RoadTrippin' Thru History-- Part 15: A Beneficial Marriage for Captain Pershing?

John Joseph Pershing graduated from West Point in 1886, tanked #30 in his class of 77.  On 1895, he took command of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, one of the original Buffalo Soldiers units.  In 1897, he was an instructor at West Point and was unpopular with the cadets who nicknamed  him "N___ Jack" because of his leading the Buffalo Soldiers  Eventually this was softened to "Blackjack" a nickname that stuck with him the rest of his life.

In 1905, he married the daughter of U.S. Senator from Wyoming, Francis E. Warren, Helen, and had four children with her.  He was twenty years her senior.  It was a huge wedding in Washington, D.C., and reportedly Francis Warren said he wasn't going to have his daughter married to a lowly captain, that nothing less than a general would do.

President Theodore Roosevelt had visited Wyoming several times and stayed with Warren and was a good friend.  Advancement through the ranks was rapid for the captain, who within a few years rose to major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and then brigadier general.  In so doing, he was advanced over nearly 900 officers with more seniority.  And doing this during a peacetime army, quite an accomplishment.  It must be good to have friends in high places.

Tragedy struck in 1915, when a mysterious fire at the Presidio in San Francisco killed Helen and three of her four children.  Only his son Francis Warren Pershing survived.

I've Got Friends in High Places.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 14: In Politics He was, Then Wasn't, Then Was, Last Then First

After Francis E. Warren made his fortune, he went on to get involved in the politics of early Wyoming.  He served twice in the Wyoming Territorial Senate and once as senate president.    He was a member of the Cheyenne City Council (1873-1874),  treasurer of the state on several occasions,  and Mayor of Cheyenne in 1885.

In February  1885, he was appointed Governor of Wyoming Territory by President Chester A. Arthur, but was removed by Democrat  President Grover Cleveland in 1886.  He was reappointed by President  Benjamin Harrison in April 1889 and served until 1890, when he was elected as the State of Wyoming's first governor.

In November 1890, he resigned as governor, having been elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican and served until March 4, 1893, when he resumed his business affairs  However, two years later, he returned to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1895 to his death on November 24, 1929.

With all his seniority in the Senate, he served on and chaired many committees including Irrigation, Claims, Military Affairs, Agriculture and Forestry and Appropriations.  The man clearly had a lot of power.

(Of course, I have to wonder what all this power might have affected the military career of John Pershing and why he received that Medal of Honor so long after the war.)

I have read that he was really good at pork barrel politics and patronage and built a political machine  that was virtually unbeatable.

When he died in 1929, he was the last Civil War veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate and the longest-serving senator at the time.

Way to Accumulate Power.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 12: Francis Warren Making His Mark

Francis E. Warren's first job in his new town was working as a clerk in a crockery and hardware store owned by a fellow Massachusetts native, A.R.  Converse, for whom Converse County was later named.  He later became Converse's partner and then bought the business in 1877, renaming it Warren Mercantile Company.

In  the fall of 1883, he  formed the Warren Livestock Company, a large sheep and cattle operation that eventually grew yo 150,000 acres  He also owned the  Cheyenne and Northern Railroad and the Brush-Swan Electric Company, which brought the first electricity to Cheyenne.

Wikipedia also lists real estate as a way Warren made money.

He was also responsible for many of the public and private buildings in Cheyenne.

In 1871, he married  Helen M. Smith of Massachusetts and the couple had two children Frances and Frederick.  His wife died in 1802, and Warren then married his second wife, Clara LeNaron Morgan on June 28, 1911 at age 67.

Helen is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.  Clara remarried Albert Wells Russel and is buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' 9: Port Hudson Valor and a Delayed Medal of Honor

According to one account, Francis Warren received a serious scalp wound in the attack and initially was mistaken for dead, however, an alert doctor noticed he was alive and pulled him from the mass burial trench before it was covered. 

Another account says that after his entire platoon was destroyed by  Confederate bombardment, he was wounded but still managed to disable the enemy artillery.

Another account says that he was knocked down when the fascine he was carrying was struck by an artillery shall and he lay unconscious for several hours.

This same last account says that later, Congress recognized the valor of the volunteers and awarded them Medals of Honor.

The date of issue for Francis Warren's Medal of Honor was  September 30, 1893.  At the time, he was also serving his first term as U.S. Senator from Wyoming.

It's citation reads:

Volunteered in response to a call, and took part in a movement that was made upon  the enemy's works under a heavy fire therefrom in advance of the general assault.

I just have to wonder how much his service as Wyoming territorial governor and first U.S. governor and being in the U.S. Senate had to do with it.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 7: A New SUV Camp Named for Francis E. Warren

The article that started this thread was in the March 28, 2019, Sheridan, Wyoming newspaper.  Right away, there was a  Civil War connection, because Sheridan, Wyoming is named for Civil War general Phil Sheridan.

The article was about the formation of a new Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War camp in that city. The camp was named for Francis E. Warren and will serve not only Wyoming, but other states around it.  It is always good to see a new history group being formed, especially the Civil War. There had also been an earlier SUV camp in Wyoming named for Warren, but it had folded at some point in the past.

Now, if I can just find some information on Francis E. Warren as I had never heard of him before.   Come on Wikipedia.  Have something.

And, Wikipedia did.  Actually they had a lot on this man.  Turns out, he had a lot to do with the early history of Wyoming, especially in the area of politics.  I imagine if you are knowledgeable about Wyoming's early history, you would know something about this man.

FRANCIS E. WARREN

(June 20,1844 to November 24, 1929)

Francis E. Warren was born in Massachusetts and enlisted in the 49th Massachusetts at the age of 19 during the war and rose to the rank of corporal.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' Thru History: Great Wyoming and Howling Wilderness-- Part 1

When I do these blogs, I lately have been doing a lot of "RoadTripping Thru History" where I start with one story and see how far and in what direction I can take it.  This is one such story, that started with an article from a Sheridan, Wyoming, newspaper with a new Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War camp.

Well, this particular story, or thread as some internet sites refer to it, really grew and grew.  Of course, it was grounded in the Civil War, which is why I am going to be writing about it in this particular blog.  I did cover it before, back on March 29, 2019 in this blog.

Before I was finished with my Roadtrip, this story had extended to my Cooter's History Thing and Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blogs and went to 2018.  It was massive to say the least.

I am going to write this story in this blog from beginning to end this time.

--Old Secesh

The Battles of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson-- Part 1

From the May 16, 2021, Northwest Arkansas Democrat  Gazette  "Phillips discusses Civil War battles" by Rachel  Dickerson.

Dale Phillips spoke before the Bella Vista Civil War Round Table on May 6 about the battles of Port Hudson and Baton Rouge in 1863.

This latter battle is the one where Francis E. Warren of the 49th Massachusetts was seriously wounded, but recovered and eventually ended up in Wyoming after the war where he became a wealthy man and served as that state's first governor and long-time U.S. senator. I have written a lot about him.  Just click on the Warren label below.

Union troops were moving up the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to Vicksburg and the Confederates realized they needed to stop them from occupying the Red River, which was a major supply route.  Disease hit the Union forces, however, and they fell back to Baton Rouge.

--Old Secesh

John Ross Key, Engineer CSA-- Part 1: Yep, That Key Name

One of the men appointed to the Board to detail the defense of Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor was John Ross Key.  Well, last name of Key.  Could he be related to that other famous Francis Scott Key?

The answer is yes, he was.

From the North Point Gallery site.  Turns out John R. Key was quite the artist and mapmaker.

John Ross Key was born July 16, 1837, two months after the death of his father, and was raised until the age of five by his grandfather, none other that Francis Scott Key, who wrote, of course, "The National Anthem."  His grandfather died in 1843.

As a teenager, he was forced to work to support his widowed mother.

His talent for drawing  led to a job as a topographical artist and draftsman  with the U.S. Coast Survey.  In 1859, he was hired as mapmaker in the advance party of the Lander Expedition to chart the best overland  through hostile Indian territories of Wyoming and Nevada.

In 1861, along with several other Francis Scott Key grandsons, he threw in his lot with the Confederacy.

--Old SeceshKey

Road Trippin' Through History, or How I Ended Up with Gen. Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith

And, you might be wondering where Jacob Smith got the nickname (actually derisive) and I can tell you it was because of his role in Philippine Insurrection.  Read my Cooter's History Thing blog from this month to find out about it.  It was what he did after the Belangiga Massacre and you can also find out about that in that blog.

I ended up there as a result of one of my Road Trippin' Through History tours which started with an article about a new SUVCW camp in Wyoming in this blog on March 29 of this year.  It was named after Francis E. Warren of Massachusetts who received a Medal of Honor for his action at the Battle of Port Hudson and later moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and became a big deal out there, eventually ended up as the first governor and a long-serving U.S. Senator.

After his death in 1928, the Army post at Cheyenne was renamed in his honor.  But before that, men from Fort Russell had served in the Indian Wars and in the Spanish-American War and the Philippines Insurrection (now called the Filipino-American War evidently).  You can read about these in the April and May Cooter's History Thing blog.

This is when I switched over to the Cooter's History Thing blog and wrote about the fort, the Belangiga Massacre, the Belangiga Bells and the general.

With Road Trippin' Through History, I start in one spot and follow it to wherever it ends, often with surprising and interesting events.

This was all stuff I didn't know about

And Very Interesting.  --Old Secesh

Francis E. Warren's Legacy

Still from Wikipedia.

**  F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming,  is named after him.

**  His daughter, Helen Frances Warren, married Army Captain John J. Pershing in 1905.  he went on to achieve fame in World War I.

Several years later, President Theodore Roosevelt promoted him, with support from Francis Warren, from captain to brigadier general, despite many people in the Army having superiority over him.  The marriage definitely helped.

Sadly, Helen and three daughters were killed in a fire at the Presidio in San Francisco.

**  Warren was the first senator to hire a female staffer.

**  He and his wife Clara Barron  Morgan, bought the Nagle Warren Mansion in 1910 and it hosted many dignitaries including Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

--Old Secesh

Francis E. Warren-- Part 2: Moved to Wyoming, Became Wealthy and Public Service

Following the war, he engaged in farming and stock-raising in Massachusetts before moving to Wyoming, then part of the Dakota Territory.  He settled in Cheyenne and engaged in mercantile, real estate and live stock and became quite wealthy.

He got involved in public ervice and served as a member of the Wyoming Territorial  Senate, Cheyenne City Council, Wyoming treasurer and mayor of Cheyenne.  In 1885, he was appointed Governor of Wyoming Territory and served from 1885 to 1890, when he was elected the first governor of the State of Wyoming.

Then he became a U.S. Senator and with a two year hiatus, served there until he died in 1929.  At that time he was the longest-serving senator.

Francis married a woman from Massachusetts, but they spent all their married lives in Wyoming.  They had two children, a boy and a girl.  The girl's name was Helen Francis and she married  General John J. Pershing of WW I fame.

--Old Secesh

Francis E. Warren of Wyoming-- Part 1: Medal of Honor Recipient

Back on Friday, March 29, 2019, I wrote about a new camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War being named after him.  I'd never heard of him, so....

From Wikipedia.

FRANCIS EMROY WARREN  (June 20, 1844 - November 24, 1929)

American politician of the Republican Party best known for his years as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming and first governor of that state.    A soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War and a Medal of Honor recipient.

Born in Massachusetts and in the 49th Massachusetts during the Civil War as a noncommissioned officer.  At the Siege of Port Hudson he received a Medal of Honor for battlefield gallantry.  When Confederate artillery devastated his platoon, despite receiving a scalp wound, he disabled the guns.

He later served as a captain in the Massachusetts Militia.

--Old Secesh

Wyoming Gets New Sons of Union Veterans Camp-- Part 2

Membership in the SUVCW is restricted to men  who have direct or collateral ancestors who served in the Union military, in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Revenue Cutter Service.

The new camp's name is the same as a former camp in Sheridan that was formed in 1890.  Both camps are names after Francis Emroy Warren (1844-1929) who served  in the infantry of the Union Army as a noncommissioned officer in the  49th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers.

At the age of 19, he received a Medal of Honor for battlefield gallantry demonstrated at the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana.  Later he was commissioned as a captain in the Militia of Massachusetts.  After the war, he served as the last territorial and first governor of Wyoming and was the last Civil War veteran as a member of the U.S. Senate.

He is also the namesake of  Francis Emroy Warren  Air Force Base in Cheyenne.

The new camp commander is Karl Falken.

Always good to see a new Civil War organization on the scene.  I myself am a member of the Camp Douglas Sons of Confederate Veterans here in Illinois.

Congratulations Camp Warren in Wyoming.  --Old Secesh

Wyoming Gets New Sons of Union Veterans Camp-- Part 1

From the March 28, 2019, Sheridan (Wyoming) Press  "Camp of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Chartered."

There hasn't been a camp in Wyoming for a long time, but there is one now.

The charter was signed by Commander in Chief Donald W. Shaw in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and was approved by the Commander of the Department of Colorado and Wyoming William Buvinger on November 18, 2018.

The charter was presented and officers sworn in at the  Fort Caspar Museum on February 23, 2019.

The SUVCW is a fraternal male heritage organization dedicated to preserving  the history and legacy  of veterans who served in the Union military.  Organized in 1881 and  chartered by Congress in 1954, the SUVCW is the legal heir and successor of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) formed in 1866,

--Old Secesh