Randolph B. Marcy
Encyclopedia
Randolph Barnes Marcy was a career officer in the United States Army
, achieving the rank of Brigadier General
before retiring in 1881. Although beginning in 1861 his responsibilities were those of a brigadier general, the U.S. Senate failed to confirm President Lincoln's September 28, 1861 appointment of Marcy as a brigadier general and it expired by law on March 4, 1863. The U.S. Senate finally confirmed Marcy's appointment as a brigadier general when he was also appointed inspector general of the U.S. Army on December 12, 1878. Marcy was awarded the honorary grade of brevet major general to rank from March 13, 1865 by nomination by President Johnson on December 3, 1867 and confirmation on February 14, 1868.
In 1852 Capt. Marcy was in charge of the expedition that first reached the headwaters of both forks of the Red River, which official parties had tried to find since 1806. He was assisted by Brevet Capt. George B. McClellan
, later to achieve notability as a general in the American Civil War
.
Marcy’s 1859 book, The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions, with Maps, Illustrations, and Itineraries of the Principal Routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific, written at the direction of the Department of State and published by the U.S. government, has been called one of the most important works in making possible the great Western overland migration
of United States settlers in the last half of the 19th century.
, Massachusetts
, in April 1812. After attending local public schools, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1832. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 5th U. S. Infantry.
He married soon after receiving his commission. Marcy and his wife had several children.
Marcy first saw combat while serving with the 5th in the Black Hawk War
in Illinois and Wisconsin.
In 1846, he was promoted to Captain and fought with the 5th in the Mexican War
at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Next Marcy was assigned to duty in Texas and Oklahoma, where he escorted emigrants, located military posts, explored the wilderness, and mapped routes. During this time, he met George B. McClellan
, who later married one of his daughters.
In 1857, Marcy accompanied Brigadier General Albert Sidney Johnston
on the expedition against the Mormons
in Utah. It was during this period that Capt. Marcy led his men safely from Utah to New Mexico on a forced march through the Rocky Mountains
in the dead of winter. His troops ran out of provisions the last two weeks of their journey, in extremely harsh weather, but Marcy avoided loss of life, an extraordinary accomplishment which he partially recounted in The Prairie Traveler.
Marcy was promoted to acting Inspector General of the Army's Department of Utah. His achievements and well-written military reports had attracted attention in Washington, and he was recalled to work for the Department of State (which at this time had responsibilities much beyond the conduct of foreign affairs). He prepared a guidebook on Western travel. Thousands of emigrants were heading west. As many were poorly informed about conditions and ill-prepared for the journey, alarming numbers were reported to be dying along the way.
Marcy’s Prairie Traveler quickly became an indispensable guide to thousands of American overlanders in their arduous treks to California, Oregon, Utah, and other western destinations. It was a best-selling book for the remainder of the century. Andrew J. Birtle, author of U.S. Army Counterinsurgency and Contingency Operations Doctrine 1860-1941, has described The Prairie Traveler as “perhaps the single most important work on the conduct of frontier expeditions published under the aegis of the War Department.”
Marcy provided the overland pioneer
with advice on packing, choosing the best routes to California, wagon maintenance, and the selection and care of horses, which had life-or-death consequences. His advice covered food supplies, packing, and traveling: including the fording of rivers, tracking, and bivouacking on the Great Plains
, finding and treating water, building a fire, and avoiding quicksand
. His first-aid procedures included treating snakebites, and common injuries and risks to travelers. He also provided material "concerning the habits of Indians," including Native American tracking and hunting techniques, smoke signals and sign language, and battle tactics.
Marcy said in the Preface that his goal was to help readers escape unforeseen disasters and maintain relative comfort during the journey. He added the pilgrim "will feel himself a master spirit in the wilderness he traverses, and not the victim of every new combination of circumstances which nature affords or fate allots, as if to try his skill and prowess." The book was essential to the westward traveler, and no doubt saved many lives with its practical and experienced advice.
Reflecting his wide reading and skills in observation, Marcy added references and quotes from Turkish and French accounts of colonizing North Africa and the great Sahara, as well as his personal experiences in the American West. He described the portable Indian lodges, advice from French and British medical journals, Norwegian saddling techniques, Mexican pack practices, African methods for carrying rifles while riding, and so on. The details he provided were what he considered imperative for survival out West.
After completing The Prairie Traveler, Marcy was promoted to the rank of major and posted to the Pacific Northwest, where he was assigned as paymaster. At the start of the Civil War, he returned East and served as chief of staff to his son-in-law, General George B. McClellan. Before the War ended, he was appointed as one of the four Inspectors-General of the U. S. Army. On December 3, 1867, President Andrew Johnson nominated Marcy for the award of the brevet grade of major general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865 and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on February 14, 1868.
After the War, he continued to serve as inspector general, but the Senate failed to confirm his wartime rank of general before it expired, as positions for higher level officers were limited in the postwar Army. In 1878, Marcy was finally promoted to brigadier general as the Inspector General of the U. S. Army.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, achieving the rank of 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...
before retiring in 1881. Although beginning in 1861 his responsibilities were those of a brigadier general, the U.S. Senate failed to confirm President Lincoln's September 28, 1861 appointment of Marcy as a brigadier general and it expired by law on March 4, 1863. The U.S. Senate finally confirmed Marcy's appointment as a brigadier general when he was also appointed inspector general of the U.S. Army on December 12, 1878. Marcy was awarded the honorary grade of brevet major general to rank from March 13, 1865 by nomination by President Johnson on December 3, 1867 and confirmation on February 14, 1868.
In 1852 Capt. Marcy was in charge of the expedition that first reached the headwaters of both forks of the Red River, which official parties had tried to find since 1806. He was assisted by Brevet Capt. George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
, later to achieve notability as a general in 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...
.
Marcy’s 1859 book, The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions, with Maps, Illustrations, and Itineraries of the Principal Routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific, written at the direction of the Department of State and published by the U.S. government, has been called one of the most important works in making possible the great Western overland migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
of United States settlers in the last half of the 19th century.
Biography
Marcy was born at GreenwichGreenwich, Massachusetts
Greenwich was a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.It was established in 1739 as Quabbin, incorporated as Quabbin Parish in 1754 and became the town of Greenwich in 1754. It was located along the East and Middle branches of the Swift River...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in April 1812. After attending local public schools, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1832. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 5th U. S. Infantry.
He married soon after receiving his commission. Marcy and his wife had several children.
Marcy first saw combat while serving with the 5th in the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
in Illinois and Wisconsin.
In 1846, he was promoted to Captain and fought with the 5th in the Mexican War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Next Marcy was assigned to duty in Texas and Oklahoma, where he escorted emigrants, located military posts, explored the wilderness, and mapped routes. During this time, he met George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
, who later married one of his daughters.
In 1857, Marcy accompanied Brigadier General Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
on the expedition against the Mormons
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
in Utah. It was during this period that Capt. Marcy led his men safely from Utah to New Mexico on a forced march through the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in the dead of winter. His troops ran out of provisions the last two weeks of their journey, in extremely harsh weather, but Marcy avoided loss of life, an extraordinary accomplishment which he partially recounted in The Prairie Traveler.
Marcy was promoted to acting Inspector General of the Army's Department of Utah. His achievements and well-written military reports had attracted attention in Washington, and he was recalled to work for the Department of State (which at this time had responsibilities much beyond the conduct of foreign affairs). He prepared a guidebook on Western travel. Thousands of emigrants were heading west. As many were poorly informed about conditions and ill-prepared for the journey, alarming numbers were reported to be dying along the way.
Marcy’s Prairie Traveler quickly became an indispensable guide to thousands of American overlanders in their arduous treks to California, Oregon, Utah, and other western destinations. It was a best-selling book for the remainder of the century. Andrew J. Birtle, author of U.S. Army Counterinsurgency and Contingency Operations Doctrine 1860-1941, has described The Prairie Traveler as “perhaps the single most important work on the conduct of frontier expeditions published under the aegis of the War Department.”
Marcy provided the overland pioneer
American pioneer
American pioneers are any of the people in American history who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas. The term especially refers to those who were going to settle any territory which had previously not been settled or developed by European or American society, although the...
with advice on packing, choosing the best routes to California, wagon maintenance, and the selection and care of horses, which had life-or-death consequences. His advice covered food supplies, packing, and traveling: including the fording of rivers, tracking, and bivouacking on the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, finding and treating water, building a fire, and avoiding quicksand
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter , clay, and water.Water circulation underground can focus in an area with the optimal mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column...
. His first-aid procedures included treating snakebites, and common injuries and risks to travelers. He also provided material "concerning the habits of Indians," including Native American tracking and hunting techniques, smoke signals and sign language, and battle tactics.
Marcy said in the Preface that his goal was to help readers escape unforeseen disasters and maintain relative comfort during the journey. He added the pilgrim "will feel himself a master spirit in the wilderness he traverses, and not the victim of every new combination of circumstances which nature affords or fate allots, as if to try his skill and prowess." The book was essential to the westward traveler, and no doubt saved many lives with its practical and experienced advice.
Reflecting his wide reading and skills in observation, Marcy added references and quotes from Turkish and French accounts of colonizing North Africa and the great Sahara, as well as his personal experiences in the American West. He described the portable Indian lodges, advice from French and British medical journals, Norwegian saddling techniques, Mexican pack practices, African methods for carrying rifles while riding, and so on. The details he provided were what he considered imperative for survival out West.
After completing The Prairie Traveler, Marcy was promoted to the rank of major and posted to the Pacific Northwest, where he was assigned as paymaster. At the start of the Civil War, he returned East and served as chief of staff to his son-in-law, General George B. McClellan. Before the War ended, he was appointed as one of the four Inspectors-General of the U. S. Army. On December 3, 1867, President Andrew Johnson nominated Marcy for the award of the brevet grade of major general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865 and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on February 14, 1868.
After the War, he continued to serve as inspector general, but the Senate failed to confirm his wartime rank of general before it expired, as positions for higher level officers were limited in the postwar Army. In 1878, Marcy was finally promoted to brigadier general as the Inspector General of the U. S. Army.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals (Union)
- List of Massachusetts generals in the American Civil War
- Massachusetts in the American Civil War