Item 3: Letter from Mr. William W. Belknap to M.[arcus] J.[oseph] Wright, 1878 September 1
Item — Box: 11, Folder: 3
Dates
- Created: 1878 September 1
Creator
- Belknap, William Worth, 1829-1890 (Person)
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Letter
Condition Note:
Good.
Measurements:
7 15/16 in. x 6 ⅜ in.
Description:
This is a letter from William W. Belknap to former Confederate General M.J.[Marcus Joseph] Wright on September 1, 1878 in regards to thanking a “Jones of the 28th” (possibly referring to speaking to Graham F. Jones, 1837-1937, of Company G of the 4th Ohio Infantry, who lived in Mills County, Iowa at the time the letter was written. Another succinct biography of him can be found here) for providing him with former Confederate General Daniel Hovan’s address. Belknap indicates he intends to write to Hovan. Belknap also inquires if Wright has heard any new information regarding the death of General James Birdseye McPherson which he would like for “special reasons.”
The creator of this letter, William Belknap, was born in Newburgh, New York in 1829. He graduated from Princeton University in 1848. Belknap became a lawyer and served in the Iowa House of Representatives in 1857. When the Civil War broke out, Belknap became a soldier in the Union Army in the 15th Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He took part in numerous engagements including the Battle of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth and served as a regimental, brigade, division, and corps commander. By the end of the war he was promoted for his bravery and leadership to brigadier general of volunteers and received a brevet promotion to major general. He also was appointed to be the 30th United States Secretary of War in 1869, serving under president Ulysses S. Grant, until he was impeached in 1876 for the trader post scandal in which he received kickback payments from a Fort Sill tradership contract, amounting to $20,000.00. He had a trial by senate in which a majority of senators voted to convict, however, they lacked the two-thirds requirement so Belknap was acquitted, although he consequently never ran for public office again.
At the time this letter was written in September 1878, many newspapers were publishing veteran accounts of the events that took place during the Battle of Atlanta that led to General McPherson’s death. General James B. McPherson was the second-highest-ranking Union officer killed in action during the Civil War and because he was beloved by many officers on both sides, newspapers published these different accounts of General McPherson’s death. As a result of this, many Union and Confederate veterans wrote to each other regarding their recollections of the Battle. Belknap wrote to former Confederate General Marcus Joseph Wright in the hopes of receiving more information regarding his account of McPherson’s death. Although at this point, Belknap was discredited politically, he still kept in touch with other veterans, including Wright, former Confederate General Daniel Govan, and attended Civil War societies (Society of the Army of the Tennessee, 1885) and reunions honoring and erecting monuments for McPherson into the 1880s before his death in 1890.
The creator of this letter, William Belknap, was born in Newburgh, New York in 1829. He graduated from Princeton University in 1848. Belknap became a lawyer and served in the Iowa House of Representatives in 1857. When the Civil War broke out, Belknap became a soldier in the Union Army in the 15th Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He took part in numerous engagements including the Battle of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth and served as a regimental, brigade, division, and corps commander. By the end of the war he was promoted for his bravery and leadership to brigadier general of volunteers and received a brevet promotion to major general. He also was appointed to be the 30th United States Secretary of War in 1869, serving under president Ulysses S. Grant, until he was impeached in 1876 for the trader post scandal in which he received kickback payments from a Fort Sill tradership contract, amounting to $20,000.00. He had a trial by senate in which a majority of senators voted to convict, however, they lacked the two-thirds requirement so Belknap was acquitted, although he consequently never ran for public office again.
At the time this letter was written in September 1878, many newspapers were publishing veteran accounts of the events that took place during the Battle of Atlanta that led to General McPherson’s death. General James B. McPherson was the second-highest-ranking Union officer killed in action during the Civil War and because he was beloved by many officers on both sides, newspapers published these different accounts of General McPherson’s death. As a result of this, many Union and Confederate veterans wrote to each other regarding their recollections of the Battle. Belknap wrote to former Confederate General Marcus Joseph Wright in the hopes of receiving more information regarding his account of McPherson’s death. Although at this point, Belknap was discredited politically, he still kept in touch with other veterans, including Wright, former Confederate General Daniel Govan, and attended Civil War societies (Society of the Army of the Tennessee, 1885) and reunions honoring and erecting monuments for McPherson into the 1880s before his death in 1890.
Location:
Keokuk, Iowa
Transcription:
Keokuk, Iowa
Sept. 1. 1878
Genl. M. J. Wright
My dear sir:
I am greatly obliged for Jones of the 28th giving one Gen’l. Govan’s address. I have written to him to-day.-
Any information concerning gen’l. McPherson’s death which you may have which has not already been published, I would, for special reasons, much like to learn, and hence if you find any new facts I would be glad to hear of them.
Yours truly &c
Wm. W. Belknap
Creator
- Belknap, William Worth, 1829-1890 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu