Voices from History: David Davis' 2nd Brush with History, June 1861
By DDMF Researcher Pat Schley
Slightly over 160 years ago, in June 1861, Judge David Davis, judge of the Illinois 8th Judicial Circuit, arrived at West Point Academy in West Point NY. He had been appointed to the Board of Visitors, a group of prominent men from many fields of occupation, who were tasked with examining the conduct, morale, student proficiency, and the overall functioning of the Academy.
Sarah Davis had accompanied her husband as far as western Massachusetts, where she would stay and visit her family while her husband was at West Point.
On Monday, June 10th, Judge Davis, after a brief visit with Sarah’s family, left Pittsfield via train. He had about a 4-hour long layover in Albany during which he paid a visit to an old friend, Thurlow Weed[1] at The Albany Journal, the newspaper Mr. Weed had founded in 1830. Informed that Mr. Weed was at home that day, the Judge went to Mr. Weed’s home. Despite being very busy, Mr. Weed, invited Davis to take the noon meal with him:
“I took dinner but my interview was unsatisfactory, as visitors were constantly interrupting him – He lives in fine style, but every thing is free & unaffected – His daughter[2] presides over his household –… “ [3]
While the Judge was at the Weed home, he was shown a piece of new technology that so intrigued and impressed him that he wrote this to his wife, Sarah, in his next letter:
“I saw the finest stereoscope (rotary)[4] and most magnificent & life like views at Mr Weed’s that I ever saw in my life – We must get something of the kind & yet I would rather wait until I am able to get just such a one…” [5]
After dinner, the Judge took his leave of the Weeds and boarded the 2 p.m. train to West Point, arriving after 6 p.m.
Several days later, Judge Davis wrote his impressions of the Academy and its surroundings to his wife:
“I am very poor, as you know, in powers of description otherwise I wd like to describe this place to you – Imagine a small plateau of ground of 300 acres – one hundred feet above the level of the river, with mountains in the back ground & in front [to] the north – river surrounded by inaccessible hills, with Newburgh in the distance & you have West Point – Every thing is perfectly cleanly – The soil is gravelly – The public buildings chiefly of stone – The professors houses are all along the edges of the Bluffs chiefly brick or stone – old fashioned & square – with fine yards & gardens & Elm or maple trees large enough to shade the whole room road – –“ [6]
On June 12th, two days after he arrived at West Point, Davis and two of his fellow Board members visited a nearby historic site, a Revolutionary War fort which was, by 1861, in ruins:
“The ruins of Fort Putnam[7] built on the heights above us, & which was built during the Revolutionary War, adds interest – I went with two gentlemen about 8 oclk last night – to visit the ruins – The ascent is pretty steep - a mere bridle path the only road, but I got along pretty well – The view is the grandest I ever saw, except from the top of Laurel Hill, on the top of the Allegheny mountains” [8]
View of West Point and Vicinity, from Fort Putnam-From a sketch by Theo. R. Davis>
It is apparent that Judge Davis was quite impressed with the Academy as a whole, its buildings, the professors, and the quality of instruction the cadets were receiving. According to the Judge,
“The discipline of this School & the proficiency of the cadets is really astonishing-At no college…are all the branches of learning taught as well as here…” [9]
One thing that astonished the Judge-and that I too found surprising-was one of the courses required for graduation.
Cadets were required to study drawing in their 2nd year at the Academy. At this time, West Point’s mission was to train engineers to serve in the Army, specifically for the newly-begun Civil War. An engineer in the field would have to be able to make an accurate and clear rendering of whatever he was proposing to construct. However, it is clear from the Judge’s letter that the cadets were also taught painting. They were required to produce a work be displayed that would give proof of, or in some cases show the lack of, their skill:
“In looking through the gallery of paintings you would be astonished at the skill displayed in the drawings …” – Each Cadet has to learn [to] paint a piece, before he graduates, good or bad…” [10]
West Point strove to produce well-rounded officers, thoroughly educated academically and socially adept so that they could be an asset in all spheres of life.
In their first 2 years, the cadets were required to learn French, the language of Napoleon, then considered to be the greatest military leader, in order to read his language well enough to study his battle strategies in his own tongue. [11] The cadets were also required to study Spanish. This is not surprising since Mexico was still in a state of unrest after the three-year long civil war which had recently ended in December 1860. It was not unlikely that many of the cadets would have been called to serve in Mexico after their graduation had the Civil War not intervened.
In his letter, Judge Davis mentioned that he enjoyed meeting some of the professors, especially the Spanish and French professors:
“Some of the Professors I like very much, particularly the professor of Spanish – At one of the officer’s rooms, he played on the violin with great skill, as far as I could Judge -The Professor of French, sung the Marseilles Hymn[12] – He told me [in] the time of Charles 10th [13] he heard it sung by 50,000 men on the fields of battle=His singing of it (even to me) was wonderful.”[14]
Then Judge Davis inserts this interesting observation:
“The officer Lieutenant Greble[15], who was killed at Great Bethel – just left this point [meaning West Point] & his wife & two children live here – his wife being the daughter of Professor French[16] – wailings & heart rendings before long must go up from the whole Land – What have not the evil passions of men done in all ages of the World? “
The letter was written just 3 days after Lt. Greble became the first officer to die in battle in the Civil War. The first combat fatality of the Civil War was Thornsberry Bailey Brown, who died during a short stand-off at Fetterman, West Virginia, on May 22, 1861. It is clear from this brief comment that the reality of what this war would become was beginning to dawn not only on the Judge, but on the American people at large.
On Friday, the 14th of June, the Judge and his fellow Board of Visitors members did some observations of what the cadets had been learning as well as some local tourism, visiting another Revolutionary War site:
“Friday, the Board of Visitors went in row boats across the river to Cold Spring[17] to witness experiments in Rifled Cannon – … – which experiments were not very successful[18] –
A portion of us – being the Company in one row boat – went below about one mile, & went up to Genl Arnolds[19] headquarters in the Revolution[20]- The house is well preserved & just such a house as the old Laurence House, opposite your Col Uncle William’s –[21] We were shown all through the house…” [22]
“
"A portion of the Chain stretched across the river in opposite West Point to prevent the passage of British vessels up the North river was shown to us –“ [23]
On the morning of Saturday, June 15th, the Board of Visitors adjourned until Monday morning, June 17th. The Judge had not had a letter from his wife since he had left Pittsfield the previous Monday. It is clear from his letter of Sunday, June 16th, that he was concerned (and annoyed) by the lack of communication with her:
“I was very impatient to get a letter from you & left West Point yesterday, without getting one – I get very restless & am very unhappy when I dont hear from you –“ [24]
Earlier in the week, the Judge had received a telegram from [C.] H. Moore of Clinton IL, a business associate who lived in Clinton IL. Mr. Moore was in New York City to sell bonds for the Bank of Bloomington, so Davis met him there on Saturday night. They did not work on Sunday but met again on Monday to finish their business dealings by noon, as the Judge needed to return to West Point as the Board of Visitors was convening again.
“Mr A. H. Moore [C.H. Moore][25], telegraphed me at West Point, and I met him here last night – He comes here to sell some bonds of the Bank of Bloomington, which the Bank dont need – Every thing in Bloomington, in connection with the Bank is getting along pretty smoothly –[26]
Judge Davis began his Sunday by going to church and hearing Rev. Henry Ward Beecher preach:
“I went this morning to hear Rev Henry Ward Beecher – He did not preach as well as usual, I reckon – He exhibits eccentricity as well as genius in the Pulpit-” [27]
Davis joined a recent acquaintance, a Mr. Hutchins[28], who lived in New York City. They had their noon meal at the Hutchins home where they were joined by an old friend of the Davises, who was an admirer of Sarah Davis:
“I dined with Mr Hutchins, whose acquaintance I made here in the winter – He is a pleasant gentleman & married a daughter of Judge Ellsworth’s of Hartford – They have 3 pretty children – the oldest not over 6 years old & I should reckon that in course of time, there would be another[29] – They live in a pleasant part of the city – At Mr H house I met your old admirer Judge Cowles – He is a very intelligent man & well informed on every subject –[30]
After dinner, the men did a little sightseeing:
“We went to the Battery[31] & saw the Privateer[32] Schooner[33], which is a very Small craft and too small I should think to be effective…”[34]
The burning of the Privateer “Judith”, at Pensacola, by United States Sailors under Lieutenant Russell, U.S.N. from Harper’s Weekly, vol. 5, no. 250 New York, Saturday, October 12, 1861 http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/civil-war-privateer.htm
After finishing up his business with Mr. Moore on Monday, the 17th, Davis returned to West Point to complete his duties as a member of the Board of Visitors:
“We shall get through at West Point on Thursday [June 20th] –“
The Davises plan was that he would try to get back to Stockbridge, MA in time to join his wife, her younger sister, and their mother when they traveled to Scranton, PA, home of the youngest Walker sister, Cornelia Walker (Mrs. Joseph Hand) Scranton. Failing that, he would travel directly to Scranton to meet up with his wife there. There is no record of which plan ultimately came to fruition.
The 1860s were to become a pivotal time in the life and career of Illinois 8th Judicial Circuit Court Judge David Davis. He would find himself a player on the stage of history several times during that decade. In 1860, he had acted as Abraham Lincoln’s 1st campaign manager during Abraham Lincoln’s successful run for the White House.
His appointment to the Board of Visitor’s once again placed him at West Point at an historic time. The examination took place in June, which would have normally been after that year’s class May graduation. This year however, in 1861, it would be different. Instead of the usual 1 graduating class, there would be 2 graduating classes. The Board of Visitors on which David Davis served would perform their duties between the unprecedented two graduations of what are now known as the class of May 1861 and the class of June 1861, which class, interestingly, included George A. Custer, who “graduated from the academy having accumulated 97 demerits in his last six months [100 meant automatic expulsion], and the lowest final examination scores in the class. His most dismal showing was in the course on cavalry tactics.”[35])
To explain how this came about, the following is an excerpt from an article by Stephen E. Ambrose, originally published in Civil War Times Illustrated Magazine, August 1965:
“…When they [West Point cadets] heard in March that the midshipmen at Annapolis were going to graduate early and go to war, the first classmen held a series of informal meetings and decided upon a course of action. The cadets each wrote their Congressmen, asking that they urge the Secretary of War to graduate the first class early. As a group, they sent a petition to the Secretary of War himself, pointing out that the Secretary of the Navy had ordered the first class at Annapolis into the active service and arguing that they were just as ready and willing to assume their responsibilities. The Secretary, Simon Cameron, responded favorably, and on May 6, 1861, without benefit of either graduation ceremonies or the traditional furlough, the first class went off to war-or, in actual fact, to Washington, where they spent the next months drilling Volunteers.
Encouraged by their predecessors’ success, the new first class also petitioned Cameron, once again with success, and on June 24, a year early, the cadets were examined, graduated, and ordered to Washington. They received their commissions in General Scott’s office with President Abraham Lincoln present for the ceremony, then went out in the field to serve as drill masters. By July, both classes had done so well in their tasks that Cameron ordered the new first class, the third of that year, to begin recitations and prepare for graduation. Three days later, just as it began to appear that West Point would soon have no cadets at all, Cameron rescinded his hasty decision and postponed the graduation until the next year. For the rest of the war classes graduated at the regular intervals.[36]
The following year, 1862, David Davis would be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Abraham Lincoln, where he would serve until 1877, once again giving him a front row seat to history in the making.
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While researching the Judge’s remark regarding Lt. John Trout Greble, the first officer to die in the Civil War, I discovered an unexpected family history of valor. In recognition of the Greble family and in thanks for their generations of service and sacrifice to this country, I share their story with you.
The Greble family has an incredible history of service to their country. It began with Andrew R. Greble, the great-grandfather of Lt. John Trout Greble. Andrew Greble fought in the Revolutionary War under Gen. George Washington at Trenton, NJ.[37]
Lt. John Trout Greble was born on January 19, 1834 in Philadelphia. He was the son of Edward M. & Susan Virginia Major Greble. He attended the West Point Military Academy at West Point, NY, graduating in the class of 1854, at the age of 20. According to the biography on his Find A Grave memorial,[38]
“…While serving as a Lieutenant commanding a battery of the 2nd United States Regular Artillery, he was shot and killed at the Battle of Big Bethel, Virginia (June 10, 1861), the first land battle of the Civil War. This made him the first Army Officer to die in the conflict. Lieutenant Greble received posthumous brevets up to Lieutenant Colonel.”
He was only 27 years old and left behind his wife, Sarah Bradley French Greble[39], and 2 children, Edwin St. John Greble, nearly 2 years old, and Clara French Greble, 10 months old.
Edwin St. John Greble, Sr. (1859-1931), son of Lt. John T. & Sarah Bradley Greble, also graduated from West Point, in the class of 1881. Like his father, he served in the 2nd United States Regular Artillery. He served in the Spanish-American War, serving in Cuba (1898-1900) as Adjutant General of the 2nd Division and as assistant Adjutant General of the Department of Havana.
After he returned from Cuba, he taught in West Point’s Tactics Department (1901-1904). He returned to Cuba in 1906 until 1909, worked on the General Staff in 1910 and then served on the Mexican border from 1914-1917.
He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1916 and to Major General in 1917. His Find A Grave memorial states, “General Edwin St. John Greble was the first commanding general of the 36th Division of the U.S. Army whom he prepared for service in Europe for World War I.” [40]
He retired from service due to service related disabilities in Oct. 1918.
Edwin St. John Greble, Jr. (1887-1946), son of Maj. Gen. Edwin St. John, Sr. & Gertrude Poland Greble, was the third member of his family in direct line to graduate from West Point (class of 1909). His maternal grandfather, Brig. Gen. John S. Poland, was a member of the class of May 1861. (This was the class which had graduated the month before Judge Davis’ visit to West Point.)
He resigned his commission as 1st Lieutenant in 1916 but returned to the service as the commanding officer of the 108th Field Artillery and the 76th Field Artillery, 3rd Div., American Expeditionary Forces with the rank of Colonel. He was honorably discharged in 1919 and entered civilian life.[41]
2nd Lieutenant William Estes Greble (1924-1944), son of Edwin St. John & Florence Hall Colgate Greble Morse, enlisted in the Army on February 10, 1943, at the age of 19. He served as a 2nd Lt. and co-pilot of the B24 “Belle of the East”, 789th Bomber Squadron, 467th Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Corps.
On June 29, 1944, his plane, with a crew of 9, took off from Station 145, Rackheath, England, on a bombing mission over Oschersleben, Germany. While over their target, they were hit by ground anti-aircraft fire and eventually exploded and crashed near Oschersleben, in Brumby, Salzlandkreis, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Only one crew member survived. Lt. Greble was listed as “killed in action” in this crash. He was just 20 years old.
He was awarded with the Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart. He lies in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands. [42]
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[1] Thurlow Weed (1797-1882). “In 1830, Weed founded the paper called the Albany Evening Journal to support anti-Masonry. In 1860, Weed helped manage William H. Seward's unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination against Abraham Lincoln.
After that defeat, Weed, along with Seward became supporters of Abraham Lincoln. In 1861, … Weed was sent to England as a special agent as a propagandist for the United States. Weed's job was to work with journalists and public leaders to counteract Confederate journalistic originality abroad.” https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/finding-aids/AW39
[2] Harriet Weed. See 1860 US Census.
[3] West Point NY, June 13, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[4] Alexander Becker’s Tabletop cabinet stereo viewer models, 1860.
(Above) Designed and manufactured by Alexander Beckers of New York, this is the basic early style with one pair of viewing lenses, constructed of gorgeous dark rosewood, that holds 36 stereo view cards or slides on a continuous belt. http://cprr.org/Museum/Ephemera/Stereo-Viewers.html
[5] West Point NY, June 13, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[6] West Point NY, June 13, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[7] Fort Putnam was one of many forts at West Point during the American Revolution. Built in 1778 by Colonel Rufus Putnam's 5th Massachusetts Regiment, it was the key fortification in the interlocking network of forts and redoubts making up West Point's defenses. From this site, the Plain and approaches to the Great Chain could be protected. Originally a wood and earthen redoubt, Fort Putnam evolved into a stone fortification which stands today after restoration during the American Revolution Bicentennial in the 1970s. Ft. Putnam Marker http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute9w/westpoint/default.htm
[8] West Point NY, June 13, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[9] West Point NY, June 13, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[10] West Point NY, June 13, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[11] https://www.historynet.com/life-at-west-point-of-future-professional-american-civil-war-officers.htm
[12] The national anthem of France. It was composed in 1792, by Rouget de l'Isle, an officer then stationed at Strasburg. In Paris it was sung for the first time by the band of men who came from Marseilles to aid in the revolution of August 10, 1792; whence the name. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Marseillaise+hymn
[13] Charles X was the King of France from 1824 to 1830.
[14] West Point NY, June 13, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[15] John Trout Greble (Jan. 19, 1834 - Jun. 10, 1861)
[16] Rev. John William French (1809-1871). He was appointed the chaplain of the military academy at West Point in August, 1858. While there he was also professor of geography, history, and ethics, along with constitutional and international law. He was also an ordained minister who received his D.D. from Trinity College. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61360/images/47194_547525-00575?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=14169
[17] Cold Spring NY
[18] Rifling adds spiral grooves along the inside of the gun barrel for the purpose of spinning the shell or shot and enacting gyroscopic force that increases the accuracy of the gun by preventing the shell from rotating along axes other than the axis parallel to the gun barrel. Adding rifling to a gun tube made it more difficult and expensive to manufacture and increased the length of the tube, but it increased the range and accuracy of the piece. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_artillery_in_the_American_Civil_War#Rifled_guns
[19] Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), A member of the Sons of Liberty, Benedict Arnold rose to the rank of general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Frustrated by the lack of recognition, he subsequently switched sides to the British and plotted the surrender of West Point. When his traitorous plans came to light, Arnold escaped capture and eventually made his way to England. https://www.biography.com/political-figure/benedict-arnold
[20] Col. Beverley Robinson's house, opposite West Point, which was occupied by American Revolutionary War turncoat Benedict Arnold as his headquarters. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Appletons%27_Arnold_Benedict_-_Beverley_Robinson_house.jpg It was destroyed by fire on March 17, 1892.
[21] The most interesting of the landmarks in the village [North Canaan CT] is the Lawrence House, on the west side of Elm St. (U. S. 7) built by Capt. Isaac Lawrence in 1751 and originally used as a tavern. http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/CTGuideNCan.html Sarah Davis’ maternal uncle, William Adam, was married to Charlotte Lawrence Adam.
[22] Astor House, NY, June 16, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[23] Links forming the Great Chain stretched across the Hudson River at West Point during the Revolutionary War and served as a key element in the area defenses. Used from 1778 to 1782, the 500-yard chain floated on logs and was designed to act as a barrier to enemy ships. This was the second of two chains to be placed across the Hudson. The first was placed four miles below West Point between Fort Montgomery and Anthony's Nose, near the location of the present-day Bear Mountain Bridge. http://www.usma.edu/tour/GreatChain.asp
[24] Astor House, NY, June 16, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[25] Davis clearly wrote “A.” He should have written C. H. Moore, referring to Clifton Haswell Moore, of Clinton IL, a business associate of the Judge.
[26] Astor House, NY, June 16, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[27] Henry Ward Beecher, the eighth son of the Rev. Lyman Beecher, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on 24th June, 1813. The brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, he was educated at the Lane Theological Seminary before becoming a Presbyterian minister in Lawrenceburg (1837-39) and Indianapolis (1839-47). He supported the Free Soil Party in 1852 but switched to the Republican Party in 1860. During the Civil War Beecher's church raised and equipped a volunteer regiment. However, after the war, he advocated reconciliation. He was one of the founders and for nearly twenty years an editorial contributor of the New York “Independent,” and from 1861 till 1863 was its editor. https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Appletons%27_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_of_American_Biography%2FBeecher%2C_Lyman&id=10503428&wpFormIdentifier=titleform
[28] Waldo Hutchins (1822-1891). US Congressman. He represented New York’s 12th Congressional District, serving from 1879-1885. He was a member of the first Park Board of New York City, in 1857. See Find A Grave memorial #7643350 and #170606531 for Waldo Hutchins and his wife, Elizabeth W. Ellsworth Hutchins, respectively.
[29] Judge Davis judged correctly. William Ellsworth Hutchins was born on September 18, 1861.
[30] Astor House, NY, June 16, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[31] Located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor, the Battery is named for the artillery battery that was stationed there at various times by the Dutch and British in order to protect the settlements behind it.
[32] An armed ship that is privately owned and manned, commissioned by a government to fight or harass enemy ships. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/privateer
[33] A fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel having at least two masts, with a foremast that is usually smaller than the other masts. http://www.answers.com/topic/schooner
[34] Astor House, NY, June 16, 1861 (ALPL) DD-SWD
[35] https://www.historynet.com/west-points-worst-cadet-george-armstrong-custer.htm
[36] https://www.historynet.com/americas-civil-war-comes-to-west-point.htm
[37] See Find A Grave memorial #74171904 for Clara French Greble Griffith (1860-1956), daughter of John Trout & Sarah Bradley French Greble. See https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62200/images/62200_0018_0972?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=2c86175748e712cacfbd35a271b04b7a&usePUB=true&_phsrc=UUD28&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=624705 for documentation of Andrew Greble’s service.
[38] Find A Grave memorial #12881 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12881%C2%A0
[39] Sarah Bradley French Greble (1838-1880), daughter of John William & Clara Miller French.
[40] Find A Grave memorial #23734170
[41] Find A Grave memorial #27184620 and http://arlingtoncemetery.net/e-greblejr.htmFi
[42] Find A Grave memorial #56299258