, a physician, came from Wales and settled in New York in 1798. The son received a good education, and would have been sent to college, as his father wished him to adopt his own profession, but the boy preferred a mercantile life. After leaving school he became first a grocer's clerk, but soon afterward secured a place with a ship-chandler. By the time he was of age he had saved enough money to begin business for himself, and in two years he obtained a contract to supply the U. S. Navy Department with whale-oil, on which he realized a handsome profit. He was among the first to recognize the advantage of finely equipped steamers for Hudson River, and built the "Hendrik Hudson." He next turned his attention to railroads, was one of the early advocates of the Erie, and projected the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. When the "California fever" began in 1849 he made a contract with the U. S. government to transport the mails to California by the Isthmus of Panama. He owned the " Star of the West," which was sent with provisions to Fort Sumter, and when Fort Monroe, was threatened in the spring of 1861 he raised 1,000 men at his own expense and sent them in his steamer " America " to re-enforce the garrison. He took a great interest in the Texas Pacific Railroad, and invested nearly $2,000,000 in the enterprise, and he was also largely interested in other railroads throughout the United States and Canada. He was also one of the earliest friends of the Atlantic telegraph cable. In 1852 he was nominated for Congress by the Whig Party, but was defeated. In 1856 he was a delegate to the first National Convention of the Republican Party which met in Philadelphia and nominated John C. Fremont for the presidency. In 1865 he was nominated for mayor of New York by the Union Party, but again was unsuccessful. The value of his gallery of pictures was estimated at $750,000. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 275.
ROBERTS, Oran Milo, governor of Texas, born in Laurens District, South Carolina, 9 July, 1815. He was graduated at the University of Alabama in 1836, studied law, began to practise, and served in the Alabama Legislature in 1839-'40. Moving to Texas in 1841, he was appointed district-attorney in 1844 and district judge in 1846, holding this office for five years. In 1857 he was elected to the supreme bench as associate justice, which post he held until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. He was elected president of the Secession Convention, and was colonel of a regiment in the Confederate Army from 1862 till August, 1864, when he was called from the field to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In 1866 he was elected to the U. S. Senate, but was not allowed to take his seat. From 1868 till 1874 he taught law in private schools. In 1874 and 1870 he was again elected Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He was governor of Texas from 1879 till 1883, in which year he was made professor of law in the University of Texas, which post he now (1888) holds. He has published a description of Texas entitled " Governor Roberts's Texas" (St, Louis. 1881). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 275.
ROBERTS, Solomon White, civil engineer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 3 August, 1811; died in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 20 March, 1882. He was educated at the Friends' Academy in Philadelphia. When he was sixteen years old he became an assistant to his uncle, Josiah White, who was directing the works of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in the construction of the Mauch Chunk Railway, the second of importance that was built in the country. He also assisted in the construction of the canal from Mauch Chunk to Easton. Entering the state service, he had charge of building a division of a canal on Conemaugh River, and then was principal assistant to Sylvester Welch in locating and constructing the Portage Railroad over the Alleghany mountains. Mr. Roberts's division was on the west side, including a tunnel 900 feet long, the first railroad tunnel in the United States, and the fine stone viaduct over Conemaugh River, near Johnstown, is his design and construction. While this road was in operation it was one of the wonders of the country. David Stephenson, the English engineer, says of it in his “Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America” (London, 1838): “America now numbers among its many wonderful artificial lines of communication a mountain railway which, in boldness of design and of execution, I can compare to no modern work have ever seen, except perhaps, the passes of the Simplon and Mont Cenis in Sardinia.” Remaining in the state service several years, Mr. Roberts became in 1838 chief engineer of the Catawissa Railroad, in 1842 was president of the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Railroad, and from 1843 to 1846 president of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. During the latter year he was chosen to the legislature, and from 1 till 1856 he was engaged in locating, constructing, and operating the railroad from Pittsburg to Crestline, a distance of 188 miles. He located and named the towns of Crestline and Alliance. In 1856 he was chosen chief engineer and general superintendent of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, which post he resigned in 1879. He was a member of many learned societies, contributed numerous papers to the transactions of the American Philosophical Society and to scientific journals, and wrote “Reminiscences of the First Railroad over the Alleghany Mountains,” in the “Pennsylvania Magazine of History” (1878). He also published “The Destiny of Pittsburg and the Duty of her Young Men" (Pittsburg, 1850).—His wife, Anna Smith, poet, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 23 December, 1827; died there, 10 August, 1858, was the daughter of Randall H. Rickey, and married Mr. Roberts in 1851. She contributed poems to the “Columbian and Great West” in 1850–’1, which were collected in “Forest Flowers of the West” (Philadelphia, 1851). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 276.
ROBERTS, William Milnor, civil engineer, born in Philadelphia, 12 February, 1810; died in Brazil, South America, 14 July, 1881. His father was Thomas P. Roberts, treasurer of the Union Canal, the first work of that kind undertaken in Pennsylvania. In 1825 the son was employed as chainman on canal surveys under Canvass White. At the age of eighteen he was given charge of the most difficult division of the Lehigh Canal, and two years later he was appointed resident engineer in charge of the Union Railroad and Union Canal Feeder. In 1831–4 he was senior principal assistant engineer on the Allegheny Portage Railroad. In 1835 he planned and built the first combined railroad and highway bridge in this country. It crossed the Susquehanna at Harrisburg, and was nearly a mile long. The piers are still used to support the great iron bridge of the Cumberland Valley rail. In 1835 he was made chief engineer on the Harrisburg and Lancaster Railroad, and during the same year he was also appointed chief engineer of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, which work was completed by him. After 1836 he was chief engineer in charge of the Monongahela River Slackwater Navigation, the Pennsylvania State Canal, and the Erie Canal of Pennsylvania. In 1841–2 he was a contractor on the Welland Canal enlargement, in 1845–’7 chief engineer and agent for the trustees of the Sandy and Beaver Canal Company, Ohio, in 1847 chief engineer of the Pittsburg and Connellsville Railroad. In 1849 he declined the appointment of chief engineer of the first pro railroad in South America (in Chili), to that of the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad, which he held until 1851. In 1852–4 he was chief engineer of the Allegheny Valley Railroad, consulting engineer of the Atlantic and Mississippi Railroad, a contractor for the whole Iron Mountain Railroad of Missouri, and chairman of a commission of three appointed by the Pennsylvania legislature to examine and report upon routes for avoiding the old Allegheny portage inclined planes. In 1855-'7 he was contractor for the entire Keokuk, Des Moines, and Minnesota Railroad, consulting engineer for the Pittsburg and Erie, and Terre Haute, Vandalia, and St. Louis Railroads, and chief engineer of the Keokuk, Mt. Pleasant, and Muscatine Railroad. In 1857 he went to Brazil to examine the route of the Dom Pedro II. Railroad, and, in company with Jacob Humbird, of Maryland, and other Americans, undertook the construction of that work. He returned to the United States in 1860, and at once took the field in the interests of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad for a proposed extension through northern Pennsylvania. In 1866 he was appointed U. S. civil engineer and given charge of the improvement of the Ohio River, which work he relinquished in 1868 to accept the appointment of associate chief engineer with James B. Eads on the great bridge across the Missouri at St. Louis. During Mr. Eads's absence in Europe of a year and more, Mr. Roberts had entire charge of the work at its most arduous and difficult stage. In 1870 he accepted the chief engineer ship of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and in 1874 was appointed on the commission of civil and military engineers to examine and report upon plans for the improvement of the mouth of the Mississippi, visiting the various rivers in Europe where jetties had been constructed. In 1879 he was appointed by the Emperor of Brazil chief of the commission of hydraulic engineers to examine and report upon the improvement of harbors and navigable rivers of that empire. He had nearly completed the period of his service when he died of fever on the head-waters of San Francisco River. Mr. Roberts was a contributor, generally anonymously, to newspapers and scientific magazines. In 1879 he was elected president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and at the same time he became a member of the English Institute of Engineers and a fellow of the American Geographical Society. In 1836 he married a daughter of Chief-Justice John Bannister Gibson, of Pennsylvania (q. v.). —His son, Thomas Paschall, civil engineer, born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 21 April, 1843, was educated at Pennsylvania agricultural College and at Dickinson College, and in 1863 joined his father in Brazil, where he was employed as an engineer on the Dom Pedro II. Railway. He returned to the United States late in 1865. In the autumn of 1866 he was appointed principal assistant engineer on the United States improvement of the Ohio River, which post he retained until October, 1870, when he became assistant engineer of the Montana Division of the Northern Pacific Railway. He made the first examination of the route that was finally adopted through the Rocky Mountains for that road, and also examined and reported upon the navigability of the upper Missouri River. His report, with maps, was printed by the War Department in 1874. He was appointed in 1875 by the U. S. government to the charge of the surveys of the upper Monongahela River in West Virginia, and in 1876-'8 was chief engineer of the Pittsburg Southern Railroad. Subsequently he was engaged as chief engineer in charge of the construction of several southern roads until 1884, when he was appointed chief engineer of the Monongahela Navigation Company, and he has since been engaged in the extension of new locks for double locking this important system of steamboat navigation. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 276-277.
ROBERTSON, Edward White, lawyer, born near Nashville, Tennessee, 13 June, 1823; died in Washington, D. C, 2 August, 1887. His parents moved to Iberville Parish, Louisiana, in 1825, and he was educated at Nashville University, but not graduated. He began to study law in 1845, but served in the war with Mexico in 1846 as orderly sergeant of the 2d Louisiana Volunteers, a six-months regiment. In 1847-'9 he was a member of the legislature, and after his graduation at the law department of the University of Louisiana in 1850 he practised in Iberville Parish, served in the legislature, and was state auditor of public accounts in 1857-'62. He entered the Confederate Service in March, 1862, as captain, and participated in the engagements around Vicksburg and the siege of that place, after which his regiment was not in active service. After the war he resumed practice in Baton Rouge, and was elected to Congress as a Conservative Democrat, serving from 15 October, 1877, till 4 March, 1883. In 1886 he was chosen again, serving until the day of his death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 279.
ROBERTSON, Wyndham, governor of Virginia, born in Manchester, Chesterfield County, Virginia, 26 January, 1803: died in Washington County, Virginia, 11 February, 1888, was educated at William and Mary, studied law, was admitted to practice in 1824, and established himself in Richmond. He was chosen a councilor of state in 1830, and in 1833 was again elected to the council, which was reduced to three members. He became lieutenant-governor on 31 March, 1836, and on the same day succeeded to the governorship for one year through the resignation of Littleton T. Tazewell. In 1838 he was elected to the legislature, and represented the city of Richmond until he moved to the country in 1841. Returning to the capital in 1858, he was again elected to the legislature, and took an active part in its deliberations during the period of the Civil War. He resisted the proposal of South Carolina for a Southern Convention in 1859, and after the secession of that state and others he still urged the refusal of Virginia to join them. As chairman of a committee, he was the author of the anti-coercion resolution, in which Virginia, while rejecting secession, declared her intention to fight with the southern states if they were attacked. He opposed the regulation of the prices of food in 1863, and offered his resignation in 1864 when the public demanded such a measure, but resumed his seal on receiving a vote of approval from his constituents. He was the author of " Pocahontas, alias Matoaka, and her Descendants through her Marriage with John Rolfe " (Richmond, 1887). He left in manuscript a "Vindication of the Course of Virginia throughout the Slave Controversy." Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 280-281
ROBERTSON. Thomas James, senator, born in Fairfield County, South Carolina, 3 August, 1828. He was graduated at South Carolina College in 1843, and studied medicine, but became a planter. He was Governor Robert P. W. Allston's aide-de-camp in 1858-'9. During the Civil War he was a decided and open Unionist. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention that was held after the passage of the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, and was elected as a Republican to one of the vacant seats in the U. S. Senate. He was re-elected for a full term, serving altogether from 22 July, 1868, till 3 March, 1877, and held the chairmanship of the Committee on Manufactures. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 281.
ROBERTSON, William H., jurist, born in Bedford. Westchester County, N. Y., 10 October, 1823. He received a classical education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1847. He was elected superintendent of the common schools of Bedford, and in 1849 and 1850 was a member of the state assembly. In 1854 he was sent to the state senate, and he was elected county judge for three successive terms, holding the office twelve years. In 1860 he was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket. Judge Robertson was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention of 1864 and again an elector, and was then elected to Congress, and served from 4 March, 1867, till 3 March, 1869. In 1872 he returned to the state senate, and was one of the leaders of that body till 1881, when he was appointed collector of the port of New York. His nomination to the office by President Garfield without consultation with the senators from New York, Roscoe Conkling and Thomas C. Piatt, led to the defection of the so-called Stalwart Wing of the Republican Party. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 281.
ROBESON, George Maxwell, Secretary of the Navy, born in Warren County, New Jersey, in 1827. He was graduated at Princeton in 1847, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1850, and began practice in Newark, New Jersey, moving afterward to Camden, where he was appointed prosecuting attorney for the county in 1859. He took an active part in organizing the state troops at the beginning of the Civil War, holding a commission as brigadier-general under the governor. In 1867 he became Attorney-General of New Jersey, but he resigned on receiving the appointment of Secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of President Grant on 25 June, 1869. He held this office till March, 1877, and was subsequently a member of Congress from 18 March, 1879, till 3 March, 1883. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 281.
ROBESON, Andrew, New Bedford, Massachusetts, abolitionist, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1840-, 1843-53, 1862-63. Vice President, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, 1840-1860.
ROBINSON, Charles, 1818-1894, territorial governor, Kansas, member Free Soil Anti-Slavery Party, 1855 (Rodriguez, 2007, p. 58; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 283; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 2, p. 34; Annals of Congress; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 18, p. 641)
ROBINSON, Charles, governor of Kansas, born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, 21 July, 1818. He was educated at Hadley and Amherst Academies and at Amherst College, but was compelled by illness to leave in his second year. He studied medicine at Woodstock. Vermont, and at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he received his degree in 1843, and practised at Belchertown, Springfield, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, till 1849, when he went to California by the overland route. He edited a daily paper in Sacramento called the “Settler's and Miner's Tribune” in 1850, took an active part in the riots of 1850 as an upholder of squatter sovereignty, was seriously wounded, and, while under indictment for conspiracy and murder, was elected to the legislature. He was subsequently discharged by the court without trial. On his return to Massachusetts in 1852 he conducted in Fitchburg a weekly paper called the “News” till June, 1854, when he went to Kansas as confidential agent of the New England Emigrants' Aid Society, and settled in Lawrence. He became the leader of the Free-State Party, and was made chairman of its executive committee and commander-in-chief of the Kansas Volunteers. He was a member of the Topeka Convention that adopted a free-state constitution in 1855, and under it was elected governor in 1856. He was arrested for treason and usurpation of office, and on his trial on the latter charge was acquitted by the jury. He was elected again by the Free-State Party in 1858, and for the third time in 1859, under the Wyandotte Constitution, and entered on his term of two years on the admission of Kansas to the Union in January, 1861. He organized most of the Kansas regiments for the Civil War. He afterward served one term as representative and two terms as senator in the legislature, and in 1882 was again a candidate for governor. In 1887 he became superintendent of Haskell Institute in Lawrence. ROBINSON, Sarah Tappan Doolittle—His wife, Sarah Tappan Doolittle, author, born in Belchertown, Massachusetts, 12 July, 1827, was educated at the New Salem Academy, and married Dr. Robinson at Belchertown on 30 October, 1851. Her maiden name was Lawrence. She has published “Kansas, its Exterior and Interior Life” (Boston, 1856), in which she describes the scenes, actors, and events of the struggle between the friends and foes of slavery in Kansas, during which her house was ‘plundered and burned, and her husband was imprisoned for four months. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 283.
ROBINSON, Marius R., 1806-1876, Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, clergyman, abolitionist. Alumnus of Lane University. Robinson was active in the anti-slavery debates there. He was editor of The Ohio Anti-Slavery Bugle, 1849-1856. The newspaper was the official organ of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. In 1850, he was elected President of the Western Anti-Slavery Society for six years, and was member of the Executive Committee for twelve years. Robinson was active in the Western Peace Society. He worked with Augustus Wattles to set up schools for free Blacks. He worked with abolitionist James G. Birney in editing Philanthropist. Manager, American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), 1840-1843. He was a travelling anti-slavery agent. (Dumond, 1961, pp. 160, 164, 174, 185, 220, 264)
ROBINSON, Martin, born 1812, African American abolitionist
ROBINSON, Rowland T., North Ferrisburg, Vermont, abolitionist. American Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-40, 1840-43.
ROBINSON, Sophia, leader, Boston Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS)
ROCK, John Stewart, 1826-1866, African American, activist, lawyer, physician, dentist, supporter of abolition movement. Member of the Boston Vigilance Committee, which opposed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Opposed colonization. Recruited soldiers for US colored regiments. (Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 9, p. 545)
ROGERS, Elymas Payson, 1815-1861, African American, clergyman, poet, missionary, educator, prominent abolitionist. Wrote anti-slavery satires, “A Poem on the Fugitive Slave Law,” and “The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise Considered,” 1856. (Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 9, p. 554)
ROGERS, J. V., , Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39
ROGERS, John, Boston, Massachusetts, abolitionist, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Counsellor, 1840-1857.
ROGERS, Moses, New York, abolitionist, member of the New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves, founded 1785 (Basker, 2005, p. 223)
ROBINSON, James Sidney, soldier, born near Mansfield, Ohio, 14 October, 1827. He learned the printer's trade in Mansfield, and in 1846 established the Kenton “Republican,” which he edited for eighteen years. In 1856 he was secretary of the first convention of the Republican Party that was held in Ohio. He was for two sessions clerk of the state house of representatives. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the 4th Ohio Regiment, and was soon made a captain. He took part in the operations at Rich Mountain, Virginia, was promoted major in October, 1861, served under General John C. Frémont in the Shenandoah Valley, and became lieutenant-colonel in April, and colonel in August, 1862. He was engaged at the Second Battle of Bull Run, and at Cedar Mountain and Chancellorsville, and was severely wounded at Gettysburg. He commanded a brigade under General Joseph Hooker and General Alpheus S. Williams in the Atlanta Campaign and the march to the sea, was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 12 January, 1865, received the brevet of major-general on 13 March, and was mustered out on 31 August. On his return to Ohio he became chairman of the state Republican committee. In 1879 he was appointed by the governor commissioner of railroads and telegraphs. He was elected to Congress for two successive terms, serving from 5 December, 1881, till 12 January, 1885, and subsequently held the office of Secretary of State of Ohio. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 286.
ROBINSON, John Cleveland, soldier, born in Binghamton, New York, 10 April, 1817. He was appointed a cadet at the U. S. Military Academy in 1835, left a year before graduation to study law, but returned to military service in October, 1839, when he was commissioned as 2d lieutenant in the 5th U. S. Infantry. He joined the army of occupation in Texas at Corpus Christi in September, 1845, as regimental and brigade quartermaster, being promoted 1st lieutenant in June, 1846, was at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, served with distinction at Monterey, and participated in the concluding operations of the Mexican War. He was made captain in August, 1850, was engaged against hostile Indians in Texas in 1853-'4, was ordered in 1856 to Florida, where he led expeditions against the Seminoles in the Everglades and Big Cyprus Swamp, and in 1857-8 took part in the Utah Expedition. At the beginning of the Civil War he was in command at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, and prevented its capture by the insurgents by means of a successful ruse. Subsequently he was engaged in mustering volunteers at Detroit, Michigan, and Columbus, Ohio, and in September, 1861, he was appointed colonel of the 1st Michigan Volunteers. He was promoted major in the U. S. Army in February, 1862, was commissioned as brigadier-general of volunteers on 28 April, 1862, and commanded a brigade at Newport News. He was soon transferred to the Army of the Potomac, and commanded the 1st Brigade of General Philip Kearny's division. He took part in the Seven Days' Battles before Richmond, and commanded a division at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where he earned the brevet of lieutenant-colonel, U. S. Army, and in the operations at Mine Run and in the battles of the Wilderness, receiving the brevet of colonel for his services there. At Spottsylvania Court-House, while leading a gallant charge on the enemy's breastworks, he received a bullet in his left knee, necessitating amputation at the thigh. He received the brevet of major-general of volunteers on 24 June, 1864. He was unfit for further service in the field, and subsequently commanded districts in New York State, being brevetted brigadier and major-general, U. S. Army, in March, 1865, served as military commander and commissioner of the Bureau of Freedmen in North Carolina in 1866, was promoted colonel in the regular army in July, 1866, mustered out of the volunteer service on 1 September, 1866, commanded the Department of the South in 1867, and the Department of the Lakes in 1867-8, and on 6 May, 1869, was retired with the full rank of major-general. In 1872 he was elected by the Republicans lieutenant-governor of New York on the ticket with Governor John A. Dix. He was chosen commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1877 and 1878, and president of the Society of the Army of the Potomac in 1887. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 287.
ROBINSON, Lucius, governor of New York, born in Windham, Greene County, New York, 4 November, 1810. He was educated at the academy in Delhi, New York, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1832. He became district attorney, and was appointed master of chancery in New York City in 1843 and reappointed in 1845. Leaving the Democratic Party on the formation of the Republican organization, he was elected a member of the assembly in 1859 and comptroller of the state in 1861 and 1863. In 1865 he was nominated for the same office by the Democrats, but failed of election. In 1871-'2 he was a member of the constitutional commission. In 1875 he was elected comptroller by the Democrats. He was chosen governor in 1875. In 1879 he was again nominated by the Democrats for the governorship, but was not elected. One of the entrances to the Niagara Palls Park is named in his honor. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 287.
ROBINSON, William Stevens, journalist, born in Concord, Massachusetts, 7 December, 1818; died in Malden, Massachusetts, 11 March, 1876. He was educated in the public schools of Concord, learned the printer's trade, at the age of twenty became the editor and publisher of the "Yeoman's Gazette " in Concord, and was afterward assistant editor of the Lowell "Courier." He was an opponent of slavery while he adhered to the Whig Party, and when the Free-Soil Party was organized he left the "Courier," and in July, 1848, took charge of the Boston "Daily Whig." His vigorous and sarcastic editorials increased the circulation of the paper, the name of which was changed to the " Republican "; yet, after the presidential canvass was ended, Henry Wilson, the proprietor, decided to assume the editorial management and moderate the tone of his journal. Robinson next edited the Lowell "American," a Free-Soil Democratic paper, till it died for lack of support in 1853. He was a member of the legislature in 1852 and 1853. In 1856 he began to write letters for the Springfield "Republican" over the signature " Warrington," in which questions of the day and public men were discussed with such boldness and wit. that the correspondence attracted wide popular attention. This connection was continued until his death. From 1862 till 1873 he was clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. "Warrington," by his articles in the newspapers and magazines, was instrumental in defeating Benjamin F. Butler's effort to obtain the Republican nomination for governor in 1871, and in 1873 he was Butler's strongest opponent. Besides pamphlets and addresses, he published a "Manual of Parliamentary Law" (Boston, 1875). His widow published personal reminiscences from his writings entitled "Warrington Pen-Portraits," with a memoir (Boston, 1877).—His wife, Harriet Hanson, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 8 February, 1825, was one of the intellectual circle of factory-girls that composed the staff of the " Lowell Offering." She is a sister of John W. Hanson. She contributed poems to the Lowell "Courier" while Mr. Robinson was its editor, and from this introduction sprang a friendship that resulted in their marriage on 30 November, 1848. She was his assistant in his editorial work, and was as devoted as himself to the anti-slavery cause. She has also taken an active part in the woman's rights movement, and in 1888 was a member of the International council of women at Washington. 1). C. Her works include "Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement" (Boston, 1881); "Early Factory Labor in New England" (1883); and " Captain Mary Miller," a drama (1887). . Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 289-290.
ROCKINGHAM, William Beatty, soldier, born in Angelica, New York, 15 February, 1826, entered the U.S. service as major and additional paymaster of volunteers on 1 June, 1861. He was transferred to the permanent establishment as paymaster on 17 January, 1867, and on 17 February, 1882, was appointed paymaster-general of the army, with the rank of brigadier-general. See “Early History of the Rochester Family in America,” by Nathaniel Rochester (Buffalo, 1882). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 294.
ROCKWELL, Alphonso David, physician, born in New Canaan, Connecticut, 18 May, 1840. He was educated at Kenyon College and graduated in medicine at Bellevue Medical College, New York City, in 1864. Entering the army as assistant surgeon of the 6th Ohio Cavalry, he was soon promoted surgeon of brigade with the rank of major, and served through the campaigns of 1864 and 1865 in Virginia. […] Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 294-295.
ROCKWELL, Julius, jurist, born in Colebrook, Connecticut, 26 April, 1805; died in Lenox, Massachusetts, 19 May, 1888. He was graduated at Yale in 1826, studied at the law-school, was admitted to the bar in 1829, and settled in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the following year. He was elected a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1834, its speaker in 1835-'8, and then served as bank commissioner for three years. He was a representative in Congress from 2 February, 1844, till 3 March, 1851, having been elected as a Whig for four successive terms. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1853. On Edward Everett's resignation of his seat in the U. S. Senate, Mr. Rockwell was appointed to fill the vacancy, and served from 15 June, 1854, till Henry Wilson was elected by the legislature and took his seat on 10 February, 1855. He was a presidential elector on the Fremont ticket in 1856, was again elected to the state house of representatives in 1858, and was chosen speaker, which office he had held when in the legislature before. In 1859 he was appointed one of the judges of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, serving till 1871, when he resigned, ne has since resided in Lenox, Massachusetts, and been connected with various banks. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 295.
RODDEY, Philip Dale, soldier, born in North Carolina in 1818. He was for many years owner and captain of steamboats in the navigation of Tennessee River. He organized a company of scouts early in 1861 for the Confederate service, and subsequently a brigade and was commissioned brigadier-general, 31 August, 1863. His command was clothed, armed, and subsisted without cost to the Confederate government. He was one of the most successful of partisan officers, and was engaged in many of the great battles. Since 1870 he has resided chiefly in London, England. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 295-296.
RODENBOUGH, Theophilus Francis, soldier, born in Easton, Pennsylvania, 5 November, 1838. He was educated at Lafayette College, engaged in mercantile business, and on 27 March, 1861, was appointed 2d lieutenant in the 2d U.S. Dragoons. He was promoted 1st lieutenant on 14 May, was engaged at Gaines's Mills and the subsequent operations of the Peninsular Campaign of 1862, being promoted captain on 17 July, was captured at Manassas, but was immediately exchanged, and commanded a squadron in Stoneman's raid, and a regiment at Gettysburg. He was engaged in the cavalry operations of 1864, was wounded at Trevillian's Station, and again at Winchester, losing his right arm while leading his regiment in a charge. He was brevetted major for his bravery on this occasion, and lieutenant-colonel for meritorious conduct during the war, was appointed colonel of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry on 29 April, 1865, and received the brevets of brigadier-general of volunteers for services during the war, of colonel, U. S. Army, for bravery at Todd's Tavern, and of brigadier-general, U. S. Army, for gallant conduct at Cold Harbor. He was mustered out of the volunteer service on 31 October, 1865, became major of the 42d U.S. Infantry on 28 July, 1866, and was retired from active service on 15 December, 1870, on account of wounds received in the line of duty, with the full rank of colonel of cavalry. He became secretary of the Military Service Institution in 1879, and as assistant inspector-general of the state of New York in 1880–’3 was efficient in improving the militia organization. General Rodenbough is the author of “From Everglade to Cañon with the Second Dragoons” (New York, 1875); “Afghanistan and the Anglo-Russian Dispute” (1886); and “Uncle Sam's Medal of Honor” (1887). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 296.
RODES, Robert Emmett, born in Lynchburg, Virginia, 29 March, 1829; died in Winchester, Virginia, 19 September, 1864. He was graduated at Virginia Military Institute in 1848, and was professor in the institute for several years. He then moved to Mobile, Alabama, entered the Confederate Army as colonel of the 5th Alabama Infantry in 1861, and was promoted brigadier-general, 21 October, 1861, and major-general, 2 May, 1863. His brigade was composed of six Alabama regiments of infantry, in General Daniel H. Hill's division, Jackson's corps, Army of Northern Virginia. His division was composed of the brigades of Generals Doles, Daniel, and Ramseur. He was killed at the battle of Winchester. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 296.
RODGERS, John, naval officer, born in Harford County, Maryland, 8 August, 1812; died in Washington, D. C, 5 May, 1882, entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 18 April, 1828, served in the "Constellation" in the Mediterranean in 1829-'32, attended the naval school at Norfolk in 1832-'4, and became passed midshipman in the last-named year. After a year's leave, during which he attended the University of Virginia, he was in the brig " Dolphin," on the Brazil Station, in 1830-'9, and commanded the schooner "Wave" on the coast of Florida in 1839. He was commissioned lieutenant, 22 January, 1840, had charge of the schooner "Jefferson " in surveying the Florida Keys, and in hostilities with the Seminoles in 1840-'3, and was again surveying on the coast of Florida in 1849-'52. The charts and sailing directions for this coast bear witness to his faithful work. He commanded the steamer "John Hancock" and the U. S. Surveying and Exploring Expedition in the North Pacific and China Seas 1852-'5. In April, 1855, he took the "Vincennes" into the Arctic Ocean, and obtained valuable commercial and scientific information. He was commissioned commander, 14 September, 1855, and continued on special duty in connection with the report of the exploring expedition. In 1861 he was among the first to ask for duty in the Civil War, and in May, 1861, was ordered to superintend the building of the "Benton " class of western river iron-clads. In November he joined the expedition to Port Royal, where he hoisted the flag on Fort Walker after the engagement. In May, 1862, he commanded an expedition in James River, leading in the attack on Fort Darling, 15 May, 1862, during which his vessel, the " Galena," an iron-clad steamer, was hit 129 times, two thirds of his crew were killed or wounded, and all his ammunition was expended, when he withdrew. He was commissioned captain, 16 July, 1862, and in 1863 sailed in command of the monitor "Weehawken" from New York, encountering a heavy gale off the Delaware breakwater, where he declined to take refuge because he wished to test the sea-going qualities of monitors. On 17 June, 1863, he fought the powerful Confederate iron clad "Atlanta," which he captured, after an engagement of fifteen minutes, in Warsaw Sound, Georgia, during which the "Weehawken" fired only five shots. Congress gave him a formal vote of thanks for his "eminent zeal and ability," and he was promoted to commodore from 17 June, 1863, the date of his victory. He commanded the monitor "Dictator" in 1864-'5, on special service. In 1866 he took the double turret monitor "Monadnock " through the Straits of Magellan to San Francisco. He stopped at Valparaiso just before its bombardment by the Spanish, which, with General Kilpatrick, the U. S. minister, he strove to prevent. He proposed joint armed interference to the English admiral, but the latter refused to co-operate. These negotiations added to his reputation as a diplomatist. He had charge of the Boston U.S. Navy-yard in 1866-'9, was commissioned rear-admiral, 31 December, 1869, and commanded the Asiatic Fleet in 1870-'2, when he rendered great service by suppressing outrages on American commerce by the Coreans. Admiral Rodgers was commandant of Mare Island U.S. Navy-yard, California, in 1873-'7, and superintendent of the U. S. Naval Observatory at Washington from 1 May, 1877, until his death. His services at the observatory contributed to the advancement of science, and under his administration Professor Asaph Hall discovered the moons of Mars. Admiral Rodgers was also successful in his efforts to have a new site selected for a future observatory. He was president of the transit of Venus Commission. In 1863 he had been one of the fifty corporate members of the National Academy of Sciences that were named by Congress in that year. On 23 June, 1878, he was elected to succeed Professor Joseph Henry as chairman of the Light-House Board, and personally superintended and participated in experiments in optics and acoustics to improve the service. His able counsels were in constant demand on advisory boards, especially for reconstructing the navy, and for the “Jeannette” relief expedition, for which his personal knowledge of the Polar Sea was valuable. See a memoir by Professor J. Russell Soley, U.S. Navy privately, Annapolis, 1882). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 296-297.
RODGERS, Christopher Raymond Perry, naval officer, born in Brooklyn, New York, 14 November, 1819, was appointed a midshipman on 5 October, 1833, and while serving on the schooner “Flirt" in 1839 and in command of the schooner “Phoenix” in 1840–’1, was actively engaged in the Seminole War. He was promoted lieutenant on 4 September, 1844, was engaged in blockading the coast of Mexico in 1847, and was in the trenches at the siege of Vera Cruz and the capture of Tabasco and Tuspan. In 1856–’7 he commanded the steamer “Bibb " and the schooner “Gallatin” in the coast survey. He was commissioned as commander on 15 October, 1861, and served with distinction on the “Wabash,” and as fleet-captain of Rear-Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont's fleet at the battle of Port Royal and in command of the naval force in the trenches at the capture of Fort Pulaski. He directed the movements of a fleet of gun-boats that was engaged in occupying strategic points on the coast south of Port Royal, commanding an expedition to St. Augustine and up St. Mary's River in March, 1862, and was fleet-captain in the “New Ironsides” in the attack of 7 April, 1863, on the defences of Charleston and in the subsequent operations of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, till in the autumn of 1863 he was assigned to the command of the steam sloop “Iroquois,” in which he was employed on special service till the end of the war. He was commissioned as captain on 25 July, 1866, commanded the “Franklin " in the Mediterranean in 1868–70, became a commodore on 28 August, 1870, was on special service in Europe in 1871, then chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks till 1874, was commissioned as rear-admiral on 14 June, 1874, and was superintendent of the Naval Academy, except in 1878–80, when he commanded the naval forces in the Pacific, until on 14 November, 1881, he was placed on the retired list. Rear-Admiral Rodgers presided over the international conference at Washington in 1885 for the purpose of fixing a prime meridian and universal day. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 298.
RODGERS, George Washington, naval officer, born in Brooklyn, New York, 30 October, 1822; died off Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, 17 August, 1863, entered the Navy as midshipman, 30 April, 1836, became passed midshipman, 1 July, 1842, and was in the steamer “Colonel Harney” and the frigate “John Adams” during the Mexican War, at Vera Cruz, Tuspan, Alvarado, and other points on the Gulf Coast, where he served as acting master from 4 November, 1846. He was on the U.S. Coast Survey in 1849–50, was commissioned lieutenant, 4 June, 1850, cruised in the “Germantown" on the home station in 1851–’3, and was at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1861–2. In April, 1861, he saved the “Constitution” from a threatened attack by secessionists at Annapolis, and took the Naval Academy to Newport, Rhode Island. He was commissioned commander, 16 January, 1862, and in October commanded the monitor “Catskill,” in which he participated in the attacks on Charleston. On 7 April, 1863, he impetuously took her almost under the walls of Fort Sumter. Admiral Dahlgren appointed him chief of staff, 4 July, 1863, and, still commanding the “Catskill,” he was distinguished by the cool and deliberate manner in which he fought his ship. In the attack on Fort Wagner, 17 August, 1863, he took command of his vessel as usual, and while in the pilot-house he was instantly killed by a shot that struck the top of the house and broke it in. It was of Commander Rodgers that Miles O'Reilly wrote one of his most admired stanzas: “Ah me! George Rodgers lies With dim and dreamless eyes, He has fairly won the prize of the striped and starry shroud.” Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 298.
RODMAN, Isaac Peace, soldier, born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, 18 August, 1822; died in Sharpsburg, Maryland, 30 September, 1862. He received a common-school education, entered into partnership with his father, and became a prominent woollen-manufacturer. He sat in both houses of the legislature for several terms. At the first call for troops in 1861 he raised a company, which was incorporated in the 2d Rhode Island Regiment, and was engaged at Bull Run. For gallantry in that action he was made lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Rhode Island Volunteers, 25 October, 1861, and soon afterward was promoted colonel. He served with great credit at Roanoke Island and New Berne, and in the capture of Fort Macon, and in July, 1862, was commissioned as brigadier-general of volunteers, to date from 28 April. At the Antietam he commanded the 3d Division of the 9th Corps, and was mortally wounded while leading a charge. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 298.
RODMAN, Thomas Jefferson, soldier, born in Salem, Indiana, 30 July, 1815; died in Rock Island, Illinois, 7 June, 1871. He was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1841, assigned to the Ordnance Department, and served at Alleghany Arsenal till 1848, going to Richmond, Virginia, in 1845 to prepare machinery for testing gun-metal and supervise the manufacture of cannon, and to Boston in September, 1846, for the purpose of experimenting with Colonel George Bomford's columbiads of 12-inch calibre. He invented a method of casting guns on a hollow core, through which a stream of cold water is kept running, greatly improving their tenacity. In 1847 he supervised the manufacture of columbiads on this system at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. During the Mexican War he served as ordnance officer at Camargo and Point Isabel Depots. Returning to Alleghany Arsenal, he continued his experiments. He was in command of the arsenal in 1854, and of the one at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1855-'6. Although columbiads made by his method showed greater power of resistance than those that were cast solid, yet they failed under severe tests, and, as the result of a series of experiments at Pittsburg in 1850, he recommended that no more guns of large calibre should be made of that pattern. In 1857-'8 he experimented with a pressure-gauge of his invention, consisting of a piston working in a hole bored into the wall of a gun and acting on an indenting tool, for the purpose of determining the pressure in the bore at different points. He devised a new form of columbiad which was determined on the hypothesis that the pressure is inversely as the square root of the space behind the shot. The first 15-inch Rodman gun was completed in May, 1860. In the trials, mammoth (or very large-grained) powder, and powder in perforated cakes, were also tested, and in the following year the mammoth powder was adopted for heavy ordnance. The perforated cake powder for rifled cannon of large calibre was at once adopted by the Russian government, which obtained specimens from Fortress Monroe in 1860, and soon afterward came into use in Prussia, and more recently the military authorities in England decided on using the mammoth powder, there called pebble powder, in their big rifled guns. Rodman, who had reached the grade of captain of ordnance on 1 July, 1855, and was promoted major on 1 June, 1863, was in command of Watertown Arsenal during the Civil War, being detached at intervals for various services, especially to supervise the manufacture and trials of 12-inch rifled and 20-inch smooth-bore cannon. Many sound 15-inch Rodman guns were made during the war for the monitors and the forts along the coast. The method of casting about a hollow core and cooling the metal from the inside was applied to shells as well as to cannon, and from 27 September, 1864, he was engaged in supervising the manufacture of ordnance and projectiles by this method. He originated the idea of making heavy guns without preponderance at the breech, on which plan all the heavy cast-iron cannon were subsequently constructed in the United States. In March, 1865, he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general for his services in the Ordnance Department. He was placed in command at Rock Island on 4 August, 1865, and promoted lieutenant-colonel on 7 March. 1867, served on various boards for testing inventions in fire-arms, and at the time of his death was engaged in completing the arsenal at Rock Island, which was constructed at his suggestion and under his superintendence. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 298-299.
ROE, Edward Payson, author, born in Moodna, New Windsor, Orange County, New York, 7 March, 1838; died in Cornwall, New York, 19 July, 1888. He was educated at Williams, but not graduated, owing to an affection of the eyes. In after years the college gave him the degree of B. A. He studied at Auburn and at Union Theological Seminary. New York City, and in 1862 became a chaplain in the volunteer service, where he remained till October. 1865. He then became pastor of a Presbyterian Church at Highland Falls, New York, where his lectures on topics connected with the Civil War, to raise funds for a new church, first brought him into notice as a successful speaker. He visited the ruins of Chicago after the great fire, and wrote " Barriers Burned Away," a novel, which was published as a serial in the New York " Evangelist," and afterward appeared in book-form (New York, 1872). Of the cheap edition (1882), 87,500 copies were sold. The great success of his book, together with impaired health, induced Mr. Roe to resign his pastorate… Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 302.
ROE, Francis Asbury, naval officer, born in Elmira, New York, 4 October, 1823. He entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 19 October, 1841, and was at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1847-'8. He left the service for eleven months from June, 1848. In 1851-'2 he served in the mail-steamer "Georgia," on the New York and West India Line. He was attached to the brig "Porpoise" in the North Pacific Exploring Expedition. He was commissioned master, 8 August, 1855, and lieutenant, 14 September, 1855. In 18578 he served in the U.S. Coast Survey. In 1862 he was executive officer of the "Pensacola" in Farragut's squadron, and, on account of the illness of his commanding officer, took charge of the ship in passing Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. He was commissioned lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, had charge of the steamer " Katahdin " in 1862-'3 in the operations on Mississippi River, defeated General John C. Breckinridge's attack on Baton Rouge, and assisted in the destruction of the Confederate ram "Arkansas," 7 August, 1862. In 1864 he commanded the steamer " Sassacus " in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and captured and destroyed several blockade runners in the sounds of North Carolina, and co-operated in the defeat of the Confederate iron-clad ram "Albemarle," 5 May, 1864. In this engagement Roe gallantly rammed the iron-clad, which then fired a 100-pound rifle-shell through the "Sassacus," killing and scalding many of the crew by exploding in the boiler. In the confusion that was caused by escaping steam. Roe skilfully handled his ship and compelled the "Albemarle's "consort, the "Bombshell," to surrender. After the war he commanded the steamer " Michigan" on the lakes in 1864-'6. He was commissioned commander, 25 July, 1866, and in 1866-'7 commanded the steamer "Tacony" on a special mission to Mexico. His firmness as senior officer prevented a bombardment of Vera Cruz. On 8 August, 1867, he was detached, and in recognition of his services was ordered as fleet-captain of the Asiatic Station, where he served until December. 1871. He was commissioned captain, 1 April, 1872, and was attached to the Boston U.S. Navy-yard in 1872-'3. His last cruise was in command of the " Lancaster" on the Brazil Station in 1873-5. He was attached to the naval station at New London in 1875-'6, on special duty at Washington in 1879-'80, and promoted to commodore, 26 November. 1880. In 1883-4 he was governor of the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia. He was commissioned rear-admiral, 3 November, 1884, and placed on the retired list, 4 October, 1885. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 302-303.
ROEBLING, John Augustus (ray'-bling), civil engineer, born in Muhlhausen, Prussia, 12 June, 1806; died in Brooklyn, New York, 22 July, 1869. He was graduated at the Royal Polytechnic School in Berlin with the degree of C. E. in 1826, paid special attention to suspension-bridges during his course, and wrote his graduating thesis on this subject. After spending the three years required by law in government service, during which time he was engaged chiefly as an assistant on the construction of military roads in Westphalia, he came to the United States. He settled near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, and determined to build a village of frontiersmen. The various systems of canal improvements and slackwater navigation were then in course of development, and to these his services were attracted. Later his attention was given to new railroad enterprises. One of his earliest engagements was in surveying the lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad across the Alleghany Mountains from Harrisburg to Pittsburg. He then entered upon the manufacture of iron and steel wire, from which he gained the valuable knowledge of the nature, capabilities, and requirements of wire that enabled him to revolutionize the construction of bridges. The first, specimens of that wire that was ever produced in the United States were made by him, and his belief in its efficacy for bridge-construction was soon put to the test. During the winter of 1844-'5 he had charge of the building of a wooden aqueduct across the Alleghany River at Pittsburg, and proposed that it should consist of a wooden trunk to hold the water, supported on each side by a continuous wire cable seven inches in diameter. In spite of ridicule from the engineering profession, he succeeded in completing his bridge, which comprised seven spans, each of 162 feet. His next undertaking was the construction in 1846 of a suspension-bridge over Monongahela River at Pittsburg. In 1848 he built four similar works on the line of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. On the completion of these bridges he settled in Trenton, New Jersey, whither he moved his wire-manufactory. In 1851 he was called to build a suspension-bridge across the Niagara River to connect the New York Central Railroad with the Canadian Railway systems. This structure, the first of the great suspension bridges with which his name is connected, was built in four years, and, when it was finished, was regarded as one of the wonders of the world. It was the first suspension-bridge that was capable of bearing the weight of railroad-trains. The span was 825 feet clear, and it was supported by four 10-inch cables. His next undertaking was a wire cable bridge for common travel over Alleghany River at Pittsburg, which is considered one of the best pieces of bridge engineering in existence. In 1856 he began the building of the great bridge between Cincinnati and Covington, but the work was not finished until 1867. Its success showed engineers throughout the country that the problem of suspension-bridge making was solved upon a principle that could not be superseded. According to General John G. Barnard, "to Mr. Roebling must be conceded the claim of practically establishing the sufficiency of the suspension principle for railroad bridges and of developing the manner of their construction." His eminent success in this line of work led in 1868 to his being chosen chief engineer of the East River Bridge, connecting Brooklyn and New York. He at once prepared plans for the structure, which received the approval of the National authorities, and in 1869 the company for the construction of the bridge was duly organized and work was at once begun. While he was making observations his foot was crushed between the piling and rack of one of the ferry-slips during the abrupt entry of a ferry-boat. Mr. Roebling was then moved to his residence, but, in spite of medical skill, his death occurred from lockjaw sixteen days later. Mr. Roebling published "Long and Short Span Railway Bridges" (New York, 1869). —His son, Washington Augustus, civil engineer, born in Saxenburg, Pennsylvania, 26 May, 1837, was graduated as a civil engineer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1857, and began his professional work at once under his father on the Alleghany Suspension-Bridge. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in the 6th New York Artillery, and served a year with that battery in the Army of the Potomac. In 1862 he was transferred to the staff of General Irvin McDowell, and assigned to various engineering duties, notably the construction of a suspension-bridge across Rappahannock River. Later he served on General John Pope's staff, and was present at South Mountain, Antietam, and the campaign that ended in the second battle of Bull Run, during which time he built a suspension-bridge across Shenandoah River at Harper’s Ferry. He was also engaged on balloon duty, and was in the habit of ascending every morning in order to reconnoiter the Confederate Army. By this means he discovered, and was the first to announce, the fact that General Lee was moving toward Pennsylvania. From August, 1863, till March, 1864, he was attached to the 2d Corps, serving on engineering duty and then on staff duty with the 5th Corps during the overland campaign. He attained the rank of major on 20 April, 1864, also receiving three brevets, including that of colonel, and resigned in January, 1865. Colonel Roebling then assisting his father on the Cincinnati and Covington Bridge, of which he had almost the entire charge. He then went abroad to study pneumatic foundations before sinking those of the East River bridge, to the charge of which he was called on the death of his father, but before any of the details had been decided on. In 1869 he settled in Brooklyn, and gave his attention almost exclusively to the sinking of the caissons. His devotion to the work, with the fact that he spent more hours of the twenty-four in the compressed air of the caissons than anyone else, led to an attack of caisson fever early in 1872. He soon rallied and resumed his work, but he was so weak that he was unable to leave his room. Nevertheless, he prepared the most minute and exact directions for making the cables, and for the erection of all the complicated parts of the superstructure. In 1873 he was compelled to give up work entirely, and spent several months in Europe, but on his return he resumed charge of the bridge, which he held until ... its completion in 1883. The structure he built, which is the longest suspension-bridge in the world, cost about $13,000,000. The picture shows it before completion. Its total length, including approaches, is 5,989 feet, of which the middle span takes up 1,596 feet, while the length of the suspended structure from anchorage to anchorage is 3,456 feet. He has since spent his time in directing the wire business in Trenton, New Jersey, and in the recuperation of his health. Besides various pamphlets on professional subjects, he is the author of “Military Suspension-Bridges” (Washington, 1862). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 303-304.
ROGERS, Fairman, civil engineer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 15 November, 1833. He was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1853, and two years later became professor of civil engineering, which chair he held until 1870, also lecturing on mechanics in the Franklin Institute from 1853 till 1865. Professor Rogers served as a volunteer in the National Cavalry in 1861, and then became a volunteer officer in the U. S. Engineers. Under the auspices of the U. S. Coast Survey in 1862 he completed the survey of Potomac River northward from Blakiston Island. In 1871 he was elected a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and he is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and of the American Philosophical Society. He was one of the original members of the National Academy of Sciences, and has served on its committees and its council. Among his more important scientific papers are " Combinations of Mechanism Representing Mental Processes" (1874); "Notes on Grant's Difference Engine" (1874); and "Terrestrial Magnetism and the Magnetism of Iron Ships" (New York, 1883). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 305.
ROGERS, George Clarke, soldier, born in Piermont, Grafton County, New Hampshire, 22 November, 1838. He was educated in Vermont and Illinois, whither he moved in early life, began the study of the law while teaching, and was admitted to the bar in 1860. He earnestly supported Stephen A. Douglas during the presidential canvass of 1860, in which he made a reputation as an extemporaneous speaker. He was the first to raise a company in Lake County, Illinois, at the opening of the Civil War, became 1st lieutenant, 24 May, 1861, and soon afterward captain. At the battle of Shiloh he received four wounds, but refused to leave the field, and led his regiment in the final charge. He was at once promoted to lieutenant-colonel for his gallant conduct, and soon afterward was commissioned colonel for gallantry at the battle of the Hatchie. At Champion Hills he received three wounds, from one of which he has never fully recovered. To the engineering skill of Colonel Rogers were due the works at Allatoona, Georgia, where General John M. Corse (g. v.) checked General Hood in his flank movement after the capture of Atlanta. He commanded a brigade nearly two years, including the Atlanta Campaign, and on 13 March, 1805, was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers. He has practised law in Illinois and Kansas since the war, and was three times a delegate to National Democratic Conventions. He was made chairman of the board of pension appeals on 15 June, 1885. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 305.
ROGERS, Henry J., inventor, born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1811; died there, 20 August, 1879. He devised the code of signals by means of flags that is known by his name, which was adopted by the United States Navy in 1846 and modified in 1861. Mr. Rogers also devised a code of signals by means of colored lights, which was the first pyrotechnic system in the United States. He was one of the practical advisers of Samuel F. B. Morse in the construction of the first electro-magnetic recording telegraph-line in the United States which was established in 1844 between Washington and Baltimore. When the experiment had reached a successful issue he was appointed superintendent of the line, with his office in Baltimore, and there made numerous improvements in the system. Subsequently he invented several important telegraphic instruments, and he was one of the incorporators, on 15 March, 1845, of the Magnetic Telegraph Company. the first telegraph company in the United States. He was associated in 1848 in the incorporation of the American Telegraph Company, and had charge of its lines from Boston to New York. Mr. Rogers was its first superintendent, and was likewise superintendent of the Western Union, Bankers and Brokers', and Southern and Atlantic Lines. During the Civil War he was acting master in the volunteer navy, and he afterward returned to Baltimore, where he spent the remaining years of his life. Mr. Rogers published “Telegraph Dictionary and Seaman's Signal-Book” (Baltimore, 1845); “American Semaphoric Signal Book " (1847); “American Code of Marine Signals" (1854); and, with Walter F. Larkins, edited “Rogers's Commercial Code of Signals for all Nations” (1859). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 305-306.
ROGERS, Horatio, lawyer, born in Providence, Rhode Island, 18 May, 1836. His grandfather, John Rogers, and two of his great-uncles, were officers in the Revolution. The grandson was graduated at Brown in 1855, admitted to the bar, served with great credit during the Civil War, and was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, 13 March, 1865. General Rogers has served for several years as attorney-general of Rhode Island. He is a prolific newspaper and magazine writer, and has delivered several orations on public occasions, the most notable being at the unveiling of the equestrian statue of General Burnside in Providence, Rhode Island, 4 July, 1887. He also published “The Private Libraries of Providence” (Providence, 1878), and annotated and published the “Journal of Lieutenant James M. Hadden, Chief of the English Artillery during the Burgoyne Campaign” (Albany, 1884), the prefatory chapter and the notes to which work are characterized by great research. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 306.
ROGERS, John, sculptor, born in Salem, Massachusetts, 30 October, 1829. He received his education at the Boston High-School, and afterward worked, first in a dry-goods store and later in a machine-shop, at Manchester, New Hampshire. While at this latter place his attention was first drawn to sculpture, and he began to model in clay in his leisure hours. In 1856 he sought work in Hannibal, Missouri, and in 1858 he visited Europe. On his return in 1859 he went to Chicago, where he modelled, for a charity fair, "The Checker-Players," a group in clay, which attracted much attention. He produced also some other groups, but " The Slave Auction," which was exhibited in New York in 1860, first brought him to the notice of the general public. This was the forerunner of the well-known war series of statuettes (1860-'5), which included, among others, the "Picket Guard," " One more Shot" (1864)," Taking the Oath and drawing Rations" (1865), and " Union Refugees," "Wounded Scout." and "Council of War" (1867-'8). His works on social subjects, most of which have been produced since the war. have also been very popular. Among these are " Coming to the Parson" (1870); "Checkers up at the Farm"; "The Charity Patient"; "Fetching the Doctor"; and "Going for the Cows" (1873). He has produced also several statuettes in illustration of passages in the poets, particularly Shakespeare. They include "Ha! I like not that,'' from "Othello "; "Is it so nominated in the Bond from the "Merchant of Venice" (1880); "Why don't You speak for Yourself" from " Miles Standish "; and a series of three groups illustrating Irving's " Rip Van Winkle " (1870). These statuette groups, about fifty in number, and each from eighteen to twenty inches in height, have nearly all been reproduced in composition, and have had large sides. He has been most successful in illustrating every-day life in its humorous and pathetic aspects, and " Rogers's Groups" have had a large share in elevating the artistic taste of the masses. Mr. Rogers has also executed an equestrian statue of General John F. Reynolds (1881—'3), which stands before the City-hall, Philadelphia, and in 1887 he exhibited "Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman," a bronze group. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 308.
ROGERS, Nathaniel Peabody, 1794-1846, Concord, New Hampshire, newspaper publisher, editor, writer, abolitionist. Established early anti-slavery newspaper, Herald of Freedom, in Concord, New Hampshire. He edited the paper from 1838-1846. Participated in the New Hampshire Anti-Slavery Society. Served as a Manager of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), 1837-1840, 1842-1844. Rogers attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. Wrote anti-slavery articles. His articles were reprinted in the New York Tribune under the pen name Old Man of the Mountain. Supported the women’s rights movement. (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 309; The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. II. New York: James T. White, 1892, p. 320)
ROGERS, Nathaniel Peabody, editor, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 3 June, 1794; died in Concord, New Hampshire, 16 October, 1846. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1816, and practised law until 1838, when he established in Concord, N. R., the “Herald of Freedom,” a pioneer anti-slavery newspaper. He also wrote for the New York “Tribune” under the signature of “The Old Man of the Mountain.” His fugitive writings were published, with a memoir, by the Reverend John Pierpont (Concord, 1847). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 309.
ROGERS, Randolph, sculptor, born in Waterloo, near Auburn, New York, 6 July, 1825. Until the age of twenty-three he was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in New York City. He then went to Italy and studied with Lorenzo Bartolini, at Rome, from 1848 till 1850. On his return he opened a studio in New York, where he remained until 1855. In that year he returned to Italy, where he has resided since that time. Among his earlier works are " Ruth," an ideal bust (1851); "Nydia" (1856); "Boy Skating," "Isaac," full length, and the statue of John Adams, in Mt. Auburn cemetery (1857). One of 'his best-known works, the bas-reliefs on the doors of the capitol at Washington, representing scenes in the life of Columbus, was designed in 1858, and cast in bronze at Munich. In 1861 he completed the Washington monument at Richmond, which had been left unfinished by Thomas Crawford, adding the statues of Marshall, Mason, and Nelson, for which Crawford had made no design, as well as some allegorical figures. His other works include "Angel of the Resurrection," on the monument of Colonel Samuel Colt, Hartford, Connecticut (1861-2); "Isaac," an ideal bust (1865); memorial monuments for Cincinnati (1863-'4), Providence (1871), Detroit (1872), and Worcester, Massachusetts (1874); "Lost Pleiad" (1875); "Genius of Connecticut," on the capitol at Hartford (1877); and an equestrian group of Indians, in bronze (1881). He has also executed portrait statues of Abraham Lincoln, for Philadelphia (1871), and William H. Seward, for New York (1876). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 309.
ROLLINS, Edward Henry, 1824-1889. Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire. Served in Congress July 1861-March 1867. U.S. Senator 1877-1883. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 312-313; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 2, p. 120; Annals of Congress; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 18, p. 787; Congressional Globe)
ROLLINS, Edward Henry, senator, born in Somersworth (now Rollinsford), New Hampshire, 3 October, 1824. Several of his ancestors, who were among the first settlers of New Hampshire, served in the Revolutionary army, and his great-grandfather, Ichabod, was an active patriot and a member of the state convention that resolved itself into an independent government on 5 January, 1776. His name was given to the portion of Somersworth in which he resided. Edward Henry was educated in Dover, New Hampshire, and South Berwick, Maine, became a druggist's clerk in Concord and Boston, and subsequently entered business there on his own account. In 1855-'7 he was a member of the legislature, serving in the last year as speaker, and he was chairman of the New Hampshire delegation to the National Republican Convention of 1860. He served in Congress from 4 July, 1861, till 3 March, 1867, and was a firm opponent of the measure that was adopted in July, 1864, doubling the land-grant of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, and making the government security a first instead of a second mortgage upon the road. From 1868 till 1876 he was secretary and treasurer of the company, and from 4 March, 1877, till 4 March, 1883, he was U. S. Senator. He was a founder of the First National Bank in Concord, is an owner of Fort George Island, Florida, arid is now (1888) president of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad Company. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 312-313.
ROMAN, Andrew Bienvenue, governor of Louisiana, born in Opelousas, Louisiana, 5 March, 1785; died in New Orleans, Louisiana, 26 January, 1866. His ancestors emigrated from Provence, France. After his graduation at St. Mary's College, Maryland. in 1815, he settled as a sugar planter in St. James's Parish, and represented it many years in the legislature, of which he was speaker for four terms, and parish judge in 1826-'8. He was governor of Louisiana in 1831-'5, and again in 1839-'41. and during his administration founded Jefferson College, cleared the state water-courses of rafts, and formed a company to drain the swamp lands around New Orleans and protect it from overflow. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1845, and was sent to Europe in 1848 as agent of a financial company. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1852, and of the Secession Convention of 1861. He had been a Whig in politics throughout his career, and used all his influence to prevent disunion. With John Forsyth and Martin J. Crawford he was appointed by the Confederate Provisional Congress to confer with the U. S. government in Washington for the purpose of securing a peaceable separation. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 313.
RONCKENDORFF, William, naval officer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 9 November, 1812. He entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 17 February, 1832, became passed midshipman. 23 June, 1838, was commissioned lieutenant, 28 June, 1843, and in June, 1845, was bearer of despatches to the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Squadron, with which he served during the Mexican War. He was in the "Savannah " at the capture and occupation of Monterey and points on the coast of California, and returned to New York in September, 1847. He commanded the steamer " M. W. Chapin " in the Paraguay Expedition of 1859 and on Coast Survey duty in 1860, was commissioned commander. 29 June, 1861, and had charge of the steamer "Water Witch" from 1 March till 12 October, 1861, in the Gulf Squadron. On 27 December, 1861, he took command of the steamer "San Jacinto," with which he was present in Hampton Roads to fight the " Merrimac," and participated in the attack on Sewell's Point, 15 May, 1862, and in the capture of Norfolk on 18 May. He was in the " Ticonderoga," searching for privateers in 1863, and in February, 1864, he commanded the monitor " Monadnock " in operations in James River until the evacuation of Richmond, when he cruised to Havana in search of the " Stonewall." In July, 1865, he was transferred to the monitor "Tonawanda." He was commissioned captain, 27 September, 1866, and was at Philadelphia until 1 October, 1870, when he took charge of the iron-clads at New Orleans until 8 April, 1872. He commanded the steamer "Canandaigua," of the North Atlantic Squadron, in 1872-'3, was promoted to commodore, 12 September, 1874, and was placed on the retired list on 9 November, 1874, by reason of his age. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 316.
ROOT, David, 1790-1873, Dover, New Hampshire, clergyman, abolitionist. Manager, American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), 1835-1840. (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 319)
ROOT, David, clergyman born in Pomfret, Vermont, in 1790; died in Chicago, Illinois, 30 August, 1873. He was graduated at Middlebury in 1816, entered the ministry, and was pastor successively of Presbyterian churches in Georgia and Cincinnati, Ohio, and of the Congregational Church in Dover, New Hampshire. In the latter city he identified himself with the Anti-Slavery Party, which he served with such devotion that he suffered persecution both there and in Waterbury, Connecticut, whence he subsequently moved. He then held pastorates in Guilford and New Haven, Connecticut, till 1852, when he retired. He gave $10,000 to endow a professorship in Beloit College, Wisconsin, $20,000 to Yale Theological Seminary, and $5,000 to the American Missionary Society. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 319.
ROOT, Joseph Pomeroy, 1826-1885, physician, politician, abolitionist. Leader of the Kansas Free State movement. Elected to Territorial State Senate under the Topeka Convention. Later elected Lieutenant Governor of Kansas. (Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 1, p. 150)
ROSE, Ernestine Louise, 1810-1892, born in Russia Poland as Ernestine Louise Polowsky. Feminist and women’s rights activist, abolitionist. Lectured on abolition, women’s rights/suffrage/human rights/equality. Married to Robert Owen. (Kolmerten, 1999)
ROPES, John Codman, author, born in St. Petersburg, Russia, 28 April. 1836. His father, a merchant, resided in St. Petersburg in 1832-'7. The son was graduated at Harvard in 1857 and at the law-school in 1801, and since has practised his profession. Mr. Ropes has taken much interest in military history. He has contributed to the publications of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts and to periodicals, and is the author of "The Army under Pope," in "Campaigns of the Civil War "'(New York, 1881). and "The First Napoleon, a Sketch, Political and Military" (1885). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 320.
ROSE, Ernestine Louise Lasmond Potowsky, reformer, born in Peterkoff, Poland, 18 January, 1810. She was born of Jewish parentage, but early abandoned that creed. In 1829 she visited England, became a disciple of Robert Dale Owen, and soon afterward married William E. Rose. In 1836 she came to New York and circulated the first petition for the property rights of married women, there being in 1837 a bill pending in the New York legislature on this subject. Mrs. Rose lectured in the chief cities of the United States, and was a delegate from the National Woman Suffrage Association to the Woman's Industrial Congress in Berlin on 9 November, 1869. Later she attended all of the woman's-rights conventions, and she has repeatedly addressed legislative assemblies. She has lived for some time in France and England, and frequently speaks on religious topics, temperance, and the enfranchisement of women. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 322.
ROSE, Thomas Ellwood, soldier, born in Bucks County. Pennsylvania, 12 March, 1830. He was educated in the common schools, entered the National army as a private in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment in April, 1861, became captain in the 77th Pennsylvania in October of the same year, was engaged at Shiloh, the siege and battles of Corinth and Murfreesboro', became colonel in January, 1863, and fought at Liberty Gap and Chickamauga, where he was taken prisoner. He escaped at Weldon, North Carolina, was retaken the next day, and sent to Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, on 1 October, 1863. He almost immediately began preparations to escape. With the aid of Major Archibald G. Hamilton, of the 12th Kentucky Cavalry, he cut a hole in the solid masonry of the kitchen fire-place large enough to admit a man's body into the cellar below, their only implements being a broken jack-knife and an old chisel found in the prison, and their time of working between the hours of 10 p. m. and 4 a. m. This having been completed, a working-party of fifteen men was organized, under the command of Colonel Rose, who undertook the most dangerous and arduous part of the task. They cut through the stone wall of the cellar, and dug a tunnel fifty feet long through an earthen embankment, emerging at a point where the sentry could not see them, whence they found easy access to the street. This work occupied nearly three months, and during much of the time Colonel Rose and Major Hamilton worked alone. On the night of 9 February, 1864, the tunnel was completed, and 109 soldiers escaped, of whom 48 were retaken, including Colonel Rose. Rose was suffering from a broken ankle, and was in sight of the National lines when he was recaptured. He was again confined in Libby Prison, but left there on 30 April, 1864, and was ordered to Columbus, Ohio, where he was formally exchanged on 20 May, 1864, rejoined his regiment, and served with it from 6 June, 1864, until the close of the war, participating in the engagements around Atlanta and in the battles of Columbia, Franklin, and Nashville. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers "for gallant and meritorious service during the Civil War" on 22 July, 1865, and major and lieutenant-colonel in the regular army on 2 March, 1867, for Liberty Gap and Chickamauga. He became captain in the 11th U.S. Infantry in 1866, and in 1870 was transferred to the 16th Infantry. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 323.
ROSECRANS, William Starke, soldier, born in Kingston. Ohio, 6 September, 1819. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1842, standing fifth in his class, and entered the Corps of Engineers as brevet 2d lieutenant. He served for a year as assistant engineer in the construction of fortification at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and then returned to the Military Academy, where he remained until 1847 as assistant professor, first of natural and experimental philosophy, and then of engineering. Subsequently he served as superintending engineer in the repairs of Fort Adams, Rhode Island, on surveys of Taunton River and New Bedford Harbor, improvements of Providence and Newport Harbors, and at the Washington U.S. Navy-yard until 1 April, 1854, when he resigned, after attaining the rank of 1st lieutenant. He then established himself in Cincinnati as an architect and civil engineer. In 1855 he took charge of the Cannel Coal Company, Coal River, West Virginia, becoming also in 1856 president of the Coal River Navigation Company, and in 1857 he organized the Preston Coal-Oil Company, manufacturing kerosene. At the beginning of the Civil War he volunteered as aide to General George B. McClellan, who was then commanding the Department of the Ohio, and assisted in organizing and equipping home-guards. He was appointed chief engineer of Ohio, with the rank of colonel, on 9 June, 1861, and on 10 June was made colonel of the 23d Ohio Volunteers. Soon after organizing Camp Chase, at Columbus, Ohio, he received a commission as brigadier-general in the regular army, to date from 16 May, 1861; he took the field with command of a provisional brigade under General McClellan in western Virginia. His first important action was that of Rich Mountain, which he won on 11 July, 1861. After General McClellan's call to higher command, Rosecrans succeeded him, on 25 July, in the Department of the Ohio, which consisted of western Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. He had command of the National forces, and defeated General John B. Floyd at Carnifex Ferry, 10 September, 1861, and thwarted all Lee's attempts to gain a footing in western Virginia. These services were recognized by unanimous votes of thanks of the legislatures of Ohio and West Virginia, and in May he was ordered to report to General Henry W. Halleck, before Corinth, and given command of General Eleazar A. Paine's and General David Stanley's divisions in the Army of the Mississippi, with which he participated in the siege of Corinth. He succeeded General John Pope in the command of the Army of the Mississippi, and with four brigades fought the battle of Iuka on 19 September, where he defeated General Sterling Price, after which he returned to Corinth, where, anticipating an attack, he fortified the town, and on 3 and 4 October defeated the Confederate army under General Earl Van Dorn and General Sterling Price, which he pursued for forty miles when he was recalled. On 25 Oct: he was sent to Cincinnati, where he found orders awaiting him to supersede General Don Carlos Buell, and was made commander of the Department of the Cumberland, which was to consist of whatever territory south of the Cumberland he should wrest from the enemy. This command he held from 27 October, 1862, till 19 October, 1863, and during that time conducted a campaign remarkable for brilliant movements and heavy fighting. After reorganizing his army and providing twenty days' rations at Nashville, he advanced on the Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg, on Stone River, 30 December, 1862. On the following morning the Confederates attacked the right wing of the National army and drove it back, while the left wing engaged the Confederate right. Meanwhile Rosecrans was obliged to re-enforce his right, and personally directed the reformation of the wing, thereby saving it from rout, although not without very hard fighting, in which both sides lost heavily. Two days later the battle was renewed by a furious assault on the National lines, but after a sharp contest the enemy was driven back with heavy loss. Unwilling to engage in a general action, the Confederate Army retreated to the line of Duck River, and the Army of the Cumberland occupied Murfreesboro’. This battle was one of the bloodiest in the war, and resulted in a loss of 9,511 by the National forces and 9,236 by the Confederates. As soon as Vicksburg was beyond the reach of possible succor from Bragg, by a brilliant flank movement Rosecrans dislodged him from his intrenched camps at Shelbyville and Tullahoma, and in fifteen days, 24 June to 7 July, 1863, drove him out of middle Tennessee. As soon as the railway was repaired, he occupied Bridgeport and Stevenson. From 7 July till 14 August railway bridges and trestles were rebuilt, the road and rolling-stock put in order, supplies pushed forward, and demonstrations made to conceal the point of crossing Tennessee River. From 14 August till 1 September he crossed the Cumberland mountains and the Tennessee River, and, threatening Bragg's communications, compelled him to withdraw from impregnable Chattanooga, 9 September, and retire behind the Chickamauga until General Joseph E. Longstreet's arrival with his corps. Rosecrans concentrated his forces with the utmost despatch to meet the inevitable combat. The battle was opened on the 19th by an attempt to gain possession of the road to Chattanooga, continued through the day, and resulted in Rosecrans defeating the attempt and planting General George H. Thomas's corps, re-enforced by General Richard W. Johnson's and General John M. Palmer's divisions, firmly upon that road; but during the night Longstreet came up, and was immediately given command of the Confederate left. On the following morning the contest was renewed by a determined attack on the National left and centre. At this moment, by the misinterpretation of an order. General Thomas J. Wood's division was withdrawn, leaving a ga in the centre, into which General Longstreet pressed his troops, forced Jefferson C. Davis's two brigades out of the line, and cut off Philip H. Sheridan's three brigades of the right, all of which, after a gallant but unsuccessful effort to stem this charge, were ordered to re-form on the Dry Valley road at the first good standing-ground in rear of the position they had lost. The two divisions of Horatio P. Van Cleve and Davis, going to succor the right centre, were partly shattered by this break, and four or five regiments were scattered through the woods, but most of the stragglers stopped with Sheridan's and Davis's commands. The remainder, nearly seven divisions, were unbroken, and continued the fight. The gallant General George H. Thomas, whose orders the night before, reiterated a few moments before this disaster, were to hold his position at all hazards, continued the fight with seven divisions, while General Rosecrans undertook to make such dispositions as would most effectually avert disaster in case the enemy should turn the position by advancing on the Dry Valley road, ' capture the remaining commissary stores, then in a valley two or three miles to the west. Fortunately, this advance was not made, the commissary-train was pushed into Chattanooga, the cavalry, ordered down, closed the ways behind the National right, and General Thomas, after the most desperate fighting, drew back at night to Rossville in pursuance of orders from General Rosecrans. On the 22d the army was concentrated at Chattanooga. The battle was a victory to the Confederates only in name; for Chattanooga, the objective point of the campaign, remained in the possession of the National forces. The total National loss, in killed, wounded, and missing, was 16.179; the Confederate loss, 17,804. General Rosecrans was relieved of his command on 23 October, and he was assigned to the Department of the Missouri in January, 1864, with headquarters in St. Louis, where he conducted the military operations that terminated in the defeat and expulsion from the state of the invading Confederate forces under General Price. He was placed on waiting orders at Cincinnati on 10 December, 1864, mustered out of the volunteer service on 15 January, 1866, and resigned from the army on 28 March. 1867, after receiving the brevet of major-general in the regular army for his services at the battle of Stone River. Later in 1867 he was offered the Democratic nomination for governor of California, but declined it. He was appointed minister to Mexico on 27 July, 1868, and held that office until 26 June, 1869, when he returned to the United States, and declined the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio. Subsequently he resumed the practice of engineering, and in 1872-'3 was engaged in an effort to initiate the construction of a vast system of narrow-gauge railways in Mexico, at the instance of President Juarez. He became president in 1871 of the San Jose Mining Company, and in 1878 of the Safety Powder Company in San Francisco. He was also intrusted with a charter for an interoceanic railway from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, made by the Mexican republic under considerations urged by him when envoy to Mexico, and he was requested to use his influence to induce American railway building skill and capital to undertake the work. He memorialized congress to cultivate friendly and intimate commercial relations with Mexico, and to encourage and assist the material progress of that country: and at the instance of American and English railway builders, and of President Juarez, he went to Mexico. He had for fifteen months so ably discussed in the newspapers the benefits of railway construction to Mexico that the legislatures of seventeen of the Mexican states passed unanimous resolutions urging their national congress to enact the legislation advocated, and the governors of six other states sent official recommendations to the same effect. In 1876 General Rosecrans declined the Democratic nomination for Congress from Nevada. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from California, served from 5 December, 1881, till 4 March, 1885, and was appointed register of the U. S. Treasury in June, 1885, which office he still (1888) holds. For a full account of the Tennessee Campaigns, see General Henry M. Cist's "Army of the Cumberland" (New "fork, 1882); "Rosecrans's Campaign with the 14th Army Corps, or the Army of the Cumberland." by W. D. Bickham (Cincinnati, 1863): and Van Home's "History of the Army of the Cumberland" (2 vols., Cincinnati. 1875). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 323-325.
ROSENGARTEN, Joseph George, lawyer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 14 July, 1835. He was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1852, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1850, studied in Heidelberg in 1857, and practised after his return to his native city. During the Civil War he served on the staff of General John F. Reynolds in the Army of the Potomac. He has delivered numerous addresses before various literary and charitable associations, including one before the Pennsylvania Historical Society on the " Life and Public Services of General John F. Reynolds" (Philadelphia, 1880), and contributed frequently to periodicals. He is the author of "The German Soldier in the Wars of the United States " (Philadelphia, 1881). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 326.
ROSENTHAL, Max, artist, born in Turck, Russian Poland, 23 November, 1833. In 1847 he went to Paris, where he studied lithography, drawing, and painting with M. Thurwanger, with whom he came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1840, where he completed his studies. He made the chromo-lithographic plates for what is believed to be the first fully illustrated book by this process in the United States, "'Wild Scenes and Wild Hunters." In 1854 he drew and lithographed an interior view of the old Masonic temple in Philadelphia, the plate being 22 by 25 inches, the largest chromo-lithograph that had been made in the country up to that time. He designed and executed the illustrations for various works, and during the Civil War followed the Army of the Potomac, and drew every camp, up to the battle of Gettysburg. These drawings he reproduced at the time. Up to 1884 he did miscellaneous works, including about 200 lithographs of distinguished Americans. After 1884 he turned his attention to etching, and he has since executed 150 portraits of eminent Americans and British officers, together with numerous large plates, among which are 'Storm Approaches," after the painting by Henry Mosler, illustrations for several of Longfellow's poems, and original etchings entitled "Doris, the Shepherd's Maiden," and "Marguerite." He is a member of the Pennsylvania Academy of fine arts, and one of the founders of the Sketch club. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 326.
ROSS, Alexander Milton, 1832-1897, physician, anti-slavery activist, abolitionist. Ross became active in the anti-slavery movement in 1856. Ross was an agent for the Underground Railroad, aiding escaping slaves to Canada. He was known among fugitive slaves as the “Birdman,” because he used the cover of being an ornithologist. He was a personal friend of radical abolitionist John Brown. During the Civil War, he served as a surgeon in the Union Army. Afterwards, he was employed as a confidential correspondent to President Abraham Lincoln in Canada. (Mabee, 1970, p. 285; Rodriguez, 2007; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 327)
ROSS, Alexander Milton, Canadian naturalist, born in Belleville, Ont., 13 December, 1832. He attended school at Belleville till his eleventh year, when the death of his father compelled his removal. He evinced a great love for natural history at an early age. In his boyhood he came to New York City, and after struggling with many adversities became a compositor on the “Evening Post.” William Cullen Bryant, its editor, was much interested in him, and remained his friend ever afterward. During this period he became acquainted with Garibaldi, who was then a resident of New York; and in 1874 Ross was instrumental in securing a pension for Garibaldi from the Italian government. In 1851 he began the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Valentine Mott, in New York, and after four years of unremitting toil, working as a compositor during the day and studying medicine at night, he received his degree of M. D. in 1855. Soon after his graduation he was appointed a surgeon in the forces in Nicaragua, under William Walker. In 1856 he became actively engaged in the anti-slavery struggle in the United States becoming a personal friend of John Brown. During the Civil War he served for a short time as a surgeon in the National army, and afterward he was employed by President Lincoln as presidential correspondent in Canada, where he rendered important services to the U. S. government, receiving the thanks of the president and Sec. Seward. At the close of the war Dr. Ross offered his services to President Juarez of Mexico, and received the appointment of surgeon in the Mexican army. After the overthrow of the empire he returned to Canada and began to collect and classify the fauna and flora of that country, a work that had never before been attempted by a native. He has collected and classified hundreds of species of birds, eggs, mammals, reptiles, and fresh-water fish, 3,400 species of insects, and 2,000 species of Canadian flora. After his return to Canada he became a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Quebec and Ontario, and was one of the founders of the Society for the Diffusion of Physiological Knowledge in 1881. Dr. Ross has been appointed Treasurer and Commissioner of Agriculture for the province of Ontario, and he has moved from Montreal to Toronto. He was knighted by the emperor of Russia, and by the kings of Italy, Greece, and Saxony in 1876, and by the king of Portugal in 1877. He was appointed consul in Canada by the kings of Belgium and Denmark, and received the decoration of the “Académie Française” from the government of France in 1879. He is a member of many scientific societies, and is the author of “Recollections of an Abolitionist” (Montreal, 1867); “Birds of Canada” (1872); “Butterflies and Moths of Canada” (1873); “Flora of Canada” (1873); “Forest Trees of Canada” (1874); “Ferns and Wild Flowers of Canada” (1877); “Mammals, Reptiles, and Fresh-water Fishes of Canada” (1878); “Vaccination a Medical Delusion” (1885); and “Medical Practice of the Future” (1887). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 327.
ROSS, Edmund Gibson, 1826-1907, U.S. Senator. Editor, Kansas Tribune, Free State Newspaper. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 327-328; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 2, p. 175; Annals of Congress; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 18, p. 905)
ROSS, Edmund Gibson, senator, born in Ashland, Ohio, 7 December, 1826. He was apprenticed at an early age to a printer, received a limited education, and in 1847 moved to Wisconsin, where he was employed in the office of the Milwaukee “Sentinel” for four years. He went to Kansas in 1856, was a member of the Kansas Constitutional Convention in 1859, and served in the legislature until 1861. He was also editor of the Kansas “State Record” and the Kansas “Tribune,” which was the only Free-state paper in the territory at that time, the others having been destroyed. In 1862 he enlisted in the National army as a private, and in 1865 became major. On his return to Kansas, after the war, he was appointed to succeed James H. Lane in the U. S. Senate, and was elected to fill out the term, serving from 25 July, 1866, till 4 March, 1871. He voted against the impeachment of President Johnson, thus offending the Republican Party, with which he had always acted, and was charged with having adopted this course from mercenary and corrupt motives. After his term ended he returned to Kansas, united with the Democratic Party, and was defeated as their candidate for governor in 1880. In 1882 he moved to New Mexico, where he published a newspaper, and in May, 1885, was appointed by President Cleveland governor of that territory. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 327-328.
RUBY, George Thompson, 1841-1882, African American, politician, journalist, editor, abolitionist. Writer, editor, Kansas Anti-Slavery publication, Crusader of Freedom. Correspondent for William Lloyd Garrison’s Anti-Slavery Standard. Wrote biography of militant abolitionist John Brown. (Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 9, p. 606)
RUGGLES, David, 1810-1849, New York City, free African American, journalist, publisher, editor, anti-slavery activist and abolitionist leader. Agent for Emancipator and Journal of Public Morals of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Founded Mirror of Liberty, first Black magazine. President of the New York Committee of Vigilance, 1835-1839. He searched the city for fugitive slaves being held there. He helped six former slaves. For this, he was arrested and jailed. Also active in the Underground Railroad, which aided fugitive slaves. He was an advocate of the Free Produce movement. Wrote pamphlet, “The Extinguisher.” Contributed articles to abolitionist newspapers, The Emancipator and The Liberator. (Dumond, 1961, p. 340; Hodges, 2010; Mabee, 1970, pp. 84-85, 107-108, 113-114, 278, 285, 397n1, 398n20, 415n16; Rodriguez, 2007, p. 45; Sorin, 1971, pp. 34, 84n, 87, 113; Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 9, p. 624; Hinks, Peter P., & John R. McKivigan, Eds., Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition. Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood, 2007, Vol. 2, pp. 584-585)
RUSSELL, George W., Worcester, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1836-37
RUSSWURM, John Brown, 1799-1851, African American (his mother was Black), anti-slavery newspaper editor. Attended and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1826. Co-founder and co-editor of Freedom’s Journal, with Samuel Cornish. Became senior editor in 1827. Freedom’s Journal was the first newspaper in the United States to be owned, edited and published by African Americans. It supported the abolition of slavery. Later, editor of Rights of All. Russwurm originally supported colonization and he emigrated to Liberia in 1829. From 1830-1834, he was Colonial Secretary. There he published the Liberia Herald. He was Governor of the Maryland Colony from 1836 until his death in 1851. The Maryland Colony was founded by the Maryland State Colonization Society. (Campbell, 1971, pp. 50-52, 90-91, 114, 122-125, 127-130, 132-134, 136-137, 141-145, 152, 165; Dumond, 1961, p. 329; Sagarin, 1970; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 2, p. 253; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 19, p. 117.)
ROSS, Lawrence Sullivan, soldier, born in Bentonsport, Iowa, 27 September, 1838. He was graduated at Florence Wesleyan University, Florence, Alabama, commanded Texas frontier troops under General Samuel Houston, and became colonel of the 6th Texas Regiment of Cavalry in the Confederate Army on 24 May, 1862. He was made brigadier-general 21 December, 1863, and led a brigade in Wheeler's cavalry corps of the Army of Tennessee. In 1886 General Ross became governor of Texas. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 331.
ROSS, Leonard Fulton, soldier, born in Fulton County, Illinois, 18 July, 1823. He was educated in the common schools of Illinois and at Jacksonville College, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1845. In 1846 he joined the 4th Illinois Volunteers for the Mexican War, became 1st lieutenant, and was commended for services at Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo, commanding the body-guard of General James Shields while making a difficult reconnaissance. He also bore important despatches from Metamora to General Zachary Taylor and to General Robert Patterson in Victoria, Mexico. After the war he resumed his practice, and was probate judge for six years. He was chosen in May, 1861, colonel of the 17th Illinois Regiment, which he had raised, and served with it in Missouri and Kentucky, bearing himself with great gallantry at Fredericktown, Missouri, 21 October, 1861, where his horse was shot under him. In 1862 he was in command of Fort Girardeau, Missouri. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 25 April, 1862, after commanding a brigade since the capture of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, 16 February, 1862. After the evacuation of Corinth, 30 May, 1862, he was promoted to the command of a division and stationed at Bolivar, Tennessee. In 1867 he was appointed by President Johnson collector of internal revenue for the 9th District of Illinois. He has been three times a delegate to National Republican Conventions, and was twice a defeated candidate for Congress. Since 1860 he has given his attention to farming and has been interested in various agricultural societies. He has imported fine stock into this country, and now (1888) has a large farm in Iowa.—His brother, Lewis W, was a representative in Congress in 1863-'9. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 331.
ROSSER, Leonidas, clergyman, born in Petersburg, Virginia, 31 July, 1815. He was graduated at Wesleyan University in 1838, and then entered the New York Conference of the Methodist Church. In 1839 he was transferred to the Virginia Conference, where he has since been stationed, and was presiding elder of the districts of Fredericksburg in 1852-'3, Norfolk in 18530, Lynchburg in 1850-'8, Richmond in 1865-'9, and Randolph Macon in 1877-'81. Dr. Rosser was delegate to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, south, every four years from 1850 till 1866, and during the Civil War was general missionary to the Confederate Army. In 1858 the degree of D. D. was conferred on him by Emory and Henry College, and during 1858-"9 he edited the Richmond "Christian Advocate." His publications include " Baptism, its Nature, Obligation, Mode, Subjects, and Benefits" (Richmond, 1843); "Experimental Religion, embracing Justification, Regeneration. Sanctification, and the Witness of the Spirit" (1854): "Class-Meetings"(1855); "Recognition in Heaven"(1856); "Reply to Howell's ' Evils of Infant Baptism' " (1850): and " Open Communion " (1858). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 332.
ROSSER, Thomas Lafayette, soldier, born in Campbell County, Virginia. 15 October, 1830. He entered the U. S. Military Academy in 1850. but when Virginia seceded from the Union, although in the graduating class and about to receive a commission in the U. S. Army, he resigned and entered the Confederate army as 1st lieutenant of artillery. His services soon gained him promotion, and he was made captain in October, 1861, and lieutenant-colonel of artillery in June, 1862. During the same month he was given command of a regiment of cavalry and attached to the Army of Northern Virginia. He attained the rank of brigadier-general on 10 October, 1863, and was given command of the Virginia cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley. In this capacity he served under General Jubal A. Early when the latter was ordered to command the Confederate forces in the valley of the Shenandoah, and was present at the battle of Cedar Creek. General Rosser was conspicuous for his services in this campaign, and was constantly opposed by General George A. Custer, who had been his classmate at the Military Academy. In November, 1864, he was made a major-general of cavalry. After the war he turned his attention to engineering, and had charge of the Dakota, Yellowstone, and Missouri Divisions of the Northern Pacific Railway from 1870 till 1879. He held the office of chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1881-'2, and is now (1888) president and general manager of the New South Mining and Improvement Company, and consulting engineer of the Charleston, Cincinnati, and Chicago Railroad Company. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 332.
ROUMFORT, Augustus Louis, soldier, born in Paris. France, 10 December, 1796; died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2 August, 1878. He came with his father to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 1805, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1817, and. after a short service in the Marine Corps in Washington and Philadelphia, resigned on 18 August. 1818. He was then professor of mathematics at Mount Airy College, Germantown, till 1826, and from that time till 1834 superintendent of a military school in that town, where many young men were prepared for West Point. He was reappointed in the army by General Jackson as military store-keeper of ordnance in 1834, and served at Frankford Arsenal till 1841, when he resigned again. Meanwhile he had become an active Democratic politician, and was in the legislature in 1843-'4, and harbor-master of Philadelphia in 1845-'8. He had been made captain of Pennsylvania Militia in 1820, and in 1843 had risen to the rank of brigadier-general, in which capacity he showed much vigor and prudence in suppressing the native American riots in 1844. He was connected with railroads from 1850 till 1860, and from 1863 till 1866 was mayor of Harrisburg, where he won reputation by his success in maintaining order during the crisis of the Confederate invasion. After this he engaged in literary pursuits till his death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 335.
ROUSSEAU, Lovell Harrison, soldier, born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, 4 August, 1818; died in New Orleans, Louisiana, 7 January, 1869. He received but little schooling, and in 1838 his father died, leaving a large family in reduced circumstances. On becoming of age he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and began the study of law. Subsequently he moved to Bloomfield, Indiana, where in February, 1841, he was admitted to the bar in 1844-'5 he was elected to the Indiana legislature, of which he became an active member. He raised a company during the Mexican War. and was attached to the 2d Indiana Regiment, with which he participated in the battle of Buena Vista. After losing nearly one third of his men in that contest, he fell back to the hacienda, doing good service when the wagon-trains were attacked by the Mexicans. In 1847, four days after his return from Mexico, he was elected to the Indiana Senate, and served for two terms. He moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1849, and there followed his profession, being very successful in the management of difficult cases, especially in addressing the jury. At the beginning of the Civil War he was earnest in his efforts to restrain Kentucky from joining the Confederacy, and, resigning his seat in the state senate, began the organization of troops for the National army, and was appointed colonel of the 5th Kentucky Volunteers in September, 1861. On 1 October, 1861, he was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers and attached to General Don Carlos Buell's army. He took part in the battle of Shiloh. where he led a brigade of General Alexander M. McCook's division, and participated in the battle of Perryville on 8 October, 1862, where for his bravery he was promoted major-general of volunteers. Subsequently he succeeded General Ormsby M. Mitchel in the command of the 5th Division of the Army of the Cumberland, serving with great credit in the battle of Stone River, the Tullahoma Campaign, the movement at Chattanooga, and the battle of Chickamauga. From November, 1863, till November, 1865, when he resigned, he had command of the districts of Nashville, Tennessee, and Middle Tennessee, and during this time made a raid into Alabama, destroying the Montgomery and Atlanta Lines of railway. In 1864 he held the important post of Fort Rosecrans in the defence of Nashville against General John B. Hood. He was elected to Congress from Kentucky as a Republican, serving from 4 December, 1865, to 21 July, 1866, when he resigned after being censured by the house for publicly assaulting Josiah B. Grinnell, of Iowa, in the capitol, but he was reelected, serving from 3 December, 1866, till 3 March, 1867. He served on the Committee on Military Affairs, and was one of the representatives that were selected to attend the funeral of General Winfield Scott in 1866. President Johnson appointed him brigadier-general in the regular army on 28 March, 1867, and he also received at the same time the brevet of major-general in the U. S. Army for services during the Civil War. He was then sent officially to receive Alaska from the Russian government and to assume control of the territory. General Rousseau was summoned to Washington to testify in the impeachment trial of President Johnson, and was subsequently assigned to the command of the Department of the Gulf, with headquarters at New Orleans. He succeeded General Philip H. Sheridan in this command and continued there until his death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 336.
ROWAN, Stephen Clegg, naval officer, born near Dublin, Ireland, 25 December, 1808. He came to this country in early life, and was appointed midshipman in the U.S. Navy from Ohio, 15 February, 1826, when he was a student at Oxford College. He became passed midshipman, 28 February, 1832, and during the Seminole War cruised in the sloop " Vandalia" on the west coast of Florida, conducting boat expeditions and participating in operations on shore from November, 1832, till October, 1836. He was commissioned as lieutenant, 8 March, 1837, served in the U.S. Coast Survey in 1838-'40, was executive officer of the sloop “Cyane " in the Pacific Squadron in 1846-'8, and during the Mexican War took part in the capture of Monterey and San Diego, where he landed and hoisted the American flag, 29 July, 1846. On blockade duty in the Gulf of California the " Cyane " captured twenty Mexican vessels and caused the destruction of several gun-boats. Lieutenant Rowan commanded the naval brigade under Commodore Robert F. Stockton at the victories of San Gabriel and La Mesa, 9 and 10 January, 1847, was slightly wounded in the shoulder, and highly commended for his valor and ability. He subsequently commanded an expedition ten miles into the interior of Mexico, where he routed a large force of Mexicans, who then ceased to attack the U. S. naval garrison. He was on ordnance duty in 1850-'3 and again in 1858-'61, commanded the store-ship "Relief" in 1853-'5, and was promoted to commander, 14 September, 1855. When the Civil War opened he was in charge of the steam sloop " Pawnee," which he brought to Washington from Philadelphia in February, 1861. Rowan was a resident of Norfolk, Virginia, where he had married, but, notwithstanding this and his affection to the south, he announced his adhesion to the National government, and was continued in the command of the "Pawnee." At the capture of Alexandria he covered the city with his guns. On 25 May, 1861, he took the " Pawnee" to Acquia Creek and participated in the first naval engagement of the war by the attack on the Confederate batteries there. He commanded this vessel in the bombardment and capture of the forts at Hatteras inlet by the squadron under Commodore Stringham, and fully shared the honor of this success. Rowan then destroyed Fort Ocracoke, twenty miles south of Hatteras. In January, 1862, he led the vessels in Goldsborough's expedition to the sounds of North Carolina. The "Delaware" was his divisional flag-ship, and, in the attack on Roanoke Island, 8 February, 1862, he directed the movements of the vessels. After the forts surrendered, the enemy's flotilla "was pursued by Rowan with fourteen improvised gun-boats into Pasquotank River, where he completely destroyed the Confederate vessels and defences. Several expeditions were conducted by Rowan through the sounds of North Carolina. On 12 March, 1862, he and General Burnside co-operated in the expedition to New Berne, North Carolina, where he compelled the forts to capitulate. He also captured Fort Macon at Beaufort, North Carolina, 25 April, 1862, and continued to follow up his successes by expeditions until the authority of the government was completely re-established in the waters of North Carolina. Rowan was commissioned captain, 16 July, 1862, and for his conspicuous gallantry he was also promoted to commodore on the same day. He next commanded the "New Ironsides" off Charleston, and in many months of constant conflict with the enemy increased his reputation. In the spring of 1864 his services in the " New Ironsides " were no longer required, and Rowan was relieved. He received a vote of thanks from Congress, and on 25 July, 1866, was promoted to rear-admiral by selection, in recognition of his eminent services. He commanded the Norfolk U.S. Navy-yard in 1866-'7, was commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Squadron in 1868-'70, and while on this duty was promoted to vice-admiral. He was in command of the naval station at New York in 1872-'9, served as president of the Board of Examiners in 1879-'81, was governor of the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia in 1881, and became superintendent of the Naval observatory in 1882. Admiral Rowan has been chairman of the Light-House Board since January, 1883, at Washington, D. C. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 337.
ROWLEY (rhymes with Cowley), Thomas Algeo, soldier, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 5 October, 1808. He was educated in private schools, held several public offices in Pittsburg, and entered the U.S. Army as 2d lieutenant of Pennsylvania Volunteers to serve in the war with Mexico. He was afterward to captain, and served in Maryland and District of Columbia regiments. From 1857 till 1860 he was clerk of the courts of Alleghany County, and at the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted as captain in the 13th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was promoted to be major and colonel. Re-enlisting as colonel of the 102d Pennsylvania Volunteers, he served three years, was made brigadier-general for services at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on 29 November, 1862, and resigned his commission on 29 December, 1864. From 1866 till 1870 he was U. S. Marshal for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and he now (1888) practices law in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 338.
ROWLEY, William Reuben, soldier, born in Gouverneur, St. Lawrence County, New York, 8 February, 1824; died in Chicago, Illinois, 9 February, 1886. After teaching in Brown County, Ohio, he settled in Galena, Illinois, where he held various civil offices, and in November, 1861, entered the military service as 1st lieutenant in the 45th Illinois Regiment. After the capture of Fort Donelson he was commissioned captain, 26 February. 1862, and appointed aide-de-camp on the staff of General Ulysses S. Grant. He distinguished himself at Shiloh by riding from the thickest of the fight at the Hornet's Nest toward Clump's Landing with orders to General Lewis Wallace to bring his troops to the field, for which service he was promoted major, 1 November, 1862. He served on the staff until the siege of Vicksburg, when he was temporarily detached from headquarters, and acted as provost-marshal-general of the departments of the Tennessee and Cumberland, with headquarters at Columbus, Kentucky. When General Grant was promoted lieutenant-general, Major Rowley was made lieutenant-colonel and military secretary on his staff, which office he held until 30 August, 1864, when he resigned, owing to impaired health. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers on 13 March, 1865. He then returned to Galena, Illinois, was elected county judge in 1877, which office he held at his death, and was also engaged in real estate business. Before his death he was the only surviving member of General Grant's military staff when he commanded the Army of the Tennessee, and he died on the day that closed the official term of mourning for General Grant. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 338-339.
ROYALL, William Bedford, soldier, born in Virginia, 15 April, 1825. He took part in the Mexican War in New Mexico as 1st lieutenant of Missouri mountain Volunteers, and did good service at the capture of Puebla de Taos and in the skirmish with Comanche Indians on Coon Creek, 18 June, 1848. He returned to civil life in October, 1848. In recognition of his gallantry he received a commission in the regular army, dating from 3 March, 1855, and he participated in an expedition to the headwaters of Conchos River in the following year. In 1859 he won great credit by a brilliant defence of his camp against hostile Comanches. Escaping from Texas in the beginning of the Civil War, he was commissioned as captain, 21 March, 1861, and was engaged at Falling Waters, the siege of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Hanover Court-House, where he earned the brevet of major, and Old Church, where he cut through the enemy to escape capture, receiving sabre wounds which disabled him for several years. He was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, was made a major on 7 December, 1863, and during the remaining period of the war was engaged in recruiting service. On 13 March, 1865, he was brevetted colonel. In 1868 he took the field against the hostile Indians in Kansas, commanding in a combat at Prairie Dog Creek. For a part of the time he was the commander of the Republican River Expedition of 1869, and was engaged in several affairs with the hostile Indians. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 2 December, 1875, and in 1876 took part in the Yellowstone Expedition, and was engaged at Rosebud Creek and in other actions. He was promoted colonel of cavalry on 1 November, 1882, and retired from active service on 19 October, 1887. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 340.
ROYCE, Stephen, governor of Vermont, born in Tinmouth, Vermont, 12 August, 1787; died in East Berkshire, Vermont, 11 November, 1868. He was graduated at Middlebury in 1807, studied law, and was a member of the legislature from Sheldon, Franklin County, in 1815-'l6, and from St. Albans, Franklin County, in 1822-'4. From 1825 till 1827, and from 1829 till 1852, he was judge of the Supreme Court of Vermont, and he served as chief judge from 1846 till 1852. He was governor of Vermont in 1854-'6. The University of Vermont gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1837.—His nephew, Homer Elihu, jurist, born in East Berkshire, Vermont, 14 June, 1820, was educated in the common schools, was admitted to the bar in 1842, and practised in his native town. He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1846-'7 and 1862, prosecuting attorney for Franklin County in 1848-9, and state senator in 1849-'51, and was elected to Congress as a Republican, serving from 7 December, 1857, till 3 March, 1861. From 1870 till 1882 he was associate judge of the Supreme Court of Vermont, and since 1882 he has been chief judge. He was a delegate to the National Republican Convention of 1868. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 340.
ROYE, Edward James, president of Liberia, born in Newark, Ohio, 3 February, 1815; died near Monrovia, Liberia, 12 February, 1872. He was educated at the high-school in his native town and at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. Emigrating to Liberia in 1846, he became a wealthy merchant, and was the first Liberian to export African commodities to Europe and the United States in his own vessel. He was elected to the Liberian House of Representatives, serving as speaker in 1849, was chief justice from 1865 till 1868, and was elected fifth president of Liberia, entering office in 1870. During his service the people voted on a proposition to change the presidential term from two to four years; but it was defeated, and a new president, Joseph J. Roberts, was elected in 1871. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Roye attempted to remain at the head of the government, and he was condemned to imprisonment. He escaped, and, while endeavoring to swim to a steamer that was bound for Liverpool, he was drowned in the harbor of Monrovia. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 340-341.
RUCKER, Daniel Henry, soldier, born in Belleville, New Jersey, 28 April, 1812. In his youth he moved to Grosso Isle, Michigan. He entered the U. S. Army as 2d lieutenant in the 1st Dragoons on 13 Oct, 1837, became 1st lieutenant, 8 October, 1844, and captain, 7 February, 1847, and served in Michigan, and against the Indians in the west and southwest. He participated in the war with Mexico, and commanded a squadron at Buena Vista, where for gallantry he was brevetted major on 23 February, 1847. On 23 August, 1849, he was transferred to captain assistant quartermaster. He declined the post of major of the 6th U.S. Cavalry on 14 May, 1861, became major quartermaster on 3 August, 1861, and colonel and aide-de-camp on 28 September, 1861. He was appointed brigadier-general, U. S. volunteers, on 23 May, 1863, and on 5 July, 1864, was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general, U. S. Army, for diligent and faithful service during the war. On 13 March, 1865, he received the brevets of major-general, U. S. Army, and major-general, U. S. volunteers, for faithful and meritorious service during the war. He was appointed colonel and assistant quartermaster-general on 28 July, 1866, and was mustered out of the volunteer service on 1 September, 1866. Since that date he has served as quartermaster-general at various points, and on 13 February, 1882, was appointed Quartermaster-General of the army. He was retired on 23 February, 1882, and now (1888) resides in Washington, D. C. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 341.
RUFF, Charles Frederick, soldier, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 October, 1818: died there, 1 October, 1885. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1838, assigned to the 1st Dragoons, served in garrison and frontier duty in Kansas and Iowa, and resigned on 31 December, 1843. Until 1846 he practised law in Liberty, Missouri, and on 18 June, 1846, he enlisted for the war with Mexico as lieutenant-colonel of Missouri volunteers, being made captain in a regiment of Mounted Rifles in the U. S. Army on 7 July, 1846. He was brevetted major for gallant and meritorious conduct at the skirmish at San Juan de los Llanos, 1 August, 1847, and participated in the battles of Contreras, Molino del Rey (where he was wounded), and Chapultepec, and in the capture of the city of Mexico, after which he served on frontier duty in Washington Territory. In 1852–3 he was superintendent of the cavalry recruiting service, and in 1853 commanded the cavalry-school for practice at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He was made major of Mounted Rifles on 30 December, 1856, served on the Navajo Expedition in 1858–'9, the Comanche Expedition in 1860, and was the bearer of despatches to the War Department in 1860–’1. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 3d U.S. Cavalry, 10 June, 1861, was mustering and disbursing officer at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 15 April, 1861, till 29 April, 1863, acting inspector-general of the Department of the Susquehanna from 29 June till 30 September, 1863, and retired from active service, owing to impaired health, on 30 March, 1864, having mustered into service more than 50,000 volunteers. He was brevetted colonel and brigadier-general, U.S. Army, on 13 March, 1865, for faithful and meritorious services in recruiting the armies of the United States. From 1868 till 1870 he served as professor of military science in the University of Pennsylvania. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 341-342.
RUFFIN, Edmund (ruf-fin), agriculturist, born in Prince George County, Virginia, 5 January, 1794; died on his estate of Redmoor, in Amelia County, Virginia, 15 June, 1865. In 1810—"12 he attended William and Mary College. He served in the legislature, was secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, agricultural surveyor of South Carolina, for many years was president of the Virginia Agricultural Society, and was the discoverer of the value of marl as a fertilizer of poor soil, by the use of which millions of dollars were added to the value of the real estate of eastern Virginia. He was a state-rights man and a secessionist, and was a member of the Palmetto Guard of South Carolina. At the beginning of the Civil War he went to South Carolina, and, by order of General Beauregard, his company was ordered to open fire on Fort Sumter, and as the oldest member he was selected by his comrades to fire the first gun, 14 April, 1861. He shot himself because he was unwilling to live under the U.S. government. Among other agricultural papers he edited the “Farmer's Register” from 1833 till 1842, and he also published “Essay on Calcareous Manures” (Richmond, 1831); “Essay on Agricultural Education ” (1833): “Anticipations of the Future to serve as Lessons for the Present Time” (1860); and edited “The Westover Manuscripts, containing the History of the Dividing-Line betwixt Virginia and North Carolina; a Journey to the Land of Eden, A. D. 1783; and a Progress to the Mines.” by William Byrd, of Westover (Petersburg, 1841; 2d ed., 2 vols., Albany, 1866). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 342.
RUFFIN, Thomas, jurist, born in King and Queen County, Virginia, 17 November, 1787; died in Hillsboro’, North Carolina, 15 January, 1870. After graduation at Princeton in 1805 he studied law, and moved to Hillsboro’, North Carolina, in 1807. He served in the legislature in 1813–16, becoming speaker in the latter year, was judge of the Supreme Court in 1816–18, and elected again from 1825, and was chief justice of the State Supreme Court from 1829 till 1852, and again in 1856–8, after which he served as presiding judge of the county court. He was opposed to nullification in 1832 and to secession in 1860, but voted for the Ordinance of Secession in the convention. He was a delegate to the Peace Congress that met in Washington in 1861. The University of North Carolina gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1834. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 342.
RUGER, Thomas Howard, soldier, born in Lima, Livingston County, New York, 2 April, 1833. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1854, assigned to the Engineer Corps, and worked on the defences of New Orleans, Louisiana, but resigned, 1 April, 1855, and from 1856 till the Civil War practised law in Janesville, Wisconsin. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 3d Wisconsin Regiment, 29 June, 1861, and its colonel on 20 August, and commanded it in Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley till August, 1862, after which he was in the northern Virginia and Maryland Campaigns. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers, 29 November, 1862, led a brigade in the Rappahannock Campaigns, and commanded a division at Gettysburg. In the summer of 1863 he was in New York City, where he aided in suppressing the draft riots. He then guarded the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad in Tennessee till April, 1864, led a brigade in Sherman's advance into Georgia till November, 1864, and with a division of the 23d Corps took part in the campaign against General John B. Hood's army in Tennessee, receiving the brevet of major-general of volunteers, 30 November, 1864, for services at the battle of Franklin. He then organized a division at Nashville, led it from February to June, 1865, in North Carolina, and then had charge of the department of that state till June, 1866, when he was mustered out. He accepted a colonelcy in the regular army, 28 July, 1866, and on 2 March, 1867, was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. army, for services at Gettysburg. From January till July, 1868, he was provisional governor of Georgia, and from 1871 till 1876 .he was superintendent of the U. S. Military Academy. From the last year till 1878 he was in charge of the Department of the South, and in 1876 he commanded the troops during the trouble in South Carolina incident to the claims of rival state governments. (See Chamberlain, D. H.) He then commanded posts in the south and west, and on 19 March, 1885, was promoted brigadier-general. After temporarily commanding the Department of the Missouri in April and May, 1886, he was placed in charge of that of Dakota, with headquarters at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he is at present (1888) on duty. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 343.
RUGGLES, Daniel, soldier, born in Barre, Massachusetts, 31 January, 1810. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1833, entered the 5th U.S. Infantry, and served on frontier and recruiting duty till the Mexican War, in which, after his promotion as captain, 18 June, 1840, he won the brevet of major for gallantry at Contreras and Churubusco, and that of lieutenant colonel for Chapultepec. He then served mostly in Texas till his resignation on 7 May, 1801, for two years before which he had been on sick leave of absence. He then joined the Confederate army, was commissioned brigadier-general in the same year, served in New Orleans, and led a division at Shiloh and at Baton Rouge. He became major-general in 1863, and commanded the Department of the Mississippi. He repelled raids on the northern and southern borders of the state in 1863-'4, and in 1865 was commissary-general of prisoners. After the war he took charge of his large estate near Palafox, Texas, and also resided at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 343.
RUGGLES, George David, soldier, born in Newburg, New York, 11 September, 1833, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1855, and assigned to the Mounted Riflemen. He served on frontier duty, including three Indian Expeditions, till the Civil War, and in 1858 was acting adjutant-general of the Department of the West, at St. Louis. In July, 1861, he was made assistant adjutant-general, with the staff rank of captain, and assigned to special duty in the War Department in the organization of volunteer forces. He became colonel on the staff on 28 June, 1862, was chief of staff of the Army of Virginia in General John Pope's campaign, and continued to serve as an additional aide-de-camp throughout the war, sometimes with the Army of the Potomac, of which he was adjutant-general from February till June, 1865, and sometimes in Washington, he took part in the battles of Antietam and South Mountain, and the assault and capture of Petersburg. On 9 April, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers for services during the operations that resulted in the fall of Richmond and surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee, and he was also given brevet commissions in the regular army to date from 13 March, including that of brigadier-general. Since the war he has served as adjutant-general of various departments, and on 15 June, 1880, he attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 344.
RUSCHENBERGER, William S. W., naval surgeon, born in Cumberland County, New Jersey, 4 September, 1807. After attending schools in Philadelphia and New York he entered the U.S. Navy as surgeon's mate, 10 August, 1826, was graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1830, and was commissioned surgeon, 4 April, 1831. He was fleet surgeon of the East India Squadron in 1835-'7, attached to the naval rendezvous at Philadelphia in 1840-'2, and at the Naval Hospital in Brooklyn in 1843-'7, when he organized the laboratory for supplying the service with unadulterated drugs. He was again fleet surgeon of the East India Squadron in 1847-50, of the Pacific Squadron in 1854-'7, and of the Mediterranean Squadron from August, 1860, till July, 1861. During the intervals between cruises he was on duty at Philadelphia. During the Civil War he was surgeon of the Boston U.S. Navy-yard. He was on special duty at Philadelphia in 1865-'70, was the senior officer in the Medical Corps in 1866-'9. and was retired on 4 September, 1869. He was president of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1870-'82, and president of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1879-'83. He was commissioned medical director on the retired list, 3 March, 1871. Dr. Ruschenberger has published some of the results of his investigations during his cruises, by which he has acquired a wide reputation. Among his works are " Three Years in the Pacific " (Philadelphia, 1834; 2 vols., London, 1835); "A Voyage around the World, 1835-'7" (Philadelphia, 1838; omitting strictures on the British government, 2 vols., London, 1838); "Elements of Natural History" (2 vols., Philadelphia. 1850); "A Lexicon of Terms used in Natural History " (1850); " A Notice of the Origin. Progress, and Present Condition of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia" (1852); and "Notes and Commentaries during Voyages to Brazil and China, 1848" (Richmond, 1854). He has also published numerous articles on naval rank and organization (1845-'50), and contributed papers to medical and scientific journals, and he edited the American edition of Mrs. Somerville's " Physical Geography," with additions and a glossary (1850; new ed., 1853). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 348-349.
RUSH, Christopher, A. M. E. bishop, born in Craven County. North Carolina, in 1777; died in New York City, 16 July, 1873. He was a full-blooded African, and born a slave. He went to New York in 1798, and was subsequently freed, and licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1815. He was ordained a superintendent, in 1828, and successively occupied important offices in the church till, in 1849, he became bishop. He was largely instrumental in the separation of the colored from the white branch of the Methodist Church, and his address before Bishop Enoch George finally carried the measure. At that time the African Methodists numbered only 100, but Bishop Rush lived to see it a comparatively large and flourishing organization. He possessed excellent judgment and business capacity, and was greatly revered by his race. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 351.
RUSK, Jeremiah McLain, governor of Wisconsin, born in Morgan County, Ohio, 17 June, 1830. He divided his time between farm-work and the acquisition of a common-school education till he attained his majority, and in 1853 moved to Wisconsin and engaged in agriculture in Vernon County. He entered the National army in l862, was commissioned major of the 25th Wisconsin Regiment, rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and served with General William T. Sherman from the siege of Vicksburg till the close of the war. In 1865 he received the brevet of brigadier-general of volunteers for meritorious service at the battle of Salkehatchie. He was elected bank comptroller of Wisconsin in 1866, which post he held till 1870, was chosen to Congress as a Republican in the latter year, served three terms, and as chairman of the Committee on Pensions performed important services in readjusting the pension rates. He declined the appointment of charge d'affaires in Paraguay and Uruguay, and that of chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which were offered him by President Garfield. Since 1882 he has been governor of Wisconsin, having been elected for three successive terms. During the threatened Milwaukee riots in May, 1886, he did good service by his prompt action in ordering the militia to fire on the dangerous mob when they attempted to destroy life and property. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 351.
RUSSELL, John Henry, naval officer, born in Frederick City, Maryland, 4 July, 1827. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 10 September, 1841, was attached to the "St. Mary's" in the Gulf of Mexico, 1844-'6, and participated in the first operations of the Mexican War and the blockade at Vera Cruz prior to the capture of that city. He became a passed midshipman, 10 August, 1847, and was graduated at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1848. He was attached to the North Pacific Exploring Expedition in 1853'6, and served in the sloop " Vincennes” under an appointment as acting lieutenant, and also as navigator. In this cruise the U. S. envoy to China was indebted to Lieutenant Russell for opening communication with the Chinese, who had refused all intercourse. Russell boldly pushed his way alone to the senior mandarin, and delivered despatches by which American and English envoys were admitted to audience. He was commissioned master, 14 September, 1855, and lieutenant, 15 September, 1855, and in 1860-'l, when on ordnance duty at the Washington U.S. Navy-yard, he was one of two officers there that remained loyal, notwithstanding that his ties and affections were with the south. He went to Norfolk to assist in preventing vessels at the navy-yard from falling into the hands of the secessionists, and had charge of the last boat that left the yard, 28 April, 1861. He was next attached to the frigate "Colorado," and on 14 September, 1861, he commanded a boat expedition to cut out the privateer " Judah " at Pensacola, under the protection of shore batteries and about 9,000 men. Russell boldly approached during the night, and after a severe hand-to-hand conflict, in which 20 of his force of 100 sailors were killed or wounded, himself among the latter, he succeeded in destroying the "Judah and regained the “Colorado." Admiral Porter, in his " Naval History," says that "this was without doubt the most gallant cutting-out affair that occurred during the war." The Navy Department complimented Russell. The state of Maryland gave him a vote of thanks, and President Lincoln personally expressed his gratitude. Russell was then placed in command of the steamer "Kennebec" in Farragut's squadron, was present at the surrender of the forts below New Orleans, and received the garrison of Fort Jackson as prisoners on his ship. Farragut thanked him for his service in saving lives of officers and men in the flag-ship's boat during a guerilla attack at Baton Rouge. He was commissioned lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, was on ordnance duty at Washington in 1864, and commanded the sloop 'Cyane," of the Pacific Squadron, in 1864-'5. After being commissioned commander on 28 January. 1867, he took charge of the steamer "Ossipee" of the Pacific Squadron, in 1860-'71, and during a gale in the Gulf of California rescued the passengers and crew of the Pacific mail-steamer " Continental" in September, 1869. He became captain, 12 February, 1874, commanded the sloop " Plymouth" in 1875, and by prompt measures saved the vessels of the North Atlantic Squadron from an epidemic of yellow fever at Key West. In 1876-'7 he commanded the steamer " Powhatan" on special service. He was made commodore, 30 October, 1883, had charge of the Mare Island U.S. Navy-yard in 1883-'6. was promoted rear-admiral, 4 March. 1886, and voluntarily went upon the retired list, 27 August, of the same year. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p.
RUSSELL, David Allan, soldier, born in Salem, New York, 10 December, 1820; died near Winchester, Virginia, 19 September, 1864, was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1845, served in the Mexican War, and received the brevet of 1st lieutenant in August, 1847, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the several affairs with guerillas at Paso Ovejas, National Bridge, and Cerro Gordo. He became captain in 1854, was engaged in the defences of Washington, D.C., from November, 1861, till January, 1862, when he was appointed colonel of the 7th Massachusetts Volunteers, served with the Army of the Potomac in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign, and was engaged at Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and the seven days' battles around Richmond. He was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, U. S. army, 1 July, 1862, for these services, became major of the 8th U.S. Infantry on 9 August of the same year, and participated in the battles of Crampton's Gap and Antietam. In November, 1862, he became brigadier-general of volunteers. He commanded a brigade of the 6th Corps in the Rappahannock Campaign, was engaged at Fredericksburg, Salem, and Beverly Ford, and at Gettysburg, for which battle he was brevetted colonel, 1 July, 1863. During the Rapidan campaign he participated in the capture of the Confederate works at Rappahannock Station, commanded a division in the 6th Corps in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and North Anna, was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. Army, 6. May, 1864, and participated in the actions at Cold Harbor and the siege and battles around Petersburg. He was then engaged in the defence of Washington, D.C., and in August and September, 1864, served in the Shenandoah Campaign in command of his former division. He was killed at the head of his column in the battle of Opequan, Virginia. He was brevetted major-general in the United States army, 19 September, 1864. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 354.
RUTHERFORD, John, born in Richmond, Virginia, 6 December, 1792; died at Richmond., Virginia, in July, 1866, received his education at Princeton, and studied law, but practised his profession only a short time. He was for many years president of the Virginia Mutual Assurance Society, the first institution of this kind in the state, and held this post until his death. He was the first captain of the Richmond Fayette Artillery and became colonel of the regiment, and was known thenceforth as "Colonel John." Colonel Rutherford became lieutenant-governor of Virginia in 1840, and, upon the death of Governor Thomas Gilmer in 1841, succeeded him as governor, which place he filled for more than a year. During this period he conducted a correspondence with Governor William H. Seward, of New York, concerning a demand that he had made, as governor of Virginia, upon the latter for the rendition of fugitives, which discussion of constitutional obligations won him reputation as a statesman and as a writer. For years he was associated in intimate correspondence with the first public men of the day, among them ex-President John Tyler and his relatives, William C. Rives, and President Madison. He was always active in public affairs and of proverbial integrity, and won friends by his courteous manners and profuse and elegant hospitality. His portrait is in the capitol at Richmond with those of the other governors and distinguished men of Virginia. At an entertainment at his house General Winfield Scott pronounced his eulogy upon Robert E. Lee, saying that " he was a head and shoulders above any man in the army of the United States, and that in case of war on the Canada question he would be worth millions to his country. This expression of opinion had great influence in Lee's being called by Virginia to assume command of the state forces at the opening of the Civil War. — John's only son, John Coles, born in Richmond, Virginia, 20 November, 1825; died at Rock Castle, Goochland County, Virginia, in August, 1866, received a good education, studied one year at Washington College, Virginia, and was graduated at the University of Virginia in 1842. Subsequently he studied law, and practised with success in Goochland and the adjoining counties. At the age of twenty-seven he was elected to the House of Delegates, and he represented his county for twelve consecutive years. He was at different times chairman of the most important committees of the house, and was favorably known as a debater and writer. He contributed, under the signature of "Sidney," some able articles to the press; one, on " Banking," published in pamphlet-form, especially gained him literary reputation. He possessed great popularity both as a public man and as a private citizen. He died within the week after his father's death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 355-356.
RUTHERFORD, Friend Smith, soldier, born in Schenectady, New York, 25 September, 1820; died in Alton, Illinois, 20 June. 1864. He was the great-grandson of Dr. Daniel Rutherford, of the University of Edinburgh, who is regarded as the discoverer of nitrogen. He studied law in Troy, New York, moved to the west, and settled in practice at Alton, Illinois. On 30 June, 1862, he was commissioned as captain and commissary of subsistence, but he resigned on 2 September in order to assume the command of the 97th Illinois Regiment. He participated in the attack on the Confederate works at Chickasaw Bayou, near Vicksburg, led the assault on Arkansas Post, and served with credit at the capture of Port Gibson and in the final operations against Vicksburg. He subsequently served in Louisiana, and died from exposure and fatigue a week before his commission was issued as brigadier-general of volunteers.—His brothers, Reuben C. and George V., served also in the volunteer army during the Civil War, and were both made brigadier-general by brevet on 13 March, 1865. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 356.
RYAN, Abram Joseph, poet, born in Norfolk, Virginia, 15 August, 1839; died in Louisville, Kentucky, 22 April, 1886. At an early age he decided to enter the Roman Catholic priesthood, and, after the usual classical and theological studies, he was ordained, and shortly afterward became a chaplain in the Confederate Army, serving until the close of the war. He wrote "The Conquered Banner" soon after Lee's surrender. In 1865 he moved to New Orleans, where, in addition to his clerical duties, he edited the "Star," a weekly Roman Catholic paper. From New Orleans he went to Knoxville, Tennessee, after a few months to Augusta. Georgia, and founded the "Banner of the South," a religious and political weekly. This he soon relinquished, and for several years was pastor of St. Mary's Church, Mobile, Alabama, but in 1880 his old restlessness returned, and he went to the north for the twofold object of publishing his poems and lecturing. He spent the month of December in Baltimore, where his "Poems, Patriotic, Religious, and Miscellaneous," were published. There also, about the same time, he delivered his first lecture, the subject being " Some Aspects of Modern Civilization." During this visit he made his home at Loyola College, and in return for the hospitality of the Jesuit fathers he gave a public reading from his poems, and devoted the proceeds, $300, to found a medal for poetry at the college. His lecturing tour was not successful, and in a few months he returned to the south, where he continued to lead the same restless mode of life. Father Ryan was engaged on a "Life of Christ" at the time of his death. His most popular poems, besides that mentioned above, are " The Lost Cause," " The Sword of Lee," "The Flag of Erin," and the epic "Their Story Runneth Thus." Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 359.
RYAN, Edward George, jurist, born at Newcastle House, County Meath, Ireland, 13 November, 1810; died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 19 October, 1880. He had been intended for the priesthood, but began the study of law, came to the United States in 1830, and subsequently was a member of the Episcopal Church. He taught and continued his law studies in New York, was admitted to the bar in 1836, and in that year moved to Chicago, where he edited a paper called the "Tribune" from 1839 till its discontinuance in 1841. He went to Racine, Wisconsin, in 1842, and to Milwaukee in 1848, and became one of the most powerful advocates at the Wisconsin bar. Among the cases in which he won reputation were the impeachment trial of Judge Levi Hubbell in 1853, the Joshua Glover fugitive-slave case in 1854, and the case of Bashford vs. Barstow in 1856 to determine the title to the office of governor of the state, in which Coles Bashford, Mr. Ryan's client, was successful. He was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention of 1846, and to the Democratic National Convention in 1848. In 1862 Mr. Ryan, as chairman of a committee of the Democratic State Convention, drew up an address to the people of Wisconsin that became known as the "Ryan Address." He was city attorney of Milwaukee in 1870-2, and on 17 June, 1874,"was appointed chief justice of the state to fill a vacancy. He was elected to the office in the following April, and served until his death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 359.
RYAN, George Parker, naval officer, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 8 May, 1842; died at sea, 24 November, 1877. He was appointed a midshipman, 30 September, 1857, and graduated at the U.S. Naval Academy second in his class in 1860. He was commissioned lieutenant, 16 Jury, 1862, and was navigator of the steamer "Sacramento" on special service in chase of the " Alabama" and " Florida" in 1862-'4. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1866, and attached to the U. S. Naval Academy as assistant professor of astronomy and navigation in 1866-'9. He was again on duty at the Naval Academy in 1871-'4, and was promoted to commander, 3 October, 1874. He organized parties for the observation of the transit of Venus of 1874, and was selected to take charge of the expedition to Kerguelen Islands. He was ordered to take command of the iron steamer "Huron" in 1876, and on 23 November, 1877, he sailed for Havana. The vessel was wrecked on Body Island, North Carolina, and Ryan, with most of his officers and crew, was drowned. At the time of his death he was one of the most scientific navigators of the service. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 359.
RYAN, William Albert Charles, soldier, born in Toronto, Canada, 28 March, 1843; died in Santiago, Cuba, 4 November, 1873. He was educated in Buffalo, New York. At the beginning of the Civil War enlisted in the New York volunteers, serving through the war, and rising to the rank of captain. He volunteered in the service of the Cuban junta in 1869, and when Thomas Jordan was made commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army became his chief of staff and inspector-general. He displayed bravery and military skill in conflicts with the Spanish troops, and several times returned to the United States to recruit new forces for carrying on the insurrection. His last expedition was in the “Virginius,” which was captured by the Spanish man-of-war “Tornado" on 31 October, 1873, seven days after leaving the port of Kingston, Jamaica, and taken into Santiago. crew were tried by court-martial, and all were condemned to death as pirates. After the sentence had been executed on General Ryan, and fifty-one others, the massacre was arrested through the interference of the captain of a British war vessel, and the surviving prisoners were subsequently released on the demand of the U.S. government. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 360.
