Encyclopedia of Civil War Military Biography – XYZ
YANDELL, David Wendell, physician, born in Murfreesborough, Tennessee, in 1826. He was graduated in medicine at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1846, was in Europe in 1846-'7. He began his practice in Louisville in 1848. He became a professor in the University of Louisville in 1859. Yandell was a medical director in the Confederate Army in 1861-'5. Dr. Yandell was elected president of the American Medical association in 1871, and appointed professor of surgery in the Indiana Medical College in 1874. In 1870 he established the "American Practitioner." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 637.
YARD, Edward Madison, naval officer, born in Hunterdon, New Jersey, 24 November, 1809. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 1 November, 1827. He became a passed midshipman, 10 June, 1833, was commissioned a lieutenant, 23 February, 1838, and during the Mexican War was part of the time executive of the "Dale,'' and for several months in command. He rendered distinguished services at the capture of Guaymas, in the blockade and other operations on the west coast of Mexico. He was promoted to commander, 14 September, 1855. Yard was light-house inspector from 1850-"9. When the Civil War began he was assigned to the sloop ' Dale" on the blockade, but by act of 21 December, 1861, he was placed on the retired list because he was more than sixty-two years of age. His services being no longer available by law, he resigned, 3 May, 1866. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.
YARROW, Henry Crecy, physician, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19 November, 1840. He studied in Pennsylvania and in Switzerland and was graduated at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1861. During the Civil War he served as assistant surgeon in the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Subsequently he was surgeon and naturalist to the expedition for the exploration of the territory west of the 100th meridian, under Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, of the U. S. Engineers. Dr. Yarrow is a member of the faculty of the medical department of the Columbian University, and is curator of the department of reptiles in the U. S. National Museum in Washington, D. C. He is a member of the Philosophical, Anthropological, Biological, and Geographical Societies of Washington, and of other scientific bodies in this country and abroad, to whose proceedings he has contributed papers. Dr. Yarrow was associated with Dr. Elliott Coues in the publication of various papers on the natural history of North Carolina, his latest work giving the results of. his experiments with serpent-venom and so-called antidotes. His writings include articles in the annual volumes of the U. S. National Museum and the Bureau of Ethnology; in part, vol. v., on "Zoology," of the " Report upon Geographical and Geological Explorations and Surveys west of the 100th Meridian" (Washington, 1875); and "Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians" (1881); also the article on venomous serpents in "Handbook of the Medical Sciences" (New York, 1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.
YATES, John Barentse, engineer, born in Schenectady. N. Y„ 19 October, 1833, was graduated at Union in 1852, and served during the Civil War as colonel of the 1st Michigan Engineers under General William T. Sherman. Subsequently he became a division engineer on the New York State Canals. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.
YATES, Austin Andrew, lawyer, born in Schenectady, New York. 24 March. 1830. Yates was graduated at Union in 1854. He served during the Civil War as captain in the 134th New York Volunteers, and subsequently was assistant to Judge-Advocate-General Joseph Holt. In 1868 he was elected district attorney of Schenectady County, and he was judge from 1873 till 1870. He has a large law-practice in Schenectady, and has been twice a member of the New York assembly. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.
YATES, Arthur Reid, naval officer, born in Schenectady, New York, 20 October, 1838. He was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1857, and served during the Civil War. He was an aide to Admiral Farragut in the battle of Mobile Bay, and was commended in that officer's report to Congress. Since 9 February, 1884, he has been captain, and he now has command of the steamer "Pensacola." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.
YATES, Richard, governor of Illinois, born in Warsaw, Kentucky, 18 January, 1818; died in St. Louis, Missouri, 27 November, 1873. At thirteen years of age he went with his father's family to reside in Springfield. Illinois. He was graduated at Illinois College, Jacksonville, in 1838. Yates studied law, and practised his profession in Springfield. From 1842 till 1849 he was a member of the legislature,. In 1850 he was elected to the U.S. Congress. He was the youngest member of the 32d Congress, and was re-elected in 1852. In 1860 he was elected governor, and he was chosen again in 1862. Governor Yates had been an outspoken opponent of slavery, and at the opening of the Civil War was very active in raising volunteers. He convened the legislature in extra session on 12 April, 1861, the day after the attack on Fort Sumter, and took military possession of Cairo, garrisoning it with regular troops. In Governor Yates's office General Ulysses S. Grant received his first distinct recognition as a soldier in the Civil War, being appointed by him mustering officer for the state, and afterward colonel of the 21st Illinois Regiment. At the expiration of his term of office as governor he was elected to the U. S. Senate, where he served from 1865 till 1871. His death occurred while he was returning from a visit to Arkansas, where he had been examining a railroad as U. S. commissioner. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 638-639.
YOUNG, Charles Augustus, astronomer, born in Hanover, New Hampshire, 15 December, 1834. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1853 and then taught classics at Phillips Andover Academy for three years, during one year of which he studied at, the theological seminary. In 1856 he was called to fill the chair of mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy at Western reserve College, Ohio. During the Civil War he was captain of a company in the 85th Ohio Volunteers for three months in 1862. He was chosen professor of natural philosophy and astronomy at Dartmouth in 1865, which post had been held by his fattier, Ira Young, in 1838-"58, and remained there until 1877, when he accepted the chair of astronomy at Princeton. […]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 646.
YOUNG, John Russell, journalist, born in Dowington, Chester County. Pennsylvania, 20 November, 1841. He received his education in the public schools of Philadelphia and the New Orleans high-school. He entered the employment of the Philadelphia " Press" in 1857 as copy-boy, and was promoted to other duties. At the beginning of the Civil War he was sent to Virginia as war-correspondent. He remained with the Army of the Potomac from the battle of Bull Run till the end of the Chickahominy Campaign. In 1864 he accompanied General Nathaniel P. Hanks on his Red River Expedition, after which he returned to Philadelphia to assume editorial charge of the " Press." He resigned in 1865 and attempted to establish a new paper in Philadelphia, which he called the "Morning Post," and after its failure began the publication of one in New York City named the "Standard," with which he had no better success. He then connected himself with the New York "Tribune," of which he was managing editor from 1866 till 1869. Having studied law for the prescribed term, he obtained admission to the bar in 1867. In 1871 he went to Europe as a correspondent of the New York " Herald," and was engaged in collecting news in Great Britain and on the continent till 1877, when, as commissioner of the "Herald," he accompanied ex-President Grant around the world. After his return to New York City in 1879 he resumed his place on the editorial staff. On 15 March, 1882, he was appointed U. S. minister to China, he filled that post until the accession of President Cleveland, and then returned to New York and engaged in his former occupation. He has published "Around the World with General Grant (2 vols.. New York, 1879).—His brother. James Rankin, journalist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 6 March, 1847, enlisted in the emergency campaign of 1863, and then entered the volunteer army in 1864, serving until the close of the war. In 1866 he became connected with the New York "Tribune," was its Washington correspondent until 1871. In that same year he became executive clerk of the U. S. Senate, which place be has since held. He is one of the owners of the Philadelphia "Evening Star." to which he has contributed the "S. M." correspondence. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 649.
YOUNG, Jonathan, naval officer, born in Ohio, 27 November, 1825; died in New London, Connecticut, 17 May, 1885. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 19 October, 1841. Young served in the West Indies, where he participated in an engagement with pirates on the Isle of Pines off the south coast of Cuba, and captured a slaver with 500 slaves on board. He cruised in the ship-of-the-line " Columbus" around the world, 1845-'8. At Yeddo, Japan, succeeded in forcibly delivering a letter to the Japanese government. He became a passed midshipman, 10 August, 1847, was commissioned a master, 14 September, 1855, and a lieutenant the next day, while on a cruise in the steamer "Massachusetts." of the Pacific Station. In this cruise he participated in engagements with Indians in Puget sound. He commanded the steamer "Westernport" in the Paraguay Expedition of 1859. When the Civil War began he was serving on the steamer "Susquehanna in the Mediterranean, in which he returned, 6 June, 1861, and participated in the capture of the forts at Hatteras inlet, 28 August, 1861, and of Port Royal, South Carolina 7 November, 1861. He was executive in the steamer "Powhatan" in chase of the Confederate privateer "Sumter" to Brazil and Gibraltar in 1861-'2. He commanded the steamer "Pembina," of the Western Gulf Squadron, a short time in 1863, and was promoted to lieutenant-commander, 10 July, 1862, and to commander, 25 July, 1866. Young then commanded the receiving ship at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1866-'7, and steamer " Mahaska." North Atlantic Squadron, 1806-9. He served at the Naval Observatory in Washington, 1869, and U.S. Navy-yard, Portsmouth, 1869-72. He was chief of staff on the flag-ship "Lancaster," of the Brazil Squadron, in 1873, was commissioned a captain, 8 November, 1873, commanded the steamer "Tennessee," of the Asiatic Squadron, in 1870-'8, and served at the U.S. Navy-yard, Portsmouth. In 1879-'81. He was promoted to commodore, 19 June, 1882, and commanded the naval station at New London in 1882-'5. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 649.
YOUNG, Pierce Manning Butler, soldier, born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, 15 November, 1839. He was taken to Georgia when he was a year old, was educated at the military institute in that state, began the study of law, and then entered the U. S. Military Academy in 1857. Within two months of the time for graduation he resigned on account of the secession of the southern states, and joined the Confederate Army as a 2d lieutenant. He was successively promoted through all the grades of the service to that of major-general on 12 December, 1864, when he was assigned to the command of a cavalry division. He resided in Cartersville, Georgia, after the war, and was the only Democrat who was elected to Congress when representation was restored under the reconstruction acts, taking his seat on 25 July, 1868. He was re-elected for the three succeeding terms, serving till 3 March. 1875. General Young has been a delegate to every National Democratic Convention since 1868. In 1877 he was appointed one of the commissioners from the United States to the World's Fair held in Paris. He was appointed consul-general to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1885, but, owing to the severe climate, resigned a year later, and has since resided on his plantation near Atlanta, Georgia. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 650.
YOUNG, Thomas Lowry, soldier, born in Killyleagh. Ireland, 14 December, 1832; died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 20 July, 1888. He came to this country at an early age. Young served in the U. S. Army during the last year of the war with Mexico, and afterward taught in Cincinnati. He entered the National Army at the beginning of the Civil War, and was promoted colonel, but, having contracted disease in the Atlanta Campaign, he was honorably discharged in September, 1864, and brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, 13 March, 1865. He was graduated at the Cincinnati law-school, admitted to the bar in 1865. The same year he was appointed assistant city auditor of Cincinnati, and was elected a member of the state house of representatives for a term of two years. He was elected recorder of Hamilton County in 1867, appointed a supervisor of internal revenue in 1868, and was a delegate to the National Republican Convention the same year. He was elected state senator in 1871, lieutenant-governor in 1875, and in 1877 became governor after Rutherford B. Hayes was chosen president. He served in Congress in 1878-'82, and in 1886 was appointed a member of the board of public affairs of Cincinnati, which office he held at his death in 1888. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 650-651.
YOUNG. William Henry Harrison Hutchinson, journalist, born in Amherst, Erie County, New York, 4 May, 1819. He was educated at Fredonia Academy. New York, admitted to the bar, and practised in Buffalo, but moved to the south, took part in the Texan revolution and the Mexican War, and also edited the Savannah "Georgian" and Young's Spirit of the South" at Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky. He has also been connected editorially with several papers at the north, including the "Spirit of the Times," the "Democratic Review," and the Cincinnati "Sunday Despatch." He married a wealthy southern lady, and together they aided in establishing the "Kinney Colony" in Nicaragua, publishing there the "Central American." At the opening of the Civil War they raised and equipped at their own expense Young's Kentucky light Cavalry (afterward the 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry), which was the first cavalry regiment to take the field, and of which Mr. Young became colonel. Since the war Colonel Young has practised law in Washington, and has been interested in establishing a colony of veteran soldiers in Florida. He and his wife also founded the New York Volunteer institute, a school in which they educated 900 soldiers' orphans at their own expense. Colonel Young has invented and patented an artificial stone. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 651.
ZACHOS, John Celivergos (zak'-os), educator, born in Constantinople, Turkey, 20 December 1820. He is of Greek parentage, and came to this country when he was ten years old with Dr. Samuel G. Howe. He was graduated at Kenyon College, Ohio, in 1840, and in 1842-'5 studied at the medical school of Miami University, but did not take his degree. He was associate principal in Cooper Female Seminary, Dayton. Ohio, in 1851-"4, and principal of the grammar-school of Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1855-'7. During the Civil War he served in the army as an assistant surgeon, and in 1865, having studied theology privately, he was ordained pastor of the Unitarian church in West Newton, Massachusetts In 1866-"7 he was pastor al Meadville. Pennsylvania, and professor of rhetoric in the theological school in that place. Since 1871 he has been curator of the Cooper Union, New York City. Dr. Zachos invented and patented in 1876 the stenotype, for printing a legible text from the English alphabet at a reporting speed. In this machine the types are fixed on eighteen shuttle-bars, two or more of which may be simultaneously placed in position, and the impression is given by a plunger common to all the bars. Improvements were patented in 1883 and 1886. He edited the "Ohio Journal of Education" in 1852, and is the author of "New American Speaker " (New York, 1852); "Analytical Elocution" (1861); "New System of Phonic Reading without changing the Orthography." a pamphlet (Boston, 1863): and a ''Phonic Primer and Reader" (1864). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 653.
ZALINSKI, Edmund Louis Gray, soldier, born in Kurnick, Prussian Poland, 13 December, 1849. He came to the United States in 1853, attended school at Seneca Falls, New York, until 1861, and subsequently was at the high-school in Syracuse, New York, until 1863. At the age of fifteen he entered the army, serving at first as volunteer aide-de-camp on the staff of General Nelson A. Miles from October, 1864, till February, 1865. He was commissioned 2d lieutenant in the 2d New York Heavy Artillery in February, 1865, having been recommended for the appointment by his superior officers for gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia. After being commissioned he continued on General Miles's staff until after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee, participating in all of the engagements up to that date. He was mustered out of the volunteer service in September, 1865, and recommended for an appointment in the regular army, where he was commissioned a 2d lieutenant in the 5th U. S. Artillery, 23 February, 1866, and by regular promotion became 1st lieutenant in January, 1867, and captain, 9 December, 1887. From 1872 till 1876 he was on duty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as professor of military science. He was graduated at the Artillery School, Fort Monroe. Virginia, 1 May, 1880, and at the school of submarine mining, Willet's point, N. Y., in July of the same year. Captain Zalinski's name is widely known in connection with the development of the pneumatic dynamite torpedo-gun. (See vignette.) He has invented the electrical fuse and other devices for the practical application of the weapon, and has also devised a method for the exact sight-allowance to be made for deviation due to wind in the use of rifled artillery and small-arms. His other inventions include an entrenching-tool, a ramrod-bayonet, and a telescopic sight for artillery. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 653-654.
ZEILIN, Jacob, officer of marines, born in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, 16 July, 1806; died in Washington, D. C, 18 November, 1880. He entered the Marine Corps and was commissioned a 2d lieutenant, 1 October, 1831, promoted to 1st lieutenant, 12 September, 1836, and cruised in the "Columbus" and "Congress" in 1845-'8 during the Mexican War. He participated in the operations on the Pacific Coast and in defence of Monterey, 15 July, 1846, was transferred to command the marines in the frigate " Congress," and took part with Commodore Robert F. Stockton in the conquest of California. He was brevetted major for gallantry in the action at crossing San Gabriel River, 9 January, 1847, and took part in the capture of Los Angeles and in the battle of La Mesa. He was military commandant at San Diego in 1847, and participated in the capture of Guaymas in September, 1847, and in the action at San Jose, 30 September, 1847. During October, 1847, and till the end of the war, he was at Mazatlan, where he took part in frequent skirmishes with the Mexicans, who had been obliged to evacuate the city. He was commissioned captain, 14 September, 1847, and served at New York in 1849, and in Norfolk, Virginia in 1849-'52. He was fleet marine-officer in the flag-ship "Mississippi," in Commodore Matthew C. Perry's Expedition to Japan in 1852-'4, and commanded the battalion of marines at the landing on 14 July, 1853. He was stationed at Norfolk in 1854-'7. and at Washington in 1857, and there commanded the first company of marines which quelled the riot of Baltimore roughs, 1 June, 1857. When the Civil War began he took command of the right company in the marine battalion in co-operation with the army in 1861, participated in the battle of Bull Run on 21 July, and was slightly wounded. He was commissioned major in the Marine Corps, 20 July, 1861. Zeilin was commandant at New York Barracks in 1862-'3, and in August, 1866, had command of the marine battalion that sailed from New York and landed on Morris Island, Charleston Harbor, to participate in the operations of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Admiral Dahlgren. In March, 1864, he returned to the north and took command of the Marine Barracks at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was appointed colonel commandant of the Marine Corps, 10 June, 1864, and assumed control at headquarters at Washington, D. C. He was commissioned brigadier-general commandant, 2 March, 1867. General Zeilin was retired on account of age and long and faithful service, 1 November, 1870. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 657-658.
ZOLLICOFFER, Felix Kirk, soldier, born in Maury County, Tennessee, 19 May, 1812; died near Mill Springs, Kentucky, 19 January, 1862. George, his grandfather, was a captain in the Revolutionary Army. The family came to this country from Switzerland, and is of ancestry that was ennobled by Rodolphus II, in 1528. Felix K. received a common-school education, learned the printer's trade, and for about a year published a weekly newspaper at Paris, Tennessee. He subsequently worked as a printer in Knoxville, Tennessee. and Huntsville. Alabama He began at this time to write for public journals, and one of his prose fancies may be found in Field's " Scrap-Book." From Huntsville he moved to Columbia, Tennessee, and took editorial charge of the "Observer." He served as a soldier, and afterward as a commissioned officer, in the Seminole War, and, returning in 1837, resumed the "Observer " and edited it in the canvass of 1840 in the interest of the Whig candidate. He published and edited also a weekly agricultural paper. In 1841 he became associate editor of the Nashville " Banner," the organ of the Whig Party in Tennessee. He was elected comptroller of the state in 1844, and resigned in 1849. In August of the latter year he was elected a state senator. He was chosen to Congress in April, 1853, and served continuously for three terms, attaining reputation as an able debater. He retired from public life in 1859, but was chosen as a delegate to the Peace Conference of 1861. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the Confederate service with the rank of brigadier-general, 9 July, 1861. When the National Army was about to enter east Tennessee by way of Cumberland Gap, General Zollicoffer, with 2.000 men, went by way of Knoxville to the point of threatened attack. Soon after he had established his camp near Mill Springs, on Cumberland River. General George B. Crittenden arrived and assumed command. In the battle that ensued (see Thomas, George H.), General Zollicoffer, having ordered an advance, rode forward with several of his staff officers to inspect the enemy's position, and passed by mistake beyond their lines. He endeavored to retrace his route, and was soon in front of the 4th Kentucky Regiment, commanded by Colonel Speed S. Fry, with whom he exchanged salutes, and rode off undetected (as he wore an oil-cloth overcoat). But one of his staff fired a pistol toward the National line, which was at once answered by a volley that killed General Zollicoffer and two other officers. Another account represents that General Zollicoffer was shot by Colonel Speed S. Fry. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 662.
ZOOK, Samuel Kosciuzko, soldier, born in Pennsylvania about 1823; died in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 2 July, 1863. He learned the telegraph business early in life, and made several discoveries in electric science that gave him reputation. He settled in New York about 1848, became connected with several military organizations, and in 1857 lieutenant-colonel of the 6th New York Militia. His health had failed, but at the beginning of the Civil War he accompanied his regiment to the seat of hostilities, and was appointed military governor of Annapolis, Maryland. After his return he recruited the 57th Regiment of New York Volunteers, was commissioned colonel, and led it to the Virginia Peninsula. During that campaign he generally commanded a brigade, and on 29 November, 1862, he became brigadier-general of volunteers. He led the 57th New York Regiment at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and was killed in the latter battle. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 662.
