Encyclopedia of Civil War Military Biography – P
PACKARD, John Hooker, surgeon, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 15 August. 1832. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in arts in 1850, and in medicine in 1853. He was surgeon during the Civil War to the Christian Street and Satterlee U. S. Army Hospitals, consulting surgeon to the hospitals at Beverly, New Jersey, and Haddington. Pennsylvania, surgeon to the Episcopal Hospital at Philadelphia in 1863-'84, and has held a similar office in the Pennsylvania Hospital since 1884. He was secretary of the College of physicians from 1862 till 1877, of which body he was chosen vice-president in 1886, and is a member of other learned bodies. He translated "Malgaigne on Fractures " (Philadelphia, 1859); published " Philadelphia Medical Directory" (1868, 1871. and 1873); and is the author of "Manual of Minor Surgery" (1863); " Lectures on Inflammation "(1865); "Handbook of Operative Surgery " (1870); and "Sea-Air and Sea-Bathing" (1881). He has contributed largely on medical subjects to various medical journals, to the "Transactions of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society," and to the " Pennsylvania Hospital Reports." A paper on " Some of the Surgeons of the Last Century," read before the Ontario Medical Association, is printed in the " Canadian Practitioner" (February, 1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 618-619.
PACKARD, Alpheus Spring, naturalist, born in Brunswick, Maine, 19 February, 1839, was graduated at Bowdoin in 1861 and at Maine Medical School in 1864. Meanwhile he was volunteer assistant in 1861-'2 on the Maine Geological Survey, also studying natural history for three years under Louis Agassiz in Cambridge, part of which time he was Agassiz's assistant. In October, 1864, he was commissioned assistant surgeon of the 1st Maine Veteran Volunteers, and he served with the 6th Corps of the Army of the Potomac until July, 1865. During 1865 he was acting custodian and librarian of the Boston Society of Natural History, after which he joined Alpheus Hyatt, Edward S. Morse, and Frederick W. Putnam in the establishment of the Peabody Academy of Science in Salem, of which he was one of the curators in 1868-'76, also serving as director of its museum in 1877-'8. In the winter of 1869-'70 he made zoological collections on the Florida reefs and at Beaufort, North Carolina, and in 1871 at Charleston, South Carolina, and he was state entomologist of Massachusetts in 1871-'3. Professor Packard was one of the instructors in the Agassiz Science School at Penikese in 1873-'4, and was connected with the U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories under Ferdinand V. Hayden in 1875-'7. Meanwhile he delivered lectures on entomology at Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1869-'77, at Maine State Agricultural College in 1871, at Bowdoin in 1873, and on comparative anatomy at Bowdoin in 1876, and he was connected with the U. S. Fish Commission in 1871-'4. In 1878 he was called to the chair of zoology and geology in Brown University, which he has since filled. He was a member of the U. S. Entomological Commission during its existence in 1877-'82, making for it in 1877-80 extensive tours in the western and Pacific states and the territories. His scientific work has been principally in the direction of entomology. In 1863 he proposed a new classification of insects, which has since been generally adopted both in Europe and in this country. He discovered the morphology and mode of development of the ovipositor and sting of insects, the nature of the trachea of insects, and has studied their external anatomy. His contributions to the natural history of the limulus, including the development and anatomy of the brain and nervous system, is considered of great value. In paleontology he has collected and described the post-Pliocene fossils of Maine and Labrador, and the merostomata and crustacea of the carboniferous formations of Illinois and Pennsylvania: and shown the close relationship of the trilobites to limulus. Professor Packard's writings have contributed to the extension of the evolution theory, and he advocates a modern form of Lamarckianism, to which he gives the term of neo-Lamarckianism. In studying this subject he has made observations on variations in insects induced by climate, on salt-water animals, and on cave or blind animals. Professor Packard is a member of many scientific societies in the United States and Europe, and in 1872 was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the founders of the " American Naturalist " and its editor-in-chief until 1886. His bibliography includes upward of 400 titles. His larger scientific memoirs include "Glacial Phenomena of Maine and Labrador" (1866): "Revision of the Fossorial Hymenoptera of North America" (1866-'7); "Structure of the Ovipositor of Insects" (1868); "Development and Anatomy of Limulus Polyphemus “ (1871-85): "Monograph of the Geometrid Moths" (1876); “ The Brain of the Locust " (1881); "Monograph of North American Phyllopod Crustacea" (1883); and "The Cave Fauna of North America" (1888). His popular works and textbooks comprise " A Guide to the Study of Insects" (Salem. 1869); "Record of American Entomology" (1868-72); "The Mammoth Cave and its Inhabitants." with Frederick W. Putnam (1872); "Our Common Insects" (Boston, 1876): "Life Histories of Animals, including Man, or Outlines of Comparative Embryology (New York, 1876); "Half Hours with Insects" (Boston, 1877); "Insects of the West" (Washington, 1877; London, 1878); "Zoology for Students and General Readers" (New York, 187!): briefer course, 1883); "First Lessons in Geology" (Providence, 1882); "First Lessons in Zoology" (New York, 1886); "Entomology for Beginners" (1888); "A Naturalist on the Labrador Coast" (1888); and "Forest and Shade-Tree Insects" (Washington. 1888). See "The Entomological Writings of Dr. Alpheus Spring Packard," by Samuel Henshaw (1887). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 619-620.
PACKARD, Jasper, soldier, born in Austintown, Mahoning County, Ohio, 1 February, 1832. He moved with his father to Indiana in 1835 and studied at Oberlin College, Ohio, and afterward at the University of Michigan, where he was graduated in 1855. He then engaged in teaching, settled at Laporte, edited "The Union" there, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1861. He entered the National Army as a private at the Beginning of the Civil War, served as lieutenant during the Vicksburg Campaign, being wounded during the assault on that place, received two promotions during the Atlanta Campaign, and on 13 March, 1865, was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers for meritorious services. He was mustered out of service in 1866, was auditor of Laporte County in 1866-'8, and a member of Congress from Indiana from 4 March, 1869, till 3 March, 1875. He was U. S. internal revenue agent from January, 1876, till July, 1884. He established the "Laporte Chronicle" in July, 1874, and published it for four years, and has been proprietor and editor of the "Laporte Daily Public Spirit" since 1886. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 620.
PAGE, Thomas Jefferson, born at Shelly, Gloucester County, Virginia, 4 January, 1808, was appointed a midshipman on 1 October, 1827, passed for promotion on 10 June, 1833, and was commissioned as lieutenant on 20 December, 1839. He served on the Coast Survey for several years, circumnavigated the globe in the "Dolphin,'' and on his return home suggested to the Secretary of the Navy, William A. Graham, a plan for a survey of the China Seas, and obtained an appropriation from Congress for the construction of a steamer for the purpose. When John P. Kennedy took charge of the Navy Department, he greatly enlarged the scope of the expedition, and placed Commodore Matthew C. Perry in command, offering the second place to Lieutenant Page, who, however, declined. In 1853 he was placed in command of an expedition for the exploration of the tributaries of the Rio de la Plata and adjacent countries. He was well received by President Carlos A. Lopez, of the republic of Paraguay, and carried out his mission without obstruction till February, 1855, when his steamer, the "Water-Witch," was fired upon from a Paraguayan fort on the Parana River, and one man was killed. He returned the fire, but his vessel was not fitted for offensive operations. He returned to the United States in May, 1856, after an absence of three years and four months. A naval demonstration, in January, 1859, secured reparation from the Paraguayan government. Page, who had been promoted commander on 14 September, 1855, resumed his surveys, and completed them in December, 1860. Turning over to the Navy Department the charts, notes, and journals, which embrace several thousand miles of river navigation previously unexplored, and not yet described in print, he resigned his commission on the secession of his state. He was offered an admiral's commission by the Italian government, which desired his aid in the reorganization of its navy; yet he elected to serve in the cause of the southern states. He commanded the heavy batteries at Gloucester Point on York River, and began the building of gun-boats at West Point, but burned them and retreated after Yorktown was abandoned. In 1862 he was commissioned as commodore, and went to England to take command of an iron-clad then building in the Mersey, and when the British government, under a threat of war from the U. S. minister, took possession of the vessel, he assumed command of a small iron-clad then lying at Copenhagen which put to sea under the name of "Stonewall," and which afterward, when she entered a Spanish harbor, was seized by the officers of Queen Isabella. His career in the Confederate service being thus brought to a close, he went to the Argentine Republic, where the benefits rendered to the country by his explorations found a high recognition. For many years he was associated with his old friend, ex-President Uzquiza, in sheep and cattle farming. Then going to England in the commission of the government, he superintended the construction of two iron-clads and two gun-boats which formed the nucleus of the Argentine Navy. Commodore Page has since resided in Florence, Italy. His son, a fleet-captain in the Argentine Navy, has recently resumed the explorations of the tributaries of the River Plata at the point where ends the descriptive account of his father, who after his return from his first expedition to South America published a narrative entitled "La Plata: the Argentine Confederation and Paraguay," describing 3,600 miles of river navigation and explorations on land extending over 4,400 miles (New York, 1859). [John Page’s grandson]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 625.
PAGE, Richard Churning Moore, physician, born at Turkey Hill, Albemarle County, Virginia, 2 January, 1841, entered the University of Virginia in 1860, but in July, 1861, enlisted in the Confederate Artillery. He was commissioned as captain in April, 1862, and commanded a battery in nearly all the battles of the Army of Northern Virginia. He was severely wounded at Gettysburg. In October, 1864, after being promoted major, he was assigned to duty on the staff of General John C. Breckinridge as chief of artillery. He studied medicine at the close of the war in the medical department of the University of the City of New York, and after graduation in 1868 served as house physician in Bellevue Hospital, and afterward as house surgeon in the Woman's Hospital. Dr. Page has been professor of general medicine and diseases of the chest in the New York polyclinic since 1885. he has contributed to the New York "Medical Record" and other periodicals. He is the author of a "Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia" (New York, 1882) and of a "Sketch of Page's Battery, Jackson's Corps, Lee's Army " (1885); also of a "chart of Physical Diagnosis" (1885). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 625.
PAINE, Byron, jurist, born in Painesville, Ohio, 10 October, 1827; died in Madison. Wisconsin, 13 January, 1871. His great-grandfather, Edward, founded Painesville in 1800, and his father, James Harvey, held the rank of general of Ohio militia, and was an early anti-slavery champion. The son studied in Painesville Academy and in 1849 was admitted to the bar of Milwaukee, whither his father moved in 1847. He was judge of the Milwaukee County Court from 1856 till 1859, and associate justice of the state supreme court from 1859 till 1864. He attracted much attention in 1854 as defendant for Sherman M. Booth in his trial for aiding in the rescue of Joseph Glover, a fugitive slave, who had been captured by his master and confined in the Milwaukee Jail. In after-years Judge Paine was active in establishing the right of Negro suffrage. He entered the National Army as lieutenant-colonel of the 43d Wisconsin Infantry on 10 August, 1864, and served till he was mustered out on 27 November, 1865. From 1867 until his death he was an associate justice of the supreme court of Wisconsin, and from 1868 till 1871 was professor of law in the University of Wisconsin, from which institution he received the degree of LL. D. in 1869. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 627.
PAINE, Eleazar A., soldier, born in Parkman, Geauga County, Ohio, 10 September, 1815; died in Jersey City, New Jersey, 16 December, 1882. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1839, and assigned to the 1st U.S. Infantry, served in the Florida War of 1839-40, and resigned on 11 October, 1840. He then studied law and practised in Painesville. Ohio, from 1843 till 1848, and in Monmouth, Illinois, from 1848 till 1861. and served in the legislature of Illinois in 1852-'3. In 1842-'5 he was deputy U. S. Marshal for Ohio, and also lieutenant-colonel in the Ohio militia, and he held the rank of brigadier-general from 1845 till 1848. He was appointed colonel of the 9th Illinois Volunteers on 3 July, 1861, and served throughout the Civil War, being made brigadier-general of volunteers on 3 September, 1861, and leading a brigade in Paducah. Kentucky, in 1861, and in Cairo, Illinois, in 1862. On 12 March, 1862, he was assigned to the command of the first Division of the Army of the Mississippi, under General John Pope, and participated in the battle of New Madrid, Missouri, which terminated in its capture, 21 March, 1862. He was also present at the capture of Island No. 10, and took part in the advance on Corinth, the evacuation of which was materially hastened by his operations, his troops being engaged with the Confederates at Farmington, 9 May, 1862. He was in command of Gallatin, Tennessee, and guarded the railroad from Mitchellsville to Nashville, Tennessee, from 24 November, 1862, till 4 May, 1864, and was in command of the District of Western Kentucky from 18 July till 11 September, 1864. General Paine was a personal friend of President Lincoln, from whom he received many commendations for efficient service. He resigned on 5 April, 1865. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 627.
PAINE, Hulbert Eleazar, soldier, born in Chardon, Ohio. 4 February, 1826. After his graduation at Western Reserve in 1845 he studied law, was admitted to the bar of Cleveland in 1848, and moved to Milwaukee in 1857. He entered the National Army in May, 1861, as colonel of the 4th Wisconsin Regiment, and became brigadier-general of volunteers on 13 March, 1863. He served mainly in the Army of the Gulf, and lost a leg in the last assault on Port Hudson, Louisiana, where he commanded the 3d Division of the Fifth Corps. He defended Washington during General Jubal A. Early's raid in 1864, was brevetted major-general of volunteers on 13 March, 1865, and resigned on 3 May of that year. He was afterward elected to Congress from Wisconsin as a Republican, serving from 4 December, 1865, till 3 March, 1871, and was instrumental in the passage of a bill, dated 19 December, 1869, that provided for taking meteorological observations in the interior of the continent. (See Abbe, Cleveland.) He was a delegate to the Philadelphia Loyalists' Convention of 1866. and after the expiration of his third term in Congress practised law in Washington, D. C, where he was U. S. Commissioner of Patents from 1879 till 1881. He is the author of "Paine on Contested Elections" (Washington, 1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 627-628.
PALFREY, Francis Winthrop, lawyer, born in Boston, 11 April, 1831. He was graduated at Harvard in 1851, and at the law-school in 1853. He served in the Civil War as lieutenant-colonel and colonel of the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, was brevetted brigadier-general after receiving a severe wound, and has been a register in bankruptcy since 1872. He is the author of "A Memoir of William F. Bartlett" (Boston. 1879): "Antietam and Fredericksburg," being vol. v. of "Campaigns of the Civil War" (New York, 1882); parts of the first volume of Military Papers of the Historical Society of Massachusetts "; and various articles in the "North American Review." [John Gorham Palfrey’s Grandson]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 634-635.
PALFREY, John Carter, soldier, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 25 December, 1833, was graduated at Harvard in 1853, and at the U. S. Military Academy, at the head of his class, in 1857. He was assigned to the engineers, and during the Civil War served in constructing defences on Ship Island, in repairing Port St. Philip and Fort Jackson, Louisiana, at the siege of Port Hudson, and in the Red River Expedition. He also had charge of the operations at the siege and capture of tort Morgan, Alabama, and from 20 March till 12 April, 1865, he participated in the siege and capture of Mobile. He was chief engineer and assistant inspector-general of the 13th Army Corps from 15 March till 1 August, 1865, and was brevetted major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general. U. S. Army, 20 March. 1865. He resigned on 1 May, 1866, and he has since been connected with manufacturing companies at Lowell, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. He became overseer of the Thayer School of Civil Engineering of Dartmouth in 1868, and is a vice-president of the Webster Bank in Boston. He has contributed to the publications of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, to the "North American Review," and other periodicals. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 635.
PALLEN, Montrose Anderson, educator, born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, 2 January, 1830. His father, a native of Virginia, was professor of obstetrics in St. Louis Medical College for twenty-seven years. The son was graduated at St, Louis University in 1853, and in medicine in 1850. After spending two years in hospital service and study in London, Paris, and Berlin, he began practice in St, Louis, Missouri. During the Civil War he was medical director of General Henry A. Wise's legion in 1861, of General William J. Hardee's army corps in 1862, and afterward of the Department of Mississippi till February, 1863. He was subsequently sent to Canada by the Confederate government to report on the condition of the Confederate prisoners on Johnson's Island. He returned to Richmond in 1864, and after a visit to Paris, France, where he obtained surgical and medical supplies for the Confederate Armies, he was sent to Montreal again, but was captured on his way back to the south, and held on parole in New York City till the end of the war. After occupying chairs in various institutions, he was in 1874 appointed professor of gynecology in the University of the City of New York. In 1883 he assisted in forming the Post-Graduate Medical College in that city. Among other inventions by Dr. Fallen are a self-retaining vaginal speculum, peculiar needles for small and deep cavities, and various uterine supports. He has written much for medical periodicals, and published "Abnormities of Vision and Ophthalmoscope" (Washington, D. C, 1858); "Uterine Abnormities" (Cincinnati, 1800); ' Prophylaxis of Preirnancy" (New York. 1878): and " Dysmenorrhea" (1880). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 634.
PALMER, Alonzo Benjamin, physician, born in Richfield, Otsego County, New York, 6 October, 1815; died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 23 December, 1887. He was educated in various schools and academies in New York State, and was graduated in medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of New York in 1839. After attending lectures in that city and in Philadelphia in 1847-'50 he went to Tecumseh, Michigan, and afterward moved to Chicago. In 1852 he served as city physician there during a severe cholera epidemic among emigrants from northern Europe, and in that year was appointed professor of anatomy in the College of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Michigan. In 1854 he was transferred to the chair of medical therapeutics and diseases of women and children. In 1860 he was appointed to the professorship of pathology and practice of medicine, which he held at, the time of his death. He became surgeon of the 2d Michigan Regiment of Infantry, and dressed the first wound that was inflicted by the enemy at Blackburn's Ford on 18 July, 1861, but he resigned in September, 1861, and returned to the University of Michigan. He afterward visited the army occasionally as volunteer surgeon, and was president of the American Medical Association during the war. He was instructor of pathology and practice of medicine at Berkshire Medical College, Massachusetts, in 1864, and at Bowdoin in 1869-'70. He was president of the Michigan Medical Society in 1872-'3, and of the section of pathology in the Ninth International Medical Congress in Washington. D. C. in 1887. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 636.
PALMER, George Washington, lawyer, in Ripley, Chautauqua County, New York, 7 June, 1835; died in New York City, 2 January, 1887. He was graduated at Albany Law-School in 1857, and practised his profession. He was active in politics during the Lincoln campaign, and in 1861 was assistant clerk in the U. S. Senate. Receiving an appointment in the War Department, he served in the quartermaster-general's office, and was afterward appointed captain and provost-marshal of the 31st District of New York. In December, 1864, he became military secretary to Governor Reuben E. Fenton, in the following spring was made commissary-general of ordnance of New York State, with the rank of brigadier-general, and in 1868 was charged with the duties of quartermaster. In 1869 he practised law in New York City, but became appraiser of customs, holding this office until 1871, and then resuming his law-practice. In 1879 he was placed in charge of the law department, which post he resigned in 1886. For twenty years he was an active campaign speaker, and his fatal illness was ascribed to his over-exertion in 1884. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 638.
PALMER, Innis Newton, soldier, born in Buffalo, New York, 30 March, 1824. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1840. and assigned to the U.S. Mounted Rifles, in which he became 2d lieutenant on 20 July, 1847, and served in the siege of Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. He was brevetted 1st lieutenant on 20 August, 1847, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, Mexico, and at Chapultepec he was wounded and brevetted captain. He was also at the assault and capture of the city of Mexico, after which he was on recruiting service in Missouri, and then on frontier duty in Oregon and Washington Territory. He became 1st lieutenant of mounted rifles on 27 January, 1853, captain in the 2d U.S. Cavalry on 3 March, 1855, and major on 25 April, 1861, and on 3 August, 1861, was transferred to the 5th U.S. Cavalry with the same rank. He served throughout the Civil War, was brevetted lieutenant-colonel on 21 July, 1861, for gallant and meritorious service at Bull Run, Virginia, and on 23 September, 1861, was made brigadier-general of volunteers. He served in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign in command of a brigade in the 4th Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He organized and forwarded to the field the New Jersey and Delaware volunteers, and superintended camps of drafted men in Philadelphia before the operations in North Carolina, when he commanded the 1st Division of the 18th Army Corps from 1 January till 10 July, 1863, the Department of North Carolina from 1 February till 2 March. 1863, the District of Pamlico from 10 to 25 July, 1863, the 18th Army Corps from 25 July till 18 August, 1863, and the defences of New Berne, North Carolina, from 18 August, 1863, till 19 April, 1864. He was made lieutenant-colonel on 23 September, 1863, and on 13 March, 1865, was brevetted colonel and brigadier general, U. S. Army, and major-general of volunteers. He was mustered out of the volunteer service on 15 January, 1866, and then served in Kansas and Wyoming. He was colonel of the 2d U. S. Cavalry from 9 June, 1868, till 20 March, 1879, when he was retired. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 639.
PALMER, James Croxall, naval surgeon, born in Baltimore, Maryland, 29 June, 1811; died in Washington, D. C, 24 April, 1883. He was graduated at Dickinson in 1829, and studied medicine at the University of Maryland, where he took his degree. In 1834 he was commissioned assistant surgeon. He was ordered, on 17 July, 1838, to the store-ship "Relief," of the exploring expedition under Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, and in attempting the Brecknock passage into the straits of Magellan, was transferred to the sloop "Peacock." the adventurous cruise of which is recorded m the general history of the exploring expedition. Dr. Palmer recorded one episode in a poem, the last edition of which is entitled "The Antarctic Mariner's Song "(New York, 1868). Alter the wreck of the "Peacock " at the mouth of Columbia River, 19 July, 1841, he commanded a large shore-party at Astoria. On 27 October, 1842, he was commissioned surgeon, and served in the Washington U.S. Navy-yard, where he had charge of those who were wounded by the explosion on the "Princeton." He served in Mexican waters during the annexation of Texas and the consequent war, and in 1857 he was ordered to the steam-frigate " Niagara " on the first effort to lay the Atlantic cable, and originated a plan for splicing the wire in mid-ocean. He was afterward attached to the naval academy in Annapolis, and when it was transferred to Newport, Rhode Island, during the Civil War, he assumed its sole medical charge. He was on the flag-ship " Hartford." as fleet surgeon at the battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August, 1864, was ordered by Farragut to go to all the monitors and tell them to attack the "Tennessee," and went around the fleet in the admiral's steam-barge "Loyal" to aid surgeons who had no assistants. Upon his return to the " Hartford," after the battle, he was ordered by Farragut to go on board the enemy's ram "'Tennessee," just captured, and to attend Admiral Franklin Buchanan. He saved the leg of this officer, which had been broken during the engagement, by refusing to resort to amputation, as had been proposed by the surgeon of the Confederate fleet. Dr. Palmer brought about an agreement between Stephen R. Mallory and Admiral Farragut to exempt all medical officers and attendants from detention as prisoners of war. He was afterward in charge of the Naval Hospital in Brooklyn, New York for about four years. On 3 March, 1871, he was commissioned medical director, and on 10 June, 1872, he became Surgeon-General of the U.S, Navy, and was retired on 29 June, 1873. He published some important professional contributions through the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 638-639.
PALMER, James Shedden, naval officer, born in New Jersey in 1810; died in St. Thomas, W. I., 7 December, 1867. He became midshipman on 1 January, 1825, and lieutenant, 17 December, 1836, and served on the "Columbia" in the attack on Quallah Battoo and Mushie, in the island of Sumatra. In the Mexican War he was in command of the schooner "Flirt," engaged in blockading the Mexican Coast. He was appointed commander on 14 September, 1855. At the beginning of the Civil War he commanded the steamer "Iroquois," of the Mediterranean Squadron, but was soon afterward attached to the Atlantic Blockading Fleet under Admiral Samuel F. Dupont. He became captain on 16 July, 1862, and in that summer led the advance in the passages of the Vicksburg batteries, and was engaged in the fight with the Confederate ram "Arkansas." At the passage of Vicksburg the flag-ship stopped her engines for a few minutes to allow the vessels in the rear to close up. Fancying that some accident had befallen the admiral, Palmer dropped the "Iroquois," which was the leading ship, down to the "Hartford." Not understanding this movement, Farragut hailed Palmer through his trumpet, saying: "Captain Palmer, what do you mean by disobeying my orders of Palmer replied: "I thought, Admiral, that you had more fire than you could stand, and I came down to draw off a part of it." This piece of gallantry Farragut never forgot, and he remained Palmer's close friend. Palmer was commissioned commodore on 7 February, 1868, and at New Orleans and Mobile he was Farragut's flag-captain. He became rear-admiral on 25 July, 1866, and died of yellow fever while in command of the South Atlantic Squadron in the West Indies. He was popularly known as "Pie-crust Palmer." Loyall Farragut. in his father's " Life and Letters," says of him: "Under a reserve of manner and dignified bearing, which almost amounted to pomposity, Palmer showed a warm and generous nature. He was brave and cool under fire, and always ready to obey his chief's commands. The writer has seen him going into battle dressed with scrupulous neatness, performing the last part of his toilet in buttoning his kid gloves as though he were about to enter a ball-room." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 639
PALMER, John McCauley, soldier, born in Eagle Creek, Scott County, Kentucky, 13 September, 1817. He moved to Illinois in 1832, and in 1839 settled in Carlinville. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1847, a member of the state senate in 1852-'4, a delegate to the National Republican Convention at Philadelphia in 1856, a presidential elector on the Republican ticket of 1860, and a delegate to the Peace Convention at Washington, 4 February, 1861. He was elected colonel of the 14th Illinois Volunteers in April, 1861, accompanied General John C. Fremont in his expedition to Springfield, Missouri, and was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 20 December. He was with General John Pope at the capture of New Madrid and Island No. 10., and afterward commanded the 1st Brigade, 1st Division of the Army of the Mississippi. In November, 1862, he was with General Grant's army in temporary command of a division. Subsequently he led a division at the battle of Stone River, and for his gallantry there he was promoted to major-general of volunteers, 29 November, 1862. He participated in the battle of Chickamauga, and led the 14th Corps in the Atlanta Campaign, from May till September, 1864. He was governor of Illinois from 1869 till 1873. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 640.
PARDEE, Ario, philanthropist, born in Chatham, New York, 19 November, 1810. He received a common-school education, and then turned his attention to engineering. His first work was on the construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal in New Jersey, during 1830-'3, after which he went to Pennsylvania and had charge of an engineering corps, running the line for the Beaver Meadow Railroad. In 1836 he began the Hazleton Railroad, and settling there in 1840 opened coal-mines which, being located in the mammoth vein of the anthracite field, proved exceedingly valuable. In 1848 he built a gravity railroad to Penn Haven, a distance of fourteen miles, as an outlet for the product of these mines, but in 1854 the Lehigh Valley Railroad was opened, which, with its improved facilities, caused the abandonment of the old road in 1860. Subsequently he became interested in iron manufacture, and he is now (1888) owner of blast-furnaces at various localities in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Tennessee. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 he fitted out a military company for the National service at his own expense, with which his eldest son, Ario Pardee, Jr., served and attained the brevet rank of brigadier-general on 12 January, 1865. Mr. Pardee became interested in Lafayette College in 1864, and through the influence of William C. Cattell, then president of the college, he gave $20,000 for the endowment of a professorship. At that time this amount was the largest sum that had been given by one person to any educational institution in Pennsylvania, He soon increased his gift until in 1869 it amounted to $200,000, and upon this basis was first established a new curriculum of scientific and technical studies. A new building being needed, Mr. Pardee for this purpose made a further gift of $250,000, to which he afterward added $50,000 for its scientific equipment, thus increasing his donations to $500,000. The building, shown in the accompanying illustration, was erected and called Pardee Hall in his honor. It was regarded when finished as " the largest and most complete scientific college building in the United States," and was formally dedicated in October, 1873. It was burned in 1879, but has been rebuilt. Mr. Pardee is a director of several railroads, including the Lehigh Valley road, and, besides being an active officer in various charitable organizations, is president of the state board that has the oversight and control of the second geological survey of Pennsylvania. He was a presidential elector in 1876, and since 1882 has been president of the board of trustees of Lafayette College. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 644.
PARKE, John Grubb, soldier, born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 22 September, 1827. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1849, and assigned to the Topographical Engineers. In 1849-'50 he was engaged in determining the starting point of the boundary line between Iowa and Minnesota, and subsequently on the survey of the Little Colorado River, and in charge of surveys for a Pacific Railroad on the thirty-second parallel. He became 1st lieutenant of Topographical Engineers on 1 July, 1856, and was chief astronomer and surveyor in the delimitation of the northwestern boundary between the United States and British America from 2 March, 1857, till the beginning of the Civil War. He was promoted captain of Topographical Engineers on 9 September, 1861, and appointed brigadier-general of volunteers on 23 November. In the beginning of 1862 he accompanied General Ambrose E. Burnside's expedition to North Carolina, receiving the brevet of lieutenant-colonel in the U. S. Army for services in the capture of Fort Macon. He was promoted major-general of volunteers on 18 July, 1862, and served as chief of staff of the 9th Corps during the Maryland Campaign, being engaged at South Mountain and Antietam. and in the pursuit of the enemy to Warrenton. When General Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac, General Parke was retained as his chief of staff, and was present at the battle of Fredericksburg. He participated in the movement of the 9th Corps in to Kentucky, and commanded it on the march to Vicksburg, arriving before the surrender. In the reoccupation of Jackson, Mississippi, he was in command of the left wing of General Sherman's army, receiving the brevet of colonel for his part in the operations. In the East Tennessee Campaign he was engaged at Blue Spring in the defence of Knoxville, for which he was subsequently brevetted brigadier-general, and in the following operations against General James Longstreet, after General Burnside resumed command of the corps, he led one of its divisions, and in the Richmond Campaign of the Army of the Potomac he was engaged at the battle of the Wilderness and the combats around Spottsylvania, but was then disabled by illness until 13 August, 1864, when he resumed command of the 9th Corps before Petersburg. He was brevetted major-general in the U. S. Army for repelling the enemy's assault on Fort Steadman, and took part in the pursuit of Lee's army until it surrendered. He had been commissioned as major in the Corps of Engineers on 17 June, 1864. After commanding the Districts of Alexandria and Southern New York, he resumed charge of the northwestern boundary survey on 28 September, 1866. He superintended the repair and construction of fortifications in Maryland in 1867-'8, and was on duty in the office of the chief of engineers at Washington, D. C. from 1 June, 1868. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel of engineers on 4 March, 1879, and colonel on 17 March, 1884, and in June. 1887, was appointed superintendent of the U. S. Military Academy. He is the author of reports in "Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean" (Washington, 1854-6; also of “Compilations of Laws of the United States relating to Public Works for the Improvement of Rivers and Harbors" (1877; revised cd., 1887), and "Laws relating to the Construction of Bridges over Navigable Waters " (1882; revised ed., 1887). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 649.
PARKER, Edward Griffin, lawyer, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 16 November, 1825; died in New York City, 30 March, 1868. He was graduated at Yale in 1847, studied law under Rufus Choate. He was admitted to the bar in 1849, and practised in Boston till the beginning of the Civil War. In 1857-'8 he edited the political department of the Boston "Traveller." He became a volunteer aide on General Benjamin P. Butler's staff in 1861, and the next year was adjutant-general and chief of staff to General John H. Martindale during his command of the Department of Washington. He settled in New York after the war, and was in charge of the American Literary Bureau of Reference. He contributed frequently to the press, and published "The Golden Age of American Oratory" (Boston, 1857) and " Reminiscences of Rufus Choate" (New York, 1860). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 650.
PARKER, Ely Samuel, soldier, born in the Indian reservation, Tonawanda, New York, in 1828. He is a full-blooded Seneca Indian, and chief of the Six Nations. After receiving a careful education in schools in New York state, he adopted the profession of civil engineering, and settled temporarily in Galena, Illinois, where he was the personal friend of Ulysses S. Grant, and subsequently, during the Civil War, he became a member of the general's staff, he was appointed assistant adjutant-general with the rank of captain in May, 1863, and was afterward secretary to General Grant until the close of the war. In that capacity he was present at Lee's surrender, and made the first engrossed copy of the terms of capitulation. He was appointed 1st lieutenant of U. S. Cavalry in 1866, resigning in 1869. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers on 9 April, 1865, and captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general, U. S. Army, 2 March, 1867. He became Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1869, but retired in 1871 to devote himself to his profession. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 650.
PARKER, Foxhall Alexander, naval officer, born in New York City, 5 August, 1821 ; died in Annapolis, Maryland, 10 June, 1879. He was graduated at the naval school in Philadelphia in 1843, served against the Florida Indians, and was commissioned lieutenant. 21 September, 1850. He was executive officer at the Washington U.S. Navy-yard in 1861-'2. He co-operated with the Army of the Potomac on several occasions in command of seamen, built Port Dahlgren, and drilled 2,000 seamen in the exercise of artillery and small arms, thereby promoting the success of Admiral Andrew H. Foote's operations with the Mississippi Flotilla. He became commander on 16 July, 1862, had charge of the steam gun-boat "Mahaska " in active service off Wilmington and Yorktown, and of the "Wabash," off Charleston, from June to September, 1863, and from the latter date till the close of the war commanded the Potomac Flotilla, which consisted at one time of forty-two vessels, and frequently engaged the enemy. In July, 1866, he was promoted captain for "good service during the rebellion." He became commodore in 1872, was on special duty in Washington in August of that year to draw up a code of signals for steam tactics, and in 1873-'6 was chief signal officer of the navy. He was chief of staff of the united fleets under Admiral Augustus L. Case that assembled for instruction in the Florida waters in December, 1874, and was one of the founders of the U. S. Naval Institute. He died while superintendent of the U. S. Naval Academy, to which he was appointed in 1878. He was for many years a contributor to newspapers and magazines, and published "Fleet Tactics Under Steam" (New York, 1863): "Squadron Tactics Under Steam " (1863): "The Naval Howitzer Afloat"(1865); "The Naval Howitzer Ashore" (1865)—all of which are textbooks in the U. S. Naval Academy; "The Fleets of the World: The Galley Period "(1876); and "The Battle of Mobile Bay and the Capture of Forts Powell, Gaines, and Morgan, under the Command of David G. Farragut and Gordon Granger" (Boston, 1878). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 650.
PARKER, William Harwar, naval officer, born in New York City, 8 October, 1826, was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1848, became a lieutenant in 1855, and in 1861 entered the Confederate service. He has, published "Instructions for Naval Light Artillery” (New York, 1862) and "Recollections of a Naval Officer" (1883). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 650.
PARKER, Joel, governor of New Jersey, born near Freehold, New Jersey, 24 November, 1816; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2 January, 1888. His father, Charles, was a member of the New Jersey Legislature for several years, and served one term as state treasurer. Joel moved with his father to Trenton in 1821, was graduated at Princeton in 1839, studied law under Chief-Justice Henry W. Green, and settled in Freehold, New Jersey. He began his political career in 1844 as a Democratic speaker, and was in the assembly in 1847-'50, prosecuting attorney in 1852-'7, and a presidential elector in 1860, casting his vote for Stephen A. Douglas. He had been commissioned brigadier-general of militia in 1857, and in 1861 became major-general. He had ardently opposed the Civil War, but when it began he actively supported the National government. He was elected governor of New Jersey in 1862, as a Democrat, served till 1866, and during his occupation of that office conducted the affairs of state with prudence and ability. During Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863 he supplied several organized regiments of New Jersey volunteers that were sent to the protection of that state, but when a levy of 12,000 men was made on New Jersey in 1864, to make good a supposed deficiency in her former quotas, he obtained from President Lincoln the withdrawal of the order. Governor Parker also established a method of settlement of the war debt, so that not a bond of the state of New Jersey was sold below par, and at the close of the war in 1865 there was a surplus of $200,000 in the state treasury. He took strong grounds in favor of an amnesty toward those that had taken part in the war against the National government. In 1868 the New Jersey delegation to the National Democratic Convention, in New York City, cast their full vote for him in every ballot for the presidential nomination. He was again elected governor in 1870, and at the conclusion of his term became Attorney-General of the state. He was chosen a judge of the Supreme Court of New Jersey in 1880, and was re-elected in 1887, presiding over the central circuit of the state. In 1883 he declined the nomination for governor. Rutgers gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1872. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 652.
PARRISH, Joseph, physician, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 11 November, 1818, was graduated at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1844, and then settled in Burlington, New Jersey. He returned to his native city in 1855, and in 1856 was called to fill the chair of obstetrics in Philadelphia Medical College, but soon resigned to go abroad. While he was in Rome his attention was directed to the imperfect management of the insane hospital, and by addressing the pope he succeeded in rectifying the abuse. On his return in 1857 he was appointed superintendent of the Pennsylvania Training-School for Feeble-Minded Children, and this institution, with its buildings, grew up under his management. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the service of the U. S. Sanitary Commission, for which, under orders from the president, he visited many hospitals and camps with orders for supplies and hospital stores. Dr. Parrish also had charge of the sanitary posts of White House and City Point, and subsequently visited the governors of the loyal states, whom he aided in the organization of auxiliary associations for the continued supply of hospital stores. When the war was over he established and conducted for seven years the Pennsylvania Sanitarium for the Treatment of Alcoholic and Opium Inebriety. In 1875 he settled in Burlington, New Jersey, where he has since continued in charge of a home for nervous invalids. He has been most active in relation to the care of inebriates, and in 1872 he was summoned before the Committee on Habitual Drunkards of the British House of Commons. His advice and recommendations were approved and adopted by the committee, and were made the basis of a law that is now in existence. He issued the first call for the meeting that resulted in the formation of the American Association for the Cure of Inebriates, and has since been president of that organization. Dr. Parrish was vice-president of the International Congress on Inebriety in England in 1882, and was a delegate to the International Medical Congress in Washington in 1887. He is also a member of scientific societies both at home and abroad. In 1848 he established the “New Jersey Medical and Surgical Reporter,” which is now issued from Philadelphia without the state prefix and under new management. He also edited “The Sanitary Commission Bulletin,” and has been associated in the control of other publications, such as the Hartford '”Quarterly Journal of Inebriety.” Dr. Parrish is the author of many papers and addresses on topics pertaining to that branch of medical science, and “Alcoholic Inebriety from a Medical Standpoint” (Philadelphia, 1883). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 659.
PARROTT, Enoch Greenleaf, naval officer, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 10 December, 1814: died in New York City, 10 May, 1879. He entered the U. S. Navy as a midshipman in 1831, became lieutenant in 1841, and was engaged under Commodore Matthew C. Perry against Bendy and the neighboring towns on the west coast of Africa in 1843. He served on the "Congress" during the war with Mexico, and was on John C. Fremont's expedition from Monterey to Los Angeles, and at the capture of Giuaymas and Mazatlan. He was commissioned commander in 1861. He was with the expedition that destroyed the Norfolk U.S. Navy-yard, and in the Brig “Perry " captured the Confederate privateer "Savannah," for which he received the commendation of the Navy Department. He commanded the "Augusta" in 1861-'3, participated in the battle of Port Royal, engaged the Confederate rams at the time of their sortie from Charleston, and commanded the "Canonicus," of the North Atlantic Squadron in the engagements with the iron-clads on James River in 1864, and in the fights with Howett's battery. He commanded the " Monadnock" in the attacks on Fort Fisher in December, 1864, and January, 1865, and was at the surrender of Charleston, South Carolina. He was commissioned captain in 1866, commodore in 1870, rear-admiral in 1873, and was retired in 1874. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 660
PARROTT, Robert Parker, inventor, born in Lee, New Hampshire, 5 October, 1804; died in Cold Spring, New York, 24 December, 1877. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1824, assigned to the artillery, and till 1829 was on duty at West Point as assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy in 1824-'6, and of mathematics till 1828, and then as principal assistant in the former subjects. He was promoted 1st lieutenant, 27 August, 1831, and served in garrison till 1834, then on ordnance duty till 1835, and on the stall during operations in the Creek nation in 1836. On 13 January, 1836, he was mode captain of ordnance, and assigned to duty in the Ordnance Bureau at Washington, hut on 31 October of that year he resigned his commission and became superintendent of the West Point Iron and Cannon Foundry at Cold Spring, Putnam County, New York. While in charge of this institution he devised and perfected, by long and costly experiments, the system of rifled cannon and projectiles that is known by his name. These were used extensively by the U. S. government during the Civil War, and were first put to the test of actual warfare at Bull Run. Parrott's guns are of cast-iron, and in the larger calibres are hollow-cast on the plan invented by General Thomas J. Rodman, and cooled from the inside, as in his method, by a stream of cold water running through the bore. They are strengthened by shrinking a hoop or barrel of wrought-iron over that part of the re-enforce that surrounds the charge. Some Parrott guns have shown wonderful endurance. During Gilmore's operations against Charleston a thirty-pounder on Cumming's Point was fired 4,605 times before bursting. Others have burst, owing probably to the wedging of the projectile in the bore. During the war Captain Parrott refused to enrich himself by charging the government an extravagant price for his guns, and at its close he voluntarily cancelled a large contract that had recently been awarded him. From 1844 till 1847 he served as first judge of the Putnam County Court of Common Pleas. His connection with the West Point Foundry lasted till 1867, after which he was president or director of various industrial enterprises. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 661-662.
PARSONS, Charles Carroll, soldier, born in Elyria, Ohio, in 1838; died in Memphis, Tennessee, 7 September, 1878. His father died when the son was an infant, and he was brought up in the family of his maternal uncle, a physician in Elyria. He was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy by his cousin, Judge Philemon Bliss, then member of Congress from Ohio, and graduated in 1861, being promoted at once to 1st lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. He served in West Virginia, and then with the Army of the Ohio in Tennessee and Kentucky, commanding a battery after July, 1862, and covering the retreat to Louisville in September. He was brevetted captain for gallantry at Perryville and major for Stone River. From January till March, 1863, he was on sick leave, and, being unable to return to the field, was assistant, professor of ethics and English at West Point till September. 1864, after which he again commanded a battery till the close of the war. "Parsons's Battery" was noted in both the National and Confederate armies, and many stories are told of his courage and daring. At Perryville. where his battery was temporarily served by partially drilled infantrymen, forty of his men were killed by a furious charge of the enemy, and the rest driven back, but Parsons remained with his guns until he was dragged from them by a huge cavalryman by order of General McCook. At Stone River he repelled six charges, much of the time under musketry fire, and he was often mentioned in the official reports. After the war he was on frontier duty, and in 1867 was chief of artillery in General Winfield S. Hancock's, Indian expedition. He returned to duty at West Point as professor in 1868, and remained there till 30 December, 1870, when he was honorably discharged at his own request, and in 1871 he took orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church. He held charges in Memphis, Tennessee, Cold Spring, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and then again in Memphis, till his death, which took place during the yellow-fever epidemic of 1878, after he had worked untiringly for two months among the victims of the disease, both as clergyman and as nurse. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 662.
PARSONS, Lewis Baldwin, soldier, born in Genesee County, New York, 5 April, 1818, was graduated at Yale in 1840, studied law at Harvard, and settled in Alton, Illinois, where he was city attorney for several years. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1853, and became president and treasurer of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. At the beginning of the Civil War he was one of a commission to examine into the administration of General John C. Fremont in Missouri. He became colonel of volunteers, and was assigned to the staff of General Henry W. Halleck in 1862, with the charge of rail and river transportation in his department, which was subsequently extended to cover the entire country west of the Alleghanies. In 1864 he was placed in charge of all railroad and river army transportation in the United States. In January, 1865, by order of the Secretary of War, he personally supervised the transfer of General John M. Schofield's army of 20,000 men from Mississippi to Washington, D. C., a distance of 1,400 miles, in an average time of eleven days. For this service he was promoted brigadier-general of volunteers, 11 May, 1865. In April, 1866, he was brevetted major-general of volunteers. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 664.
PARSONS, Mosby Monroe, soldier, born in Virginia in 1819; died in Camargo. Mexico, 17 August, 1865. He moved to Cole County, Missouri, early in life, practised law, was Attorney-General of Missouri in 1853-'7, and subsequently became a member of the state senate. He was a captain in the U. S. Army during the Mexican War, and received honorable mention for his service at Sacramento. At the beginning of the Civil War he acted in concert with Governor Claiborne F. Jackson in his endeavor to draw Missouri into the Confederacy, was active in organizing the state militia, and raised a mounted brigade which he commanded at Carthage, Springfield, and Pea Ridge, with the rank of brigadier-general, subsequently serving under General Sterling Price until the last invasion of Missouri in 1864. The next year he went to Mexico, joined the Republican forces, and was killed in an engagement with the imperialists. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 664.
PASCO, Samuel, senator, born in London, England, 28 June, 1834. He was taken by his parents to the British provinces when he was ten years old, and thence to Charlestown, Massachusetts, and was graduated at Harvard in 1858. He moved to Florida, and became principal of the academy at Waukeenah, at the same time studying law. Early in the Civil War he enlisted in the 3d Florida Infantry. He was wounded and taken prisoner at Missionary Ridge, and was detained in Camp Morton at Indianapolis, Indiana, till the close of the war. Returning to Florida, he was soon elected county clerk, and, resuming his law studies, was admitted to the bar, and practised at Monticello. In 1870 he was made chairman of the Democratic State Executive Committee. In 1880 he was a presidential elector, and in that year and 1884 he was proposed as the Democratic candidate for governor, but withdrew his name for the sake of party harmony. He was president of the state constitutional convention of 1885, and in 1886 was elected to the legislature, and chosen speaker. On 19 May, 1887, he was elected U.S. Senator for the term expiring 3 March. 1893. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 668.
PATRICK, Marsena R., soldier, born in Houndsfield, Jefferson County, New York, 15 March, 1811. He was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1835, became 1st lieutenant in 1839, served in the Mexican War, was made captain in 1847, and brevetted major in 1849 for "meritorious conduct while serving in the enemy's country." He resigned in 1850, engaged in farming in Jefferson County, New York, and in 1859 was appointed president of the State Agricultural College. At the beginning of the Civil War he was made inspector-general of the New York Militia, became brigadier-general of volunteers in March. 1862, and served with General Irwin McDowell in the Shenandoah Valley in northern Virginia, and with the Army of the Potomac at South Mountain and Antietam. He became provost-marshal-general of that army in October of the same year, subsequently of the combined armies acting against Richmond, and, after Lee's surrender, of the Department of Virginia. He resigned 12 June, 1865, was president of the New York State Agricultural Society in 1867-'8, commissioner for New York State in 1868-'9, and again in 1879-'80, and since 1880 has been governor of the central branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Ohio. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 670-671.
PATTEN, George Washington, soldier, born in Newport, Rhode Island, 25 December, 1808: died in Houlton, Maine, 28 April, 1882. Patten was graduated at Brown in 1825, and at the U. S. Military Academy in 1830. He served on frontier and garrison duty till the Mexican War, was engaged against the Seminole Indians: in Florida at various times in 1837-'42, and reached the rank of captain, 18 June, 1846. At the battle of Cerro Gordo, during the war with Mexico, he lost his left hand while storming the heights, and was brevetted major for gallant conduct. At the end of the war impaired health forced him to decline a captaincy in the quartermaster's department, and he obtained an absence on sick-leave. After his return to duty in 1850 he served on the frontier till he was made major on 30 April, 1861, and though his disability prevented him from seeing service in the field during the Civil War, he rendered valuable assistance as a member of various military commissions. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel, 7 June, 1862, and on 17 February, 1864. retired "for disability resulting from long and faithful service, and from wound and exposure in the line of duty." Colonel Patten achieved some reputation as a writer, and has been called the "poet laureate of the army." His lyrics include "The Seminole's Reply." "Joys that We've Tasted." and “Episode of the Mexican War," which he delivered on 14 September, 1878, the thirty-first anniversary of the capture of the city of Mexico. He published in book-form " Army Manual "(3d ed.. New York, 1863); " Infantry Tactics, Bayonet Drill, and Small Sword Exercise " (1861); "Artillery Drill" (1861): "Cavalry Drill and Sabre Exercise" (1863); and "Voices of the Border," a collection of his fugitive poems (1807). He also edited General Philip St. George Cooke's "Cavalry Tactics" (1863). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 671.
PATTERSON, John James, senator, born in Waterloo, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, 8 August, 1830. He was graduated at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, edited the Juniata "Sentinel" in the interest of General Winfield Scott in the presidential campaign in 1852, and for ten subsequent years the " Harrisburg Telegraph." He then engaged in banking and in the management of railroads, and in 1858-'61 was in the legislature. He served in the National Army on General Seth Williams's staff during the Civil War. In 1869 he moved to South Carolina. He was elected to the U. S. Senate as a Republican in 1872, and served one term. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 672.
PATTERSON, Joseph, banker, born near Norristown, Pennsylvania, 2 February, 1808; died in Philadelphia, 25 September, 1887. His father, John, was a native of Ireland, and his mother, Elizabeth Stuart, was the only daughter of Colonel Christopher Stuart, an officer in the Revolutionary Army, who was second in command at the storming of Stony Point. The son engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1842, when he became president of what is now the Western National Bank. He afterward was largely engaged as a dealer and shipper of anthracite coal, and owned large collieries in Schuylkill County, but continued president of the bank till his death. On 15 August, 1861, Mr. Patterson participated in the memorable conference in New York between Secretary Salmon Chase and representatives of the banking interests of Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. The secretary asked for a loan of $50,000,000 in gold to aid in defraying the expenses of the war. In view of the alarming condition of the nation's finances, the assembled bankers hesitated to accede to his request. Then Mr. Patterson made an eloquent appeal in behalf of the government, convincing those present that they should furnish the needed money, and the associated banks of the three cities lent the government at that time $50,000,000 at par, and later in the same year $100,000,000 more. From that time the secretary was accustomed to consult Mr. Patterson regarding the financial policy of the government, and his successors in office followed his example. He declined the controllership of the currency twice, and also the post of assistant U. S. Treasurer at Philadelphia. Throughout the Civil War he was treasurer of the Christian Commission. From 1869 until his death he was president of the Philadelphia Clearing-House Association. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 672.
PATTERSON, Robert, soldier, born in Cappagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, 12 January, 1792; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 August, 1881. His father, who was engaged in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, escaped to this country and settled in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Robert was educated in the common schools, and subsequently became a clerk in a Philadelphia counting house. He was commissioned 1st lieutenant of infantry in the war of 1812, and afterward served on General Joseph Bloomfield's staff. He returned to commercial pursuits, engaged in manufacturing and established several mills, became active in politics, and was one of the five Colonel Pattersons in the Pennsylvania Convention that nominated Andrew Jackson for the presidency, and in 1836 was president of the electoral college that cast the vote of Pennsylvania for Martin Van Buren. In 1838, and again in 1844, he was active in quelling local riots. He became major-general of volunteers at the beginning of the Mexican War, commanded his division at Cerro Gordo, led the cavalry and advanced brigades in the pursuit, entered and took Jalapa, and was honorably mentioned in General Winfield Scott's official report. After the war he resumed business, and took command of the Pennsylvania Militia. At the beginning of the Civil War he was the oldest major-general by commission in the United States. On the president's first call for 75,000 men for three months, 15 April, 1861, he was mustered into service as major-general of volunteers, and assigned to a military department composed of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. He crossed the Potomac on 15 June at Williamsport. When General McDowell advanced into Virginia, General Patterson was instructed to watch the troops under General Joseph E. Johnston at Winchester, Virginia. He claimed that the failure of General Winfield Scott to send him orders, for which he had been directed to wait, caused his failure to co-operate with McDowell in the movements that resulted in the battle of Bull Run. He was mustered out of service on the expiration of his commission, 27 July, 1861, and returned to private life. General Patterson was a popular speaker, one of the largest mill-owners in the United States, and was interested in sugar-refineries and cotton-plantations. He was president of the board of trustees of Lafayette College at the time of his death. He published "Narrative of the Campaign in the Shenandoah" (Philadelphia. 1865). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 673-674.
PATTERSON, Francis Engle, soldier, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 24 June, 1827; died in Fairfax Court-House, Virginia, 22 November, 1862. He entered the army from civil life in 1847 as 2nd lieutenant of artillery. Patterson became captain in 1855, resigned in 1857, and devoted himself to commercial pursuits till the beginning of the Civil War, when he took command of the 115th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He became brigadier-general of volunteers, 11 April, 1862, and participated in the Peninsular Campaign. He was killed by the accidental discharge of his own pistol. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 674.
PATTERSON, Thomas H., naval officer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in May, 1820. He entered the U. S. Navy in 1830 as midshipman, became lieutenant in 1849, and commanded the steamship "Chocura" in Hampton roads. He was present at the siege of Yorktown, made a reconnaissance to West Point, Virginia, and opened the way up the Pamunkey River in support of General George B. McClellan's army. He cooperated with General George Stoneman's advance, at the White House, in checking the approach of the enemy at that point, and from June till October was senior officer of the naval forces in York and Pamunkey Rivers, being in constant co-operation with the Army of the Potomac. He was commissioned commander in July, 1822, was in charge of the steamer "James Adger" till 1865, on blockade duty off Wilmington, North Carolina, and cut out the steamer " Kate" from under the Confederate batteries at New Inlet in July, 1863. He participated in the capture of a flying battery above Fort Fisher in August, 1863, captured the " Cornubia" and the "Robert E. Lee," both filled with arms and stores for the Confederate Army, and the schooner "Ella." He became senior officer of the outside blockade off Charleston, South Carolina, in September, 1864. He was commissioned captain in 1866, commodore in 1871, commanded the U.S. Navy-yard at Washington, D.C., was president of the naval board of examiners in 1870-'7, and in the latter year became rear-admiral. He was retired in 1883. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 674.
PATTISON, Thomas, naval officer, born in New York City, 8 February, 1822. He entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman. 2 March, 1889, and saw service during the Mexican War. He was commissioned lieutenant, 19 September, 1854, and in 1857 was stationed at the Boston U.S. Navy-yard, serving the next three years on the "Mississippi," of the East India Squadron. In 1861 he was attached to the " Perry," of the Atlantic Squadron. He was then transferred to the " Philadelphia," of the Potomac Flotilla, which he commanded in October. He was made lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, and commander, 3 March, 1865. In 1862 he was chief officer of the "Sumpter," of the South Atlantic Squadron, and of the " Clara Dolson," of the Mississippi Squadron, in 1863. From 1863 till 1865 he was in charge of the naval station at Memphis, Tennessee. He was in command of the Norfolk U.S. Navy-yard in 1867-'9, and in July, 1870, was promoted captain. After being in command of the "Richmond " in the West Indies in 1871, Captain Pattison took her to San Francisco the following year, and subsequently commanded the " Saranac " and the receiving-ship " Independence" at the Mare Island U.S. Navy-yard, California. Pattison was promoted commodore, 11 December, 1877, and was for eighteen months in charge of the naval station at Port Royal, South Carolina, when he was transferred to the command of the U.S. Navy-yard at Washington, D. C. He was detached in July, 1883, made rear-admiral the following November, and retired 8 February, 1884. Admiral Pattison was the first American naval officer to enter Jeddo, now Tokio, Japan, and was lieutenant on the "Perry" when she captured the first privateer taken during the Civil War in a night engagement off Charleston, South Carolina. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 676.
PATTON, William Weston, 1821-1889, South Boston, Massachusetts, theologian, educator, college president, abolitionist, anti-slavery activist. Massachusetts Abolition Society, Executive Committee, 1845-46. On September 3, 1862, petitioned Lincoln to issue a proclamation of emancipation. President of Howard University, 1877-1889. (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 677-678)
PATTON, William Weston, clergyman, born in New York City, 19 October, 1821, was graduated at the University of the City of New York in 1839 and at the Union Theological Seminary in 1842. After taking charge of a Congregational Church in Boston, Massachusetts, for three years, he became pastor of one in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1846, and in Chicago, Illinois, in 1857. From 1867 till 1872 he was editor of “The Advance” in that city, and during 1874 he was lecturer on modern skepticism at Oberlin, Ohio, and Chicago theological seminaries, since which time he has been president of Howard University, Washington, D. C., filling the chair of natural theology and evidences of Christianity in its theological department. He took an earnest part in the anti-slavery movement, and was chairman of the committee that presented to President Lincoln, 13 September, 1862, the memorial from Chicago asking him to issue a proclamation of emancipation. He was vice-president of the Northwestern Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, and as such repeatedly visited the eastern and western armies, publishing several pamphlet reports. In 1886 he went, on behalf of the freedmen, to Europe, where, and in the Orient, he remained nearly a year. He received the degree of D. D. from Asbury (now De Pauw) University, Indiana, in 1864, and that of LL. D. from the University of the city of New York in 1882. He is the author of “The Young Man” (Hartford, 1847; republished as “The Young Man's Friend,” Auburn. New York, 1850); “Conscience and Law” (New York, 1850); “Slavery and Infidelity” (Cincinnati, 1856); “Spiritual Victory” (Boston, 1874); and “Prayer and its Remarkable Answers” (Chicago, 1875). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 677-678.
PAUL, Gabriel Rene, soldier, born in St. Louis, Missouri, 22 March, 1813; died in Washington, D. C, 5 May, 1880. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1834, made 1st lieutenant in the 7th U.S. Infantry, 20 October, 1830, and served in the Florida War in 1839-'42, surprising a camp of Seminole Indians near Tampa Bay in the latter year. He was commissioned captain, 19 April, 1840, took part, in the Mexican War, was wounded at the battle of Cerro Gordo, and brevetted major for gallant conduct at Chapultepec, where he led the storming party that captured the enemy's flag. The following year he was presented with a sword by the citizens of St. Louis, Missouri, for his services in Mexico. In an expedition to Rio Grande River, Texas, in 1852, he took part in the capture of a band of desperadoes, and on 2 October, 1858, he surprised and took a camp of Indians on Spanish Fork, Utah. Later he was promoted major of the 8th U.S. Infantry, became colonel of the 4th New Mexico Volunteers, and did good service in keeping the Confederates out of that territory. He was acting inspector-general of the Department of New Mexico till December, 1861, subsequently in command of the Southern Military District, and on 13 April, 1862, engaged in a skirmish with the enemy at Peralta. He was made lieutenant-colonel on 25 April, brigadier-general of volunteers, 18 April, 1863, and colonel, 13 September, 1864. He was present at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, in which latter engagement he was deprived of the sight of both eyes by a rifle-ball. In the following November he was presented by the 29th New Jersey Volunteers with a jeweled sword for his services in that battle. General Paul was on sick-leave until 10 February, 1865. He served as deputy-governor of the Soldiers' Home near Washington. D. C. till 13 June of that year, and was in charge of the Military Asylum at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, till 20 December, 1866. He was retired from active service, 10 February, 1865, on account of his blindness, and on the 23d of the same month he was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. Army, for gallant conduct at the battle of Gettysburg. In December, 1866, Congress granted him the pay and allowances attaching to the full rank of brigadier-general. On 10 December, 1886, a monument erected to the memory of General Paul in the Arlington, Virginia Cemetery, by his comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic, was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 678.
PAUL, Augustus Chouteau, soldier, born in Albany, New York, 16 April, 1842, was a cadet at the Kentucky Military Institute in 1861. In May, under the call for three months' troops, he enlisted and was made captain of Kentucky mounted infantry. He was mustered out in the following August, but entered the army again as captain in the 23d Kentucky Volunteers, his commission bearing date 2 January, 1862. He took part with his regiment in the campaigns of the Armies of the Ohio and the Cumberland until 1 June, 1863, when he was appointed assistant adjutant-general of volunteers. In this capacity he served with the Army of the Potomac on the staffs of General Henry Baxter and General Andrew A. Humphreys, and on that of Byron R. Pierce. During this period Colonel Paul took part in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court-House, etc., was captured by the enemy, spent eleven months in Confederate prisons, and was among those officers that were placed by the Confederates under the fire of National guns at Charleston. South Carolina. He was brevetted major for gallantry in the Wilderness, and lieutenant-colonel for meritorious conduct at Spottsylvania Court-House. He was mustered out, 19 September, 1865. On 11 May, 1866, he was appointed 2d lieutenant in the regular army, but declined. He subsequently accepted the same rank in the 3d U.S. Cavalry, and was promoted 1st lieutenant, 20 December, 1872. During the next twelve years Colonel Paul saw arduous service on the western frontier. In May, 1881, his health became so impaired that he resigned his commission. [Son of Gabriel Rene Paul] Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 678.
PAULDING, Hiram, naval officer, born in New York City, 11 December, 1797; died in Huntington, Long Island, 20 October, 1878, entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 1 September, 1811, and participated in the victory on Lake Champlain under Commodore McDonough on 11 September, 1814, for which he, with others, received a vote of thanks from Congress on 20 October, 1814. He served in the frigate "Constellation" during the Algerine War, was commissioned lieutenant, 27 April, 1816, cruised in the frigate " Macedonian " in 1820-"2, suppressing piracy in the West Indies and commanded the schooner "Shark" in the Mediterranean in 1834-'7. He was promoted to commander, 9 February, 1837, and had charge of the sloop " Levant" in the Mediterranean in 1839-'41. After becoming a captain on 29 February, 1844, he was on the sloop “Vincennes" in the East Indies in 1846-'7 and the frigate "St. Lawrence" in 1849-'50. He was in charge of the U.S. Navy-yard at Washington, D. C, in 1853-'5, and of the home squadron in 1850-'8. On 21 December, 1861, he was retired by law, being over sixty-two years of age, and on 16 July, 1862, he was promoted to rear-admiral on the retired list. During the Civil War he rendered valuable service in command of the U.S. Navy-yard at New York until May, 1865, when he was placed on waiting orders until his death, at which time he was the senior officer on the retired list of the navy. The Navy Department published an obituary order to commemorate his long, faithful, and distinguished service. [Son of John Paulding 1758-1818]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 682.
PAULDING, Leonard, born in New York City, 16 February, 1826; died in the Bay of Panama, 29 April, 1867, entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 19 December, 1840, and was promoted master, 1 March, 1855, lieutenant the following September, lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, and commander, 24 December, 1865. Out of twenty-four years in the navy, he was only two years unemployed, seeing service on the survey, off the coast of Africa, in the Mediterranean, on the lakes, in the naval observatory, on the Paraguay Expedition, and on the Pacific. At the beginning of the Civil War he was ordered to St. Louis to superintend the construction of iron-clads, and commanded the "St. Louis." the first vessel of that kind that was built in the United States, doing valuable service at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow, and in many skirmishes with Confederate gun-boats. While thus employed he was attacked by acute dysentery, but still continued at his post. He was wounded at Fort Donelson. and again at Island No. 10 by the explosion of a 100-pound rifle-gun, which threw him in the air, and killed and maimed more than a dozen others. After a few months' absence on sick-leave he reported for duty, and after being stationed a short time at the Brooklyn U.S. Navy-yard he was ordered to command the "Galena”, of the James River Squadron. After the war he was successively in command of the "Monocacy," "Eutaw," "Cyane," on the Pacific Squadron, and the "Wateree," on board of which he died. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 682.
PAULLIN, William, aeronaut, born in Philadelphia, 3 April, 1812; died there, 1 December, 1871. At the age of twenty-one he began the construction of his first balloon, and in August, 1833, he made a trial trip from Philadelphia, inflating with hydrogen gas, followed by numerous ascents, and on 26 July, 1837, made a private effort from the Philadelphia Gas-Works with the view of testing the practicability of using coal-gas for balloon purposes. He succeeded, and was thus the first, in this country at least, to use illuminating gas for balloon purposes. In September, 1841, he sailed for Valparaiso, Chili, and he made numerous ascensions during his stay in South America. On one occasion he rose from St. Jagjo and crossed the volcano, being compelled to ascend to such a height as to distress him severely. The heat was so great as to endanger the balloon, while the fumes that arose threatened the aeronaut with suffocation. Mr. Paullin made ascensions also in Cuba, Hayti, Porto Rico, and Mexico. After an absence of six years he returned to the United States, and made many ascents from the western states, and some in the east. During the Civil War he was connected with the National Army, making his last ascension under General Joseph Hooker. He then resigned, and became a photographer. His intellect was affected for some time before his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 682.
PAXTON, Elisha Franklin, soldier, born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, 4 March, 1828; died near Chancellorsville, Virginia, 2 May, 1863. He was graduated at Yale in 1847, studied at the Virginia Military Academy in Lexington, and became president of a bank in Lynchburg. He joined the Confederate Army, in which he rose to the rank of brigadier-general, commanded the Stonewall brigade and subsequently an army corps, and served at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, being killed in the last-named action. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 684.
PAXTON, John R., clergyman, born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 18 September, 1848. He entered Jefferson College, Canonsburg in 1859, but was not graduated until 1866, having left college to serve in the Civil War, enlisting in the 140th Pennsylvania Regiment, and becoming 2d lieutenant. He studied theology at the Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and at Princeton, was ordained in 1870, and was pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C., from 1878 till 1882, when he became pastor of the 42d Street Presbyterian Church in New York City, which charge he now (1888) holds. In 1887 he became chaplain of the 7th Regiment of Now York. Union gave him the degree of D. D. in 1882. He has published several addresses and sermons. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 684.
PAXTON, Joseph, manufacturer, born near New Hope, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 3 February, 1786; died in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 21 August, 1861. He was educated at home by his mother, a Quaker, and during the war of 1812 held successively the commissions of major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of Pennsylvania troops. He was the principal projector of the Catawissa (now Reading) Railroad, and through it did much to develop the mineral and agricultural region between Pottsville and Williamsport. Colonel Paxton was the first to undertake the manufacture of iron on a large scale in the state, and among the first to import short-horn cattle. He was a friend and correspondent of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, and an advocate of a protective tariff. —His son, PAXTON, Joseph Rupert, author, born in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 2 July, 1827; died in Houston, Texas, 20 August, 1867. He was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1845, studied law, and in 1848 was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, where he engaged in practice. In 1854-'5 he edited the " Bizarre" in that city. Shortly after the inauguration of President Lincoln he was offered a diplomatic appointment abroad, but chose to enter the National service, and became captain in the 15th U. S. Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war, resigning on 1 July, 1865. At the battle of Nashville he was on the staff of General George H. Thomas, rendering valuable services, and being accompanied in the fight by his only son, then a boy, Alexis R. Paxton, who has since become an officer in the regular army. In 1866 he travelled in Europe, with the view of obtaining matter for future literary work. He was well known in Philadelphia for his various acquirements, and also for his genial nature. He dramatized many of Dickens's stories, translated into English several French plays and into French "Reveries of a Bachelor," and was the author of "Jewelry and the Precious Stones, by Hipponax Roset," an anagram (Philadelphia, 1856). His mother, a daughter of Leonard Rupert, of Rupert, Pennsylvania, died, 14 November, 1887, in the hundred and first year of her age, preserving her faculties until the last. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 685.
PAYNE, Edward Duggan, naval officer, born in Reading, Pennsylvania, 2 July, 1836. He was graduated at Jefferson Medical College in 1857, appointed assistant surgeon in the U. S. Navy in 1861, served on the " Congress " in her fight with the "Merrimac," 8 March, 1862, and was assistant surgeon in charge of the " Metacomet" in the action in Mobile Bay in August, 1864. He became passed assistant surgeon in 1865, surgeon in 1871, and was retired in 1876 on account of the failure of his health. He has published reports of cases in "Contributions to Medical Science in the United States Navy Department"; "Medical Essays" (Washington, D. C, 1872); and "United States Naval Sanitary and Medical Reports " (1873-'4). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 685.
PEABODY, Everett, soldier, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1831; died near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, 6 April. 1862, was graduated at Harvard in 1849, became a railway-engineer, was colonel of Missouri volunteers, and was killed at Shiloh. He completed the biography of his uncle Oliver, and edited the "Literary Remains" of his father (Boston, 1850). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 689.
PEARSON, Alfred L., soldier, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 28 December, 1838. He was educated at Jefferson and Allegheny Colleges, admitted to the bar in 1861, and in 1862 became captain and then colonel of the 155th Pennsylvania Regiment. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, September, 1864, for services at Peeble's Farm, and major-general for a charge that he made at Quaker Road, 29 March, 1865, for which he was also complimented by General Meade. His command fired the last shot at Appomattox Court-House. On his return he engaged in the practice of his profession, and was district attorney in 1870, 1872, and 1877. He has been active in militia matters, and as ranking major-general of the Pennsylvania National Guard commanded in Pittsburg during the riots of 1877. He also ended the troubles in Luzerne County, and for his action in firing on the rioters was arrested on a charge of murder, but the grand jury did not indict him. General Pearson edited the "Sunday Critic" in 1886-'7, and is the author of three plays, none of which have yet been produced. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 692.
PEARSON, George Frederick, naval officer, born in New Hampshire, 6 February, 1796; died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 30 June, 1867. He was appointed midshipman, 11 March. 1815, and cruised in the frigates “United States" and "Independence " in the Mediterranean in 1816-'20, and in the West Indies in 1832-'3. He was commissioned lieutenant, 13 January, 1825, commanded the schooner "Shark" at Norfolk in 1839, and served at the Portsmouth U.S. Navy-yard in 1839-'41. He was promoted to commander on 8 September of the latter year, was in the "Falmouth" at Norfolk in 1852-'3, and became captain, 14 September, 1855. He commanded the steamer “Powhatan" in the East Indies in 1858-'60. During the Civil War, he rendered valuable service as commandant of the Portsmouth U.S. Navy-yard, which post he held at his death. He was retired by law, being over sixty-two years old, 21 December, 1861, and became commodore on the retired list, 16 July, 1862, and rear-admiral, 25 July, 1866. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 692.
PEASE, Henry Roberts, senator, born in Connecticut, 19 February, 1835. He was educated for a teacher, followed that calling several years, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. During the Civil War he was a captain on staff duty in the National Army. He was appointed superintendent of education in Louisiana while it was under military rule, became superintendent of the education of freedmen in Mississippi in 1867, took an active part in the reconstruction of that state, and was appointed state superintendent of education in 1869. He also published and edited the "Mississippi Educational Journal." which was the first of that character in the south. He was elected to the U. S. Senate as a Republican in 1874, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Adelbert Ames, served in 1874-5, and in the latter year was appointed postmaster of Vicksburg, but was removed a few weeks afterward for political reasons. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 693.
PEASE, Phineas, soldier, born in Somer, Connecticut, 10 April, 1826. He was educated in the common schools, and subsequently was employed on railroads in Illinois. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 49th Illinois Infantry at the beginning of the Civil War. He was severely wounded at Shiloh, participated in the battle of Corinth, commanded a brigade at Du Glaise, Louisiana, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Franklin, Missouri, and was at the battle of Nashville, and numerous subsequent small engagements. In March, 1865, he received the brevet of brigadier-general of volunteers. He became general superintendent of the Indiana, Bloomington, and Western Railroad in 1875, and superintendent of the Ohio Central Railroad in 1880, and in 1885 became receiver and general manager of the Cleveland and Marietta Railroad. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 693.
PECK, John James, soldier, born in Manlius, New York, 4 January, 1821 ; died in Syracuse, New York, 21 April, 1878. His father was one of the earliest settlers in Onondaga County. The son was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1843, assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery, and was on garrison duty in New York Harbor till he was ordered to Texas in 1845. During the Mexican War he was at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, took part in the assault on Federation Hill at Monterey, and afterward received two brevets for gallantry—that of captain for Contreras and Churubusco, and that of major for Molino del Rey, where he had turned a captured gun on the enemy with great effect. "His name and services," said his division commander, Gen Worth, "will be found in the official account of every battle save one from the commencement of the war to the conquest of the basin of Mexico." He was given a sword on his return home in 1848, and after serving against the Navajo Indians in New Mexico, and on recruiting service, resigned his commission on 31 March, 1853. He was then connected with a projected railroad from New York to Syracuse by way of Newburg. and also organized in Syracuse the Burnet Bank, of which he was cashier till the Civil War. He was also president of the board of education in that city in 1859-'61, and was interested in politics, serving as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention of 1856, and in that at Charleston in 1860, running for Congress in 1856 and 1858, and once declining a foreign mission. He was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers on 9 August, 1861, and served first in the defences of Washington and then in the Peninsular Campaign. He rendered signal service at Yorktown; and at Williamsburg, where he arrived with re-enforcements at a critical point in the battle, his troops, by steadily withstanding repeated attacks from a superior force, did much to preserve the army from rout. At Fair Oaks a horse was shot under him, and he afterward covered the left flank of the army by holding White Oak swamp, he held an important place in the seven days' change of base, leading the rear-guard in the movement from Turkey Creek to Harrison's Landing. He was promoted major-general of volunteers, 4 July, 1862, and till September was in Yorktown, where he put the works in condition for defence. On 22 September, 1862, he was assigned to the command of all the National troops in Virginia south of James River, where he rendered important service by his brilliant defence of Suffolk against a superior force under Longstreet, whose position on Hill's Point he stormed and captured on 4 May, 1863, thus virtually ending the siege. After an absence of several months, which was necessitated by injuries that he had received at Suffolk, he held command in North Carolina till April, 1864, and, after another leave of absence, on the Canada frontier until the close of the war. He was mustered out of service, 24 August, 1865, and in 1866 organized at Syracuse the New York State Life insurance Company, of which he was president till his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 695-696.
PECKHAM, Stephen Farnum, chemist, born near Providence, Rhode. Island, 26 March, 1839. After a special course in the chemical laboratory of Brown he was two years in a pharmaceutical laboratory in Providence, after which he completed his studies in 1861 by a further course in chemistry at Brown. Subsequently, in association with Nathaniel P. Hill (q. v.) and others, he began the manufacture of illuminating oils from petroleum. The works were planned and successfully constructed by him, but their operation was unremunerative, and he became in 1862 hospital steward of the 7th Rhode Island Regiment. He continued in the military service until near the close of the Civil War, having at that time charge of the chemical department of the U. S. Army Laboratory in Philadelphia. His next engagement was as expert for the California Petroleum Company, for which corporation he spent a year in southern California studying the occurrence of petroleum in that region. He subsequently prepared for the geological survey of that state several reports on similar subjects, including a technological examination of Californian bitumen, which he made on his return to the east in 1867. In that year he also began to teach chemistry in Brown, and he afterward held chairs on that subject successively in Washington and Jefferson College, the state agricultural college, Orono, Maine, Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio, and in the University of Minnesota, where he was also chemist to the geological survey of that state. In 1880 he returned to Providence, and he has since been engaged in various chemical industries. Professor Peckham has contributed many articles to current scientific literature, both in the United States and abroad, chiefly on his specialty of petroleum, its manufacture and applications. He served in 1880 as special agent on the United States Census, and contributed to the reports a valuable monograph on the subject, including a full bibliography. In addition to his reports he wrote the article on "Petroleum " for the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," and he has published an "Elementary Treatise on Chemistry" (Louisville, 1870). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 697.
PEGRAM, Robert Baker, naval officer, born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, 10 December, 1811. He entered the U. S. Navy as midshipman on 2 February, 1829, served in the Mediterranean Squadron, and on 8 September, 1841, was appointed lieutenant. He was ordered to the "Saratoga," under Captain David G. Farragut. in 1847, served in the Mexican War, and in 1852 took part in the Japan Expedition. In 1855 he participated in a joint expedition from the British ship 'Rattler" and the U. S. vessel " Powhatan " against a piratical flotilla of thirty-one war-junks, and captured sixteen, with 100 cannon. For this service he received the thanks of Admiral Sir James Stirling, flag-officer of the British East India Squadron, of the governor of Hong Kong, and of the British government, and was presented with a sword by the state of Virginia. He served in the Norfolk U.S. Navy-yard in 1856-'8, in the Paraguay Expedition in 1858, and in 1859 was a commissioner to define the limits of the Newfoundland fisheries. He resigned from the U. S. Navy on 17 April. 1861, became a captain in the Virginia service, commanded at the U.S. Navy-yard in Norfolk after its evacuation by the U. S. forces, and erected a battery at Pig Point, Nansemond River, with which he disabled the U. S. steamer " Harriet Lane," which was surveying the river and placing buoys. He afterward commanded the steamer "Nashville," which left Charleston on 26 October, 1861, and returned in the following February, having eluded pursuit and destroyed several merchant-vessels. He was ordered to superintend the shielding and armament of the iron-clad steamer "Richmond." and, after taking her to Drewry's Bluff, was transferred to the "Virginia." In 1864 a fund was raised in Virginia to purchase and equip in England a naval force to be called the " Virginia Volunteer Navy," and to be commanded by Captain Pegram. He had one vessel prepared for service at the time of General Lee's surrender. Since the close of the war he has resided in Norfolk, Virginia. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 700.
PEGRAM, John, soldier, born in Petersburg, Virginia, 24 January, 1833: died near Hatcher's Run, Virginia, 6 February, 1865. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1854, assigned to the 1st U.S. Dragoons, became 1st lieutenant, 28 February, 1857, and was actively engaged on frontier duty for several years. He resigned his commission in the U. S. Army, 10 May, 1861, and was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the Confederate Army soon afterward. On 7 November, 1862, he was appointed a brigadier-general in the provisional army, and he subsequently acquired the rank of major-general. His brigade was composed of five regiments of Virginia infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia. As a major-general he commanded General Jubal A. Early's old division. He was engaged in all the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia, and was killed in action at Hatcher's Run. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 700-701.
PEGRAM, William Johnson, soldier, born in Petersburg, Virginia, in 1841: died there, 2 April, 1865. Pegram left the University of Virginia, where he was a law student, at the beginning of the Civil War, to enter a Confederate regiment of artillery as a private, and won promotion in that arm of the service at Cedar Run, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Early in 1865 he was made brigadier-general, and he was killed during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 701.
PEIRCE, Ebenezer Weaver (purse), soldier, born in Freetown, Massachusetts, 5 April, 1822. He received an academic education, and held various local offices in Freetown and Lakeville, Massachusetts. He was commissioned major of the Old Colony Regiment in 1844, and was made brigadier-general of state militia in 1855. In 1859 he became lieutenant of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He commanded as brigadier-general the Massachusetts troops in Virginia in 1861, for three months, and was appointed colonel of the 29th Massachusetts Regiment on 13 December of that year. He lost an arm at White Oak Swamp, Virginia, 30 June, 1862, and commanded a brigade in the 9th Army Corps from September, 1863, till November, 1864, when he resigned, after serving in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. He was appointed in August, 1866, collector of internal revenue for the 1st District of Massachusetts, which appointment was not confirmed by the Senate. He is the author of " The Peirce Family of the Old Colony" (Boston, 1870); "Contributions, Biographical. Genealogical, and Historical" (1874); "Indian History, Biography, and Genealogy" (1878); "Civil, Military, and Professional Lists of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies" (1881); and sketches of Bristol and Plymouth County towns. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 703.
PELOUZE, Louis Henry, soldier, born in Pennsylvania, 30 May, 1841; died in Washington, D. C. 1 June, 1878. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1853, assigned to the artillery, and promoted 2d lieutenant on 11 November. In 1857-'8 he was on duty in Kansas during the anti-slavery disturbances, and accompanied the second column of the Utah Expedition as acting assistant adjutant-general. He was commissioned as captain on 14 May, 1861, and served during the Civil War, first on the staff of General John A. Dix. then in the Port Royal Expedition, in Georgia when Fort Pulaski was captured, with General James Shields at Port Republic, and as major on the staff with the 2d Corps of the Army of Virginia in the Shenandoah Campaign until he was severely wounded at Cedar Mountain, 9 August, 1862. After his recovery he served till the close of hostilities as assistant adjutant-general of volunteers with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, being on special duty in the defences of Washington in the autumn of 1862, then with the troops of the Department of Virginia till August, 1863, and in the adjutant-general's department at Washington till May, 1864, and afterward in charge of the records of colored troops in the War Department till 14 June, 1868. For his gallantry at Cedar Mountain he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, and on 13 March, 1865, he received the brevets of colonel and brigadier-general for valuable services in the field and in the adjutant-general's department. He was adjutant-general of the Department of the Lakes in 1869-'73, and afterward till his death assistant in the office of the adjutant-general of the army. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 705.
PEMBERTON, John Clifford, soldier, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 August, 1814; died in Penllyn, Pennsylvania, 13 July, 1881, was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy on his own application by President Jackson, who had been a friend of his father. After his graduation in 1837 he was assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery, and served against the Indians in Florida in 1837-9, and on the northern frontier during the Canada border disturbances in 1840-'2. He was promoted 1st lieutenant on 19 March, 1842, and was on garrison duty till the Mexican War, during which he served with credit as aide to General Worth, receiving the brevet of captain for gallantry at Monterey, and that of major for services at Molino del Rey. At the close of the war he was presented with a sword by citizens of Philadelphia, and thanked, with other Pennsylvania officers, by resolution of the legislature of that state. In 1848 he married Martha, daughter of William H. Thompson, of Norfolk, Virginia. He was promoted captain on 16 September, 1850, took part in operations against the Seminole Indians in 1849-'50 and 1856-'7, and served at Fort Leavenworth during the Kansas troubles, and in the Utah Expedition of 1858. At the beginning of the Civil War he was ordered from Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, to Washington, and after his arrival there, in spite of the personal efforts of General Winfield Scott to prevent him, resigned his commission and was appointed lieutenant-colonel of Virginia State troops, to date from 28 April, 1861. He was intrusted with the organization of the artillery and cavalry of the state, and became colonel on 8 May, 1861. On 15 June he was made major of artillery in the Confederate Army, and two days later a brigadier-general. On 13 February, 1862, he was promoted major-general, and at the request of General Robert E. Lee, whom he succeeded, was appointed to command the department that included South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, with headquarters at Charleston. Here he strengthened the harbor defences, planning and beginning Fort Wagner and Battery B, and planting submarine obstructions. On 13 October, 1862, he was promoted lieutenant-general, and assigned to the charge of the department that comprised Mississippi, Tennessee, and eastern Louisiana, with headquarters at Jackson, Mississippi. Pemberton's operations around Vicksburg and his defence of that city against General Grant are described in the article GRANT, ULYSSES S. After his surrender of the city and garrison on 4 July, 1863, he returned on parole to Richmond, where he remained until he was duly exchanged. As a man of northern birth he had many enemies at the south during the early period of the war, but he had always the confidence of the Confederate authorities. After his exchange, finding no command that was commensurate with his rank, he resigned, and was reappointed as inspector of ordnance, with the rank of colonel, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. He then retired to a farm near Warrenton, Virginia, but in 1876 returned to Philadelphia, which was the home of his brothers and sisters. In the spring of 1881 his health began to fail, and he moved, in the hope of benefiting it, to Penllyn, near Philadelphia, where he died. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 707.
PENDER, William Dorsey, soldier, born in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, 6 February, 1834; died in Staunton, Virginia, 18 July, 1863. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1854, and assigned to the artillery, but was transferred to the 2d U.S. Dragoons on 3 March, 1855, and promoted 1st lieutenant, 17 May, 1858. He was engaged in active service on the frontier until 21 March, 1861, when he resigned his commission. He was appointed colonel of the 6th North Carolina Regiment on 27 May, 1861, and brigadier-general in the provisional Confederate Army, 3 June, 1862. He was promoted to the rank of major-general, 27 May, 1863. His brigade was composed of five North Carolina Regiments of infantry, and formed part of Anderson's division, of Ambrose P. Hill's corps, in the Army of Northern Virginia. His division was composed of the brigades of Pender, McGowan, Lane, and Thomas, in the same army. He died from wounds received at the battle of Gettysburg. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 708.
PENDERGRAST, Garrett Jesse, naval officer, born in Kentucky, 5 December, 1802; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 November, 1862. He entered the U. S. Navy, 1 January, 1812. He saw twenty-two years of sea service, becoming lieutenant in 1821, commander in 1841, and captain in 1855. In 1860 he was appointed flag-officer of the Home-Squadron. At the beginning of the Civil War he was in command of the West India Squadron, and subsequently he was appointed to the frigate "Cumberland " at Norfolk U.S. Navy-yard, Virginia, and protected the waters of Hampton Roads. Before the surrender of Norfolk to the Confederates the authorities of Virginia endeavored to get possession of the U. S. ships-of-war lying off that city by sinking obstructions in the mouth of the channel in order to prevent their egress. Among other vessels that were thus blockaded was the " Cumberland," then under Commodore Pendergrast's command. Finding himself in danger of being hemmed in, he sent word to the authorities that if the obstructions were not removed within a specified time he would open fire on the city. This message had the desired effect, and, the channel being cleared, the " Cumberland " and other vessels were brought out in safety. Soon afterward he was appointed commandant of the Philadelphia U.S. Navy-yard, which post he tilled until two days before his death. Under the reorganization of the navy he was twelfth commodore on the retired list, which rank he attained on 10 July. 1862.—His son, Austin (1829-74), entered the navy in 1848, and had attained the rank of commander at his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 708.
PENDLETON, William Nelson, soldier, born in Richmond, Virginia, 20 December, 1809; died in Lexington, Virginia, 15 January, 1883, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1830, served as assistant professor of mathematics there in 1831-'2, and the next year resigned to become professor of mathematics in Bristol College, Tennessee. He was ordained deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1837, priest in 1838, and the next year established the Episcopal High-School in Alexandria, Virginia, and became its principal. In 1853 he accepted the charge of the church in Lexington. He joined the Confederate Army as captain of artillery in 1861, was made colonel the same year, and shortly afterward appointed chief of artillery to the Army of the Shenandoah. He was commissioned brigadier-general in March, 1862, and, with three exceptions, participated in every battle that was fought by the Army of Northern Virginia from the first battle of Bull Run to Appomattox, where, with General John T. Gordon and General James Longstreet, he was appointed to negotiate the terms of surrender. He then returned to his charge in Lexington, which he had continued to hold during the Civil War, and so remained until his death. He was largely instrumental in building the Lee Memorial Church in that town. He received the degree of D. D. from Alexandria Theological Seminary in 1868. Dr. Pendleton published "Science a Witness for the Bible" (London, 1860). His only son, Alexander S., served on General "Stonewall" Jackson's staff until his death, and subsequently as adjutant-general to General Jubal A. Early and General Richard S. Ewell. He was killed at Fisher's Hill, Virginia, 22 September, 1864. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 709.
PENNOCK. Alexander Mosely, naval officer, born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1 November, 1813; died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 20 September, 1876. He was appointed to the U.S. Navy from Tennessee on 1 April, 1828, served on the frigate "Guerriere," in the Pacific Squadron, in 1829-'30, and on the sloop " Natchez," in the Brazil Squadron, in 1834. He was promoted lieutenant, 25 March, 1839, was light-house inspector in 1853-'6, and on 15 December, 1855, was commissioned commander. He was on special duty connected with the steam frigate “ Niagara" in 1857, commanded the steamer "Southern Star," of the Brazil Squadron, and in the Paraguay Expedition in 1859-'60, and was again detailed as light-house inspector in 1861. In the last-named year Commander Pennock was ordered to duty as fleet captain of the Mississippi Squadron, where he remained till the autumn of 1864, gaining a reputation for executive ability of a high order. He was commissioned captain, 2 January, 1863, in 1866-'7 was on duty at the Brooklyn U.S. Navy-yard, and in 1868 was appointed to the frigate "Franklin," then Farragut's flag-ship, of the European Squadron. He was commissioned commodore, 6 May, 1868, and in 1869 was in charge of the European Squadron. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1872. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 718.
PENTECOST, George Frederick, evangelist, born in Albion, Illinois, 23 September, 1843. He was apprenticed to a printer at fifteen years of age, and was subsequently private secretary to the governor of Kansas Territory, and clerk of the U. S. District Court. He then studied law, and entered Georgetown College, Kentucky, but left to join the National Army, and in 1861-'2 served in the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, resigning with the rank of captain. He was licensed to preach in 1864, and was pastor of Baptist churches in Indiana, Kentucky, and New York till 1877, when he became an evangelist, in which work he has since continued, with the exception of a few years pastorate of a Congregational Church in Brooklyn, New York. He has been abroad three times on missions, and is a successful revivalist. Lafayette College gave him the degree of D. D. in 1884. He has published tracts and pamphlets, has edited "Words and Weapons for Christian Workers," a monthly, since 188a, and is the author of " In the Volume of the Book" (New York, 1879); "Angel in Marble" (Boston, 1884); and "Out of Egypt" (New York. 1887). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 720.
PEPPER, George, physician, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1 April, 1841 : died there. 14 September, 1872. was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1862, and in medicine in 1865. He enlisted on 15 September, 1862, as a private in the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, was promoted to a lieutenancy, and saw much active service, but was disabled in 1863, and on 22 May received an honorable discharge. He was chiefly instrumental in founding the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society, and served as its secretary until illness compelled him to resign. He was a member of many professional bodies, and rapidly acquired practice in the branches to which he devoted himself. His artistic talent, his mechanical ingenuity, his retentive memory, his industry and devotion to his profession, gave assurance of a career of unusual brilliancy. His contributions to the proceedings of the societies of which he was a member were numerous. Among the more important are that on "Adipose Deposits in the Omentum and Abdominal Walls as a Source of Error in Diagnosis " and that on " The Mechanical Treatment of Uterine Displacements." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 720.
PERKINS, George Hamilton, naval officer, born in Hopkinton. New Hampshire, 20 December, 1830. His grandfather, Roger, was an early settler of Hopkinton, and one of the most public-spirited citizens of that town, and his father, Judge Hamilton, was the founder of the town of Contoocookville, New Hampshire. George was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1850, and became 1st lieutenant in 1861. He served with gallantry as executive officer of the "Cayuga" at the passage of Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson, and at the capture of New Orleans in April, 1862, and with Captain Theodorus Bailey received the surrender of the city, passing through the streets in the, midst of a hooting mob, who threatened them with drawn pistols and other weapons. He became lieutenant-commander in December, 1862, was in charge of the gun-boat "New London " in June, 1863, and conveyed powder and despatches between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, ran the batteries at Port Hudson successfully five times, and on 9 July had a severe skirmish with the enemy at Whitehall's Point. He was on blockading duty on the "Scioto," of the Gulf Squadron, from July, 1863, till April, 1864, and at that time was relieved, but volunteered at the battle of Mobile Bay. In his official report of that engagement Admiral Farragut said: "I cannot give too much praise to Lieutenant Commodore Perkins, who, although he had orders to return north, volunteered to take command of the “Chickasaw,” and did his duty nobly." He remained in charge of that ship in the subsequent operations that resulted in the taking of Mobile, the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. He was superintendent of iron-clads in New Orleans in 1865-6, became commander in 1871, was in charge, of the store-ship "Relief," to convey contributions to the French, from September, 1871, till January, 1872, and in 1882 was commissioned captain. See his "Letters," edited and arranged by his sister, with a sketch of his life by Commodore George E. Belknap (Concord, New Hampshire, 1886). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 728-729.
PERRIN, Abner M., soldier, born in Edgefield County, South Carolina, in 1827; died at Spottsylvania, Virginia, 11 May, 1864. He was educated at Bethany Academy, South Carolina, and served in the Mexican War as 2d lieutenant in the 10th Volunteers. On his return to South Carolina he studied and practised law until 1861, when he entered the Confederate Army as captain of the 14th South Carolina Volunteers, and was promoted colonel in April, 1863, and brigadier-general in May, 1864. with the command of an Alabama brigade. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 732.
PERRY, Benjamin Franklin, lawyer, born in Pendleton District, South Carolina, 20 November, 1805; died in Greenville, South Carolina, 3 December, 1886. He was educated in Asheville, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1827. On becoming editor of the Greenville "Mountaineer" he boldly attacked the Nullification Party, not sparing its leader, John C. Calhoun, the sturdy defence of his principles and the persistent warfare upon his political enemies led to the formation of a Union Party in the state, and he was the chief spirit, of its convention in 1832. In 1834 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress, but in 1830 was elected to the lower branch of the legislature, serving until 1844, when he was sent to the state senate and labored earnestly for the Union cause. He established in 1850 a Union newspaper at Greenville, entitled "The Southern Patriot." In the legislature of 1850 he delivered stirring appeals to the loyalty of its members. When the state seceded in 1850, although he had tried to prevent the act, he embraced the Confederate cause and sent his sons to serve in the southern army. Under the Confederacy he held the offices of district attorney and district judge, and at the close of the war he was appointed provisional governor. Subsequently he was elected U. S. Senator, but was not permitted to take his seat. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention of 1870. Governor Perry was the author of "Reminiscences of Public Men " (Philadelphia, 1883), and left in manuscript several sketches of American statesmen, which have been edited, enlarged, and published by his wife, entitled "Sketches of Eminent American Statesmen, with Speeches and Letters of Governor Perry, prefaced by an Outline of the Author's Life," with an introduction by Wade Hampton (Philadelphia, 1887).—His son, William Hayne, lawyer, born in Greenville, South Carolina, 9 June, 1837, was graduated at Harvard in 1857, practised law with his father, and served in the Civil War in Brooks's troop of cavalry, which was afterward incorporated into the Hampton Legion. He participated in the chief battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia, and defended the coast of South Carolina. Subsequently he served in the legislature, and was elected as a Democrat to Congress in 1884 and 1880. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 734.
PERRY, James Alexander, soldier, born in New London, Connecticut, 11 December, 1828, is the son of Nathanael Hazard. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1851, assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery, and served against the Seminole Indians in 1852. He was assistant professor of mathematics at West Point in 1852-'7, in frontier service in the northwest during hostilities with the Sioux and Chippewa Indians, and became captain in the quartermaster's department. He served in the Civil War as chief quartermaster of the Department of Florida, and participated in the relief and defence of Fort Pickens. On 20 April, 1862, he became lieutenant-colonel of volunteers, and in 1864 he was made chief of a bureau in the quartermaster's department with the rank of colonel. He was brevetted major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel, on 13 March, 1865, and also brigadier-general, U. S. Army, for faithful and meritorious services in that department. He was commissioned major on 29 July, 1866, and lieutenant-colonel on 3 March, 1875. Since 1869 he has served as chief quartermaster of various departments, and he is now (1888) assistant quartermaster-general of the Division of the Pacific. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 737.
PERRY, Edward Aylesworth, governor of Florida, born in Richmond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 15 March, 1833. He entered Yale in the class of 1854, but left college in 1853 and went to Alabama, where he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1857, and began practice in Pensacola, Florida. At the beginning of the Civil War he became captain of a company that he raised for the Confederate service, and was made colonel of his regiment, which he commanded at Seven Pines and the other battles around Richmond, being wounded at Eraser's farm. He was then made brigadier-general, and led a brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, which lost a larger number of men at Gettysburg than any other on the Confederate side, he was wounded a second time at the battle of the Wilderness in May, 1864. At the close of the war General Perry resumed practice in Pensacola. He was elected governor of Florida for four years from January, 1885. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 737.
PETTEGREW, James Johnston, soldier, born in Tyrrel County, North Carolina, 4 July, 1828; died near Winchester, Virginia, 17 July, 1863, was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1847, and became assistant professor in the Naval Observatory at Washington, but shortly afterward began the study of law. He travelled in Europe in 1850-'2, and then began practice in Charleston, South Carolina. He was elected to the legislature in 1856, and in 1858 went abroad again and entered the Sardinian Army; but the peace of Villa Franca prevented him from seeing active service, and after a visit to Spain he returned to South Carolina and devoted himself to the improvement of the militia, in which he was elected captain. In 1860, by order of Governor Pickens, he demanded of Major Robert Anderson the evacuation of Fort Sumter. He was afterward made colonel of the 12th North Carolina Regiment, and in 1862 was promoted brigadier-general in the Confederate Army. He was wounded and taken prisoner at Seven Pines, and after his exchange fought at Gettysburg, where he commanded Heth's division on the third day, took part in Pickett's charge, and was wounded again. On the retreat into Virginia that followed he was surprised by a small party of National cavalry and received wounds from which he died three days later. General Pettigrew published "Spain and the Spaniards" (1859). See " Memorial of J. Johnston Pettigrew," by William H. Trescott (Charleston, South Carolina, 1870). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 747.
PHELAN, James, jurist, born in Huntsville, Alabama. 20 November, 1820; died in Memphis, Tennessee, 17 May, 1873, was apprenticed as a printer to the "Democrat" at fourteen years of age, subsequently edited the "Flag of the Union," a Democratic organ, and became state printer in 1843. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, moved to Mississippi in 1849, and settled in Aberdeen, where he soon established a large practice. He was elected to the state senate in 1860, and on the organization of the Confederate Congress was chosen senator, and was an active member of that body. In 1863 he introduced what was called the "Crucial bill of the Confederacy," which was a proposition to impress all the cotton in the south, paying for it in Confederate bonds, and using it as a basis for a foreign loan. The bill passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate, and created so much indignation among the planters that Mr. Phelan was burned in effigy, and defeated in the next canvass. He then served as judge-advocate till the end of the war, when he settled in Memphis, and practised law in that city until his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 750.
PHELPS, Charles Edward, jurist, born in Guilford, Vermont, 1 May, 1833, moved with his parents to Pennsylvania in 1837, and to Maryland in 1841. He was graduated at Princeton in 1852, and at Harvard law-school in 1854. After a tour abroad he settled in practice in Howard County and subsequently in Baltimore, Maryland. Phelps joined the National Army in 1862 as lieutenant-colonel of the 7th Maryland Regiment, soon afterward became colonel, was severely wounded at Spottsylvania, while temporarily commanding a division of the 5th Army Corps, and was captured. He served in the Wilderness Campaign, and in 1864 received the brevet of brigadier-general of volunteers for "gallant conduct in the battle of Spottsylvania." He was elected to Congress as a Unionist in 1864, reelected in 1866, and at, the expiration of his term resumed the practice of law in Baltimore. In 1867 he declined the appointment of judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. In 1877 he raised a volunteer regiment to serve during the riots of that summer. In 1882 he was elected associate judge of the superior court of Baltimore, for a term of fifteen years. Judge Phelps has been for many years a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, was president of the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore, is president of the Alumni Association of Princeton, and professor of equity in the Baltimore Law-School. In 1880, at the request of the Maryland Historical Society, he delivered the address in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Baltimore. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 751.
PHELPS, John Wolcott, soldier, born in Guilford, Vermont, 13 November, 1813; died there, 2 February, 1885. Five of his paternal ancestors were lawyers of high standing. His father, John Phelps, was a lawyer, and a lineal descendant of William Phelps (q. v.), The son was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1836 with the rank of 2d lieutenant, no served against the Creeks and Seminoles, and was engaged in the action at Locha Hutchee in 1838. He was put in charge of the emigration to the west of the Cherokee Indians in that year. At the beginning of the Mexican War he led a company, which was under his command for two years. During that time he was in the battles of Vera Cruz, Contreras, and Churubusco. For gallant conduct he was brevetted captain, but declined to accept the nominal promotion until 1850, when he received the full commission. In 1852 he obtained a leave of absence, and spent a year in Europe, and on his return wrote and published, anonymously, a volume entitled "Sibylline Leaves, or Thoughts upon visiting a Heathen Temple " (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1853). In 1859 Captain Phelps resigned his commission after serving for some time in the Utah Expedition, and returned to Brattleboro, Vermont, where he had previously taken up his residence. He had completed nearly twenty-three years of continuous military service. Much of the intervening period between his leaving the army and the Civil War was spent in writing articles against the aggression of the slave power. He volunteered his services to lead the 1st Company of Vermont Volunteers in 1861, which, together with one regiment from Massachusetts and one from New York under his command, took possession of the mouth of James River. Thence he was ordered to the southwest, where he occupied Ship Island with a New England brigade. On 17 May, 1861, he was made brigadier-general in the volunteer service. Subsequently he took part in the reduction of New Orleans. At that time he conceived the idea of organizing slaves as soldiers, but he was in advance of the time, and the government commander bade him cease and set them at work instead. As he could not conscientiously do the latter, he returned to Vermont, after resigning his commission on 21 August, 1862. During his occupation of Ship Island he issued a manifesto "to the loyal citizens of the southwest," in which he set forth his views on slavery. He declined a major-general's commission when the Negroes were finally armed, and spent the rest of his life in Brattleboro, Vermont. His acquirements as a scholar and linguist were considerable. He became vice-president of the Vermont Historical Society in 1866, and president of the Vermont State Teachers' Association in 1865. He was active until his death in the anti-masonic movement, and was the candidate for president of the American Party in 1880. He contributed largely to current literature, published a volume entitled "Good Behavior," intended as a text-book for schools, which was adopted in western cities (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1880); and a "History of Madagascar" (New York, 1884); and the Tables of Florian " (1888); and translated from the French Lucien de la Hodde's " Cradle of Rebellions " (1864). See his Memoir by Cecil H. C. Howard (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1887). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 751.
PHELPS, Thomas Stowell, naval officer, born in Buckfield, Maine, 2 November, 1822. He was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1846, became lieutenant in 1855, served in the Indian War in Washington Territory in that year and in 1856, and in the Paraguay Expedition in 1858-'9. At the beginning of the Civil War he was attached to the expedition that was sent to the relief of Fort Sumter, and in June, 1861, was selected to co-operate with the army and navy in preparing a survey of Potomac River. He was transferred in September to the steamer "Corwin" for secret service, examined five of the inlets of North Carolina, surveyed and buoyed Hatteras inlet for the introduction of expeditions into the interior waters of that state, skirmished with Confederate gun-boats in Pamlico Sound, and engaged the gunboat “Curlew" in Hatteras Inlet on 14 November. He was in three engagements with Yorktown and Gloucester point batteries, caused the destruction of two of the enemy's vessels, and thwarted that of White House bridge in April and May, 1862. At the battle of West Point he prevented the conjunction of a large force of Confederates with the main army. He became lieutenant-commander in July, 1862, was subsequently engaged chiefly in surveying and examining dangers in the way of blockades and transports, and commanded the "Juniata " in the Fort Fisher fights in 1865. He was commissioned commander in that year, captain in 1871, commodore in 1879, and rear-admiral in 1884, and retired in 1885. He has published "Reminiscences of Washington Territory" (New York, 1882). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 753
PHELPS, John Smith, statesman, born in Simsbury, Connecticut, 22 December, 1814; died in St. Louis, Missouri, 20 November, 1886, was graduated at Trinity in 1832, studied law under his father, practised a short time in his native state, and in 1837 emigrated to Missouri, near Springfield, Greene County. He served in the legislature in 1840, the next year was appointed brigade inspector of militia, and in 1844 was elected to Congress as a Democrat, serving continuously till 1863. He was chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means for seven terms, and was a member of the Select Committee of thirty-three on the rebellious states. During his Congressional career he achieved a national reputation for ability in debate, sagacity, and prudence, and exercised a pacific influence on contending factions. He was appointed colonel of U. S. volunteers in 1861, and brigadier-general of volunteers in July, 1862, the same year serving as military governor of Arkansas, he was a delegate to the National Union Convention in 1860, and the next year a commissioner to settle the claims of Indiana. He was governor of Missouri in 1870-'82, declined to serve on the tariff commission, and did not again accept any public office. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 754.
PIATT, Donn, journalist, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 29 June, 1819, was educated at the Athenaeum (now St. Xavier College), but left suddenly in consequence of a personal encounter with the professor of mathematics. He then studied law, and in 1851 was appointed judge of the court of common pleas of Hamilton County. At the end of his term he was made secretary of legation at Paris, under John Y. Mason, during Pierce's administration. When the minister was attacked with apoplexy, Piatt served as charge d'affaires for nearly a year. On his return home he engaged actively in the presidential canvass in behalf of John C. Fremont. During part of the Civil War he was on the staff of General Robert C. Schenck. Having been sent to observe the situation at Winchester previous to Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania, he on his own motion, ordered General Robert H. Milroy to evacuate the town and fall back on Harper's Ferry. The order was countermanded by General Halleck, and three days afterward Milroy, surrounded by the Confederate advance, was forced to cut his way out, with a loss of 2,300 prisoners. When General William Birney was sent to Maryland to recruit colored regiments, he was chief of staff, with the rank of colonel. After the war he became Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati ''Commercial." He subsequently founded and edited the Washington "Capital" for two years, making it so odious to many Republican officials that, during the presidential controversy of 1876, he was indicted for conspiring to disturb the peace of the country. Since then he has devoted himself to farming and literature at his residence, Mac-o-chee, Ohio. In all his writings he is apt to take a peculiar and generally unpopular view of his subjects. He has published a sharply critical work, "Memoirs of the Men who saved the Union" (Chicago, 1887).—His wife, Louise Kirby, author, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 25 November, 1826: died 2 October, 1864, possessed rare intelligence and culture, and became widely known for her graceful, spirited, pointed newspaper correspondence. She accompanied her husband to Europe when he was appointed secretary of legation, and contributed letters to the " Home Journal," which were afterward published in book-form as " Bell Smith Abroad" (New York, 1855). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 766.
PIATT, Abram Sanders, farmer, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 2 May, 1821, was educated at the Athenaeum and at the Kinmont Academy in his native city, after which he engaged in agricultural pursuits in the Macacheek Valley, which occupation he has followed with but few interruptions. In 1846 he devoted some time to the study of law, and edited the " Macacheek Press," a journal that he established. At the beginning of the Civil War he was active in raising volunteers for the National service, and was commissioned colonel of the 13th Ohio Regiment. At the expiration of his three months' service he raised at his own expense the First Zouave Regiment of Ohio, of which he became colonel. After the first regiment had been raised, applications to join continued to be received, and he began the organization of the second, with the intention of forming a brigade, but before it was completed he was ordered to the front and made brigadier-general of volunteers on 28 February, 1862. In April, 1863, he resigned his commission, and subsequently returned to his farm. General Piatt has given attention to polities. On the close of the war he became affiliated with the National Greenback Labor Party, and he has been its candidate for the offices of lieutenant-governor and governor. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and served that organization for two years as its state lecturer. General Piatt is also known by his poetry, which has appeared in his own journal and in the Cincinnati " Commercial." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 766.
PICKERING, Charles Whipple, naval officer, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 23 December, 1815; died in St. Augustine, Florida, 29 February, 1888. He was appointed midshipman on 22 May, 1822, became lieutenant on 8 December, 1838, and was attached to the Pacific Squadron. In 1854 he served as executive officer or the "Cyane," which conveyed Lieutenant Isaac G. Strain (q. v.) and his exploring party to Darien, and afterward rescued them and brought them to New York. He was at the bombardment of Greytown, Nicaragua, in 1854, which was reduced to ashes after four hours' siege. On 14 September, 1855, he became commander, and in 1859-61 he was inspector of a light-house district near Key West, Florida. He was commissioned captain on 15 July, 1862, commanded the "Kearsarge " in the Mediterranean and in the West Indies, and was in charge of the "Housatonic" when that vessel was destroyed by a submarine torpedo near Charleston on 17 February, 1865. When he had recovered from his wounds he took command of the "Vanderbilt," and in 1865 he was ordered to Portsmouth U.S. Navy-yard. He was placed on the retired list on 1 February, 1867, and made commodore on 8 December of the same year. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 1.
PICKETT, George Edward, soldier, born in Richmond, Virginia, 25 January, 1825; died in Norfolk, Virginia, 30 July, 1875. His father was a resident of Henrico County, Virginia. The son was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy from Illinois, and graduated in 1846. He served in the war with Mexico, was made 2d lieutenant in the 2d Infantry, 3 March, 1847, was at the siege of Vera Cruz and was engaged in all the battles that preceded the assault and capture of the city of Mexico. He was transferred to the 7th Infantry, 13 July, 1847, and to the 8th Infantry, 18 July, 1847, and brevetted 1st lieutenant, 8 September, 1847, for gallant and meritorious conduct at Contreras and Churubusco, and captain, 13 September, for Chapultepec. He became captain in the 9th Infantry, 3 March, 1855, after serving in garrisons in Texas from 1849, and in 1856 he was on frontier duty in the Northwest Territory at Puget Sound. Captain Pickett was ordered, with sixty men, to occupy San Juan Island then, during the dispute with Great Britain over the northwest boundary, and the British governor, Sir James Douglas, sent three vessels of war to eject Pickett from his position. He forbade the landing of troops from the vessels, under the threat of firing upon them, and an actual collision was prevented only by the timely arrival of the British admiral, by whose order the issue of force was postponed. For his conduct on this occasion General Harney in his report commended Captain Pickett “for the cool judgment; ability, and that he had displayed,” and the legislature of Washington Territory passed resolutions thanking him for it. He resigned from the army, 25 June, 1861, and after eat difficulty and delays reached Virginia, where he was at once commissioned colonel in the state forces and assigned to duty on Rappahannock River. In February, 1862, he was made brigadier-general in General James Longstreet's division of the Confederate Army under General Joseph E. Johnston, which was then called the Army of the Potomac, but afterward became the Army of Northern Virginia. His brigade, in the retreat before McClellan up the peninsula and in the seven days' battles around Richmond, won such a reputation that it was known as “the game-cock brigade.” At the battle of Gaines's Mills, 27 June, 1862, Pickett was severely wounded in the shoulder, and he did not rejoin his command until after the first Maryland Campaign. He was then made major-general, with a division that was composed entirely of Virginians. At the battle of Fredericksburg this division held the centre of Lee's line. For an account of Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, 3 July, 1863, see the articles LEE, ROBERT E., and MEADE, GEORGE G. Pickett was afterward placed in command in lower Virginia and Eastern North Carolina. In May, 1864, he defended Petersburg and saved it from surprise and capture by General Benjamin F. Butler. In the attack on General Butler's forces along the line of the railroad between Richmond and Petersburg, Pickett's division captured the works. General Lee, in a letter of thanks and congratulation, dated 17 June, said: “We tried very hard to stop Pickett's men from capturing the breastworks of the enemy, but could not do it.” At Five Forks his division received the brunt of the National attack, and was entirely disorganized. After the war General Pickett returned to Richmond, where he spent the remainder of his life in the life-insurance business. His biography by Edward A. Pollard is in Pollard's “Life and Times of Robert E. Lee and his Companions in Arms” (New York, 1871). See also “Pickett's Men,” by Walter Harrison (1870). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 5.
PICTON, John Moore White, physician, born in Woodbury, New Jersey, 17 November, 1804; died in New Orleans, Louisiana, 28 October, 1858. His father, Reverend Thomas Picton, was chaplain and professor of geography, history, and ethics in 1818-'25 in the U. S. Military Academy, where the son was graduated in 1824. He was assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery, but resigned his commission in March, 1832, and in that year was graduated at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. He settled in New Orleans, where he practised his profession for thirty-two years, acquiring reputation as an operator. He served for many years as home surgeon in the New Orleans Charity Hospital, and was president of the medical department of the University of Louisiana. He was a founder of the New Orleans School of Medicine in 1856, in which he was professor of obstetrics from 1856 till 1858.—His cousin. Thomas, journalist, born in New York City, 9 May, 1822, entered Columbia, and subsequently the University of New York, where he was graduated in 1843. After studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1843. Several years later he visited Europe, and, after travelling over the continent, resided in the environs of Paris, participating in the Revolution of 1848 as an officer of the 2d Legion of the Banlien. Upon his return to New York he began the publication of "The Era" in 1850 in conjunction with Henry W. Herbert, and in 1851 he became one of the editors of "The Sachem," afterward entitled the " True American," a vigorous advocate of the Associated Order of United Americans. A little later he edited the "True National Democrat," the organ of the Free-Soilers. On the reorganization of the "Sunday Mercury" he became one of its editors, and contributed to the paper a series of popular stories under the name of "Paul Preston." These were subsequently published in book-form, and had an extensive sale. At the beginning of the Civil War he raised a battalion, which was consolidated with the 38th New York Regiment, with which he went to the field. During the reign of Maximilian in Mexico, Mr. Picton was employed in the service of the Liberals, and wrote a " Defence of Liberal Mexico," which was printed for distribution among the statesmen of (his country. General Rosecrans remarked that this publication had "done more for the cause of Mexico than all other external influences combined." He has translated some of the first modern romances from the French, and several of his light dramas are popular. He is the author of "Reminiscences of a Sporting Journalist," issued in serial form, and. besides the works mentioned, has edited "Frank Forester's Life and Writings" (New York, 1881). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 6.
PIERCE, Byron Root, soldier, born in East Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York, 20 September, 1829. He received an academic education at Rochester, New York, and, moving to Michigan, early became interested in military matters. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the 3d Michigan Volunteers, and was commissioned successively captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of that regiment, which served throughout the war with the Army of the Potomac. He was made brigadier-general of volunteers, 7 June, 1864, brevetted major-general, 6 April, 1865, and mustered out of the service on 24 August At present (1888) he is commandant of the Soldiers’ Home at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 7.
PIERPONT, John, 1785-1866, Massachusetts, poet, lawyer, Unitarian theologian, temperance reformer, abolitionist leader, member of the anti-slavery Liberty Party. Liberty Party candidate for Massachusetts. Free Soil candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1850. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, p. 14; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 286; Dumond, 1961, p. 301)
PIERPONT, John, poet, born in Litchfield, Connecticut, 6 April, 1785; died in Medford, Massachusetts, 26 August, 1866. He was a great-grandson of James, who is noticed below. He was graduated at Yale in 1804, and after assisting for a short time in the academy at Bethlehem, Connecticut, in the autumn of 1805 went to South Carolina, and passed nearly four years as a private tutor in the family of Colonel William Allston. After his return in 1809 he studied law at Litchfield, was admitted to the bar in 1812, and practised for a time in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The profession proving injurious to his health, he relinquished it, and engaged in business as a merchant, first in Boston, and afterward in Baltimore. In 1816 he abandoned commerce for theology, which he studied, first at Baltimore, and afterward at Cambridge Divinity-School. In April, 1819, he was ordained pastor of the Hollis Street Church, Boston. In 1835 he made a tour through Europe and Asia Minor, and on his return he resumed his pastoral charge in Boston, where he continued till 10 May, 1845. The freedom with which he expressed his opinions, especially in regard to the temperance cause, had given rise to some feeling before his departure for Europe; and in 1838 there sprung up between himself and a part of his parish a controversy which lasted seven years, when, after triumphantly sustaining himself against the charges of his adversaries, he requested a dismissal. He then became for four years pastor of a Unitarian Church in Troy, New York, on 1 August, 1849, was settled over the Congregational Church in Medford, and resigned, 6 April, 1856. He was a zealous reformer, powerfully advocated the temperance and anti-slavery movements, was the candidate of the Liberty Party for governor, and in 1850 of the Free-Soil Party for Congress. After the Civil War began, though seventy-six years of age, he went into the field as chaplain of a Massachusetts regiment, but, finding his strength unequal to the discharge of his duties, he soon afterward resigned, and was appointed to a clerkship in the Treasury Department at Washington, which he held till his death. Mr. Pierpont was a thorough scholar, a graceful and facile speaker, and ranked deservedly high as a poet. He published “Airs of Palestine” (Baltimore, 1816); re-issued, with additions, under the title “Airs of Palestine, and other Poems” (Boston, 1840). One of his best-known poems is “Warren's Address at the Battle of Bunker Bill.” His long poem that he read at the Litchfield County centennial in 1851 contains a description of the “Yankee boy” and his ingenuity, which has often been quoted. He also published several sermons and addresses. See Wilson's “Bryant and his Friends” (New York, 1886). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p.14.
PIERRPONT, Edwards (Pierrepont), jurist, born in North Haven, Connecticut, 4 March, 1817, was graduated at Yale in 1837 and at the law-school in 1840, and began practice at Columbus, Ohio. In 1845 he moved to New York City, where he became eminent at the bar. In 1857 he was elected a judge of the superior court of the city of New York, in place of Chief-Justice Thomas J. Oakley. A speech that he made a year and a half before the fall of Fort Sumter, in which he predicted the Civil War, attracted much attention. In October, 1860, he resigned his seat on the bench and returned to the practice of law, and in 1862 he was appointed by President Lincoln, in conjunction with General John A. Dix, to try the prisoners of state that were confined in the various prisons and forts of the United States. In 1864 he was active in organizing the War Democrats in favor of the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. In April, 1867, he was elected a member of the convention for forming a new constitution for the State of New York, and one of its judiciary committee. He was employed to conduct the prosecution on the part of the government of John H. Surratt, indicted for aiding in the murder of President Lincoln. Judge Pierrepont has been engaged in many celebrated causes, and he was much employed by railroads and other corporations. At the beginning of the Civil War he was an active member of the Union Defence Committee, and one of the three that were appointed to proceed to Washington to confer with the government when all communication was cut off by way of Baltimore after the attack upon the Massachusetts troops. In the presidential contests of 1868 and 1872 he was an ardent supporter of General Grant, by whom he was appointed in 1869 U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which office he resigned in July, 1870. In the autumn of that year he was one of the most active members of the committee of seventy in opposition to the Tweed ring. In May, 1873, Judge Pierrepont was appointed U. S. minister to Russia, but declined, and in April, 1875, he became Attorney-General of the United States, remaining in the cabinet of President Grant until May, 1876, when he was sent as U.S. minister to Great Britain. During his term of office as Attorney-General he was called upon by the Secretary of State to give an opinion upon a question of international law, in which were discussed the questions of natural and acquired nationality. This opinion gave him a wide reputation. During General Grant's visit to London, Judge Pierrepont urged upon the queen's ministers the propriety of according the same precedence to him as had been given to the ex-ruler of France. This was done, and other governments followed the example of Great Britain. Judge Pierrepont devoted large attention to the financial system of England. On his return in 1878 he engaged actively in his profession, but afterward retired and has taken especial interest in the financial policy of the country, writing several pamphlets upon the subject. In one, issued in 1887, he advocated an international treaty and claimed that by convention the commercial value of the silver dollar might be restored. He has published various orations, including one before the alumni of Yale, (1874). Judge Pierrepont received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Columbian College, Washington, D.C., in 1871. In 1873 the same degree was conferred upon him by Yale. While he was in England Oxford gave him that of D. C. L. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 16.
PILE, William A., soldier, born near Indianapolis, Indiana, 11 February, 1829. He received an academic education, studied theology, and became a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a member of the Missouri Conference. He joined the National Army as chaplain of a regiment of Missouri Volunteers in 1861, and took command of a light battery in 1862. He was subsequently placed at the head of a regiment of infantry, promoted brigadier-general of volunteers, 26 December, 1863, and served till the close of the war, being mustered out, 24 August, 1865. He was elected to Congress from Missouri, and served from 4 March, 1867, till 3 March, 1869, but was defeated as the Republican candidate for the next Congress. Mr. Pile was appointed by President Grant governor of New Mexico, served in 1869-'70, and was minister resident at Venezuela from 23 May, 1871, till his resignation in 1874. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 18.
PILLOW, Gideon Johnson, soldier, born in Williamson County, Tennessee, 8 June, 1806; died in Lee County, Arkansas, 6 October, 1878. He was graduated at the University of Nashville, Tennessee, in 1827, practised law at Columbia, Tennessee, was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in 1844, and aided largely in the nomination of his neighbor, James K. Polk, as the candidate for president. In July, 1846, he was appointed brigadier-general in command of Tennessee Volunteers in the Mexican War. He served for some time with General Zachary Taylor on the Mexican frontier, subsequently joined General Scott at Vera Cruz, and took an active part in the siege of that city, afterward being one of the commissioners that received its surrender from the Mexican authorities. At the battle of Cerro Gordo he commanded the right wing of the American Army, and was severely wounded. He was promoted to major-general, 13 April, 1847, was engaged in the battles of Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec, where he was wounded. He differed with General Scott in regard to the convention of Tacubaya, and the differences led to such results that General Pillow requested a court of inquiry to try him on charges of insubordination that were made by Scott. The court was ordered, and he was honorably acquitted. After the Mexican War he resumed the practice of law in Tennessee, and was also largely engaged in planting. In the Nashville Southern Convention of 1850 General Pillow took conservative ground, and opposed extreme measures. He received twenty-five votes for the nomination for the vice-presidency at the Democratic National Convention in 1852. On 9 May, 1861, he was appointed by Governor Isham G. Harris a major-general in the provisional army of the state of Tennessee, and aided largely in the organization of its forces. On 9 July, 1861, he was made a brigadier-general in the provisional Confederate Army. He commanded under General Leonidas Polk at the battle of Belmont, Missouri, 7 November, 1861, and was second in command under General John B. Floyd at Fort Donelson in February, 1862. He declined to assume the chief command and to surrender the forces at this fort, so, turning the place over to General Simon B. Buckner, he escaped. He was now relieved from command, but subsequently led a detachment of cavalry, and served under Beauregard in the southwest. He was also chief of conscripts in the Western Department. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 20.
PINCHBACK, Pinckney Benton Stewart, governor of Louisiana, born in Macon, Georgia, 10 May, 1837. He is of African descent. In 1846 he was sent to school in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1848 his father died, and he became a boatman. In 1862 he ran the Confederate blockade at Yazoo City and reached New Orleans, then in possession of the National troops. He enlisted, and was soon detailed to assist in raising a regiment, but, owing to his race, he was compelled to resign, 3 September. 1863. He was subsequently authorized by General Nathaniel P. Banks to raise a company of colored cavalry. In 1867 he organized in New Orleans the 4th Ward Republican Club, became a member of the state committee, and was made inspector of customs on 22 May. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867, state senator in 1868, and was sent to the National Republican Convention of the last-named year. He was appointed by President Grant, in April, 1869, register of the land-office of New Orleans, and on 25 December, 1870, established the New Orleans " Louisianian." The same year he organized a company for the purpose of establishing a line of steamers on Mississippi River. In March, 1871, he was appointed by the state board a school director for the city of New Orleans, and on 6 December, 1871, he was elected president pro tempore of the state senate, and lieutenant-governor to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Oscar Dunn. He was acting governor during the impeachment of Governor Warmoth from 9 December, 1872, to 13 January, 1873. He was nominated for governor in 1872, but withdrew in the interest of party peace, and was elected on the same ticket as Congressman. He was chosen to the U. S. Senate, 15 January, 1873, but after three years' debate he was disallowed his seat by a vote of 32 to 29, although he was given the pay and mileage of a senator. On 24 April, 1873, he was appointed a commissioner to the Vienna Exposition from Louisiana, and in 1877 he was appointed a member of the state board of education by Governor Francis P. Nichols. On 8 February, 1879, he was elected a delegate to the Constitutional convention of the state. Mr. Pinchhock was appointed surveyor of customs of New Orleans in 1882. and a trustee of Southern University by Governor McEnery in 1883 and 1885. He was graduated at the law department of Straight University. New Orleans, and admitted to the bar in April, 1886. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 21.
PINKERTON, Allan, 1819-1884, Glasgow, Scotland, detective, Union spy, abolitionist. Founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 622)
PINKERTON, Allan, detective, born in Glasgow, Scotland, 25 August, 1819; died in Chicago, Illinois, 1 July, 1884. He became a Chartist in early manhood, came to this country in 1842 to escape imprisonment, and settled in Chicago, Illinois. He was made deputy sheriff of Kane County in 1846, was subsequently deputy sheriff of Cook County, and in 1850 was appointed the first detective for Chicago. He also established Pinkerton's Detective Agency in that year, and from that date till the emancipation was largely engaged in assisting the escape of slaves. He was the first special U.S. mail agent for northern Illinois and Indiana and southern Wisconsin, organized the U.S. Secret Service Division of the National Army in 1861, was its first chief, and subsequently organized and was at the head of the Secret Service Department of the Gulf till the close of the Civil War. He added to his detective agency in Chicago in 1860 a corps of night watchmen, called Pinkerton's preventive watch, Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 622
PITCHER, Thomas Gamble, soldier, born Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana, 23 October, 1824. He was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1845, and was and assigned to the 5th Infantry, with which he stationed for several years in Boston, where he is served in the military occupation of Texas. He was transferred to the 8th Infantry in 1846, and fairly with the people in their disputes with the during the war with Mexico took part in the soldiery. He took part in the expedition that was engagements at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, San Antonio, Contreras, and Churubusco, for which he was sent in advance was brevetted 1st lieutenant, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec and the capture of the city of Mexico. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant, 26 June, 1849, and was on duty at posts in Texas and Arkansas until the Civil War, serving as depot-commissary at, San Antonio in 1857–'9, and receiving his promotion, 19 October, 1858. He served in the defence of Harper's Ferry in June 1862, and in the Virginia Campaign of that year, being brevetted major for services at Cedar Mountain, where he was severely wounded. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 29 November, 1862, but was disabled by his wound till 10 January, 1863. He was on duty as commissary and provost-marshal was during the rest of the war, attaining the rank of major on 19 September, 1863, and receiving all brevets up to and including brigadier-general in the regular army on 13 March, 1865. He was made the colonel of the 44th Infantry, 28 July, 1866, served as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy till 1 September, 1871, and was governor of the Soldiers' Home at Washington, D.C., in 1871–’7. He was then on special duty or leave of absence till his retirement on 28 June, “for disability contracted in the line of duty.” From 1 March, 1880, till 15 October, 1887, he was superintendent of the New York State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 31.
PITTENGER, William, soldier, born in Knoxville, Jefferson County, Ohio, 31 January, 1840. He studied in the county schools until he had reached the age of sixteen, and enlisted as a private in the 2d Ohio Volunteer Infantry on 17 April, 1861. He served in the battle of Bull Run, and took part in the noted Andrews Railroad raid which began on 7 April, 1862. He escaped execution as a spy, was imprisoned until 18 March, 1863, received the medal of honor, was promoted lieutenant, and returned to the army, in which he served until impaired health forced him to resign in August, 1863. In 1864 he entered the Pittsburg conference of the Methodist Church, and in 1870 was transferred to the New Jersey Conference, in which he now (1888) labors. Since 1878 he has been a professor in the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia. He is the author of “Daring and Suffering, a History of the Great Railroad Adventurers” (Philadelphia, 1863; enlarged ed., New York, 1887); “Oratory, Sacred and Secular” (Philadelphia, 1881); and “Extempore Speech” (1882). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 34.
PLAISTED, Harris Merrill, soldier, born in Jefferson, New Hampshire, 2 November, 1828. He worked on a farm and taught during his early manhood, and was graduated at Waterville College (now Colby University) in 1853, and at Albany Law-school in 1855. He was then admitted to the bar and began practice in Bangor, Maine, in 1856. He entered the national volunteer service in 1861 as lieutenant-colonel, was commissioned colonel in 1862, participated in McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, commanded a brigade before Charleston, and served with Grant before Richmond. He received the brevet of brigadier-general of volunteers in February, 1865, and that of major-general of volunteers in March of the same year. He resumed his profession after the peace, was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1868, and attorney-general of Maine in 1873–5. He went to Congress as a Republican in 1874 to fill a vacancy, served one term, declined re-election, and was governor of Maine in 1881–’3. Since 1884 he has edited and published “The New Age,” in Augusta, Maine. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 38.
PLATT, Franklin, geologist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19 November, 1844. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, but left in 1862, before graduation, and in 1863 served in the 32d Pennsylvania Gray Reserve Regiment. In 1864 he was appointed to the U.S. Coast Survey, and assigned to surveying work with the North Atlantic Squadron during that year. He then was appointed on the staff of General Orlando M. Poe, Chief Engineer of the Military Division of the Mississippi, and was engaged in this duty until the surrender of General Joseph Johnston's army in April, 1865. Subsequently, in July, 1874, he was appointed assistant geologist of Pennsylvania, a post he held until May, 1881, after which he became president of the Rochester and Pittsburg Coal and Iron Company. Mr. Platt is a member of scientific societies, to whose transactions he has contributed frequent papers on geology and kindred subjects. He prepared nine volumes of the reports of the geological survey of Pennsylvania. Those that were his exclusive work are “On Clearfield and Jefferson Counties” (Harrisburg, 1875); “Coke Manufacture” (1876); “On Blair County (1880); and “The Causes, Kinds, and Amount of Waste in Mining Anthracite” (1881). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 38.
PLEASONTON, Augustus James, soldier, born in Washington, D.C., 18 August, 1808. He was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1826, and then served on garrison duty at the Artillery school for practice in Fortress Monroe, and on topographical duty until 30 June, 1830, when he resigned from the army. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar, and he has since practised in Philadelphia. He has served in the Pennsylvania Militia, holding the rank of brigade-major in 1833, and becoming colonel in 1835, and he was wounded during the conflict with armed rioters in Southwark, Pennsylvania, on 7 July, 1844. During the political disturbances in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1838-'9, he was assistant adjutant-general and paymaster-general of the state. On 10 May, 1861, he was appointed brigadier-general of Pennsylvania Militia, and charged with the organization and subsequent command during the Civil War of a home-guard of 10,000 men, including cavalry, artillery, and infantry, for the defence of Philadelphia. In 1839-'40 he was president of the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy, and Lancaster Railroad Company. He has devoted his leisure to the cultivation of a farm near Philadelphia, where, as early as 1861, he began to experiment on the action of different colored rays upon vegetable and animal life. He claimed to have demonstrated that the blue rays of the sun were especially stimulating to vegetation. His experiments were subsequently applied to animals, and afterward to invalids, and wonderful cures were said to have been wrought. The public became interested in his experiments, and for a time a so-called " blue-glass craze" prevailed, culminating in 1877-'8. General Pleasonton published many papers in advocacy of his theories, and a book entitled " Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky in Developing Animal and Vegetable Life, in Arresting Disease" (Philadelphia, 1876). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 39-40.
PLEASONTON, Alfred, soldier, born in Washington. D. C, 7 June, 1824, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1844, served in the Mexican War, and was brevetted 1st lieutenant for "gallant and meritorious conduct in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma." He subsequently was on frontier duty with his company, and was commissioned 1st lieutenant in 1840, and captain in 1855. He was acting assistant adjutant general to General William S. Harney during the Sioux Expedition, and his adjutant-general from 1856 till 1860 in the campaign against the Seminoles in Florida, and the operations in Kansas, Oregon, and Washington Territory. He commanded his regiment in its inarch from Utah to Washington in the autumn of 1861, was commissioned major of the 2d U.S. Cavalry in February, 1862, served through the Virginia Peninsular Campaign, became brigadier-general of volunteers in July of that year, and commanded the division of cavalry of the Army of the Potomac that followed Lee's invading army into Maryland. He was engaged at Boonesborough, South Mountain, Antietam, and the subsequent pursuit, engaged the enemy frequently at Fredericksburg, and stayed the further advance of the enemy at Chancellorsville. On 2 May, when Jackson's Confederate corps was coming down upon the right flank of Hooker's army, and had already routed Howard's corps, General Pleasonton, by his quick and skilful action, saved the army from a serious disaster. Ordering the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry to charge boldly into the woods in the face of the advancing host (see Keenan, Pete), he delayed Jackson's progress a few minutes—just long enough to throw into position all the artillery that was within reach. He ordered the guns loaded with grape and canister, and depressed enough to make the shot strike the ground half wav between their line and the edge of the woods. When the Confederate column emerged, it met such a storm of iron as no troops could pass through. About this time Jackson fell, and before any new Manoeuvres could be undertaken darkness put an end to the day's work. He received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel for Antietam in 1862, was promoted major-general of volunteers in June, 1863, participated in the numerous actions that preceded the battle of Gettysburg, was commander-in-chief of cavalry in that action, and was brevetted colonel. 2 July. 1863. He was transferred to Missouri in 1864, drove the forces under General Sterling Price from the state, and in March, 1865, was brevetted brigadier-general in the U. S. Army for gallant and meritorious conduct in that campaign, and major-general for services throughout the Civil War. He resigned in 1868, was U. S. Collector of Revenue for several years, and subsequently president of the Terre Haute and Cincinnati Railroad. In May, 1888, he was placed on the retired list, with the rank of colonel, U. S. A. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 40.
PLUMB, Preston B., senator, born in Delaware County, Ohio, 12 October, 1837. After receiving a common-school education he became a printer, and in 1856 moved to Kansas. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1861, was a member of the legislature in 1862, subsequently reporter of the Kansas Supreme Court, and in the latter part of that year entered the National Army as a lieutenant. He served throughout the Civil War, and attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was again in the legislature in 1867-'8, was its speaker the latter year, and in 1876 was elected U. S. Senator as a Republican. He was re-elected for the term that will end in 1885. Mr. Plumb has edited and adapted a work entitled " Practice before Justice Courts in Kansas " (New York, 1875). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 42.
PLUMLEY, Benjamin Rush, author, born in Newton, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 10 March, 1816; died in Galveston, Texas, 9 December, 1887. He was early associated with William Lloyd Garrison in abolition movements, subsequently engaged in literary pursuits, and contributed prose and poetical sketches to the magazines. During the Civil War he served on the staff of General John C. Fremont, and subsequently he was on that of General Nathaniel P. Banks. He afterward settled in Galveston, Texas. His works in manuscript, to be issued in book-form, include "Kathleen McKinley, the Kerry Girl," "Rachel Lockwood," "Lays of the Quakers," which appeared in the "Knickerbocker "; and "Oriental Ballads," in the " Atlantic Monthly." Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 43.
PLUMMER, Joseph B, soldier, born in Barre, Massachusetts, 10 August, 1820; died near Corinth, Mississippi, 9 August, 1862. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1841, served in Florida, on the western frontier, and in the Mexican War, became lieutenant in 1848, and captain in 1853. He rendered important service to General Nathaniel Lyon in the capture of Camp Jackson, Missouri, and was severely wounded at Wilson's Creek in August, 1861. He became colonel of the 11th Missouri Volunteers in September of that year, defeated the Confederates at Fredericktown, Missouri, on 12 October, and was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers the next day. He subsequently participated in the battles of New Madrid and Island No. 10. He became major of infantry in April, 1862, served in the Mississippi Campaign, at the siege and battle of Corinth, and in pursuit of the enemy to Boonville from 1 till 11 June. His death was the result of exposure in camp. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 43.
POE, Orlando Metcalfe, soldier, born in Navarre. Stark County, Ohio, 7 March, 1832. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1856, and assigned to the Topographical Engineers. He became 1st lieutenant in 1860, and was on lake survey duty till the beginning of the Civil War, when he engaged in the organization of Ohio volunteers. He was Chief Topographical Engineer of the Department of the Ohio from 13 May till 15 June, 1861, being engaged in rcconnoissances in northern Kentucky and western Virginia, participated in the battle of Rich Mountain, on the staff of General George B. McClellan. He became colonel of the 2d Michigan Volunteers in September, 1861, was in command of his regiment in the defences of Washington, and took part in the principal battles of the Virginia Peninsular Campaign. He was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, 29 November, 1862, was engaged at Fredericksburg, commanded a division of the 9th Army Corps from February to March, 1863, and became captain of U. S. Engineers in that month, and subsequently chief engineer of the 23d Corps of the Army of the Ohio. He occupied a similar post in the army of General William T. Sherman in the invasion of Georgia, the march to the sea, and through the Carolinas, until the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston. He received the brevet of major for gallant service at the siege of Knoxville on 6 July, 1864, that of lieutenant-colonel for the capture of Atlanta on 1 September, 1864, and that of colonel for Savannah on 21 December, 1864. In March, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general for " gallant and meritorious service in the campaign terminating in the surrender of the insurgent army under General Joseph E. Johnston." He was engineer secretary of the U. S. Light-House Board in 1865-70, commissioned major in the latter year, constructed the light-house on Spectacle Reef, Lake Huron, in 1870-'3, and became a member of the Light-House Board in 1874. He was aide-de-camp to General William T. Sherman in 1873-'84, and at the same time was in charge of the river and harbor works from Lake Erie to Lake Superior. In 1882 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of engineers. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 47.
POLAND, John Scroggs, soldier, born in Princeton, Indiana, 14 October, 1836. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1861, and appointed 1st lieutenant of the 2d Infantry on 6 July, 1861. Subsequently he served with the Army of the Potomac, engaging in the battle of Bull Run, and with that army in the following campaigns, until after the battle of Gettysburg, when he was on duty in the defences of Washington. Meanwhile he had been promoted captain, and had received the brevets of major and lieutenant-colonel. In 1865 he was assigned to the U. S. Military Academy, where he remained for four years as assistant professor of geography, history, ethics, and drawing. During the ten years that followed he served principally on frontier duty, becoming, on 15 December, 1880, major of the 18th Infantry, and in 1881-'6, he was chief of the department of law at the U. S. Infantry and cavalry school in Leavenworth. Kansas, where he was also in charge in 1881-'3 of the department of military drawing. On 1 March, 1886, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the 21st Infantry. Colonel Poland has published " Digest of the Military Laws of the United States from 1861 to 1868 " (Boston, 1868) and "The Conventions of Geneva of 1864 and 1868, and St. Petersburg International Commission " (Leavenworth, 1886). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 49-50.
POLIGNAC, Camille Armand Jules Marie (po-leen-vak). Count de, soldier, born in France, 6 February, 1832. He is a descendant of the Duchess of Polignac, a favorite of Marie Antoinette. At the beginning of the Civil War he came to this country, offered his services to the Confederate government, and was made brigadier-general on 10 January, 1862, and attached to the Army of Tennessee. Subsequently he was given command of a division and commissioned major-general on 13 June, 1864. During the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-'l he served with his countrymen, and he has since been engaged in journalism and in civil engineering. On several occasions he has been sent to Algiers in charge of surveying expeditions by the French government, and his work has received special recognition. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 50.
POLK, Leonidas, P. E. bishop, born in Raleigh, North Carolina, 10 April, 1806; died on Pine mountain, Georgia, 14 June, 1864, was educated at the University of North Carolina, and at the U. S. Military Academy, where he was graduated in 1827, and brevetted 2d lieutenant of artillery. Having, in the meantime, been induced by Reverend (afterward Bishop) Charles P. McIlvaine, then chaplain at the academy, to study for the ministry, he resigned his commission the following December, was made deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1830, and ordained priest in 1831. He served in the Monumental Church, Richmond, Virginia, as assistant for a year, when, his health failing, he went to Europe to recuperate. Soon after his return he moved to Tennessee, and became rector of St. Peter's Church, Columbia, in 1833. In 1834 he was clerical deputy to the general convention of the Episcopal Church, and in 1835 a member of the standing committee of the diocese. In 1838 he received the degree of S. T. D. from Columbia, and the same time he was elected and consecrated missionary Bishop of Arkansas and the Indian Territory south of 36° 30', with provisional charge of the dioceses of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and the missions in the Republic of Texas. These charges he held until 1841, when he resigned all of them with the exception of the diocese of Louisiana, of which he remained bishop until his death, intending to resume his duties after he had been released from service in the field. In 1856 he initiated the movement to establish the University of the South, and until 1860 was engaged with Bishop Stephen Elliott, and other southern bishops, in perfecting plans that resulted in the opening of that institution at Sewanee, Tennessee. At the beginning of the Civil War he was a strong sympathizer with the doctrine of secession. His birth, education, and associations were alike southern, and his property, which was very considerable in land and slaves, aided to identify him with the project of establishing a southern confederacy. His familiarity with the valley of the Mississippi prompted him to urge upon Jefferson Davis and the Confederate authorities the importance of fortifying and holding its strategical points, and amid the excitement of the time the influence of his old military training became uppermost in his mind. Under these circumstances the offer of a major-generalship by Davis was regarded not unfavorably. He applied for advice to Bishop William Meade, of Virginia, who replied that, his being an exceptional case, he could not advise against its acceptance. His first command extended from the mouth of Red River, on both sides of the Mississippi, to Paducah on the Ohio, his headquarters being at Memphis. Under his general direction the extensive works at New Madrid and Fort Pillow, Columbus, Kentucky, Island No. 10, Memphis, and other points, were constructed. On 4 September, General Polk transferred his headquarters to Columbus, where the Confederates had massed a large force of infantry, six field-batteries, a siege battery, three battalions of cavalry, and three steamboats. Opposite this place, at Belmont, Missouri, on 7 November, 1861, the battle of Belmont was fought, General Polk being in command of the Confederate and General Grant of the National troops. The Confederates claimed a victory. General Polk remained at Columbus until March, 1862, when he was ordered to join Johnston's and Beauregard’s army at Corinth, Mississippi. As commander of the 1st Corps, he took part in the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, and in the subsequent operations that ended with the evacuation of Corinth. In September and October he commanded the Army of Mississippi, and fought at the battle of Perryville, during the Confederate invasion of Kentucky. In the latter part of October and November he was in command of the armies of Kentucky and Mississippi and conducted the Confederate retreat from the former state. In October he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and commanded the right wing of the Army of Tennessee at the battle of Stone River. In the Chickamauga Campaign, he also led the right wing. According to the official report of General Braxton Bragg, it was only through Polk's disobedience of orders at Chickamauga that the National Army was saved from annihilation. He was accordingly relieved from his command, and ordered to Atlanta. Subsequently Jefferson Davis, with General Bragg's approval, offered to reinstate him, but he declined. He was then appointed to take charge of the camp of Confederate prisoners that had been paroled at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. In December, 1863, he was assigned to the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, in place of General Joseph E. Johnston, who was assigned to the Army of Tennessee. By skilful dispositions of his troops he prevented the junction of the National cavalry column under General William Sooy Smith with General Sherman's army in southern Mississippi. General Polk's prestige being restored, he was ordered to unite his command (the Army of Mississippi) with the army of General Joseph E. Johnston, who opposed the march of Sherman to Atlanta. After taking part in the principal engagements that occurred previous to the middle of June he was killed by a cannon-shot while reconnoitering on Pine mountain, near Marietta, Georgia. His biography is in course of preparation (1888) by his son, Dr. William M. Polk, of New York. —Leonidas's son, William Mecklenburg, physician, born in Ashwood, Maury County, Tennessee, 15 August, 1844, was graduated at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, 4 July, 1864, and at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1869. He entered the Confederate Army in April, 1861, as a cadet of the military institute, was commissioned 1st lieutenant in Scott's Battery of artillery in 1862, and in 1863 was promoted assistant chief of artillery in his father's corps, Army of the Tennessee. In March, 1865, he was made captain and adjutant in the inspector-general's department. After his graduation as a physician he practised in New York City, and from 1875 till 1879 he was professor of therapeutics and clinical medicine in Bellevue College. He then accepted the chair of obstetrics and the diseases of women in the medical department of the University of the City of New York, which he still (1888) holds. He is also surgeon in the department of obstetrics in Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Polk has contributed to medical literature “Original Observations upon the Anatomy of the Female Pelvic Organs,” “On the Gravid and Non-Gravid Uterus,” and “Original Observations upon the Causes and Pathology of the Pelvic Inflammations of Women.”—Leonidas's brother, Thomas Gilchrist, lawyer, born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 22 February, 1790; died in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1869, was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1810, and at the law-school at Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1813. He soon after began to practise his profession, and for several years was a member of the lower branch of the North Carolina Legislature. He was also at one time in command of the militia. In 1839 he moved to Tennessee, where he purchased a large plantation. Being a stanch Whig in politics, he took an active part in the presidential campaign of 1844 in support of Henry Clay, and against his relative, James K. Polk. Williams grandson, Lucius Eugene, soldier, born in Salisbury, North Carolina, 10 July, 1833, was the son of William J. Polk. He was graduated at the University of Virginia in 1852. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the Confederate Army as a private under General Patrick R. Cleburne, but was soon commissioned 1st lieutenant, and as such fought at Shiloh, where he was wounded. He was rapidly promoted until he was made brigadier-general in December, 1862, and joined his brigade in time to take part in the battle of Murfreesboro, where his command made a charge, for which he was complimented by General Braxton Bragg in his report of the engagement. General Polk was also present at Ringgold Gap, Georgia, in 1863, and at many other actions. At Kenesaw mountain, Georgia, in the summer of 1864, he was severely wounded by a cannon-ball and disabled for further service. He then retired to a plantation in Maury County, Tennessee, where he has since resided. In 1884 he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Chicago, and he is at present (1888) a member of the senate of the State of Tennessee, having been elected on 1 January, 1887. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 57-58.
POND, James, 1838-1903, Cuba, New York, Union Army officer. Received the Medal of Honor in Civil War. Active in Underground Railroad. Helped fugitive slaves. (Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 1, p. 60)
POMROY, Rebecca Rossignol, nurse, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 16 July, 1817; died in Newton, Massachusetts, 24 January, 1884. She was the daughter of Samuel Holliday, and on 12 September, 1836, married Daniel F. Pomroy. Sickness in her own family for nearly twenty years made her an accomplished nurse, and when her only surviving son enlisted in the National Army she offered her services to Dorothea L. Dix (q.v.). She was at once called to Washington, and in September, 1861, assigned to duty in Georgetown Hospital, but was soon transferred to the hospital at Columbian University. Early in 1862 she was called to the White House at the time of the death of Willie Lincoln, and nursed “Tad,” the youngest son, then very ill, and Mrs. Lincoln, until both were restored to health. President Lincoln… Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 61
POND, George Edward, journalist, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 11 March, 1837. He was graduated at Harvard in 1858, and served in the National Army in 1862-'3. From early in 1864 till 1868, and subsequently, he was associate editor of the New York "Army and Navy Journal." He was afterward an editorial writer on the New York "Times," and edited the Philadelphia "Record " from 1870 till 1877. Since the latter date he has been engaged in writing for the press. For nearly ten years he wrote the "Driftwood" essays, which were published in the " Galaxy " Magazine under the signature of "Philip Quilibet." They wore begun in May, 1868. He contributed the account of the engagement between the "Monitor " and the " Merrimac" to William Swinton's "Twelve Decisive Battles," and also wrote "The Shenandoah Valley in 1864" (New York, 1883) in the series of "Campaigns of the Civil War." Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 62.
POND, William Adams, music-publisher, born in Albany, New York, 6 October, 1824; died in New York City, 12 August, 1885. He was educated in private schools in New York City, and at an early age entered his father's music business. He became well known as a publisher, and at the time of his death was president of the United States Music Publishers' Association. Colonel Pond performed some military service as an officer during the Civil War, and was for many years colonel of the veteran corps of the 7th New York Regiment. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 63.
POOLEY, James Henry, physician, born in Chateris, Cambridgeshire, England, 17 November, 1839. He was brought to this country in early childhood, and graduated at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1860. After service as an assistant surgeon in the regular army in 1861-'3 he practised in Yonkers, New York, till 1875, when he moved to Columbus, Ohio. He is a member of many professional societies, was a delegate to the International Medical Congress of 1876, and professor of surgery in Starling Medical College, Ohio, from 1875 till 1880. Since 1883 he has held the chair of surgery in Toledo Medical College. He has edited the "Ohio Medical and Surgical Journal" since 1876, and has been a voluminous contributor to surgical literature. Several of his articles have been reprinted in pamphlet-form, including "Three Cases of Imperforate Anus" (1870); "Remarks on the Surgery of Childhood " (1872); and "Gastrotomy and Gastrostomy " (1875). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 65.
POOR, Charles Henry, naval officer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 11 June, 1808; died in Washington, D. C, 5 November, 1882. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 1 March, 1825, and was promoted lieutenant, 22 December, 1835, commander, 14 September, 1855, captain, 16 July, 1862, and commodore, 2 January, 1863. After serving with different squadrons, and in the Washington and Norfolk U.S. Navy-yards, he was given command of the "St. Louis”, of the home Squadron, in 1860-'l, and in the latter year had charge of an expedition that was sent to reinforce Fort Pickens. During 1861-'2 he was in command of the frigate " Roanoke," of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He was ordered to use the steamer "Illinois" as a ram against the "Merrimac," but did not have an opportunity to test its strength. He subsequently passed the Confederate batteries under fire in the " Roanoke," while proceeding from Hampton Roads toward Newport News, to assist the " Congress" and "Cumberland." From 1863 till 1865 he was in command of the sloop-of-war " Saranac," of the Pacific Squadron, and compelled the authorities at Aspinwall to release a U. S. mail-steamer that had been detained there until she should pay certain illegal dues. He also obliged the authorities at Rio Hacha, New Granada, to hoist and salute the American flag after it had been insulted. In 1866-'8 he was in charge of the naval station at Mound City, Illinois, and he was made rear-admiral, 20 September, 1868. After serving as commandant of the Washington U.S. Navy-yard in 1869, and commanding the North Atlantic Squadron in 1869-'70, he was retired on 9 June, 1870. In 1871—'2 he was a member of the retiring board. Admiral Poor saw twenty-three years and six months of sea-service, and was employed fourteen years and five months in shore duty. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 65.
POORE, Benjamin Perley, journalist, born near Newburyport, Massachusetts, 2 November, 1820; died in Washington, D. C. 30 May, 1887. He was descended from John Poore, an English yeoman, who came to this country and, in 1650, purchased "Indian Hill Farm,'5 the homestead, which still remains in the family. When Perley was eleven years of age he was taken by his father to England, and there saw Sir Walter Scott, Lafayette, and other notable people. Leaving school after his return, he served an apprenticeship in a printing-office at Worcester, Massachusetts, and had edited the Athens, Georgia. " Southern Whig," which his father purchased for him, for two years before he was twenty. In 1841 he visited Europe again as attaché of the American legation at Brussels, remaining abroad until 1848. During this period he acted in 1844-'8 as the historical agent of Massachusetts in France, in which capacity he filled ten folio volumes with copies of important documents, bearing date 1492-1780, illustrating them by engraved maps and water-color sketches. He was also the foreign correspondent of the Boston " Atlas" during his entire stay abroad. After editing the Boston " Bee " and "Sunday Sentinel," Mr. Poore finally entered in 1854 upon his lifework, that of Washington correspondent. His letters to the Boston "Journal" over the signature of "Perley," and to other papers, gained him a national reputation by their trustworthy character. For several years he also served as clerk of the committee of the U. S. Senate on printing records. He was interested in military matters, had studied tactics, and during his editorial career in Boston held several staff appointments. About the same time he organized a battalion of riflemen at Newbury that formed the nucleus of a company in the 8th Massachusetts Volunteers, of which organization Mr. Poore served as major for a short time during the Civil War. He was also in 1874 commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, and had made a collection of materials for its projected history. Major Poore's vacations were spent at Indian Hill, where the farm-house contained sixty rooms filled with historical material, of which its owner was an industrious collector. During thirty years of Washington life he made the acquaintance of many eminent men, and his fund of reminiscences was large and entertaining. He told good stories, spoke well after dinner, and was much admired in society. Among his publications were "Campaign Life of General Zachary Taylor," of which 800,000 copies were circulated, and "Rise and Fall of Louis Philippe " (Boston, 1848); "Early Life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1851); "Agricultural History of Essex County, Massachusetts"; "The Conspiracy Trial for the Murder of Abraham Lincoln " (l866); "Federal and State Charters" (2 vols., 1877); "The Political Register and Congressional Director'" 1878); "Life of Burnside" (1882); and "Perley's Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis" (Philadelphia, 1886). As secretary of the U. S. Agricultural Society, he became the editor of its "Journal" in 1857. He began to edit the Congressional directory in 1867, supervised the indices to the " Congressional Record," and brought out the annual abridgment of the public documents of the United States for many years. By order of Congress he compiled "A Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States, 1774-1881" (Washington, 1885), and also made a compilation of the various treaties negotiated by the United States government with different countries. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 66-67.
POPE, Albert Augustus, manufacturer, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 20 May, 1843. He was educated at public schools, but even as a boy was compelled to earn his own living. In 1862 he was commissioned 2d lieutenant in the 35th Massachusetts Regiment, with which he continued until the close of the war, when he was mustered out with the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel. Soon afterward he became head of a shoe-finding business. In 1877 he began to take an interest in bicycles, and during that year ordered eight from Manchester, England. Subsequently he became actively engaged in their manufacture, and it is chiefly due to his enterprise that most of the improvements of the bicycle in this country have been brought about. Colonel Pope was instrumental in founding " Outing," a journal that for several years was published by him. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 67.
POPE, John, naval officer, born in Sandwich. Massachusetts, 17 December 1798; died in Dorchester, Massachusetts, 14 January, 1876. He was appointed from Maine to the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 30 May, 1816, and was promoted lieutenant, 28 April. 1826, commander, 15 February, 1843, and captain, 14 September, 1855. As lieutenant he saw service in the frigate " Constitution," of the Mediterranean Squadron, and subsequently in the West India and Brazil Squadrons. He commanded the brig " Dolphin " on the coast of Africa in 1846-'7, and the " Vandalia" in the East Indies in 1853-'6. He had charge of the Boston U.S. Navy-yard in 1850, and of the Portsmouth U.S. Navy-yard in 1858-'60. In 1861 he commanded the steam-sloop "Richmond." of the Gulf Squadron. He was a prize-commissioner in Boston in 1864-'5, and light house inspector in 1866-9. On 21 December, 1861, he was placed on the retired list, and he was promoted commodore, 16 July, 1862. Commodore Pope passed twenty-one years at sea, and was for seventeen years and eleven months engaged in shore duty. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 68.
POPE, John, soldier, born in Louisville, Kentucky, 16 March, 1822, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1842, and made brevet 2d lieutenant of engineers. He served in Florida in 1842-'4, and assisted in the survey of the northeast boundary line between the United States and the British provinces. He was made 2d lieutenant, 9 May, 1846, and took part in the Mexican War, being brevetted 1st lieutenant for gallantry at Monterey, and captain for his services in the battle of Buena Vista. In 1849 he conducted the Minnesota exploring expedition, which demonstrated the practicability of the navigation of the Red River of the north by steamers, and in 1851-'3 he was engaged in Topographical Engineering service in New Mexico. The six years following he had charge of the survey of the route for the Pacific Railroad, near the 32d parallel, and in making experiments to procure water on the Llano Estacado, or " Staked Plain," stretching between Texas and New Mexico, by means of artesian wells. On 1 July, 1856, he was commissioned captain for fourteen years' continuous service. campaign of 1860 Captain Pope sympathized with the £ and in an £ on the subject of “Fortifications,” read before a literary society at Cincinnati, he criticised the policy of President Buchanan in unsparing terms. For this he was court-martialed, but, upon the recommendation of Postmaster-General Joseph Holt, further proceeding were dropped. He was still a captain of engineers when Sumter was fired upon, and he was one of the officers detailed by the War Department to escort Abraham Lincoln to Washington. He was made brigadier-general of volunteers, 17 May, 1861, and placed in command first of the In the political district of northern, and afterward of southwestern and central, Missouri. General Pope's operations in that state in protecting railway communication and driving out guerillas were highly successful. His most important engagement was that of the Blackwater, 18 December, 1861, where he captured 1,300 prisoners, 1,000 stand of arms, 1,000 horses, 65 wagons, two tons of gunpowder, and a large quantity of tents, baggage, and supplies. This victory forced General Sterling Price to retreat below the Osage River, which he never again crossed. He was next intrusted by General Henry W. Halleck with the command of the land forces that co-operated with Admiral Andrew H. Foote's flotilla in the expedition against New Madrid and Island No. 10. He succeeded in occupying the former place, 14 March, 1862, while the latter surrendered on the 8th of the following month, when 6,500 prisoners, 125 cannon, and 7,000 small arms, fell into his hands. He was rewarded for the capture of New Madrid by a commission as major-general of volunteers. As commander of the Army of the Mississippi, he advanced from Pittsburg Landing upon Corinth, the operations against that place occupying the period from 22 April till 30 May. After its evacuation he pursued the enemy to Baldwin, Lee County, Mississippi. At the end of June he was summoned to Washington, and assigned to the command of the Army of Virginia, comprised of Frémont's (afterward Sigel's), Banks's, and McDowell's corps. On 14 July he was commissioned brigadier-general in the regular army. On 9 August a division of his army, under General Nathaniel P. Banks, had a severe engagement with the Confederates, commanded by General Thomas J. Jackson, at Cedar mountain. For the next fifteen days General Pope, who had been reinforced by a portion of the Army of the Potomac, fought continuously a greatly superior force of the enemy under General Robert E. Lee, on the line of the Rappahannock, at Bristow station, at Groveton, at Manassas junction, at Gainesville, and at Germantown, near Chantilly. General Pope then withdrew his force behind Difficult creek, between Flint hill and the Warrenton turnpike, whence he fell back within the fortifications of Washington, and on 3 September, was at his own request, relieved of the command of the Army of Virginia, and was assigned to that of the Department of the Northwest, where in a short time he completely checked the outrages of the Minnesota Indians. He retained this command until 30 January, 1865, when he was given charge of the Military Division of the Missouri, which, in June following, was made the Department of the Missouri, including all the northwestern states and territories. From this he was relieved 6 January, 1866. He has since had command successively of the 3d Military District, comprising Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, under the first Reconstruction act, 1867-'8; the Department of the Lakes, 1868–'70; the Department of the Missouri, headquarters at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1870–84; and the Military Department of the Pacific from 1884 until he was retired, 16 March, 1886. In Washington, in December, 1862, he testified before a court-martial, called for the trial of General Fitz-John Porter (q.v.), who had been accused by him of misconduct before the enemy at the second battle of Manassas or Bull Run. General Pope was brevetted major-general, 13 March, 1865, “for gallant and meritorious services” in the capture of Island No. 10, and advanced to the full rank, 26 October, 1882. The fullest account of his northern Virginia Campaign is to be found in the report of the Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War (Supplement, part xi., 1865). General Pope is the author of “ Explorations from the Red River to the Rio Grande,” in “Pacific Railroad Reports,” vol. iii., and the “Campaign of Virginia, of July and August, 1862” (Washington, 1865). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 68-69.
PORCHER, Francis Peyre, physician, born in St. John's, Berkeley, South Carolina, 14 December, 1825. He was graduated at South Carolina College in 1844 and at the Medical College of the state of South Carolina in 1847, where he now holds the chair of materia medica and therapeutics. On graduating he settled in Charleston, where he has since continued in the active practice of his profession, also holding the appointments of surgeon and physician to the marine and city hospitals. During the Civil War he was surgeon in charge of Confederate Hospitals at Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia. Dr. Porcher was president of the South Carolina Medical Association in 1872, and, besides holding memberships in other societies, is an associate fellow of the Philadelphia College of physicians. He was one of the editors of the “Charleston Medical Journal and Review,” having charge of the publication of five volumes of the first series (1850–5), and more recently of four volumes of the second series (1873-'6). Dr. Porcher was an enthusiastic botanist and has devoted considerable attention to that subject. Besides numerous fugitive contributions to the medical journals, and articles in medical works, he has published “A Medico-Botanical Catalogue of the Plants and Ferns of St. John's, Berkeley, South Carolina” (Charleston, 1847); “A Sketch of the Medical Botany of South Carolina" (Philadelphia, 1849): “The Medicinal, Poisonous, and Dietetic Properties of the Cryptogamic Plants of the United States” (New York, 1854); “Illustrations of Disease with the Microscope, and Clinical Investigations aided by the Microscope and by Chemical Reagents” (Charleston, 1861); and “Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, Medical, Economical, and Agricultural,” published by order of the surgeon-general of the Confederate states (Richmond, 1863; new and revised ed., Charleston. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 70.
PORTER, Horace, soldier, born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, 15 April, 1837, was educated in his native state, and afterward entered the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard, and while there was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy, and graduated in 1860. He was several months instructor of artillery at West Point, and was ordered to duty in the south at the beginning of the Civil War. He was chief of artillery, and had charge of the batteries at the capture of Fort Pulaski, and participated in the assault on Secessionville, where he received a slight wound in the first attempt to take Charleston. He was on the staff of General McClellan in July, 1862, and served with the Army of the Potomac until after the engagement at Antietam. In the beginning of the next year he was chief of ordnance on General Rosecrans's staff, and went through the Chickamauga Campaign with the Army of the Cumberland. When Grant had taken command in the east, Porter became aide-de-camp on his staff, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and later as colonel. He accompanied him through the Wilderness Campaign and the siege of Richmond and Petersburg, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox. Afterward, he made a series of tours of inspection, by Grant's direction, in the south and on the Pacific Coast. He was brevetted captain, major, and lieutenant-colonel for gallant and meritorious services at the siege of Fort Pulaski, the Wilderness, and Newmarket Heights respectively, and colonel and brigadier-general, U.S. Army, for gallant and meritorious services in the war. He was assistant Secretary of War while Grant was secretary ad interim, served as secretary to Grant during his first presidential term, and continued to be his intimate friend till the latter's death. He resigned from the army in 1873, and has since been interested in railroad affairs, acting as manager of the Pullman Palace-Car Company and as president and director of several corporations. He was largely interested in building the West Shore Railroad, of which he was the first president. General Porter is the inventor of a water-gauge for steam-boilers and of the ticket-cancelling boxes that are used on the elevated railways in New York City. He has delivered numerous lectures and addresses, made a wide reputation as an after-dinner speaker, has contributed frequently to magazines, and is the author of a book on “West Point Life” (New York, 1866).–George Bryan's son, Andrew, soldier, born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 10 July, 1820; died in Paris, France, 3 January, 1872, entered the U. S. Military Academy in 1836, but left in the following year. He was appointed 1st lieutenant of mounted rifles on 27 May, 1846, and served in the Mexican War, becoming captain on 15 May, 1847, and receiving the brevet of major for gallant and meritorious conduct at Contreras and Churubusco, and that of lieutenant-colonel for Chapultepec, 13 September, 1847. Afterward he served in Texas and in the southwest, and in 1860 was in command of Fort Craig, Virginia. At the opening of the Civil War he was ordered to Washington, and promoted to command the 16th Infantry. He had charge of a brigade at Bull Run, and, when Colonel David Hunter was wounded, succeeded him in the command of the 2d Division. On 17 May, 1861, he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers. Subsequently he was provost-marshal-general for the Army of the Potomac, but after General George B. McClellan's retreat from the Chickahominy to James River he was relieved from duty with this army. In the autumn of 1862 he was ordered to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to assist in organizing and forwarding troops, and in November of that year he was assigned to command in Pennsylvania, and charged with the duties of provost-marshal-general of Washington, where he was active in restoring order in the city and surrounding district. He was mustered out on 4 April, 1864, and, owing to impaired health, resigned his commission on 20 April, after which he travelled in Europe. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 72.
PORTER, William David, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, 10 March, 1809; died in New York City, 1 May, 1864, was educated in Philadelphia, and appointed to the U.S. Navy from Massachusetts as midshipman on 1 January, 1823. He became lieutenant on 31 December, 1833, served on the “Franklin,” “Brandywine,” “Natchez,” “Experiment,” “United States,” and “Mississippi,” and in 1843 was assigned to the Home Squadron. He commanded the store-ship “Erie" in 1849, and, in 1851, the “Waterwitch.” On 13 September, 1855, he was placed on the reserved list, but he was restored to active duty as commander on 14 September, 1859. At the beginning of the Civil War he was serving on the U.S. sloop “St. Mary's,” in the Pacific. He was ordered to the Mississippi to assist in fitting out the gun-boat flotilla with which he accompanied Commodore Andrew H. Foote up Tennessee River, and commanded the “Essex,” which he had named for his father's ship, in the attack on Fort Henry, 6 February, 1862, during which engagement he was scalded and temporarily blinded by steam from a boiler that had been pierced by shot. He also commanded the “Essex" in the battle of Fort Donelson, 14 February, 1862, and fought in the same vessel past the batteries on the Mississippi to join the fleet at Vicksburg. He attacked the Confederate ram “Arkansas” above Baton Rouge, 15 July, 1862, and disabled her, and her magazine shortly afterward exploded. He was made commodore on 16 July, 1862, and then bombarded Natchez, and attacked the Vicksburg batteries and Port Hudson. Subsequently he served but little, owing to impaired health. He had two sons in the Confederate service. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 74-75.
PORTER, David Dixon, naval officer, born in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 8 June, 1813, studied in Columbian College, Washington, D.C., in 1824, accompanied his father in the “John Adams” to suppress piracy in the West Indies, was appointed midshipmen in the Mexican Navy and served under his cousin, Captain David H. Porter, in the “Guerrero,” which sailed from Vera Cruz in 1827, and had a rough experience with a Spanish frigate, “La Lealtad,” Captain Porter being killed in the action. David D. entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman on 2 February, 1829, cruised in the Mediterranean, and then served on the coast survey until he was promoted to lieutenant, 27 February, 1841. He was in the Mediterranean and Brazilian waters until 1845, when he was appointed to the naval observatory in Washington, and in 1846 he was sent by the government on a secret mission to Hayti, and reported on the condition of affairs there. He served during the entire Mexican War, had charge of the naval rendezvous in New Orleans, and was engaged in every action on the coast, first as lieutenant and afterward as commanding officer of the “Spitfire.” Subsequently he returned to the coast survey, and, on the discovery of gold in California, obtained a furlough and commanded the California mail steamers “Panama” and “Georgia” between New York and the Isthmus of Panama. At the beginning of the Civil War he was ordered to command the steam frigate “Powhatan,” which was despatched to join the Gulf Blockading Squadron at Pensacola, and to aid in re-enforcing Fort Pickens. On 22 April, 1861, he was appointed commander, and subsequently he was placed in command of the mortar fleet, consisting of 21 schooners, each carrying a 13-inch mortar, and, with 5 steamers as convoys, joined Farragut's fleet in March, 1862, and bombarded Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, below New Orleans, from 18 till 24 April, 1862, during which engagement 20,000 bombs were exploded in the Confederate works. Farragut, having destroyed the enemy's fleet of fifteen vessels, left the reduction of these forts to Porter, and they surrendered on 28 April, 1862. He assisted Farragut in all the latter's operations between New Orleans and Vicksburg, where he effectively bombarded the forts and enabled the fleet to pass in safety. Informing the Secretary of the Navy of the surrender of Vicksburg, Admiral Porter writes: “The navy has necessarily performed a less conspicuous part in the capture of Vicksburg than the army; still it has been employed in a manner highly creditable to all concerned. The gun-boats have been constantly below Vicksburg in shelling the works, and with success co-operating with the left wing of the army. The mortar-boats have been at work for forty-two days without intermission, throwing shells into all parts of the city, even reaching the works in the rear of Vicksburg and in front of our troops, a distance of three miles. . . . I stationed the smaller class of gun-boats to keep the banks of the Mississippi clear of guerillas, who were assembling in force and with a large number of cannon to block up the river and cut off the transports bringing down supplies, re-enforcements, and ammunition for the army. Though the rebels on several occasions built batteries, and with a large force attempted to sink or capture the transports, boats with severe loss on all occasions. While the Confederates were making efforts to repair the “Indianola,” which they had captured, Commodore Porter fitted an old scow to look like one of his “turtle” gun-boats, with two canoes for quarter-boats, a smoke-stack of pork-barrels, and mud furnaces in which fire was kindled. This was called the “Turreted Monster” and set adrift with no one on board. A tremendous cannonade from the Confederate batteries failed to stop her, and the authorities at Vicksburg hastily destroyed the “Indianola,” while the supposed monitor drifted for an hour amid a rain of before the enemy discovered the trick. In July, Commander Porter was ordered with his mortar flotilla to Fort Monroe, where he resigned charge of it, and was ordered to command the Mississippi Squadron, as acting rear-admiral, in September, 1862. He improvised a U.S. Navy-yard at Mound City, increased the number of his squadron, which consisted of 125 vessels, and, in co-operation with General Sherman's army, captured Arkansas Post in January, 1863. For his services at Vicksburg Porter received the thanks of Congress and the commission of rear-admiral, dated 4 July, 1863. Soon afterward he ran past the batteries of Vicksburg and captured the Confederate forts at Grand Gulf, which put him into communication with General Grant, who, on 18 May, ''means of the fleet, placed himself in the rear of Vicksburg, and from that time the energies of the army and navy were united to capture the stronghold, which was accomplished on 4 July, 1863. On 1 August, 1863, he arrived in New Orleans in his flag-ship “Black Hawk,” accompanied by the gun-boat “Tuscumbia,” and during the remainder of 1863 his squadron was employed to keep the Mississippi River open. In the Spring of 1864 he co-operated with General Nathaniel P. Banks in the unsuccessful Red River expedition, and through the skill of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Bailey (q.v.) the fleet was saved. In October, 1864, he was transferred to the North Atlantic Squadron, which embraced within its limits the Cape Fear River and the port of Wilmington, North Carolina. He appeared at Fort Fisher on 24 December, 1864, with 35 regular cruisers, 5 iron-clads, and a reserve of 19 vessels, and began to bombard the forts at the mouth of Cape Fear River. “In one hour and fifteen minutes after the first shot was fired,” says Admiral Porter. “not a shot came from the fort. Two magazines had been blown up by our shells, and the fort set on fire in several places, and such a torrent of missiles was falling into and bursting over it that it was impossible for any human being to stand it. Finding that the batteries were silenced completely, I directed the ships to keep up a moderate fire, in hope of attracting the attention of the transports and bringing them in.” After a reconnaissance, General Benjamin F. Butler, who commanded the military force, decided that Fort Fisher was substantially uninjured and could not be taken by assault, and returned with his command to Hampton Roads, Virginia. Admiral Porter requested that the enterprise should not be abandoned and a second military force of about 8,500 men, commanded by General Alfred H. Terry (q.v.), arrived off Fort Fisher on 13 January, 1865. His fleet was increased during the bombardment by additional land and naval forces, and, after seven hours of desperate fighting, the works were captured on 15 January, 1865, by a combined body of soldiers, sailors, and marines. According to General Grant, “this was the most formidable armada ever collected for concentration upon one given point.” Rear-Admiral Porter received a vote of thanks from Congress which was the fourth that he received during the war, including the general one for the capture of New Orleans. He was promoted vice-admiral on 25 July, 1866, and served as superintendent of the U. S. naval Academy till 1869, when he was detailed for duty in the Navy Department in Washington. On 15 August, 1870, he was appointed admiral of the navy, which rank he now (1888) holds. He was promoted vice-admiral on 25 July, 1866, and served as superintendent of the U. S. Naval Academy till 1869, when he was detailed for duty in the Navy Department in Washington. On 15 August, 1870, he was appointed admiral of the navy, which rank he now (1888) holds. He is the author of a “Life of Commodore David Porter” (Albany, 1875); a romance entitled “Allan Dare and Robert le Diable” (New York, 1885), which has been dramatized, and was produced in New York in 1887; “Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War” (1885); “Harry Marline” (1886); and “History of the ": in the War of the Rebellion” (New York, 1887). – his son, Theodoric Henry, soldier, born in Washington, D.C., 10 August, 1817; died in Texas in March, 1846, was appointed a cadet at West Point, resigning after two ears. He was appointed by President Jackson 2d Lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry, served under General Zachary Taylor at the beginning of the war with Mexico, and was the first American officer killed in the conflict, having been sent with twelve men on a scouting expedition near Fort Brown on the Rio Grande, where he was surrounded by a large force of Mexican Cavalry. The commanding officer called upon Lieutenant Porter to surrender, which he refused, and was cut to pieces, only one of his escort escaping. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 75-76
PORTER, Henry Ogden, naval officer, born 'W', D.C., in 1823; died in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1872, was appointed midshipman in 1840, resigning in 1847. He served in one of Walker's expeditions to Central America, where he fought bravely, and was wounded several times. Afterward he was appointed lieutenant in the U.S. Revenue Marine, and during the Civil War was made acting master in the U.S. Navy, 24 April, 1862, serving as executive officer on the “Hatteras” when that vessel was sunk by the Confederate steamer “Alabama.” He died from the effect of his wounds. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 76.
PORTER, David H., naval officer, born in New Castle, Delaware, in 1804; died near Havana, Cuba, in March, 1828, entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman on 4 August, 1814, became lieutenant on 13 January, 1825, and resigned on 26 July, 1826. He joined his uncle while commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy, and in 1827 sailed in command of the brig “ Guerrero,” built by Henry Eckford, of New York, taking this vessel to Vera Cruz. He fell in with a fleet of 50 merchant vessels, fifteen miles below Havana, sailing under convoy of two Spanish war-vessels, carrying together 29 guns. Driving them into the port of Little Mariel, after a conflict of two hours he silenced the fire of the two brigs, cutting them severely, and sunk a number of the convoy. A twenty-four pound shot from a battery on shore cut the cable of the “Guerrero,” and the vessel drifted on shore, and went afterward to sea to repair damages. In the mean time she was attacked by the “Lealtad.” of 64 guns, and after a very severe engagement, lasting two hours and a quarter, in which Captain Porter was killed, eighty of his officers and men being either killed or wounded, the masts and sails of the “Guerrero” all shot away and the hull riddled, the “Guerrero” was surrendered and taken into Havana. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 76.
PORTER, Fitz-John, soldier, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 13 June, 1822, is the son of Commander John Porter, of the U.S. Navy. He studied at Phillips Exeter Academy, was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1845, and assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery, in which he became 2d lieutenant, 18 June, 1846. He served in the Mexican War, was commissioned 1st lieutenant on 29 May, and received the brevet of captain on 8 September, 1847, on at the breaking out of the responsibility of replying in the affirmative to telegrams from Missouri £ permission to muster troops for the protection of that state. His act was approved by the War Department. During this £ he also organized volunteers in Pennsylvania. On 14 May, 1861, he became colonel of the 15th Infantry, a new regiment, and on 17 May, 1861, he was made brigadier-general of volunteers, and assigned to duty in Washington. In 1862 he participated in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign, served during the siege of Yorktown from 5 April till 4 May, 1862, and upon its evacuation was governor of that place for a short time. He was given command of the 5th Corps, which formed the right wing of the army and fought the battles of Mechanicsville, 26 June, 1862, and Gaines's Mills, 27 June, 1862. At Malvern Hill, 1 July, 1862, he commanded the left flank, which mainly resisted the assaults of that day. He received the brevet of brigadier-general in the regular army for gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Chickahominy, Virginia, 27 June, 1862. He was made major-general of volunteers, 4 July, 1862, and temporarily attached to General John Pope's Army of Virginia. His corps, although ordered to advance, was unable to move forward at the second battle of Bull Run, 29 August, 1862, but in the afternoon of the 30th it was actively engaged, and to its obstinate resistance it is mainly due that the defeat was not a total rout. Charges were brought against him for his inaction on the first day, and he was deprived of his command, but was restored to duty at the request of General George B. McClellan, and took part in the Maryland campaign. On 27 November, 1862, General Porter was arraigned before a court-martial in Washington, charged with disobeying orders at the second battle of Bull Run, and on 21 January, 1863, he was cashiered, “and forever disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit under the government of the United States, for violation of the 9th and 52d articles of war." The justice of this verdict has been the subject of much controversy. General Porter made several appeals for a reversal of the decision of the court-martial, and numerous petitions to open the case were addressed to the president during the succeeding eighteen years, as well as memorials from various legislatures, and on. 28 December, 1882, a bill for his relief was presented in the senate, under the action of an advisory board appointed by President Hayes, consisting of General John M. Schofield, General Alfred H. Terry, and General George W. Getty. On 4 May, 1882, the president remitted so much of the sentence of the court-martial as forever disqualified General Porter from holding any office of trust or profit under the government; but the bill for his relief failed in its passage. A technical objection caused President Arthur to veto a similar bill that was passed by the 48th Congress, but another was passed subsequently which was signed by President Cleveland, and he was restored to the U. S. Army as colonel on 7 August, 1886. General Grant, after his term of service as president had ended, though he had refused many petitions to open the ease, studied it more thoroughly, and published his conclusions in December, 1882, in an article entitled "An Undeserved Stigma," in which he said that he was convinced of General Porter's innocence. After leaving the army, General Porter engaged in business in New York City, was subsequently superintendent of the New Jersey asylum for the insane, and in February, 1875, was made commissioner of public works. In 1884 he became police commissioner, which office he held until 1888. In 1869 the Khedive of Egypt offered him the post of commander of his army, with the rank of major-general, which he declined. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 76-77.
PORTER, James Davis, governor of Tennessee, born in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee, 7 December, 1828. He was graduated at the University of Nashville in 1846, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1851, and practised his profession. He was elected to the legislature in 1859, and served through the Civil War in the Confederate Army as adjutant on the staff of General Benjamin F. Cheatham, after which he resumed the practice of law, was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of Tennessee in 1870, and in that year was elected circuit judge for the 12th Judicial Circuit of the state, which post he resigned in 1874. From 1874 till 1879 he was governor of Tennessee. In 1880 he was chairman of the Tennessee delegation to the Democratic National Convention, and from that year till 1884 he was president of the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad Company. In 1885-'7 he was assistant Secretary of State. Governor Porter is vice-president of the Tennessee Historical Society for West Tennessee, a trustee of the Peabody Fund, and is president of the board of trustees of the University of Nashville, from which he received the degree of LL. D. in 1879. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 77.
PORTER, Peter Augustus, soldier, born in Black Rock, New York, in 1827; killed in the battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, 3 June, 1864, was graduated at Harvard in 1845, and subsequently studied in the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. He was a member of the New York legislature in 1862, and in that year he raised a regiment, afterward consolidated with the 8th New York Artillery, was laced in command, and served on garrison duty. When he was offered the nomination for Secretary of State of New York on the Republican ticket in 1863, he declined to leave the army. He was ordered to the field in May. 1864, participated in the battles of Spottsylvania and Totopotomoy, and fell while storming a breastwork at Cold Harbor. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 78.
POSEY, Carnot, soldier, born in Wilkinson County. Mississippi, 5 August, 1818; died in Charlottesville, Virginia, 13 November, 1863. He served in the Mexican War as a lieutenant of rifles under Jefferson Davis, and was wounded at Buena Vista. He became colonel of the 16th Mississippi Regiment on 4 June, 1861, and was appointed brigadier-general in the Confederate Army, 1 November, 1862. His brigade was composed of four Mississippi regiments of infantry, and formed part of Anderson's division of Ambrose P. Hill's corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. General Posey received wounds at Bristoe Station, Virginia, 14 October, 1863, from the effects of which he died. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 83.
POST, Philip Sidney, soldier, born in Florida, Orange County, New York, 19 March, 1833. He was graduated at Union College in 1855, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He then travelled through the northwest, his parents having meanwhile moved to Illinois, and took up his abode in Kansas, where he practised his profession, and also established and edited a newspaper. At the opening of the Civil War he was chosen 2d lieutenant in the 59th Illinois Infantry, and in 1862 he became its colonel. He was severely wounded at the battle of Pea Ridge, and made his way with much suffering, and under many difficulties, to St. Louis. Before fully recovering, he joined his regiment in front of Corinth, Mississippi, and was assigned to the command of a brigade. From May, 1862, till the close of the war he was constantly at the front. In the Army of the Cumberland, as first organized, he commanded the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, of the 20th Army Corps from its formation to its dissolution. He began the battle of Stone River, drove back the enemy several miles, and captured Leetown. During the Atlanta Campaign he was transferred to Wood's division of the 4th Army Corps, and when that general was wounded at Lovejoy’s station, Post took charge of the division, and with it opposed the progress of the Confederates toward the north. On 16 November, 1864, in a charge on Overton Hill, a grape-shot crushed through his hip, making what was for some days thought to be a mortal wound. On 16 December, 1864, he was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers. After the surrender at Appomattox he was appointed to the command of the Western District of Texas, where there was then a concentration of troops on the Mexican border. He remained there until 1866, when the withdrawal of the French from Mexico moved all danger of military complications. He was then earnestly recommended by General George H. Thomas and others, under whom he had served, for the appointment of colonel in the regular army; but he did not wish to remain in the army. In 1866 he was appointed U.S. consul at Vienna, and in 1874 he became consul-general. His official reports have been quoted as authority. In 1878 he tendered his resignation, which, however, was not accepted till the year following. He then resided at Galesburg, Illinois, and in 1886 he was elected to Congress as a Republican. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 84.
POTTER, Robert B., soldier, born in Schenectady, New York, 16 July, 1829; died in Newport, Rhode Island, 19 February, 1887, spent some time at Union College, but was not graduated. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and at the beginning of the Civil War was in successful practice in New York City. He was commissioned major of the 51st New York Volunteers, led the assault at Roanoke Island and wounded at Berne, commanded his regiment at Cedar Mountain, Manassas, and Chantilly, and carried the stone bridge at Antietam, where he was again wounded. He was also engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862, and was made brigadier-general of volunteers, 13 March, 1863. He had previously been commissioned lieutenant-colonel and colonel. He led a division at Vicksburg, and took part in the siege of Knoxville, Tennessee. He was brevetted major-general of volunteers in June, 1864. In the Wilderness Campaign, his division was constantly under fire, and in the final assault on Petersburg, 2 April, 1865, he was severely injured. After the war he was assigned to the command of the Connecticut and Rhode Island District of the Department of the East, and on his wedding-day his wife was presented by Secretary of War Stanton with his commission as full major-general of volunteers, dated 29 September, 1865. He was mustered out of the army in January, 1866, and acted for three years as receiver of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. After spending some time in England for his health, he returned to Newport, Rhode Island, where he resided until his death. General Grant refers to General Potter in flattering terms in his “Memoirs,” and General Winfield S. Hancock said of him that he was one of the twelve best officers, including both the regular and volunteer services, in the army. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 86-87.
POTTER, Edward Eells, naval officer, born in Medina. New York, 9 May, 1833. He entered the U. S. Navy as a midshipman on 5 February, 1850, and after service in the Home and African Squadrons during 1850-'5, spent a year at the U.S. Naval Academy. On 9 July, 1858, he was commissioned lieutenant, in 1861 he was attached to the " Niagara," of the Western Gulf Squadron, and in 1861-'2 he was executive officer of the " Wissahickon," of that squadron, during the bombardment and passage of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip and the capture of New Orleans. He also passed the Vicksburg batteries twice and participated in the engagement with the ram "Arkansas." On 10 July. 1862, he was promoted lieutenant-commander and attached to the " De Soto," of the Eastern Gulf Squadron, then passed to the "Wabash," of the North Atlantic Squadron, and in 1864-'5 he had command of the iron-clad "Mahopac." He was given the "Chippewa," of the North Atlantic Squadron, in 1865, and took part in the engagement at Fort Fisher and in the bombardment of Fort Anderson, after which he was executive officer of the " Rhode Island " in 1865-'7. He was executive officer of the "Franklin," Admiral Farragut's flagship, in 1867-'8, on the admiral's last cruise. Subsequently he was on shore duty until 1871, having in the meanwhile been promoted commander on 3 June, 1869. He then had command of the "Shawmut," of the North Atlantic Squadron, during 1871-2. and then until 1879 was on shore duty. In 1880 he commanded the "Constellation," on her voyage to Ireland, carrying supplies to the sufferers, and he was commissioned captain on 11 July, 1880. He then served at the Brooklyn U.S. Navy-yard in 1881-'3, and commanded the "Lancaster," of the European station, until September, 1886. Captain Potter was made commandant of the U.S. Navy-yard at League Island, Pennsylvania, in December, 1886. "and now (1888) fills that place. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 88.
POTTER, Edward Elmer, soldier, born in New York City, 20 June, 1823. He was graduated at Columbia in 1842, studied law, and after spending some time in California he returned to New York and turned his attention to farming. Early during the Civil War he was appointed captain and commissary of subsistence from New York, which commission he held from February to October, 1862. Subsequently he recruited a regiment of North Carolina troops, of which he was made colonel, and was engaged chiefly in the operations in North and South Carolina and east Tennessee, receiving the promotion of brigadier-general of volunteers on 9 November, 1862. He resigned on 24 July, 1865, and was brevetted major-general of volunteers on 13 March, 1865. Since the war General Potter has lived in Madison, New Jersey, and New York City. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 88-89.
POTTER, Hazard Arnold, surgeon, born in Potter township, Ontario (now Yates) County, New York, 21 December, 1810; died in Geneva, New York, 2 December, 1869. He was graduated at the medical department of Bowdoin in 1835, and began the practice of his profession in Rhode Island, but soon returned to his native town. he performed successfully many critical surgical operations, and in 1837 he called attention to the attention of arterial blood in the veins of parts that had been paralyzed in consequence of injury to the spinal cord. He trephined the spine for depressed fracture of the arches of the fifth and sixth vertebrae in 1844, and subsequently he performed the same operation four times, twice successfully. Later he performed ligature of the carotid artery five times, four times successfully, and removed the upper jaw six times and the lower five times. Dr. Potter was early convinced of the safety of operations within the abdominal cavity, and in 1843 performed gastrostomy for the relief of intussusception of the bowels with perfect success. He removed fibrous tumors of the uterus from within the abdominal cavity five times, in three cases successfully. He extirpated by ovariotomy twenty-two ovarian tumors, fourteen of them successfully, and in one of the successful cases both ovaries were removed at the same time. In another case, also successful, the operation was repeated upon the same patient twice with an interval of seventeen months. Dr. Potter served as regimental surgeon of the 50th New York Engineers in 1862. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 89.
POTTER, Joseph Haydn, soldier, born in Concord, New Hampshire, 12 October. 1822. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1843, standing next below General Grant in class rank. In 1843-'5 he was engaged in garrison duty, and he then participated in the military occupation of Texas and the war with Mexico. He was engaged in the defence of Fort Brown, and was wounded in the battle of Monterey. Subsequently he was employed on recruiting service, was promoted 1st lieutenant in the 7th Infantry on 30 October, 1847, and served on garrison duty until 1856, becoming captain on 9 January of that year. He accompanied the Utah Expedition in 1858-'60, and at the beginning of the Civil War was on duty in Texas, where he was captured by the Confederates at St. Augustine Springs on 27 July, 1861, but was exchanged on 2 August, 1862. The command of the 12th New Hampshire Volunteers was given him, and he took part in the Maryland and Rappahannock Campaigns with the Army of the Potomac, receiving his promotion of major in the regular army on 4 July, 1863. He took part in the battle of Fredericksburg, and at Chancellorsville was wounded and captured. His services in these two battles gained for him the brevets of lieutenant-colonel and colonel respectively, he was exchanged in October. 1863. and was assistant provost-marshal-general of Ohio until September, 1804, when he was assigned a brigade in the 18th Corps of the Army of the James, with command of the Bermuda Hundred front during the attack on Fort Harrison. He afterward was assigned to command of brigade in the 24th Corps and continued at the front as chief of staff of the 24th Corps from January, 1865, until the surrender of General Lee, receiving the brevet of brigadier-general in the U. S. Army on 13 March, 1865, and promotion to brigadier-general of volunteers on 1 May, 1865. He was mustered out of the volunteer service on 15 January, 1866, and appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 30th Infantry, 28 July same year. After holding various posts in the west he received his promotion as colonel on 11 December, 1873, and then continued with his regiment, with the exception of four years, from 1 July, 1877, to 1 July, 1881, when he was governor of the soldiers' home, Washington, D. C, until 1 April, 1886, when he was made brigadier-general in the regular army. He then had command of the Department of Missouri until his retirement on 12 October, 1886. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 90.
POWELL, John Wesley, geologist, born in Mount Morris, New York, 24 March, 1834. He is the son of a Methodist clergyman, and passed his early life in various places in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois. For a time he studied in Illinois College, and he subsequently entered Wheaton College, but in 1854 he followed a special course at Oberlin, also teaching at intervals in public schools. His first inclinations were toward the natural sciences, particularly natural history and geology, and he spent much of his time in making collections, which he placed in various institutions of learning in Illinois, The Illinois State Natural History Society elected him its secretary and extended to him facilities for prosecuting his researches. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted as a private in the 20th Illinois Volunteers, and he rose to be lieutenant-colonel of the 2d Illinois Artillery. He lost his right arm at the battle of Shiloh, but soon afterward he returned to his regiment and continued in active service until the close of the war. In I865 he became professor of geology and curator of the museum in Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, but he resigned to accept a similar post in Illinois Normal University. During the summer of 1867 he visited the mountains of Colorado with his class for the purpose of studying geology, and so began a practice that has been continued by eminent teachers elsewhere. On this expedition he formed the idea of exploring the canyon of the Colorado, and a year later he organized a party for that purpose. The journey lasted more than three months and they passed through numerous perilous experiences, living for part of the time on half rations. Major Powell's success in this undertaking resulted in the establishment by Congress in 1870 of a topographical and geological survey of the Colorado River of the West and its tributaries, which was placed under his direction. During the following years a systematic survey was conducted, until the physical features of the Colorado Valley, embracing an area of nearly 100,000 square miles, had been thoroughly explored. This expedition, at first conducted under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, was transferred to the Department of the Interior, and given the title of the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region. In 1874 four separate surveys were in the field, and in 1879, after much agitation, the National Academy of Sciences recommended the establishment under the Department of the Interior of an independent organization to be known as the U. S. Geological Survey. Action to this effect was at once taken by Congress, and Clarence King (q. v.) was appointed director. From the beginning of the controversy Major Powell was the leading advocate of consolidation. Meanwhile he had devoted more attention to American ethnology in the prosecution of his work than the other surveys had done. He had collected material on this subject which he had deposited with the Smithsonian institution, and had already issued three volumes as "Contributions to North American Ethnology." In order to prevent the discontinuance of this work, a bureau of ethnology, which has become the recognized centre of ethnographic operations in the United States, was established under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. Major Powell was given charge of the work, and has since continued at its head, issuing annual reports and bulletins. In 1881 Mr. King resigned the office of director of the U. S. Geological Survey, and Major Powell was appointed his successor. Since that time he has ably administered the work of this great enterprise, which includes, besides special investigations in geology, the general study of economic geology, paleontology, and geography. In connection with the survey there is also a chemical division, where the necessary analytical work is conducted. Major Powell received the degree of Ph. D., from the University of Heidelberg in 1886, and also during the same year that of LL. D. from Harvard, and he is a member of many scientific societies. In 1880 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and he was president of the Anthropological Society of Washington from its organization in 1879 till 1888. He became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1875, vice-president in 1879, when he delivered his retiring address on "Mythologic Philosophy," and in 1887 was elected to the presidency. His publications include many scientific papers and addresses, and numerous government volumes that bear his name, including the reports of the various surveys, the bureau of ethnology, and the U. S. Geological Survey. The special volumes that bear his own name are "Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries explored in 1869-'72" (Washington, 1875); "Report on the Geology of the Eastern Portion of the Uinta Mountains and a Region of Country Adjacent Thereto" (1876); "Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States" (1879); and "Introduction to the Study of Indian Languages, with Words, Phrases, and Sentences to be collected " (1880). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 94-95.
POWELL, Levin Myne, naval officer, born in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1800; died in Washington, D. C, 15 January, 1885, was appointed midshipman in the U. S. Navy in 1817, became lieutenant in 1826, was in several engagements against the Seminole Indians in 1836-'7, was wounded on Jupiter River in January of the latter year, and received the thanks of Congress for his services during that campaign. He became commander in 1843, was on ordnance duty till 1849, and was executive officer of the Washington U.S. Navy-yard in 1851-'4. He became captain in 1855, was retired in 1861, commissioned commodore in 1862, and rear-admiral in 1869. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 95.
POWELL, William Henry, soldier, born in Pontypool, South Wales, 10 May, 1825. He came to this country in 1830, received a common-school education in Nashville, Tenn., and from 1856 till 1861 was general manager of a manufacturing company at Ironton, Ohio. In August, 1861, he became captain in the 2d West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, and he was promoted to major and lieutenant-colonel in 1862, and to colonel, 18 May, 1863. He was wounded in leading a charge at Wytheville, Virginia, on 18 July, and left on the field, whence he was taken to Libby Prison and confined for six months. After his exchange he led a cavalry division in the Army of the Shenandoah, being made brigadier-general of volunteers in October, 1864. After the war he settled in West Virginia, declined a nomination for Congress in 1865, and was a Republican presidential elector in 1868. General Powell is now (1888) president of a manufacturing company in Belleville, Illinois. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 96.
POWERS, Eliza Howard, philanthropist, born in 1802; died in Washington, D. C.,25 August, 1887. During the Civil War she was distinguished for deeds of charity, and for her unselfish devotion to the sick and wounded. From November, 1862, till August, 1864, she was associate manager of the U.S. Sanitary Commission of New Jersey, and acting president of the Florence Nightingale Relief Association of Paterson, New Jersey. She collected $8,000, and 20,000 articles for the soldiers’ hospitals, and contributed $2,500 of her own money to the same purpose, without receiving any compensation. The 48th Congress voted her a pension. The committee favoring her claims said in their report that from 28 April, 1861, till 14 August, 1864, she devoted her whole time, energy, and means to the service of the soldiers of the National Army and for the success of the Union cause. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 97.
PRATT, Calvin Edward, soldier, born in Princeton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, 23 January, 1828. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1852, and practised for several years in Worcester. He was a member of the Cincinnati Convention which nominated James Buchanan for president. In 1859 he moved to New York City and practised till 1861, when he raised the 31st Regiment of New York Volunteers, and commanded it at the first battle of Bull Bun. With his regiment he afterward took part in the battles on the Peninsula, the second battle of Bull Run, and the battle of Antietam. On 10 September, 1862, he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and he resigned, 25 April, 1863. After the war he held the post of collector of internal revenue in the Brooklyn District, which he resigned to resume his law-practice. In the autumn of 1869 he was elected a judge of the Supreme Court of the state of New York, and he was re-elected in 1877 for fourteen years. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 101.
PRATT, George Watson, soldier, born in Prattsville, New York, 18 April, 1830; died near Manassas, Virginia, 21 July, 1861, was educated in Poughkeepsie, New York, and in Europe, receiving the degree of Ph.D. at the University of Erlangen, Bavaria. He engaged in banking, took an active interest in politics, and served in the state senate. At the beginning of the Civil War he became colonel of the 20th New York Regiment, and at the time of his death, at the battle of Bull Run, he was acting brigadier-general. Colonel Pratt was the author of an elaborate review of General George B. McClellan's report on the Crimean War. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 104.
PREEBLE, George Henry, naval officer, born in Portland, Maine. 25 February, 1816; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 1 March, 1885, entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 10 October, 1835, cruised in the Mediterranean in the frigate "United States" in 1836-'8, became passed midshipman 22 June, 1841. served in the Florida War in 1841-"2, and circumnavigated the world in the " St. Louis " in 18435, when he took ashore the first American force that landed in China. In the Mexican War, in 1846-'7, he participated in the capture of Alvarado, Vera Cruz, and Tuxpan. He became a master. 15 July. 1847, and lieutenant. 5 February. 1848, served in the frigate "St. Lawrence " in 1853-'6, took goods to the London exhibition, joined Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to China, and fought Chinese pirates, for which the English authorities gave him their thanks. He surveyed the harbors of Keelung. Formosa, Jeddo, and Hakodadi, Japan, and prepared sailing directions for Singapore, which were published extensively. In 1856-7 he was light-house inspector, in 1857-'9 he served at the U.S. Navy-yard at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and in 1859-61 he was executive of the steamer "Narragansett" in the Pacific. In January, 1862, he took command of the steamer "Katahdin," in which he participated under Farragut in the capture of New Orleans, and subsequent operations in the Mississippi and Grand Gulf. He was commissioned commander. 16 July, 1862. For failure to capture the Confederate cruiser " Florida" on the blockade he was summarily dismissed the navy, but the captain of the "Florida" testified that his superior speed alone saved him, and the dismissal was revoked, he was restored to his rank, and given command of the "St. Louis," which he joined at Lisbon, cruising after Confederate rovers. The " Florida" again escaped him at Madeira while he was becalmed. He next commanded the fleet brigade from 24 November, 1864, till April, 1865, and co-operated with General William T. Sherman. With the steamer " State of Georgia," in 1865, he rescued six hundred passengers from the wrecked steamer "Golden Rule," near Aspinwall. He became captain on 16 March, 1867, was at the Boston U.S. Navy-yard in 1865-'8, and served as chief of staff and in command of the flag-ship " Pensacola " in 1868-'70 in the Pacific. After being commissioned commodore, 2 November, 1871, he was commandant of the U.S. Navy-yard at Philadelphia in 1873-'5, was promoted to rear-admiral, 30 September, 1876, and on 25 February, 1878, was retired by law, being sixty-two years old. Admiral Preble constantly contributed to the professional periodical press, and was a member of various historical societies. A collection of navy registers, naval tracts, and other works from his library constitute the rarest sets of U. S. naval publications in existence. They are now in the Navy Department, serving in many cases to supply information for the biographies of naval officers that is not otherwise obtainable. His writings, many of which were printed privately and in small editions, include "Chase of the Rebel Steamer of War 'Oreto' (Cambridge, 1862): "The Preble Family in America " (Boston, 1868); "First Cruise of the U. S. Frigate Essex'" (Salem, 1870): " History of the American Flag" (Albany, 1872); and "History of Steam Navigation" (Philadelphia, 1883). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 105.
PRENTISS, Benjamin Mayberry, soldier, born in Belleville, Wood County, Virginia, 23 November, 1819. He moved with his parents to Missouri in 1835, and in 1841 settled in Quincy, Illinois, where he learned rope-making, and subsequently engaged in the commission business. In 1844–5 he was 1st lieutenant of a company that was sent against the Mormons in Hancock, Illinois. He served in the Mexican War as captain of volunteers, and on his return was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Congress in 1860. At the beginning of the Civil War he reorganized his old company, was appointed colonel of the 7th Illinois Regiment, and became brigadier-general of volunteers, 17 May, 1861. He was placed in command of Cairo, afterward served in southern Missouri, routed a large body of Confederates at Mount Zion on 28 December, 1861, and joined General Grant three days before the battle of Shiloh, on the first day of which he was taken prisoner with most of his command. He was released in October, 1862, and appointed major-general of volunteers on 29 November. He was a member of the court-martial that tried General Fitz John Porter (q.v.). He commanded at the post of Helena, Arkansas, and on 3 July, 1863, defeated General Theophilus H. Holmes and General Sterling Price, who attacked him there. General Prentiss resigned his commission on 28 October, 1863. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 106.
PRESTON, John Smith, soldier, born at the Salt Works, near Abingdon, Virginia, 20 April. 1809; died in Columbia, S. C., 1 May, 1881, was graduated at Hampden Sidney College in 1824, attended lectures at the University of Virginia in 1825-'6, and read law at Harvard. He married Caroline, daughter of General Wade Hampton, in 1830, and settled first in Abingdon. Virginia, and subsequently in Columbia, South Carolina. He engaged for several years in sugar-planting in Louisiana, but also devoted much time to literary pursuits and to the collection of paintings and sculptures. He aided struggling artists liberally, notably Hiram Powers, whose genius had been recognized by his brother William. Mr. Powers, as a token of his appreciation, gave him the first replica of the "Greek Slave." He also became widely known as an orator, delivering, among other addresses, the speech of welcome to the Palmetto Regiment on its return from the Mexican War in 1848, which gained him a national reputation. This was increased by his orations before the "Seventy-sixth Association of Charleston" and the literary societies of South Carolina College, and those at the 75th anniversary of the battle of King's Mountain and at the laying of the corner-stone of the University of the south at Sewanee, Tennessee. He was an ardent secessionist, and in May, 1860, was chairman of the South Carolina delegation to the Democratic Convention that met at Charleston, South Carolina. After the election of President Lincoln he was chosen a commissioner to Virginia, and in February, 1861, made an elaborate plea in favor of the withdrawal of that state from the Union, which was regarded as his greatest effort. He was on the staff of General Beauregard in 1861-'2, participated in the first battle of Bull Run, and was subsequently transferred to the conscript department with the rank of brigadier-general. He went to England shortly after the close of the war, and remained abroad several years. After his return he delivered an address at a commencement of the University of Virginia, which, as a fervent assertion of the right of secession, incurred the criticism of the conservative press throughout the country. His last public appearance was at the unveiling of the Confederate monument at Columbia, South Carolina when he was the orator of the occasion. General Preston was more than six feet in height, and of a powerful and symmetrical frame. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 115.
PRESTON, Thomas Lewis, planter, born in Botetourt County, Virginia, 28 November, 1812, was educated at the University of Virginia, studied law, but never practised, and for many years engaged in Washington and Smith Counties, Virginia, in the manufacture of salt, in which he made material improvements. He was twice a member of the legislature, for many years a visitor of the University of Virginia, and twice its rector. He was on the staff of General Joseph E. Johnston during the first year of the Civil War, and his aide-de-camp at the first battle of Bull Run. He has published " Life of Elizabeth Russell, Wife of General William Campbell of King's Mountain " (University of Virginia. 1880). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 115.
PRESTON, William Ballard, Secretary of War, born in Smithfield, Montgomery County, Virginia, 25 'November, 1805; died there, 16 November, 1862, was educated at the University of Virginia, adopted law as a profession, and achieved signal success in its practice. He served several times in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate, and was never throughout his career defeated in any popular election. He was chosen to Congress as a Whig in 1846, and on the accession of General Zachary Taylor to the presidency he held the portfolio of the navy until General Taylor's death, when he retired to private life, but was several times presidential elector on the Whig ticket. He was sent by the government on a mission to France in 1858-'9, the object of which was to establish a line of steamers between that country and Virginia, and a more extended commercial relation between the two countries. The scheme failed on account of the approaching Civil War. He was a member of the Virginia Secession Convention in 1861, and resisted all efforts toward the dissolution of the Union till he was satisfied that war was inevitable. In 1861-2 he was a member of the Confederate Senate, in which he served until his death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 115.
PRESTON, William, lawyer, born near Louisville, Kentucky, 16 October, 1806; died in Lexington, Kentucky, 21 September, 1887. His education was under the direction of the Jesuits at Bardstown, Kentucky. He afterward studied at Yale, and then attended the law-school at Harvard, where he was graduated in 1838. He then began the practice of law, also taking an active part in politics. He served in the Mexican War as lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Kentucky Volunteers. In 1851 he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Whig, and in the following year he was chosen to Congress to fill the vacancy caused by General Humphrey Marshall's resignation, serving from 6 December, 1852, till 3 March, 1855. He was again a candidate in 1854, but was defeated by his predecessor, General Marshall, the Know-Nothing candidate, after a violent campaign. He then became a Democrat, and was a delegate to the Cincinnati Convention of 1856, which nominated Buchanan and Breckinridge. He was appointed U. S. minister to Spain under the Buchanan administration, at the close of which he returned to Kentucky and warmly espoused the cause of the south. He joined General Simon B. Buckner at Bowling Green in 1861, and was made colonel on the staff of his brother-in-law, General Albert Sidney Johnston, when that officer assumed command. He served through the Kentucky Campaign, was at the fall of Fort Donelson, the battle of Shiloh, where General Johnston died in his arms, and the siege of Corinth. He was also in many hard-fought battles, especially at Murfreesboro. At the close of the war he returned to his home in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1867 he was elected to the legislature, and in 1880 he was a delegate to the convention that nominated General Hancock for the presidency. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 115-116.
PREVOST, Charles Mallet, soldier, born in Baltimore, Maryland, 19 September, 1818; died in Philadelphia, 5 November, 1887. His father, General Andrew M. Prevost, who commanded the first Regiment of Pennsylvania Artillery in the war of 1812, was born in Geneva, Switzerland, of Huguenot ancestry, and his grandfather, Paul Henry Mallet Prevost, a Geneva banker, came to the United States in 1794 and '' an estate at Alexandria (since called Frenchtown), Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Charles M. Prevost studied law and was admitted to the bar, and shortly afterward was appointed U.S. Marshal for the territory of Wisconsin, and he was subsequently deputy collector of the Port of Philadelphia. He was an active member of the militia, and at the beginning of the Civil War had command of a company. Soon afterward he was appointed assistant adjutant-general on the staff of General Frank Patterson. He was engaged in the Peninsular Campaign, later was appointed colonel of the 118th (Corn exchange) Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and commanded it at Antietam. The severity of the attack compelled his regiment to fall back, and Colonel Prevost seized the colors and ran to the front to rally his men. While encouraging them, he was struck in the shoulder by a Minié ball, and also by a fragment of shell, and so severely wounded that he never recovered. The brevet of brigadier-general of volunteer was conferred on him on 13 March, 1865, for his bravery in this action. After his partial recovery he returned to the command of his regiment, and took part in the battle of Chancellorsville with his arm strapped to his body. After this engagement he was ordered to take charge of a camp at Harrisburg for the organization of the Veteran reserve Corps, and, finding that his health would not permit him to engage in active service, he entered that corps, as colonel of the 16th Regiment, and served in it through the war. On his return home he was appointed major-general of the 1st Division of the Pennsylvania National Guard. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 116
PRICE, Hiram, 1814-1901. Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. Congressman 1863-1869, 1876-1881. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 117-118; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 8, Pt. 1, p. 212; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 17, p. 860; Congressional Globe)
PRICE, Hiram, Congressman, born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, 10 January, 1814. He received a common-school education, was for a few years a farmer, and then a merchant. He moved to Davenport, Iowa, in 1844, was school-fund commissioner of Scott County for eight years, and as such had the school lands allotted and appraised. He was collector, treasurer, and recorder of the county during seven years of the time when he was school-fund commissioner, and was president of the State Bank of Iowa during its existence, except for the first year. When the Civil War began, the state of Iowa had no available funds, and he furnished from his individual means quarters and subsistence for several months for about 5,000 men, infantry and cavalry. With Ezekiel Clark he advanced about $25,000 to pay to the 1st, 2d, and 3d Iowa Regiments their “state pay,” and carried the same to them, at much personal risk from the “bushwhackers” in northern Missouri. Mr. Price was elected to Congress as a Republican, serving in 1863-'9. He declined to be a candidate again, and spent some time abroad. He was again elected in 1876 and 1878, and then again declined re-election. He was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1881, and served in that office until shortly after the inauguration of President Cleveland. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 117-118.
PRICE, Sterling, soldier, born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, 11 September, 1809; died in St. Louis, Missouri, 29 September, 1867. He was a student at Hampden Sidney College, read law, moved to Chariton County, Missouri, in 1831, and was speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives in 1840–4. He was elected to Congress in the latter year as a Democrat, but resigned in 1846, and raised the 2d Missouri Cavalry Regiment for the Mexican War, becoming its colonel. He moved his regiment with that of Colonel Doniphan, both under command of General Stephen W. Kearny, from Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fé, more than 1,000 miles, the march occupying more than fifty days, and the army subsisting mainly on the country. Colonel Price, with about 2,000 men, was left in charge of New Mexico, General Kearny moving with the remainder of the command to California. An insurrection occurred in Santa Fé, to which Governor Brent and several of his officers fell victims during their absence from the town. Colonel Price now attacked the Mexicans, completed the conquest of the province in several actions, and after promotion to brigadier-general of volunteers, 20 July, 1847, marched to Chihuahua, of which he was made military governor. He defeated the Mexicans at Santa Cruz de Rosales, 16 March, 1848. General Price was governor of Missouri from 1853 till 1857, bank commissioner of the state from 1857 till 1861, and president of the State Convention on 4 March, 1861. He was appointed major-general of the Missouri State Guard on 18 May, and joined by General Ben McCulloch and General Pearce with Confederate troops and Arkansas Militia, they defeated Nathaniel Lyon at Wilson's creek, in south August, 1861. Price then advanced north Lexington, on Missouri River, 12 September, the place, with 3,500 men, on 21 September, but before General John C. Frémont, and went driven by General Samuel R. Curtis, 12 February, 1862, and retreated toward Fort Smith, Arkansas. General Earl Van Dorn assumed command of Price’s and McCulloch’s armies, attacked Curtis at Pea Ridge, 7 March, 1862, and was defeated. Van Dorn was now ordered to around Corinth, retreated under Beauregard to Tupelo, was assigned to the command of the Army of Tennessee. met and fought with General William S. Rosecrans, in but was ordered to report to Van Dorn, and by his direction abandoned Iuka and joined him near Baldwyn. He participate in Van Dorn’s disastrous attack upon Corinth in October, 1862, and in the operations under General John C. Pemberton 1862-’3. He was then ordered to the Trans-Mississippi department, took part in the unsuccessful signed to the command of the District of Arkansas. He was driven from Little Rock by General Frederic toward Red River in March, 1864, and forced him to retreat. He made a raid into Missouri in September, 1864 had made many engagements with the National forces, and reached Missouri River, but was driven out of the state and into southwestern Arkansas. After the surrender of the Confederate Armies he went to Mexico, but he returned to Missouri in 1866.
Fix this error, insert above…
He captured fell back southward into winter-quarters near Springfield, whence he was Dorn assumed command of Price's and McCulloch's Tennessee. Price participated in the engagements of the West in March, 1862, and then to the district command of Grant's right, at Iuka, 19 September, 1862, Baldwyn. He participated in Van Dorn's disin northern Mississippi during the winter of attack upon Helena, 21 July, 1863, and was as Steele, but successfully resisted Steele's advance September, 1864, had many engagements with the ern Arkansas. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 118-119.
PRICE, Theophilus Townsend, physician, born in Cape May 21 May, 1828. He received an academic education, taught school for a time, then studied medicine, was graduated in 1853 at Pennsylvania Medical College, and settled in practice at Tuckerton, New Jersey. In 1863 he served as a volunteer surgeon in the army. Since 1879 he has been acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. Marine Hospital Service, the first and only appointment of the kind in New Jersey, the government medical service on the entire New Jersey Coast being under his charge. He is one of the projectors of the Tuckerton Railroad, and since 1871 has been the secretary. He has served in the New Jersey legislature, is one of the trustees of the New Jersey reform school for boys, and of the South Jersey Institute, and a member of the State medical and historical societies. He has contributed to medical journals, and both in prose and poetry to various periodicals. Many of his war songs have become widely known. He is the author of the entire historical and descriptive part of the “Historical and Biographical Atlas of the New Jersey Coast” (Philadelphia, 1877). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 119.
PRICE, Thomas Lawson, contractor, born near Danville, Virginia, 19 January, 1809; died in Jefferson City, Missouri, 16 July, 1870. His father was a wealthy tobacco-planter. In 1831 the son settled in Jefferson City, Missouri He first engaged in mercantile pursuits, and afterward bought and sold real estate. In 1838 he obtained the contract for carrying the mail between St. Louis and Jefferson City, and established the first stage-line connecting those places. Ultimately he gained control of all the stage-routes in the state, and became lessee of the State penitentiary. He was chosen the first mayor of Jefferson City in 1838, and was re-elected. In 1847 he was appointed brevet major-general of the 6th Division of Missouri Militia, and in 1849 he was elected lieutenant-governor on the Democratic ticket. In 1856 General Price headed a Benton delegation to the Democratic National Convention that nominated James Buchanan, but was not admitted. In 1860 he was elected to the state legislature, and on 21 September, 1861, was appointed by General John C. Frémont brigadier-general of volunteers. The appointment expired by limitation, 17 July, 1862. He was elected to Congress in place of John W. Reid, expelled, and served from 21 January, 1862, till 3 March, 1863. In 1864 he was nominated by the Union men for governor, although there was no hope of his election. About this time his health began to fail, and his only subsequent appearance in public life was as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868, where he acted as vice-president when Horatio Seymour was nominated. During the greater part of his career General Price was connected with railroads, both as contractor and officer. When a member of the legislature he was largely instrumental in inducing the state to lend its aid to the construction of the Iron Mountain and Hannibal and St. Joseph roads. He was also identified with the construction of the Missouri Pacific and the Kansas Pacific. Of the former he was one of the first and largest contractors. Besides building the greater part of the Kansas Pacific, he was also a fund commissioner and director of that road, and united with other capitalists in extending the line from Denver to Cheyenne. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 119.
PRIME, Frederick E., soldier, born in Florence, Italy, 24 September, 1829, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1850, and employed on fortifications in New York, California, Alabama, and Mississippi. In 1861 he was taken prisoner at Pensacola, Florida, while he was on his way to Fort Pickens. Having been commissioned captain of engineers, he served during the Manassas Campaign, and the following six months he was successively chief engineer of the departments of Kentucky, the Cumberland, and the Ohio. After being wounded and taken prisoner while on a reconnaissance, he occupied the same post during General Grant's Mississippi Campaign in 1862-'3. He was brevetted major for gallantry at the battle of Corinth, and took part in the siege of Vicksburg. He was also promoted major, 1 June, 1863, brevetted lieutenant-colonel the following month for meritorious services before Vicksburg, and colonel and brigadier-general, 13 March. 1865, for gallant conduct throughout the war. The commission of brevet brigadier-general was declined. On 5 September, 1871, Major Prime was retired through disability from wounds that he received " in line of duty." Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 123.
PRINCE, Henry, soldier, born in Eastport, Maine, 19 June, 1811. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1835, assigned to the 4th Infantry, and served in the Seminole War in 1836-'7. He became 1st lieutenant, 7 July, 1838, assisted in removing the Creek Indians to the west, and then served on frontier duty, in the Florida War of 1841-'2, and in the war with Mexico, in which he received the brevet of captain for services at Contreras and Churubusco, and that of major for Molino del Rey, where he was severely wounded. On 26 September, 1847, he was made captain, and on 23 May, 1855, he was appointed major and served on the pay department in the west, participating in the Utah Campaign in 1858-'9. In the Civil War he took part in the northern Virginia Campaign, was made brigadier-general of volunteers on 28 April, 1862, and received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel for services at Cedar Mountain, 9 August, 1862, where he was captured. After his release in December he participated in the North Carolina operations from 11 January till 24 June, 1863, commanded the District of Pamlico from 1 May till 24 June, 1863, pursued the Confederate Army in its retreat from Maryland, served in the Rapidan Campaign from October till December, 1863, pursued General Nathan B. Forrest's raiders in Tennessee and Alabama in 1864, and commanded on the coast of South Carolina from January till May, 1865. He was brevetted colonel and brigadier-general, U.S. Army, on 13 March, 1865. He served on courts-martial in Washington, D. C., in 1865-'6, and was mustered out of volunteer service on 30 April, 1866. He then served as paymaster in Boston till 1869, as chief paymaster of the Department of the East till 1871, and as paymaster in New York City until 1875. He was assigned to the Division of the Pacific on 28 June, 1875, became lieutenant-colonel on 3 March, 1877, and retired on 31 December, 1879. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 123-124.
PROUDFIT, David Law, author, born in Newburg, New York, 27 October, 1842. He was educated in the common schools, and at fifteen years of age went to New York City to engage in business. In 1862 he enlisted as a private in the 1st New York Mounted Rifles. In the following year he was appointed a 2d lieutenant in the 22d U.S. Colored Troops. His regiment accompanied General Butler in his advance up James River, and took part in various engagements, and at the close of the war he had attained the rank of major. Later he engaged in business, and a few years ago he became interested in pneumatic tubes, and he is now (1888) resident of the Meteor Despatch Company of New York. His poems have been extensively used in public recitations. He has published in book-form “Love among the Gamins,” poems (New York, 1877) and “Mask and Domino” (1888). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 128.
PRYOR, Roger Atkinson, lawyer, born near Petersburg, Virginia, 19 July, 1828. He was graduated at Hampden Sidney College in 1845, and at the University of Virginia, three years later, studied law, and was admitted to the bar, but entered journalism. He joined the staff of the Washington "Union," and was afterward editor of the Richmond " Enquirer." He was sent at twenty-seven on a special mission to Greece by President Pierce. In 1856 he opposed William L. Yancey's proposition to reopen the slave-trade. He was an ardent advocate of state-rights, and established a daily paper, the "South." at Richmond, in which he represented the extreme views of the Virginia Democracy. His aggressive course and the intense utterance of his convictions led to several duels. He was elected to Congress in 1859 to fill a vacancy, and was re-elected in 1860, but did not take his seat. While in that body he made various fiery speeches, and in the excited condition of the public mind preceding the Civil War was often involved in passionate discussions with his northern opponents. One of these, John P. Potter (q. v.), replied to him with similar acrimony, and was challenged. Mr. Potter named bowie-knives as the weapons, and the Virginian's seconds refused to allow their principal to fight with arms which they pronounced barbarous. This challenge created an uproar throughout the country, and was accompanied with severe and characteristic comments on the principals from the northern and southern press. Mr. Pryor was eager for war, and visited Charleston to witness the firing on Sumter, and its surrender. He was sent to the Provisional Confederate Congress at Richmond, and elected to the first regular Congress. Soon afterward he entered the Confederate Army as a colonel, and was made a brigadier-general after the battle of Williamsburg. He resigned, 26 August, 1863, was taken prisoner in 1864, and confined for some time in Fort Lafayette. After the surrender of the Confederate armies, he urged on the south the adoption of a policy of acquiescence and loyalty to the government. He went to New York in 1865, settled there as a lawyer, and is still practising. He has taken no part in politics since the war, confining himself exclusively to his profession. He is the author of many speeches and literary addresses, and has been given the degree of LL. D. by Hampden Sidney College. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 131.
PUGH, James Lawrence, senator, born in Burke County, Georgia, 12 December, 1820. In early years he moved with his family to Alabama, where he received a collegiate education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He began to practise in Eufaula, Ala., was a Presidential elector in 1848 and 1856, and was then elected to Congress as a Democrat, serving from 5 December, 1859, till 21 January, 1861, when he retired, on the secession of his state. He was a delegate from Alabama to the House of Representatives in the 1st and 2d Confederate Congresses, serving from 22 February, 1862, till the surrender in 1865. He also served as a private in the Confederate Army, and after the war again practised law. Mr. Pugh was president of the Democratic State Convention of 1874, a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875, and a presidential elector again in 1876. He was elected a U.S. Senator from Alabama for the term ending in 1885, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George S. Houston, and was re-elected for the term ending 3 March, 1891. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 133.
PURMAN, William J., jurist, born in Centre County, Pennsylvania, 11 April, 1840. He received a liberal education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar, but entered the National Army as a private, serving on special duty in the War Department and in Florida. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Florida in 1868, and also of the state senate, judge of Jackson County Court in 1868–'9, and U. S. Assessor of Internal Revenue for Florida in 1870. In 1872 he was chairman of the Republican state executive committee, and was elected to Congress as a Republican, serving from 1 December, 1873, till his resignation on 10 February, 1875. He was again elected, serving from 6 December, 1875, till 3 March, 1877, and re-elected, but his seat was successfully contested by Robert H. M. Davidson. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 136-137.
PURVIANCE, Hugh Young, naval officer, born in Baltimore, Maryland, 22 March, 1799: died there. 21 October, 1883. He was educated at St. Mary's College in his native city, and in 1818 was appointed a midshipman in the U. S. Navy. He served for two years on the East India Station, in 1821-'4 on the Pacific, and in 1824-'7 in the Mediterranean. In the last year he was commissioned a lieutenant, and he served on the West India Squadron in 1828-'30, and the Brazil Squadron in 1837-'8, commanding the brig " Dolphin." He relieved an American schooner from the French blockade of the river Plate, and received a complimentary recognition from the U. S. government for his services on the occasion. In 1846 he commanded the frigate "Constitution," of the Blockading Squadron in the Mexican War. On 7 March, 1849, he was commissioned commander, and assigned to the sloop-of-war " Marion," on the coast of Africa, where he remained in 1852-'5. He received his commission as captain, 28 January, 1856, commanded the frigate "St. Lawrence," of the Charleston Blockading Squadron, in 1861, and captured the privateer " Petrel" off that port, the first prize of the Civil War. He took part in the fight with the " Merrimac" and in the attack on Sewall's point, Hampton Roads. He was retired, 21 December, 1861, commissioned commodore, 16 July, 1862, and in 1863-'5 was light-house inspector. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 137.
PUTNAM, Haldimand Sumner, soldier, born in Cornish. N. H., 15 October, 1835; died near Fort Wagner, South Carolina 18 July, 1863. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1857, and entered the army in July as brevet 2d lieutenant of Topographical Engineers. From that time till a few months previous to the Civil War he was engaged in explorations and surveys in the west. When the war began he was summoned to Washington and intrusted with important despatches for Fort Pickens. He accomplished his mission, but, while returning to the north, was seized by the Confederates at Montgomery, Alabama, and imprisoned for several days. On his release he was placed on General Irvin McDowell's staff, participated in the battle of Bull Run, and gained the brevet of major for gallantry. In October he went to his native state and organized the 7th New Hampshire Regiment, of which he became colonel in December, 1861. It was stationed during the first year of its service at Fort Jefferson, on Tortugas Island, and afterward at St. Augustine, Florida, and in South Carolina. In 1863 Colonel Putnam commanded a brigade in the Stono inlet Expedition, and in the capture of Morris Island. In the assault on Fort Wagner, 18 July, 1863, where he led the second storming column, he was killed on the parapet of the work while rallying his men. He was made brevet colonel, U. S. Army, 18 July, 1863. For about four months preceding his death he was acting brigadier-general. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 139.
PUTNAM, George Haven, publisher, born in London, England, 2 April, 1844, studied at Columbia in 1860 and at Göttingen in 1861–2, but was not graduated, as he left College to enter the United States military service during the Civil War, in which he rose to the rank of brevet major. He was appointed deputy collector of internal revenue in 1866, and in this year engaged in the publishing business in New York, in which he has continued ever since, being now (1888) head of the firm of G. P. Putnam's Sons. He has served on the executive committees of the Free-trade League, the Reform Club, the Civil-service Reform Association, and enterprise that resulted in placing the great organ other political organizations, and in 1887-'8 as secretary of the American Publishers' Copyright League. He has written articles on literary property for journals and cyclopaedias: a pamphlet on “International Copyright” (New York, 1879); and, conjointly with his brother, John Bishop Putnam. “Authors and Publishers” (1882). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 142-143.
PUTNAM, William Lowell, soldier, born in Boston, 9 July, 1840; died near Ball's Bluff, Virginia, 21 October, 1861, was educated in France and at Harvard, where he studied mental science and law. He entered the 20th Massachusetts Regiment in 1861, was ordered to the field in September, and was killed while leading his battalion to the rescue of a wounded officer. When he was borne to the hospital-tent he declined the surgeon's assistance, bidding him go to those whom his services could benefit, since his own life could not be saved. He was a youth of much promise, possessing remarkable natural endowments and many accomplishments. See the memoir by his mother mentioned above. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 143.
