Andrew Gregg Curtin
Encyclopedia
Andrew Gregg Curtin was a U.S.
lawyer
and politician
. He served as the Governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War
.
. His parents were Roland Curtin, Sr., a wealthy Irish-born iron manufacturer from County Clare
, and Jane (Gregg) Curtin, the daughter of U.S. Senator
Andrew Gregg. His father, with Miles Boggs, established the Eagle Ironworks at Curtin Village
in 1810. He attended Bellefonte Academy
and Dickinson College
and the Dickinson School of Law
and was employed as a lawyer. His first public office was as Secretary of the Commonwealth. In 1855, Governor
James Pollock
appointed him as Superintendent of Public Schools. He switched political allegiance from the Whigs
to the new Republican
political party in 1860, with his successful run for governor. He served in that office from 1861 until 1867.
During the Civil War, Curtin organized the Pennsylvania reserves into combat units, and oversaw the construction of the first Union
military camp for training militia
. It opened in an agricultural school nearby Harrisburg
as Camp Curtin
on April 18, 1861, and more than 300 000 men were drilled there during 4 years. In the years that followed, Curtin became a close friend and confidant of Abraham Lincoln
, visiting the White House several times in order to converse about the status of the war effort.
Curtin was very active during the Gettysburg Campaign
, working with Major General
Darius N. Couch
and Major
Granville O. Haller
to delay Robert E. Lee
's Army of Northern Virginia
and prevent it from crossing the Susquehanna River
. Major General George G. Meade, a Pennsylvania officer whom Curtin had recommended for brigadier general
and command of one of the Pennsylvania reserve brigades in 1861, defeated Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg
.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, Governor Curtin was the principal force behind the establishment of the National Cemetery there. Through his agent, David Wills, Curtin procured the attendance of President Abraham Lincoln
at the dedication of the cemetery. Governor Curtin was sitting with Lincoln on the platform on November 19, 1863, when Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address
.
In his first term, Governor Curtin suffered a severe breakdown from the stresses of war. Secretary of State Eli Slifer handled governmental affairs during the increasingly frequent periods when Curtin was incapacitated. President Lincoln offered the governor a diplomatic position abroad, but he chose to run for reelection in 1863.
To coordinate Union war efforts, Curtin convened the Loyal War Governors' Conference
on September 24 and September 25, 1862, in Altoona
. This event was one of his most significant contributions to the Union war effort. He formed the Pennsylvania State Agency in Washington, and another branch in Nashville, Tennessee
, to provide support for wounded soldiers on the battlefield and returned home. He also founded the state-funded Orphan's School to aid and educate children of military men who had died for the Union cause.
Soon after ending his second term, Curtin switched to the Democratic political party
, and was appointed Ambassador
to Russia
by President
Ulysses S. Grant
. He later served as a Democratic Congressman from 1881 until 1887 in the United States House of Representatives
. He died at his birthplace of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and is buried there in Union Cemetery
.
Curtin's family was prominent in Pennsylvania politics and in the Civil War. He was the grandson of Andrew Gregg, also a prominent Pennsylvania politician. He was the uncle of John I. Gregg
and cousin of David McMurtrie Gregg
, both Union
generals in the Civil War. He also was a cousin of Col. John I. Curtin
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He served as the Governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Biography
Curtin was born in Bellefonte, PennsylvaniaBellefonte, Pennsylvania
Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. His parents were Roland Curtin, Sr., a wealthy Irish-born iron manufacturer from County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, and Jane (Gregg) Curtin, the daughter of U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Andrew Gregg. His father, with Miles Boggs, established the Eagle Ironworks at Curtin Village
Curtin Village
Curtin Village, also known as Eagle Ironworks, is a national historic district located at Boggs Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 18 contributing buildings and 3 contributing structures in Curtin...
in 1810. He attended Bellefonte Academy
Bellefonte Academy
Bellefonte Academy was a historic school building located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The original building was built in 1805, as a two-story, rectangular limestone building. It was enlarged between 1839 and 1845, with the addition of two bays and wings to the north and south...
and Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
and the Dickinson School of Law
Dickinson School of Law
Penn State University Dickinson School of Law is the law school of The Pennsylvania State University...
and was employed as a lawyer. His first public office was as Secretary of the Commonwealth. In 1855, Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
James Pollock
James Pollock
James Pollock was the 13th Governor of the State of Pennsylvania from 1855 to 1858.- Political career :James Pollock graduated from the College of New Jersey at Princeton before setting up a law practice in his home community, in Milton, Pennsylvania...
appointed him as Superintendent of Public Schools. He switched political allegiance from the Whigs
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
to the new Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
political party in 1860, with his successful run for governor. He served in that office from 1861 until 1867.
During the Civil War, Curtin organized the Pennsylvania reserves into combat units, and oversaw the construction of the first Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
military camp for training militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. It opened in an agricultural school nearby Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
as Camp Curtin
Camp Curtin
Camp Curtin was a military training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.When news of the bombardment and subsequent surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina reached Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers...
on April 18, 1861, and more than 300 000 men were drilled there during 4 years. In the years that followed, Curtin became a close friend and confidant of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, visiting the White House several times in order to converse about the status of the war effort.
Curtin was very active during the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
, working with Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Darius N. Couch
Darius N. Couch
Darius Nash Couch was an American soldier, businessman, and naturalist. He served as a career U.S. Army officer during the Mexican-American War, the Second Seminole War, and as a general officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.During the Civil War, Couch fought notably in the...
and Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Granville O. Haller
Granville O. Haller
Granville Owen Haller was a noted Indian fighter and United States Army military officer, as well as a wealthy postbellum businessman in the Seattle, Washington, area...
to delay Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
and prevent it from crossing the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
. Major General George G. Meade, a Pennsylvania officer whom Curtin had recommended for brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
and command of one of the Pennsylvania reserve brigades in 1861, defeated Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, Governor Curtin was the principal force behind the establishment of the National Cemetery there. Through his agent, David Wills, Curtin procured the attendance of President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
at the dedication of the cemetery. Governor Curtin was sitting with Lincoln on the platform on November 19, 1863, when Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
.
In his first term, Governor Curtin suffered a severe breakdown from the stresses of war. Secretary of State Eli Slifer handled governmental affairs during the increasingly frequent periods when Curtin was incapacitated. President Lincoln offered the governor a diplomatic position abroad, but he chose to run for reelection in 1863.
To coordinate Union war efforts, Curtin convened the Loyal War Governors' Conference
War Governors' Conference
The Loyal War Governors' Conference was an important political event of the American Civil War. It was held at the Logan House Hotel in Altoona, Pennsylvania on September 24 and 25, 1862. Thirteen governors of Union states came together to discuss the war effort, state troop quotas, and the...
on September 24 and September 25, 1862, in Altoona
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
. This event was one of his most significant contributions to the Union war effort. He formed the Pennsylvania State Agency in Washington, and another branch in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, to provide support for wounded soldiers on the battlefield and returned home. He also founded the state-funded Orphan's School to aid and educate children of military men who had died for the Union cause.
Soon after ending his second term, Curtin switched to the Democratic political party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and was appointed Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. He later served as a Democratic Congressman from 1881 until 1887 in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He died at his birthplace of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and is buried there in Union Cemetery
Union Cemetery (Bellefonte, Pennsylvania)
Union Cemetery located on East Howard Street in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania was established in 1795. Burials occurred as early as 1808, and the cemetery itself was chartered in 1856. It is the final resting place of Bellefonte's founding families, Pennsylvania Governors and their wives, U.S...
.
Curtin's family was prominent in Pennsylvania politics and in the Civil War. He was the grandson of Andrew Gregg, also a prominent Pennsylvania politician. He was the uncle of John I. Gregg
John Irvin Gregg
John Irvin Gregg was a career U.S. Army officer. He fought in the Mexican-American War and during the American Civil War as a general officer in the Union army.-Early life and career:...
and cousin of David McMurtrie Gregg
David McMurtrie Gregg
David McMurtrie Gregg was a farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
, both Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
generals in the Civil War. He also was a cousin of Col. John I. Curtin
John I. Curtin
John Irvin Curtin was a cousin of Pennsylvania governor Andrew Gregg Curtin. He led a regiment and then a brigade in the American Civil War.-Early life:Curtin was born at Eagle Forge, Pennsylvania...
.