Henry M. Duffield
Encyclopedia
Henry Martyn Duffield Colonel in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
; lawyer; candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 1st District, 1876; Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish-American War
; Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1904. Member, Grand Army of the Republic
.
and Isabella Graham (Bethune) Duffield. His father was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Detroit. He married in 1863 to Frances Pitt. He was educated in the public schools of Detroit, graduating from the Old Capitol School in 1856. He spent one year in Michigan University before he transferred and graduated from Williams College
, Mass. in 1861. He was the brother of General William Ward Duffield
. His paternal great grandfather, Rev. George Duffield, was, on the 6th of July, 1776, appointed by Governor Morton, Chaplain to the Pennsylvania forces in the Revolutionary Army. On the Sunday following he dismissed his congregation with these words: "I hope the women will worship here in silence on the next Sabbath, and the men will be with me in Washington's Army." He was called "the fighting parson," and a price of fifty pounds sterling was put upon his head. He was subsequently associated with Bishop White as joint chaplain of the Continental Congress.
. He was made First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the regiment October 12 of the same year. He participated in the engagement with the Rebel forces under General N. B. Forrest
at Murfreesboro, Tenn., in July, 1862. In this engagement his brother, General W. W. Duffield
, then Colonel of the regiment, was twice wounded. The fighting was so severe that the wounded could not be removed from the field, and after the engagement Adj. Duffield, together with his wounded brother, was captured, but was exchanged two months later.
In the spring of 1862 he was detailed Assistant Adjutant General of the Twenty-third Brigade, Army of the Cumberland
. In the campaign from Nashville to Chattanooga, 1863, he was attached to the headquarters of General George H. Thomas,and given command of the mounted Provost
Guard of the Eleventh Army Corps, the members of which he was allowed to select, and took an active part in all the important battles of that campaign, including Stone River
and Chickamauga
, where he was wounded. During the Siege of Chattanooga, October 23, 1863, by the Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg
, he was promoted Post Adjutant.
In this office, by order of Major General Thomas, he issued the orders for the establishment of Chattanooga United States cemetery
, giving particular attention and direction to its purpose, and to the plan for carrying out that purpose. The plan was subsequently adopted by General Thomas, and from it grew the system of National cemeteries which are enduring evidences of the devotion to their country of the brave soldiers, and of the gratitude of their fellow countrymen. When Major General Thomas was assigned to the command of the Department of the Cumberland, Colonel Duffield was appointed on his staff as Assistant Provost Marshal General of the department, in which capacity he served for the remainder of the war.
During the memorable campaign
of Gen. Thomas from Chattanooga to Atlanta, Colonel Duffield was acting Provost Marshal General of the Army of the Cumberland, participating in all the hard fought battles of this gallant Union commander, among them being Resaca
, Missionary Ridge
, Peach Tree Creek
and Jonesboro
. This campaign terminated at Atlanta, where, on October 14, 1864, he was mustered out by reason of expiration of service.
Commencing with 1881 Colonel Duffield served two terms as City Counselor, and represented the municipality in all its litigation during that period. Both in his official capacity, and in private practice, he has had very many important cases, including, in the latter, the famous Reeder farm escheat cases, and the Stroh-WinsorHudson crooked paper case, in which he defeated the holders of the paper. He argued the case against the validity of the Miner Electoral Law, both in the State and United States Supreme Courts, and was also engaged in the Detroit Street Railway cases in the higher United States Courts. With the exception of the time spent in service during the Spanish American War, General Duffield has continued in practice, in which he has been very successful. He has a keen appreciation of the underlying principles of the law, goes into court with his cases well prepared, and is convincing in argument.
Duffield has a taste for politics in which he has been active, and is always on the Republican side. He has been a conspicuous figure in many of the City and County Conventions, and for a period of about fifteen years attended every State Convention. He was Permanent Chairman of the spring State Convention in 1877 and of the fall Convention at Jackson in 1880. In 1888 he was Chairman of the State Central Committee and was delegate both to the State and National Conventions. He was also Chairman of Michigan's delegation in the Minneapolis Convention in 1892, when he cast the vote of nineteen of the delegates for William McKinley. Though a delegate only twice he has attended every National Convention since 1871. He was candidate for Congress in the First District in that year, but ihat was not a good year nor a good district for Republican candidates, and he was
defeated, though running ahead of the party Electoral ticket. He has since been importuned to take the nomination for Mayor and other important offices, but has steadily refused.
, Colonel Duffield never lost his military tastes nor associations. He was on the staffs successively of Governors Bagley, Croswell, Jerome and Alger, and kept up a lively interest in the Detroit Light Guard with which he had long been connected. When the call came for volunteers in the war against Spain, although the general officers were taken mostly from the Regular Army, it was determined to select some from among the men who had already seen service in the volunteer army, account being taken of their age, condition of health and record in the Civil War.
It was in carrying out this purpose that a commission as Brigadier General was offered to Colonel Duffield, and accepted, dating from May 27, 1898. On June 14, he assumed command of a separate Brigade of the Second Army Corps
, composed of the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Michigan and Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers. It was the desire of the Government to reinforce General Shafter
's army which had just landed in Cuba, but only one vessel, the transport Yale, was then available, and that could carry only one brigade. There were two brigades in Camp Alger
, and it was determined to take the one which should first report in readiness to move. General Duffield's brigade was then on a practice march to the Potomac, but it returned to camp, won in the test and was forthwith dispatched to Santiago.
In the Battle of July 1, General Duffield was assigned to the duty of making a demonstration on the extreme left, at Aguadores, without any means of crossing the stream, and thus coming into the general engagement. The task was performed in a manner of which General Shaffer afterwards said, in an interview in Detroit: "As for General Duffield, of your City, he is a soldier, every inch of him. He had a thankless job at the Battle of Aguadores
, but he acquitted himself nobly."
A few days afterwards at Siboney, Major General Young
was taken ill, and the command of the Division was turned over to General Duffield, but he was himself attacked with yellow fever
, went into hospital, and later in the month was sent north as a convalescent. He joined his family and spent several weeks with them on the coast of Maine, regaining his health. His last act in connection with the war was as one of the speakers at the Peace Jubilee in Chicago, October 18, 1898.
; the University Club of New York; the Army and Navy Club of Washington; the Society of the Army of the Cumberland; the Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba
; the Society of the Spanish-American War; the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
; Detroit Post, Grand Army of the Republic
; Sons of the American Revolution
; the Yondotega, Detroit and Country Clubs of Detroit; the Chi Psi
College Fraternity, and of the Michigan Club. Of the latter he has been President and is now a Director.
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...
during the American 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...
; lawyer; candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 1st District, 1876; Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
; Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1904. Member, Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
.
Early life and family
Born in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan Son of Rev. George DuffieldGeorge Duffield (Presbyterian)
George Duffield was a leading nineteenth-century New School Presbyterian minister who bore the same name as his father and grandfather...
and Isabella Graham (Bethune) Duffield. His father was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Detroit. He married in 1863 to Frances Pitt. He was educated in the public schools of Detroit, graduating from the Old Capitol School in 1856. He spent one year in Michigan University before he transferred and graduated from Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, Mass. in 1861. He was the brother of General William Ward Duffield
William Ward Duffield
William Ward Duffield was an executive in the coal industry, a railroad construction engineer, and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war he was appointed Superintendent of the U.S...
. His paternal great grandfather, Rev. George Duffield, was, on the 6th of July, 1776, appointed by Governor Morton, Chaplain to the Pennsylvania forces in the Revolutionary Army. On the Sunday following he dismissed his congregation with these words: "I hope the women will worship here in silence on the next Sabbath, and the men will be with me in Washington's Army." He was called "the fighting parson," and a price of fifty pounds sterling was put upon his head. He was subsequently associated with Bishop White as joint chaplain of the Continental Congress.
Civil War
Duffield enlisted in August, 1861, as a private in the Ninth Regiment, Michigan Volunteers9th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 9th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The Ninth Michigan Infantry organized at Fort Wayne , near Detroit, Michigan, from independent companies recruited throughout the state, and mustered into...
. He was made First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the regiment October 12 of the same year. He participated in the engagement with the Rebel forces under General N. B. Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
at Murfreesboro, Tenn., in July, 1862. In this engagement his brother, General W. W. Duffield
William Ward Duffield
William Ward Duffield was an executive in the coal industry, a railroad construction engineer, and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war he was appointed Superintendent of the U.S...
, then Colonel of the regiment, was twice wounded. The fighting was so severe that the wounded could not be removed from the field, and after the engagement Adj. Duffield, together with his wounded brother, was captured, but was exchanged two months later.
In the spring of 1862 he was detailed Assistant Adjutant General of the Twenty-third Brigade, Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Cumberland
The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...
. In the campaign from Nashville to Chattanooga, 1863, he was attached to the headquarters of General George H. Thomas,and given command of the mounted Provost
Provost (military police)
Provosts are military police whose duties are policing solely within the Armed Forces, as opposed to Gendarmerie duties in the civilian population. However, many countries use their gendarmerie for provost duties....
Guard of the Eleventh Army Corps, the members of which he was allowed to select, and took an active part in all the important battles of that campaign, including Stone River
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War...
and Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
, where he was wounded. During the Siege of Chattanooga, October 23, 1863, by the Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
, he was promoted Post Adjutant.
In this office, by order of Major General Thomas, he issued the orders for the establishment of Chattanooga United States cemetery
Chattanooga National Cemetery
Chattanooga National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located near the center of the city of Chattanooga in Hamilton County, Tennessee...
, giving particular attention and direction to its purpose, and to the plan for carrying out that purpose. The plan was subsequently adopted by General Thomas, and from it grew the system of National cemeteries which are enduring evidences of the devotion to their country of the brave soldiers, and of the gratitude of their fellow countrymen. When Major General Thomas was assigned to the command of the Department of the Cumberland, Colonel Duffield was appointed on his staff as Assistant Provost Marshal General of the department, in which capacity he served for the remainder of the war.
During the memorable campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
of Gen. Thomas from Chattanooga to Atlanta, Colonel Duffield was acting Provost Marshal General of the Army of the Cumberland, participating in all the hard fought battles of this gallant Union commander, among them being Resaca
Battle of Resaca
The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was waged in both Gordon and Whitfield counties, Georgia, from May 13 - 15, 1864. It ended inconclusively with the Confederate Army retreating. The engagement was fought between the Military Division of the...
, Missionary Ridge
Battle of Missionary Ridge
The Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Missionary Ridge and defeated the...
, Peach Tree Creek
Battle of Peachtree Creek
The Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought in Georgia on July 20, 1864, as part of the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War. It was the first major attack by Lt. Gen. John B. Hood since taking command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The attack was against Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's...
and Jonesboro
Battle of Jonesborough
-Further reading:...
. This campaign terminated at Atlanta, where, on October 14, 1864, he was mustered out by reason of expiration of service.
Postbellum career
On returning from the army Colonel Duffield began the study of law, and in April, 1865. he was admitted to the bar, and formed a partnership with his brother, D. Bethune Duffield, which continued until 1876. He was attorney for the Board of Education from 1867 to 1871. While in this position he carried to a successful termination suits brought to recover from the County Treasurer, moneys received from fines in the municipal courts. Under provision of the State Constitution these funds were required to be applied to the support of a public library, but had been diverted to the payment of expenses of the courts and to other uses. Their recovery to the Board laid the foundation for the present magnificent public library system of Detroit.Commencing with 1881 Colonel Duffield served two terms as City Counselor, and represented the municipality in all its litigation during that period. Both in his official capacity, and in private practice, he has had very many important cases, including, in the latter, the famous Reeder farm escheat cases, and the Stroh-WinsorHudson crooked paper case, in which he defeated the holders of the paper. He argued the case against the validity of the Miner Electoral Law, both in the State and United States Supreme Courts, and was also engaged in the Detroit Street Railway cases in the higher United States Courts. With the exception of the time spent in service during the Spanish American War, General Duffield has continued in practice, in which he has been very successful. He has a keen appreciation of the underlying principles of the law, goes into court with his cases well prepared, and is convincing in argument.
Duffield has a taste for politics in which he has been active, and is always on the Republican side. He has been a conspicuous figure in many of the City and County Conventions, and for a period of about fifteen years attended every State Convention. He was Permanent Chairman of the spring State Convention in 1877 and of the fall Convention at Jackson in 1880. In 1888 he was Chairman of the State Central Committee and was delegate both to the State and National Conventions. He was also Chairman of Michigan's delegation in the Minneapolis Convention in 1892, when he cast the vote of nineteen of the delegates for William McKinley. Though a delegate only twice he has attended every National Convention since 1871. He was candidate for Congress in the First District in that year, but ihat was not a good year nor a good district for Republican candidates, and he was
defeated, though running ahead of the party Electoral ticket. He has since been importuned to take the nomination for Mayor and other important offices, but has steadily refused.
War with Spain
During the long interval of peace between the close of the War of the Rebellion and the opening of the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, Colonel Duffield never lost his military tastes nor associations. He was on the staffs successively of Governors Bagley, Croswell, Jerome and Alger, and kept up a lively interest in the Detroit Light Guard with which he had long been connected. When the call came for volunteers in the war against Spain, although the general officers were taken mostly from the Regular Army, it was determined to select some from among the men who had already seen service in the volunteer army, account being taken of their age, condition of health and record in the Civil War.
It was in carrying out this purpose that a commission as Brigadier General was offered to Colonel Duffield, and accepted, dating from May 27, 1898. On June 14, he assumed command of a separate Brigade of the Second Army Corps
Second Army Corps
The Second Army Corps was a unit of the United States Army raised for the Spanish American War.A defining event of the Spanish American War was the typhoid fever epidemic of July to November 1898. The Army consequently undertook a series of mass-retreats and attempted evasions...
, composed of the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Michigan and Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers. It was the desire of the Government to reinforce General Shafter
William Rufus Shafter
William Rufus Shafter was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Fair Oaks. Shafter also played a prominent part as a major general in the Spanish-American War...
's army which had just landed in Cuba, but only one vessel, the transport Yale, was then available, and that could carry only one brigade. There were two brigades in Camp Alger
Camp Alger
Camp Alger, near Falls Church, Virginia, was established May 18, 1898, for the Spanish American War effort. It was approved by Secretary of War Russell A. Alger for whom it was named.-Location:...
, and it was determined to take the one which should first report in readiness to move. General Duffield's brigade was then on a practice march to the Potomac, but it returned to camp, won in the test and was forthwith dispatched to Santiago.
In the Battle of July 1, General Duffield was assigned to the duty of making a demonstration on the extreme left, at Aguadores, without any means of crossing the stream, and thus coming into the general engagement. The task was performed in a manner of which General Shaffer afterwards said, in an interview in Detroit: "As for General Duffield, of your City, he is a soldier, every inch of him. He had a thankless job at the Battle of Aguadores
Battle of the Aguadores
The Battle of the Aguadores was a sharp skirmish on the banks of the Aguadores River near Santiago de Cuba, on 1 July 1898, at the height of the Spanish-American War...
, but he acquitted himself nobly."
A few days afterwards at Siboney, Major General Young
Samuel Baldwin Marks Young
Samuel Baldwin Marks Young was a United States Army general. He also served as the first president of Army War College between 1902 and 1903. He then served from 1903 until 1904 as the first Chief of Staff of the United States Army.-Biography:Young was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to John...
was taken ill, and the command of the Division was turned over to General Duffield, but he was himself attacked with yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
, went into hospital, and later in the month was sent north as a convalescent. He joined his family and spent several weeks with them on the coast of Maine, regaining his health. His last act in connection with the war was as one of the speakers at the Peace Jubilee in Chicago, October 18, 1898.
Organizations
General Duffield has associations with a number of the best political, military and social organizations. He is a member of The Union League Club of New YorkUnion League Club of New York
The Union League Club of New York is a private social club in New York City. Its fourth and current clubhouse, which opened on February 2, 1931, is a building designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris, III, located at 38 East 37th Street between Madison and Park Avenue in the Murray Hill section of...
; the University Club of New York; the Army and Navy Club of Washington; the Society of the Army of the Cumberland; the Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba
Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba
Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba the purpose of which was to record the history and conserve the memory of the events of the campaign which resulted in the surrender, on July 17, 1898, of the Spanish army, the city of Santiago de Cuba, and the military province to which it pertained during...
; the Society of the Spanish-American War; the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, also known by its acronym MOLLUS or simply as the Loyal Legion, is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by officers of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States who "had aided in maintaining the honor,...
; Detroit Post, Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
; Sons of the American Revolution
Sons of the American Revolution
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a Louisville, Kentucky-based fraternal organization in the United States...
; the Yondotega, Detroit and Country Clubs of Detroit; the Chi Psi
Chi Psi
Chi Psi Fraternity is a fraternity and secret society consisting of 29 active chapters at American colleges and universities. It was founded on Thursday May 20, 1841, by 10 students at Union College with the idea of emphasizing the fraternal and social principles of a brotherhood...
College Fraternity, and of the Michigan Club. Of the latter he has been President and is now a Director.