Encyclopedia of Civil War Military Biography – I
INGALLS, Rufus, soldier, born in Denmark, Maine, 23 August, 1820. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1843, and joined the rifle corps, but was transferred to the 1st Dragoons in 1845. He was in the battles of Embudo and Taos, Mew Mexico, in 1847, became 1st lieutenant, 16 February. 1847. Ingalls was made assistant quartermaster, with the rank of captain, 12 January, 1848. He then served in California and in Oregon, was in Colonel Edward J. Steptoe's expedition across the continent, and from 1856 till 1860 was stationed at Fort Vancouver, being on the staff of General Harney at the time of the San Juan affair. In April, 1861, he was sent to re-enforce Fort Pickens, and in July was ordered to duty with the Army of the Potomac. He was appointed aide-de-camp to General McClellan, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, on 28 September, major in the Quartermaster's Department, 12 January, 1862, and was chief quartermaster in the Army of the Potomac from 1862 till 1865. He became brigadier-general of volunteers, 23 May, 1863, and colonel and assistant quartermaster-general, 29 July, 1866. He was present at the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the subsequent battles, till the surrender of Lee. He received the brevet of brigadier-general in the regular army in 1864, and that of major-general, for meritorious services during the war, on 13 March, 1865, was mustered out of volunteer service, 1 September, 1866, and was stationed as chief quartermaster at New York City from April, 1867, to 31 July, 1876. He was reassigned to New York City, 1 March, 1881, and relieved 14 March, 1882, to become quartermaster-general of the army. General Ingalls was retired from the service at his own request on 1 July, 1883. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 346.
INGERSOLL, Robert Green, lawyer, born in Dresden, New York, 11 August, 1833. His father was a Congregational clergyman of such broad views as frequently to cause dissension between himself and his parish. The son's boyhood was spent in Wisconsin and Illinois, where the family moved in 1843. After studying law he opened an office in Shawneetown, Illinois, with his brother Eben, who was subsequently a member of Congress. Both engaged in politics, but the surroundings were uncongenial, and in 1857 they moved to Peoria. In 1860 Robert was a Democratic candidate for Congress, but was defeated. In 1862 he became colonel of the 11th Illinois Cavalry, and a year and a half later united with the Republican Party. In 1866 he was appointed Attorney-General for Illinois. At the National Republican Convention of 1876 he proposed the name of James G. Blaine for the presidential nomination in a speech that attracted much attention. From that time his services as a campaign orator have been in demand throughout the country. In 1877 he refused the post of minister to Germany. He has taken part in numerous noted lawsuits in all parts of the country, and was counsel for the so-called star-route conspirators, whose trial ended in acquittal in 1883. He is well known by his books, pamphlets, and speeches directed against the Christian religion. He has published "The Gods" (Washington, 1878); "Ghosts" (1879): "Some Mistakes of Moses" (1879); "Lectures Complete" (1883); "Prose Poems and Selections" (1884); a large number of minor works, and introductory chapters for two books, entitled "Modern Thinkers," compiled by Van Buren Denslow (Chicago, 1881); and "The Brain and the Bible," by Edgar C. Beall (Cincinnati, 1882). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 348.
INGRAHAM, Duncan Nathaniel, naval officer, born in Charleston, South Carolina, 6 December, 1802. His father, Nathaniel, was a friend of John Paul Jones, and was in the action with the British brig " Serapis," and his uncle, Captain Joseph Ingraham, was lost at sea in the U. S. ship "Pickering." Duncan Nathaniel entered the U. S. Navy as a midshipman in June, 1812, and became lieutenant, 1 April, 1818; commander, 24 May, 1838; and captain, 14 September, 1855. While commanding the sloop-of-war "St. Louis," in the Mediterranean, he interfered at Smyrna, in July, 1853, with the Austrian consul's detention of Martin Koszta, who had resided nearly two years in the United States and declared his intention of becoming an American citizen. He had come to Smyrna from New York on business intending soon to return, but on 21 June, 1853, he was seized by a party of armed Greeks that were employed by the Austrian consul-general and confined on board the "Hussar." After learning the facts from the prisoner Captain Ingraham addressed a letter on this subject to John P. Brown, the charge d'affaires of the United States in Constantinople, who gave the official opinion that the surrender of Koszta should be demanded. On 2 July, at 8 A. M., Captain Ingraham claimed of the Austrian commander the release of Koszta by 4 p. M., declaring that he would otherwise take him by force. At the same time the decks of the " St. Louis" were cleared for action, and all was made ready for an attack on the " Hussar," which was much her superior in size and armament. At 11 a. m. the Austrian consul-general proposed to deliver Koszta to the French consul, to be held by him subject to the disposition of the U. S. and Austrian consuls. This was accepted by Captain Ingraham as giving sufficient assurance of the personal safety of the Hungarian, and Koszta was soon released and returned to the United States. This affair gave rise to an elaborate discussion in Washington between Secretary William L. Marcy and M. Hulsemann, the charg6 d'affaires of Austria. The conduct of Captain Ingraham was fully approved by the U. S. government, and on 4 August, 1854, Congress, by joint resolution, requested the president to present him with a medal. In March, 1850, he was appointed chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography of the Navy Department. When the Civil War began, in 1861, he was in command of the flag-ship "Richmond" in the Mediterranean. He resigned his commission, and entered the Confederate Naval service, being chief of ordnance, construction and repair, and in which he rose to the rank of commodore. He has served in every war since the Revolution, and is said to be the only survivor of those that entered the U.S. Navy in 1812. He married Harriet, granddaughter of Henry Laurens. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 350.
INMAN, John Hamilton, financier, born in Jefferson County, Tennessee. 23 October, 1844. His father was a banker and farmer. John loft school at fifteen years of age. and became a clerk in a Georgia bank, of which his uncle was president. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate Army. His relatives were impoverished by the war, and in September, 1865 he went to New York City to seek his fortune. He obtained employment in a cotton house, was admitted to a full partnership in the firm in 1868, and in 1870 founded the house of Inman, Swann and County, in which he associated himself with his former partners. The business increased rapidly, and in a few years he amassed a fortune of several million dollars in the cotton trade, which was attracted to New York City largely through his activity. He turned his attention to the development of southern resources, and, in association with other capitalists who relied on his judgment, invested over $5,000,000 in the enterprises of the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company, including the bituminous coal-mines at Birmingham, Alabama, the blast furnaces in that city, and Bessemer Steel Works at Ensley City, near there. He induced the investment of over $100,000,000 in southern enterprises, and became a director in companies that possessed more than 10,000 miles of railroad. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 352.
INMAN, William, naval officer, born in Utica, New York, in 1797: died in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, 23 October, 1874. His parents were English. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman on 1 January, 1812, served on the lakes during the war of 1812-15, was promoted lieutenant on 1 April, 1818, and was in charge of one of the two boats that captured a pirate vessel on the coast of Cuba in 1823. He became a commander on 24 May, 1838, and was assigned to the steamer "Michigan" on the lakes in. 1844-'6. After being promoted captain on 2 June, 1850, he commanded the steam frigate "Susquehanna," of the East India Squadron, in 1851. From 1859 till 1861 he was in command of the squadron on the coast of Africa, which recaptured and landed in Liberia 3,600 slaves. He was promoted commodore and placed on the retired list on 4 April, 1867, and at the time of his death was the senior officer of his rank. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 352.
IRELAND, John, governor of Texas, born in Hart County, Kentucky, 1 January, 1827. He studied law, moved to Texas in 1852, and practised at Seguin, of which town he was elected mayor in 1856. He was a member of the convention that passed the Ordinance of Secession in 1861, and served through the war in the Confederate Army, becoming lieutenant-colonel of a Texas infantry regiment in 1862. In 1866 he was elected a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention, and the same year a district judge. He was sent to the legislature in 1872, chosen a member of the state senate in 1873, and in 1875 appointed an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Texas. In 1882 he was elected governor, and in 1884 was re-elected. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 355.
IRWIN, John, naval officer, born in Pennsylvania, 15 April, 1832. He was commissioned midshipman in 1847, passed midshipman in 1853, lieutenant in 1855, captain in 1875, and commodore in 1886. During the Civil War he served on the frigate " Wabash” at the battle of Port Royal, and with a detachment of officers and seamen of the ship participated in the bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski. His conduct on this occasion was commended in the official report. He is now (1887) senior member of the board of inspection in San Francisco. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 364.
IVES, Thomas Poynton, naval officer, born in Providence, Rhode Island, 17 January, 1834; died in Havre, France, 17 November, 1865. He was the son of a merchant in Providence, and when the Civil War began offered his services to the government, entering the U.S. Navy as a volunteer. At the same time he presented his yacht to the Navy Department, and refused to receive any compensation for his services as an officer of the navy. He became acting master, 3 September, 1862, acting volunteer lieutenant, for "efficient and gallant conduct," 26 May, 1863, and acting volunteer lieutenant-commander, 7 November, 1864. He bore an active part in the earlier operations against the Hatteras Forts and at Roanoke Island, was then transferred to the Potomac Flotilla, and subsequently assigned to ordnance duty at the Washington U.S. Navy-yard. Illness compelled him to tender his resignation, which the department refused to accept, but granted him leave of absence. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 370.
