Robert Cumming Schenck (1809-1890)

Robert Cumming Schenck (October 4, 1809–March 23, 1890) was a Union general in the American Civil War. He was at both battles of Bull Run and took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, the Battle of Cross Keys. His eldest brother, James Findlay Schenck, was rear admiral of the United States Navy. October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in Leap years). ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Union has several meanings. ... General is a high military rank, used by nearly every country in the world. ... The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought in North America within the United States of America, between twenty-four mostly northern states of the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern states that declared their independence and claimed the right of secession from the... Two conflicts during the American Civil War were known as Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Manassas: First Battle of Bull Run Second Battle of Bull Run This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Stonewall Jackson The Valley Campaign was Confederate General Thomas J. Stonewall Jacksons brilliant spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, during the American Civil War. ... Battle of Cross Keys Conflict American Civil War Date June 8, 1862 Place Rockingham County, Virginia Result Confederate victory The Battle of Cross Keys took place on June 8, 1862 in Rockingham County, Virginia as part of Confederate Army General Thomas J. Jacksons Campaign through Shenandoah Valley, Virginia during... The term Rear Admiral originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons, and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

Early life and career

Robert C. Schenck was born in Franklin, Warren County, Ohio to William Cortenius Schenck (1773-1821) and Elizabeth Rogers (1776-1853). His father was descended from a prominent Dutch family and was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey. He was a land speculator and an important early settler of Ohio who had also been in the War of 1812 and, like his son, rose to the rank of general. He died when Robert was only twelve and the boy was put under the guardianship of General James Findlay. In 1824, Robert entered Miami University as a sophomore and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree with honors in 1827, but remained in Oxford, Ohio, employing his time in reading, and as tutor of French and Latin, until 1830, when he received the degree of master of arts. He began to study law under Thomas Corwin and was admitted to the bar in 1831. He removed to Dayton, Ohio and there rose to a commanding position in his profession. Franklin is a city located in Warren County, Ohio. ... Location in the state of Ohio Formed May 1, 1803 Seat Lebanon Area  - Total  - Water 1,054 km² (407 mi²) 19 km² (8 mi²) 1. ... Location in the state of New Jersey Formed 1675 Seat Freehold Borough Area  - Total  - Water 1,723 km² (665 mi²) 500 km² (193 mi²) 29. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Official languages None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Governor Bob Taft (R) Senators Mike DeWine (R) George V. Voinovich (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 34th 116,096 km² 8. ... This page refers to the war between the United States of America and Great Britain. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Miami University, founded in 1809, is the second oldest college west of the Allegheny Mountains after Ohio University. ... 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... // English Secondary Schools In English Secondary Schools the Form Tutor is similar to an American Home Room Teacher. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... Thomas Corwin Thomas Corwin (also known as Tom Corwin and The Wagon Boy) (July 29, 1794 - December 18, 1865) was a member of the United States House of Representatives (elected as a Whig to the 22nd Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1831, until... 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Image:Dayton. ...

On August 21, 1834, Schenck was married to Miss Rennelche Smith (?-1849) at Missequoque, Long Island, New York. Six children were born to the union, all girls. Three of them died in infancy. Three daughters survived him. His wife died of tuberculosis in 1849 in Dayton. August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

His first foray into political life came in 1838 when he ran unsuccessfully for the State Legislature; he gained a term in 1841. In the Presidential campaign of 1840, he acquired the reputation of being one of the ablest speakers on the Whig side. He was elected to Congress from his district in 1843, and re-elected in 1845, 1847 (when he was chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals) and 1849. His first conspicuous work was to help repeal the gag rule that had long been used to prevent antislavery petitions being read on the floor of the house. He opposed the Mexican War as a war of aggression to further slavery. 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... While the Whigs (along with the Tories) are often described as one of the two political parties in late 17th to mid 19th century Great Britain, it is more accurate to describe them as loose political groupings or tendencies. ... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Mexican-American War was a war fought between the United States and Mexico between 1846 and 1848. ...

He declined re-election in 1851, and in March 1851 was appointed by President Millard Fillmore, Minister to Brazil and also accredited to Uruguay, Argentine Confederation, and Paraguay. He was directed by the Government to visit Buenos Ayres, Montevideo, and Asuncion, and make treaties with the republics around the La Plata and its tributaries. Several treaties were concluded with these governments by which the United States gained advantages never accorded to any European nation. The Democratic victory in 1852 caused the treaty of commerce with Uruguay to fail to be ratified by the United States Senate. 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the thirteenth President of the United States, serving from 1850 until 1853, and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the nations highest office. ... Argentina is a Spanish-speaking country in southern South America, situated between the Atlantic Ocean in the east. ... Buenos Aires (BWEH-naus EYE-ress, literally Good Winds in Spanish, but more akin to Fair Winds, as in navigation) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, as well as one of the largest in South America. ... Montevideo Independence Plaza Independence Plaza, c. ... Map of Paraguay Pante n de los H roes in Asunci n Asunci n, population 500,939 (1992), is the capital of Paraguay. ... La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ...

In 1854, Schenck returned to Ohio, and though sympathizing generally in the views of the Republican party, his personal antipathy to John C. Fremont was so strong, that he took no part in the election. He was building up a lucrative law practice, and was also President of the Fort Wayne Western Railroad Company. He became more in sympathy with the Republican party, and in September 1859, Schenck delivered a speech in Dayton regarding the growing animosity within the country. In this speech, Schenck recommended that the Republican Party nominate Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. This was, perhaps, the first public endorsement of Lincoln for the presidency. He supported Lincoln with great ardor at the Chicago Convention in 1860 and in the campaign that followed. 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Republican Party is a name used by many political parties. ... John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813-July 13, 1890), birth name John Charles Fremon [Harvey, p. ... 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Convention has at least two very distinct but related meanings. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...

Civil War

When the attack was made on Fort Sumter, Schenck promptly tendered his services to the President. He later recalled his meeting with Lincoln: Before the attack Map detailing the location of Fort Sumter 1861, inside the fort flying the Confederate Flag Fort Sumter under fire Fort Sumter, South Carolina, viewed from a sandbar in Charleston Harbor, 1865. ...

"Lincoln sent for me and asked, 'Schenck what can you do to help me?' I said, 'Anything you want me to do. I am anxious to help you.' He asked, 'Can you fight?' I answered, 'I would try.' Lincoln said, 'Well, I want to make a general out of you.' I replied, 'I don't know about that Mr. President, you could appoint me as general but I might not prove to be one.' Then he did so and I went to war."

Schenck was commissioned Brigadier-General of Volunteers. Many West Point graduates sneered at political generals. Schenck had not been a military man, but he had been a diligent student of military science. In his first engagement, a reconnaissance by railroad cars, his troops were fired upon and several wounded. General Schenck disembarked his soldiers and attacked the enemy. The engineer ran off with the train, and left his little handful of men at the mercy of four or five times their number. But the enemy believed these troops the advance-guard of a large force, and they ran, instead of capturing the Union troops. General Scott's subsequent investigation into what had become known as "the Vienna affair," found it highly creditable to General Schenck, except the railroad part, which was attributed to General Daniel Tyler (a West Point officer). Nevertheless, the affair was used to discredit Schenck.

General Schenck's next appearance was at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, where he commanded a brigade in Gen. Tyler's division, and when the order for retreat was given, Gen. Schenck, forming his brigade, brought off the only portion of that great army that was not resolved into the original elements of a mob. He was subsequently in command under William Rosecrans in West Virginia, and under Fremont in the Luray Valley. He took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, the Battle of Cross Keys and was, for a time, commander of the First Army Corps, in General Franz Sigel's absence. Ordered to join the Army of Virginia, then under General John Pope, fighting at heavy odds against Lee's large army, he joined it just before the second Bull Run battle, and was in the thick of the fighting of the two days that followed, being severely wounded on the second day, and his right arm permanently injured. He was promoted to major general September 18, 1862, to date from August 30, 1862. William Rosecrans William Starke Rosecrans (September 6, 1819 – March 11, 1898), nicknamed Old Rosy, was an inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and U.S. Army officer. ... Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German military officer and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union general in the American Civil War. ... The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. ... There have been at several notable men named John Pope: John Pope, (1770-1845), U.S. politician, Senator for Kentucky, Governor of Arkansas Territory John Pope, (1822-1892), U.S. Soldier, Union General in the Civil War John Pope, (born c. ... Robert Edward Lee, as a U.S. Army Colonel before the war Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a career army officer and the most successful general of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ...

He was unfit for field duty for six months, but was assigned to the command of the Middle Military Department, embracing the turbulent citizens of Maryland, repressing all turbulence and acts of disloyalty or any complicity with treason. General Schenck was not popular with the disloyal portion of the inhabitants of Maryland. In December 1863, he resigned his commission to take his seat in Congress. State nickname: Old Line State; Free State Official languages None Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Governor Robert L. Ehrlich (R) Senators Paul Sarbanes (D) Barbara Mikulski (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 42nd 32,160 km² 21 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 19th 5,296,486 165/km² Admission into Union... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... In law a commission is a patent which allows a person to take possession of a state office and carry out official acts and duties. ...

Postbellum activities

He had been elected by a large majority over Copperhead Democrat Clement Vallandigham, from the Third Congressional District (Dayton) of Ohio. He was at once made House Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. It was said that in military matters he was the firm friend of the volunteer, as against what he thought the encroachments and assumptions of the regulars; the remorseless enemy of deserters; a vigorous advocate of the draft, and the author of the disfranchisement of those who ran away from it; the champion of the private soldiers and subordinate officers. He was re-elected to the Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, Fortieth and Forty-First Congresses, and from his position was a leader of the House, including service as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. In biology, a copperhead is any of four species of venomous snake: the American copperhead of eastern North America, and three species of Australian copperhead. ... Clement Vallandigham Clement Laird Vallandigham (velan´digham, -gam) (July 29, 1820 - June 17, 1871), Ohio politician, a key leader of the Copperheads in the American Civil War, was born in New Lisbon (now Lisbon), Ohio. ... A Congressional committee in the parlance of the United States Congress and politics of the United States is a legislative sub-organization that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress, making necessary and proper laws). ... This group of political volunteers is working to promote voter turn-out. ... Desertion is the act of abandoning or withdrawing support from someone or something to which you owe allegiance, responsibility or loyalty. ... The word draft (also draught) has multiple meanings: The draft is a synonym for conscription or peacetime national service. ...

Failing re-election by just fifty-three votes in 1870, Schenck was appointed by President Ulysses Grant as Minister to the United Kingdom, and he sailed for England in July 1871. As a member on the Alabama Claims Commission, he took part in settling the claims arising from the exploits of Raphael Semmes and his Confederate raider. Ulysses Simpson Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American Civil War General and the 18th (1869–1877) President of the United States. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... During the American Civil War, Confederate States of America raiders (the most famous being the CSS Alabama) were built in Britain and did significant damage to Union naval forces. ... Raphael Semmes (September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1860 and the Confederate States Navy from 1860 to 1865. ... For other meanings of confederate and confederacy, see confederacy (disambiguation) National Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God our Vindicator) Official language English de facto nationwide Various European and Native American languages regionally Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865 Largest...

At a royal party in Somerset, Ambassador Schenck was attending a reception hosted by Queen Victoria, when he was persuaded to write down his rules for poker by a duchess. She privately printed the rules for her court. Although several American books had previously discussed the game, this was the first book to deal solely with draw poker published on either side of the Atlantic. The game quickly became popular in England, where it was universally known as "Schenck's poker." Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ... Wikibooks Poker has more about this subject: Poker Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the remaining player or players with the... The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Spain and France (in Italy, principe...

In 1876 Schenk gave permission for the use of his name in the sale of stock in England for a Utah mine of which he was a director. Seeing the American minister's name connected with it, the British people invested heavily. For several years the stock paid no dividends and was assumed worthless. Schenck was blamed and was ordered home for investigation. He resigned his post in the spring of 1875. A congressional investigation concluded that he was not guilty of wrong-doing but that he had shown very bad judgment in lending his name and office to promote any such scheme. Ironically, after the General had disposed of his mining stock, the mine produced heavily for many years. Utah is one of the Four Corners states, and is bordered by: Idaho (at 42°N) and Wyoming (at 41°N and 111°W) in the north, by Colorado (at 109°W) in the east, at a single point by New Mexico to the southeast (at the Four Corners Monument...

Upon his return from England later that year, he resumed his law practice in Washington, D.C. He also published a book on draw poker, Draw. Rules for Playing Poker (Brooklyn: Privately printed, 1880. 16mo, 17 pages)

He died in Washington, D.C. in 1890 and was interred in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio. Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. ... Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio, is one of the nations oldest garden cemeteries. ...

General Schenck was an accomplished scholar, thoroughly informed on international and constitutional law, well versed in political history, and familiar with the whole range of modern literature, English, French and Spanish.

Sources

• Brockett, L. P. , M. D. Men of Our Day; or Biographical Sketches of Patriots, Orators, Statesmen, Generals, Reformers, Financiers and Merchants, Now on the state of Action: Including Those Who in Military, Political, Business and Social Life, are the Prominent Leaders of the Time in This Country. Philadelphia: Ziegler and McCurdy; 1872.
• Conover, Frank, ed. Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio. A. W. BOWEN & CO., 1897.
• Joyner, Fred B. Robert Cumming Schenck, First Citizen And Statesman Of The Miami Valley. Ohio History, The Scholarly Journal of the Ohio Historical Society, Volume 58, Number 3, July 1949, pp. 245-359.
• Warner, Ezra. Generals In Blue, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964.
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present.
• "Robert Cumming Schenck," Ohio Historical Society, 2005. Ohio History Central: An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History.