Thomas L. Kane
Encyclopedia
Thomas Leiper Kane was an American attorney, abolitionist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army
colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War
. He received a brevet
promotion to major general
for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg
.
, to John Kintzing Kane
, a U.S. district judge, and Jane Duval Leiper. His brother was naval officer, physician, and explorer Elisha Kent Kane. Kane was described as being of small stature, or "jockey-like," and food was always marginal. In correspondence, he referred to himself as an invalid
. After receiving an American education, he went abroad to both study in Great Britain
and France
and to build up his constitution. During several years in Paris, he became proficient in the language and contributed articles to several French magazines.
Upon returning home, the younger Kane decided to study law and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1846. As a young man, he expressed interest in a political career and made an effort to obtain an appointment in the government of California
when it came into U.S. possession. However, he was disappointed. He briefly clerked for his father, and then obtained a position as a Clerk of the District Court in eastern Pennsylvania. An abolitionist, Kane was distressed at the passage of the Compromise of 1850
, which increased his legal responsibility to return fleeing slaves to southern territories under the Fugitive Slave Act. He almost immediately tendered his resignation to his father, who had the younger Kane jailed for contempt of court. The U.S. Supreme Court overruled this arrest.
After his release, Kane became increasingly active in the abolitionist movement. He maintained a correspondence with Horace Greeley
and Ralph Waldo Emerson
, and wrote newspaper articles on abolition and social issues. After the Civil War, General Kane and his wife moved to the frontier in western Pennsylvania, eventually owning over 100000 acres (404.7 km²) of timberland on which oil and gas were later discovered. Kane, whose father had been the attorney who incorporated the Pennsylvania Railroad, laid out railroad routes in that area and located the low summit over which the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad crosses the Alleghenies
.
Kane married his British born cousin Elizabeth Dennistown (or Dennistoun) Wood on April 21, 1853. Elizabeth Wood Kane completed a medical degree from the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia in 1883 and practiced until May 25, 1909. Two of the Kanes' sons, Evan
and William (later known as Thomas L., Jr.), and their daughter Harriet, became physicians, while their older son Elisha became a civil engineer. After his death, she built the home Anoatok
at Kane.
After his Civil War service, Kane was involved in founding the community of Kane, Pennsylvania
. Kane acted as a director of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad. He had served as secretary at the United States legation in Paris in 1842-3. He was the first president of the Board of State Charities, and a member of the American Philosophical, American Geographical and Pennsylvania Historical Societies. He was a Free-Mason. His later years were spent in charitable work and writing. He died of pneumonia
in Philadelphia and is buried in Kane, Pennsylvania
.
The two called on the secretary of state, secretary of war, and President James K. Polk
. As a result of their negotiations, the United States agreed to enlist up to 500 LDS men, in five companies of 75 to 100 men each, as the Mormon Battalion
, to serve in the Mexican-American War.
With the help of his father, Kane obtained U.S. government permission for the refugee Mormons to occupy Pottawattamie and Omaha Indian lands along the Missouri. After carrying dispatches relating to the land agreements and battalion criteria to Fort Leavenworth
, Kane sought out Little in the Latter-day Saint encampments on the Missouri River
. On July 17, 1846, a meeting was held with Kane, LDS leaders and Army Captain James Allen
to create the Mormon Battalion. Kane met many leaders of the church, and became a popular figure among Mormon emigrants. Miller's Hollow, the principal Iowa settlement of the LDS group at the site of present-day Council Bluffs, was renamed Kanesville in recognition of his service.
During this stay, Kane became seriously ill with a fever, probably caused by pulmonary tuberculosis
. Although good care from both an army physician from Fort Leavenworth and church members helped him recover, his health was severely impaired for the rest of his life.
. He also described the Saint's westward trek. One thousand copies of the lecture, with associated notes and materials, were printed and distributed, primarily to members of the U.S. Congress and influential men in the Executive Branch. The lecture was reprinted in several Mormon publications: the Frontier Guardian (August 7, 1850), and in the Millennial Star
(April 15 to July 15, 1851) where it reached an even larger audience. Six months later, he defended Brigham Young in the eastern newspapers. Kane was asked to provide recommendations and information about the Mormons to President Millard Fillmore
. When Utah was granted a territorial government by Congress on September 9, 1850, Fillmore asked Kane to be the first governor. He declined and recommended Young. Throughout the 1850s, he promoted Utah statehood and defended the Church's interests at every opportunity.
In a work produced in 1902, historian William Alexander Linn, evidently believing that no non-Mormon would serve as an advocate for the group, asserted that Kane was a secret member of the LDS church and dated his baptism to his 1846 stay on the Missouri River. Kane, his family, and LDS Church leaders all stated that, despite his interest in Mormons and Mormon doctrine and practices, Kane never joined the LDS church. His wife's letters and journals indicate that, to her distress, her husband was unable to state unequivocally that he was a Christian, but that he remained affiliated with his childhood Presbyterian faith.
. Mormonism, the practice of plural marriage
and the governance of the Utah territory were issues in the federal election of 1856. Responding to rumors and reports of Mormon misrule in Utah shortly after his inauguration in March 1857, President James Buchanan
appointed a new Utah Territorial governor Alfred Cumming
of Georgia
, replacing Brigham Young
. Responding to rumors (later proved false) that the Mormons were in rebellion against the U.S. government, Buchanan sent a 2,500 man army escort with orders to place the Governor in his office by force if necessary.
Unfortunately, Buchanan did not officially notify Young about the change in appointment, and rumors of planned U.S. army attacks on Utah communities flew just ahead of the troops. The Mormons, who had already been driven out of several states, were prepared to burn their settlements to the ground and resist yet another forced removal. The Mormons prepared to fight—activating the Nauvoo Legion
(essentially all able bodied men aged 15 to 60) and began preparing for a scorched earth fighting withdrawal to southern Utah. Mormon patrols located three Army supply trains following the army troops on the Oregon/California/Mormon trail which were attacked and burned by Nauvoo Legion
members led by Lot Smith
. This stalled the U.S. Army advance at Fort Bridger
in Wyoming for the winter of 1857-1858.
Earlier in the year, hearing of the "misunderstanding", Kane offered to mediate. As it was a heavy winter, he traveled under an alias to Utah by way of Panama
, crossing the isthmus by the newly completed (1855) Panama Railroad and taking a ship north to southern California. He then went overland through San Bernardino to Salt Lake City over the strenuous southern branch of the California Trail
(now interstate 15), arriving in Salt Lake City in February 1858. Kane persuaded Young to accept Buchanan's appointment of Cumming as Territorial governor, and to present no opposition to the federal troops, called Johnston's Army
, acting as escort. Kane then traveled to the army's winter base at Fort Bridger
, Wyoming, and persuaded Governor Cummings to travel to Salt Lake City without his military escort. Cummings was courteously received by Young and Utah residents, and was shortly installed in his new office. The army came into Utah some weeks later and was bivouacked on the then vacant land that became Camp Floyd
, over 30 miles (48.3 km) southwest of Salt Lake City. The army left the territory in 1860 as the American Civil War
pulled in nearly all frontier troops.
While in Salt Lake City, Kane received news that his father had died on April 24, 1858. He remained in Utah until May 13, when he and an LDS escort returned east across the continent to make his report to President Buchanan.
, and stayed in contact with the church leader for many years. Kane later visited Utah several times, advising Young and the Latter-day Saints in interactions with the federal government. In 1871, after the completion of railway lines to Utah, Young urged Kane and his family to visit:
Kane, his wife, Elizabeth, and their two younger sons spent the winter of 1872 in Utah. They traveled throughout the territory and stayed as guests of Young at his winter home in St. George
, partially in an effort to recoup Kane's failing health. During the winter, Kane and Young laid out plans for the Mormon settlement of sections of Arizona
and the Sonora Valley in Mexico
. Kane also interviewed Young, gathering information for a planned biography which he never completed. In turn, Young consulted Kane as an attorney on dealing with federal charges pending against him.
Elizabeth Kane corresponded with her family during her visit to Utah. Her father, William Wood, later published selected letters as a book titled Twelve Mormon Homes, since issued in several editions. The journal Elizabeth Kane kept during her winter in St. George was edited and published in 1992 as Elizabeth Kane's St. George Journal. Kane returned to Utah upon Young's death in 1877, attending his funeral and offering condolences to Young's family and church leaders. He also oversaw the execution of Young's will, which he had prepared, ensuring an appropriate separation of church and personal property. Young had held a number of church properties in his own name due to the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act
of 1862 which made it illegal for the LDS church to own property valued at more than $50,000. Ownership of these properties were transferred to his successor in the presidency, John Taylor
.
Kane County, Utah
was named for Thomas L. Kane, as was the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains as a historic site the Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel
, in Kane, Pennsylvania
, in recognition of Kane's friendship and assistance. Kane was a founder of the Borough and is buried at the chapel. In addition, a bronze statue of Thomas L. Kane is displayed in Utah's Capitol Building, identified as a "Friend of the Mormons".
to Harrisburg
, where they were mustered in. On June 21, 1861, veteran Charles J. Biddle
was named the Union regiment's colonel with Kane as lieutenant colonel.
Kane has been described as a "visionary" of infantry tactics. He taught his men what would become known as "skirmisher tactics." They learned to scatter under fire and to make use of whatever cover the ground offered, and to fire only when they could see their targets. He stressed individual responsibility in his soldiers, a contradiction to the military thinking of the time. He held target practice, which was also an innovative idea, and drilled them in long-range firing, developing his men into fine sharpshooters.
The Bucktails were assigned to the Pennsylvania Reserves
division of the V Corps
of the Army of the Potomac
. When Colonel Biddle resigned to enter United States Congress, Lt. Col. Kane took command. On December 20, 1861, Kane was wounded while leading a patrol at the Battle of Dranesville
. A bullet struck the right side at his face, knocking out some teeth and producing long-term difficulties with his vision.
By the spring of 1862, Kane had partially recovered from his wound and returned to the Bucktails. They served as part of Brig. Gen.
George Dashiell Bayard
's cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley
, fighting against Stonewall Jackson
's Valley Campaign
. At Harrisonburg
, he and 104 picked riflemen were sent to the rescue of a regiment that had fallen into an ambush. Kane encountered three Confederate
regiments on June 6, 1862. He was struck by a bullet that split the bone below his right knee and his men left him on the field. When he tried to rise after the fighting was over, a Confederate soldier broke his breastbone with a blow from the butt of his rifle and Kane, unconscious, was captured. He was exchanged, for Williams C. Wickham, in mid-August. He returned to duty in time for the Northern Virginia Campaign
, but was so weakened that another officer led his regiment. He had to be helped onto his horse and was forced to walk using crutches; his Harrisonburg wound would reopen repeatedly for the next two years.
Kane was promoted to brigadier general
of volunteers on September 7, 1862, and given command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XII Corps
of the Army of the Potomac. This brigade was mustered out in March 1863 before Kane could lead it in combat. Kane was assigned a new brigade (now in the 2nd Division of the XII Corps) and saw action at Chancellorsville
. After his horse stumbled in the Rapidan River
and dumped him into the water on April 28, 1863, Kane developed a case of pneumonia
. He was sent to a Baltimore
, Maryland
, hospital, where he remained through June. Upon hearing of General Robert E. Lee
's second invasion of the North, the Gettysburg Campaign
, Kane volunteered to convey intelligence to the commander of the Army of the Potomac, George Gordon Meade and rose from his sickbed to join his men. On a long and difficult ride by railroad and buggy, he avoided capture by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
's cavalry by disguising himself as a civilian. He arrived at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
, on the morning of July 2, 1863.
Kane resumed command of his brigade, occupying a position on Culp's Hill
, the right of the Union line. His men did not participate in the bloody fighting of July 2 because his division, commanded by Maj. Gen. John W. Geary
, was pulled out of the line and sent to defend against Confederate attacks on the Union left. (Due to bad navigation by Geary, the column took a wrong turn and never did reach the fighting that day.) However, when his men returned to their hastily constructed breastworks on Culp's Hill that night, they found Confederate soldiers occupying them and Kane's corps commander ordered an assault for early the next morning to regain the position. Before the Union attack could be launched on July 3, the Confederates struck first, and Kane and his men met and repulsed them. During the action Kane fell ill and the brigade's second-in-command, Colonel George A. Cobham, Jr.
, actively assisted in command. Although his brigade was victorious, Kane was a broken man and never recovered his health. He suffered from his festering facial wound, lingering chest problems, and impaired vision. He formally relinquished command the next day. He was then posted to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, where he supervised the draft depot. As he failed to recover his health, Kane resigned his commission in November 1863. For his service at Gettysburg, he was named Brevet
major general
on March 13, 1865.
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...
colonel and general of volunteers 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...
. He received a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
promotion to 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...
for gallantry at 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...
.
Biography
Kane was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, to John Kintzing Kane
John K. Kane
John Kintzing Kane was an American politician, attorney and jurist. Kane was noted for his political affiliation with President Andrew Jackson and for an 1855 pro-slavery legal decision dealing with the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.Kane was born in Albany, New York, the son of Elisha Kane and Alida...
, a U.S. district judge, and Jane Duval Leiper. His brother was naval officer, physician, and explorer Elisha Kent Kane. Kane was described as being of small stature, or "jockey-like," and food was always marginal. In correspondence, he referred to himself as an invalid
Invalid
Invalid may refer to:* Patient, a sick person* A person with a disability* .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real useAs the opposite of valid:* Validity, in logic, true premises cannot lead to a false conclusion...
. After receiving an American education, he went abroad to both study in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and to build up his constitution. During several years in Paris, he became proficient in the language and contributed articles to several French magazines.
Upon returning home, the younger Kane decided to study law and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1846. As a young man, he expressed interest in a political career and made an effort to obtain an appointment in the government of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
when it came into U.S. possession. However, he was disappointed. He briefly clerked for his father, and then obtained a position as a Clerk of the District Court in eastern Pennsylvania. An abolitionist, Kane was distressed at the passage of the Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
, which increased his legal responsibility to return fleeing slaves to southern territories under the Fugitive Slave Act. He almost immediately tendered his resignation to his father, who had the younger Kane jailed for contempt of court. The U.S. Supreme Court overruled this arrest.
After his release, Kane became increasingly active in the abolitionist movement. He maintained a correspondence with Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
and Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, and wrote newspaper articles on abolition and social issues. After the Civil War, General Kane and his wife moved to the frontier in western Pennsylvania, eventually owning over 100000 acres (404.7 km²) of timberland on which oil and gas were later discovered. Kane, whose father had been the attorney who incorporated the Pennsylvania Railroad, laid out railroad routes in that area and located the low summit over which the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad crosses the Alleghenies
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
.
Kane married his British born cousin Elizabeth Dennistown (or Dennistoun) Wood on April 21, 1853. Elizabeth Wood Kane completed a medical degree from the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia in 1883 and practiced until May 25, 1909. Two of the Kanes' sons, Evan
Evan O'Neill Kane
Evan O'Neill Kane was a surgeon working in Pennsylvania, United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is most well known for removing his own appendix under local anaesthetic in 1921 at the age of 60...
and William (later known as Thomas L., Jr.), and their daughter Harriet, became physicians, while their older son Elisha became a civil engineer. After his death, she built the home Anoatok
Anoatok
Anoatok , now Kane Manor, was built by the widow of American Civil War General Thomas L. Kane. The mansion's name alludes to the exploits of the late General's brother, Elisha Kane, the Arctic explorer. Anoatok is located in Kane, Pennsylvania, in McKean County...
at Kane.
After his Civil War service, Kane was involved in founding the community of Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, east by south of Erie. It was founded in 1863 by Civil War general Thomas L. Kane at an elevated site 2210 feet above sea level. In the early part of the twentieth century, Kane had large glassworks, bottle works, lumber mills, and manufactures of...
. Kane acted as a director of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad. He had served as secretary at the United States legation in Paris in 1842-3. He was the first president of the Board of State Charities, and a member of the American Philosophical, American Geographical and Pennsylvania Historical Societies. He was a Free-Mason. His later years were spent in charitable work and writing. He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in Philadelphia and is buried in Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, east by south of Erie. It was founded in 1863 by Civil War general Thomas L. Kane at an elevated site 2210 feet above sea level. In the early part of the twentieth century, Kane had large glassworks, bottle works, lumber mills, and manufactures of...
.
Mormon Battalion
Kane came in contact with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a Philadelphia conference in May 1846. Perhaps because most "Mormons" stood strongly against slavery, Kane offered them his advice and help in their conflicts with the U.S. government and in their efforts to emigrate to western territories. Jesse C. Little, presiding LDS elder in the East, was soliciting support for the Latter-day Saints' westward migration. Politically well connected through his father, Kane provided letters of recommendation and later joined Little in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The two called on the secretary of state, secretary of war, and President James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
. As a result of their negotiations, the United States agreed to enlist up to 500 LDS men, in five companies of 75 to 100 men each, as the Mormon Battalion
Mormon Battalion
The Mormon Battalion was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, and it served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saints men led by Mormon company officers, commanded by regular...
, to serve in the Mexican-American War.
With the help of his father, Kane obtained U.S. government permission for the refugee Mormons to occupy Pottawattamie and Omaha Indian lands along the Missouri. After carrying dispatches relating to the land agreements and battalion criteria to Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, Kane sought out Little in the Latter-day Saint encampments on the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
. On July 17, 1846, a meeting was held with Kane, LDS leaders and Army Captain James Allen
James Allen (Mormon Battalion)
James Allen was a U.S. Army officer who organized the Mormon Battalion and was commander of Fort Des Moines , the fort from which the City of Des Moines grew. He was also in charge of improvements to the harbor of Chicago as well as producing maps of the U.S. frontier.Allen was born in Ohio. He...
to create the Mormon Battalion. Kane met many leaders of the church, and became a popular figure among Mormon emigrants. Miller's Hollow, the principal Iowa settlement of the LDS group at the site of present-day Council Bluffs, was renamed Kanesville in recognition of his service.
During this stay, Kane became seriously ill with a fever, probably caused by pulmonary tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Although good care from both an army physician from Fort Leavenworth and church members helped him recover, his health was severely impaired for the rest of his life.
Utah territory and statehood
In March 1850, in the midst of debate over establishing Utah territory, Kane delivered an important lecture before the Philadelphia Historical Society. He described the religion of the Latter-day Saints, their conflicts with other settlers, and the desolation he witnessed during a visit to the recently abandoned Nauvoo, IllinoisNauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
. He also described the Saint's westward trek. One thousand copies of the lecture, with associated notes and materials, were printed and distributed, primarily to members of the U.S. Congress and influential men in the Executive Branch. The lecture was reprinted in several Mormon publications: the Frontier Guardian (August 7, 1850), and in the Millennial Star
Millennial Star
The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star was the longest continuously published periodical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being printed from 1840 until 1970....
(April 15 to July 15, 1851) where it reached an even larger audience. Six months later, he defended Brigham Young in the eastern newspapers. Kane was asked to provide recommendations and information about the Mormons to President Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
. When Utah was granted a territorial government by Congress on September 9, 1850, Fillmore asked Kane to be the first governor. He declined and recommended Young. Throughout the 1850s, he promoted Utah statehood and defended the Church's interests at every opportunity.
In a work produced in 1902, historian William Alexander Linn, evidently believing that no non-Mormon would serve as an advocate for the group, asserted that Kane was a secret member of the LDS church and dated his baptism to his 1846 stay on the Missouri River. Kane, his family, and LDS Church leaders all stated that, despite his interest in Mormons and Mormon doctrine and practices, Kane never joined the LDS church. His wife's letters and journals indicate that, to her distress, her husband was unable to state unequivocally that he was a Christian, but that he remained affiliated with his childhood Presbyterian faith.
Utah War
In the winter of 1857-1858 Kane made a strenuous mid winter 3,000+ mile mid-winter trip from the East coast to Salt Lake City Utah. Kane helped prevent bloodshed by mediating a dispute between the Mormons and the federal government, known as the Utah WarUtah 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...
. Mormonism, the practice of plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
and the governance of the Utah territory were issues in the federal election of 1856. Responding to rumors and reports of Mormon misrule in Utah shortly after his inauguration in March 1857, President James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
appointed a new Utah Territorial governor Alfred Cumming
Alfred Cumming (governor)
Alfred Cumming was appointed governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, replacing Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
. Responding to rumors (later proved false) that the Mormons were in rebellion against the U.S. government, Buchanan sent a 2,500 man army escort with orders to place the Governor in his office by force if necessary.
Unfortunately, Buchanan did not officially notify Young about the change in appointment, and rumors of planned U.S. army attacks on Utah communities flew just ahead of the troops. The Mormons, who had already been driven out of several states, were prepared to burn their settlements to the ground and resist yet another forced removal. The Mormons prepared to fight—activating the Nauvoo Legion
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
(essentially all able bodied men aged 15 to 60) and began preparing for a scorched earth fighting withdrawal to southern Utah. Mormon patrols located three Army supply trains following the army troops on the Oregon/California/Mormon trail which were attacked and burned by Nauvoo Legion
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
members led by Lot Smith
Lot Smith
Lot Smith was a Mormon pioneer and American frontiersman.-Background:Born in 1830 in Williamstown, Oswego County, New York, he became a close friend of Orrin Porter Rockwell and was known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs...
. This stalled the U.S. Army advance at Fort Bridger
Fort Bridger
Fort Bridger was originally a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River and later a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail. The Army established a military post here in 1858 during the Utah War until...
in Wyoming for the winter of 1857-1858.
Earlier in the year, hearing of the "misunderstanding", Kane offered to mediate. As it was a heavy winter, he traveled under an alias to Utah by way of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, crossing the isthmus by the newly completed (1855) Panama Railroad and taking a ship north to southern California. He then went overland through San Bernardino to Salt Lake City over the strenuous southern branch of the California Trail
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...
(now interstate 15), arriving in Salt Lake City in February 1858. Kane persuaded Young to accept Buchanan's appointment of Cumming as Territorial governor, and to present no opposition to the federal troops, called Johnston's Army
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...
, acting as escort. Kane then traveled to the army's winter base at Fort Bridger
Fort Bridger
Fort Bridger was originally a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River and later a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail. The Army established a military post here in 1858 during the Utah War until...
, Wyoming, and persuaded Governor Cummings to travel to Salt Lake City without his military escort. Cummings was courteously received by Young and Utah residents, and was shortly installed in his new office. The army came into Utah some weeks later and was bivouacked on the then vacant land that became Camp Floyd
Camp Floyd
Camp Floyd was a short-lived U.S. Army post near Fairfield, Utah, United States. The site is now a Utah state park known as Camp Floyd / Stagecoach Inn State Park and Museum.-Camp Floyd:...
, over 30 miles (48.3 km) southwest of Salt Lake City. The army left the territory in 1860 as 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...
pulled in nearly all frontier troops.
While in Salt Lake City, Kane received news that his father had died on April 24, 1858. He remained in Utah until May 13, when he and an LDS escort returned east across the continent to make his report to President Buchanan.
Friendship with Young
Kane became a personal friend of Brigham YoungBrigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, and stayed in contact with the church leader for many years. Kane later visited Utah several times, advising Young and the Latter-day Saints in interactions with the federal government. In 1871, after the completion of railway lines to Utah, Young urged Kane and his family to visit:
Kane, his wife, Elizabeth, and their two younger sons spent the winter of 1872 in Utah. They traveled throughout the territory and stayed as guests of Young at his winter home in St. George
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
, partially in an effort to recoup Kane's failing health. During the winter, Kane and Young laid out plans for the Mormon settlement of sections of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and the Sonora Valley in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Kane also interviewed Young, gathering information for a planned biography which he never completed. In turn, Young consulted Kane as an attorney on dealing with federal charges pending against him.
Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act
The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act was a federal enactment of the United States Congress that was signed into law on July 8, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln...
of 1862 which made it illegal for the LDS church to own property valued at more than $50,000. Ownership of these properties were transferred to his successor in the presidency, John Taylor
John Taylor (1808-1887)
John Taylor was the third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1880 to 1887. He is the only president of the LDS Church to have been born outside of the United States....
.
Kane County, Utah
Kane County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,046 people, 2,237 households, and 1,628 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 3,767 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...
was named for Thomas L. Kane, as was the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains as a historic site the Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel
Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel
The Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel is a historic church located in Kane, Pennsylvania in McKean County. The small, stone Gothic Revival chapel was constructed from 1876 to 1878 and was dedicated to the American Civil War General Thomas L. Kane, a founder of Kane. It was listed on the National...
, in Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, east by south of Erie. It was founded in 1863 by Civil War general Thomas L. Kane at an elevated site 2210 feet above sea level. In the early part of the twentieth century, Kane had large glassworks, bottle works, lumber mills, and manufactures of...
, in recognition of Kane's friendship and assistance. Kane was a founder of the Borough and is buried at the chapel. In addition, a bronze statue of Thomas L. Kane is displayed in Utah's Capitol Building, identified as a "Friend of the Mormons".
Civil War service
As the Civil War began, Kane raised a mounted rifle regiment, the 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry, also referred to as the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves. He recruited woodsmen and lumbermen from western Pennsylvania, men who were experienced in the woods, could forage for themselves, and could shoot rifles. As the regiment was forming, one of his recruits ornamented his hat with a tail from a deer's carcass that he found in a butcher shop. Other men in the regiment liked this decoration and copied him, causing the regiment to be known as the "Bucktails." The men in the regiment built four large log rafts and floated down the Susquehanna RiverSusquehanna 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...
to 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...
, where they were mustered in. On June 21, 1861, veteran Charles J. Biddle
Charles John Biddle
Charles John Biddle was an American soldier, lawyer, Congressman, and newspaper editor.-Biography:Biddle was born and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Nicholas Biddle, president of the Second Bank of the United States, and nephew of Congressman Richard Biddle...
was named the Union regiment's colonel with Kane as lieutenant colonel.
Kane has been described as a "visionary" of infantry tactics. He taught his men what would become known as "skirmisher tactics." They learned to scatter under fire and to make use of whatever cover the ground offered, and to fire only when they could see their targets. He stressed individual responsibility in his soldiers, a contradiction to the military thinking of the time. He held target practice, which was also an innovative idea, and drilled them in long-range firing, developing his men into fine sharpshooters.
The Bucktails were assigned to the Pennsylvania Reserves
Pennsylvania Reserves
The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antietam and Gettysburg....
division of the V Corps
V Corps (ACW)
The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...
of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
. When Colonel Biddle resigned to enter United States Congress, Lt. Col. Kane took command. On December 20, 1861, Kane was wounded while leading a patrol at the Battle of Dranesville
Battle of Dranesville
The Battle of Dranesville was a small battle during the American Civil War that took place between Confederate forces under General J.E.B. Stuart and Union forces under General Edward O.C. Ord on December 20, 1861, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as part of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's operations...
. A bullet struck the right side at his face, knocking out some teeth and producing long-term difficulties with his vision.
By the spring of 1862, Kane had partially recovered from his wound and returned to the Bucktails. They served as part of Brig. Gen.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
George Dashiell Bayard
George Dashiell Bayard
George Dashiell Bayard was a career soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War...
's cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
, fighting against Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
's Valley Campaign
Valley Campaign
Jackson's Valley Campaign was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's famous spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War...
. At Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
, he and 104 picked riflemen were sent to the rescue of a regiment that had fallen into an ambush. Kane encountered three Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
regiments on June 6, 1862. He was struck by a bullet that split the bone below his right knee and his men left him on the field. When he tried to rise after the fighting was over, a Confederate soldier broke his breastbone with a blow from the butt of his rifle and Kane, unconscious, was captured. He was exchanged, for Williams C. Wickham, in mid-August. He returned to duty in time for the Northern Virginia Campaign
Northern Virginia Campaign
The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...
, but was so weakened that another officer led his regiment. He had to be helped onto his horse and was forced to walk using crutches; his Harrisonburg wound would reopen repeatedly for the next two years.
Kane was promoted to 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...
of volunteers on September 7, 1862, and given command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XII Corps
XII Corps (ACW)
The XII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.The corps was formed by U.S. War Department General Order of March 13, 1862, under which the corps organization of the Army of the Potomac was first created. By that order, five different corps were constituted: one of...
of the Army of the Potomac. This brigade was mustered out in March 1863 before Kane could lead it in combat. Kane was assigned a new brigade (now in the 2nd Division of the XII Corps) and saw action at Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
. After his horse stumbled in the Rapidan River
Rapidan River
The Rapidan River, flowing through north-central Virginia in the United States, is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg...
and dumped him into the water on April 28, 1863, Kane developed a case of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. He was sent to a Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, hospital, where he remained through June. Upon hearing of General 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 second invasion of the North, 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...
, Kane volunteered to convey intelligence to the commander of the Army of the Potomac, George Gordon Meade and rose from his sickbed to join his men. On a long and difficult ride by railroad and buggy, he avoided capture by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
's cavalry by disguising himself as a civilian. He arrived at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
, on the morning of July 2, 1863.
Kane resumed command of his brigade, occupying a position on Culp's Hill
Culp's Hill
Culps Hill is a Battle of Gettysburg landform south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with a heavily wooded summit of . The east slope is to Rock Creek , 160 feet lower in elevation, and the west slope is to a saddle with Stevens Knoll with a summit lower than the Culps Hill summit...
, the right of the Union line. His men did not participate in the bloody fighting of July 2 because his division, commanded by Maj. Gen. John W. Geary
John W. Geary
John White Geary was an American lawyer, politician, Freemason, and a Union general in the American Civil War...
, was pulled out of the line and sent to defend against Confederate attacks on the Union left. (Due to bad navigation by Geary, the column took a wrong turn and never did reach the fighting that day.) However, when his men returned to their hastily constructed breastworks on Culp's Hill that night, they found Confederate soldiers occupying them and Kane's corps commander ordered an assault for early the next morning to regain the position. Before the Union attack could be launched on July 3, the Confederates struck first, and Kane and his men met and repulsed them. During the action Kane fell ill and the brigade's second-in-command, Colonel George A. Cobham, Jr.
George A. Cobham, Jr.
George Ashworth Cobham, Jr. commanded a regiment in the American Civil War and rose to brigade command before being killed in battle.-Early life:...
, actively assisted in command. Although his brigade was victorious, Kane was a broken man and never recovered his health. He suffered from his festering facial wound, lingering chest problems, and impaired vision. He formally relinquished command the next day. He was then posted to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, where he supervised the draft depot. As he failed to recover his health, Kane resigned his commission in November 1863. For his service at Gettysburg, he was named Brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
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...
on March 13, 1865.
Publications
- The Mormons (Philadelphia, 1850)
- Alaska (1868)
- Coahuila! (1877)
- A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican-American War, 1846 – 1847 (1881)
See also
- List of American Civil War generals