Secretary of War (1869-1876) William W. Belknap

1 secretary of war (1869-1876)

1.1 war department portrait gallery 1869
1.2 lavish lifestyle, trader post monopolies 1870-1876
1.3 french arms sales 1870
1.4 pardoned cadet smith 1871
1.5 aided chicago fire victims 1871
1.6 requested prisoner , prison reform 1871
1.7 new orleans street riot 1872
1.8 eads bridge commission 1873
1.9 preserved mathew brady civil war photos 1874
1.10 yellowstone expedition 1875
1.11 great sioux war 1876
1.12 house investigation, corruption, , resignation 1876

secretary of war (1869-1876)

william w. belknap

30th u.s. secretary of war

huntington 1874

on advice of general of army william t. sherman, president ulysses s. grant appointed belknap secretary of war on october 25, 1869, take place of secretary john a. rawlins had died in office of tuberculosis. belknap seen protégé of sherman s, having fought in atlanta campaign , accompanied him on sherman s march sea. president grant believed belknap had served capably during american civil war , deserved head war department. after appointment, belknap implemented or recommended several positive initiatives. recommended congress act fix date of may 1 start of fiscal year, allowing more accurate accounting of department funds. inaugurated preparation of historical reports post commanders way document activities posterity, , proposed actions preserve yellowstone national park. not of belknap s actions received, however. bypassed sherman when making appointments, , reduced sherman s budget, weakening authority of general of army position. in 1874, sherman responded leaving washington , moving headquarters st. louis. major general oliver o. howard ostracized belknap. while stationed in oregon, in 1874, major general howard candidly expressed opinion of belknap. howard stated belknap deceptive general grant , belknap not true republican, , associated nightly foul-mouthed democratic kentucky associates. howard opined belknap not in favor of president s indian peace policy. statement related conflict, during belknap s tenure, between war , interior departments exercise control on american indian policy. in context of era, belknap s actions may not seen overtly aggressive or overreaching. in terms of reconstruction, historian jean edward smith, notes grant, former general of army, supervised use of u.s. military , belknap had less freedom of action other cabinet members. belknap held office 6 years, 4 months, , 7 days.

in personal appearance belknap stood on 6 feet tall, had blue eyes, fair hair, mustache , beard, weighed 200 pounds, , possessed high intellectual ability. belknap described fine type of saxon-american manhood . in addition attending princeton university hiester clymer, democratic congressman later led investigation belknap s war department corruption, belknap college contemporary of grant s secretary of navy george m. robeson, 1 year behind clymer , belknap @ princeton.

war department portrait gallery 1869

upon assuming office in 1869, belknap conceived idea of creating portraits of previous civilian heads of war department in honor of upcoming 1876 u.s. centennial, , hired renowned artists daniel huntington, robert weir, , henry ulke. belknap s portrait painted huntington in 1874. portraits assembled distinct collection viewed public. portrait initiative continued belknap s successors; in addition secretaries, collection came include others notable military distinction. effort @ historic preservation considered success, , belknap received unqualified credit creation of war department portrait gallery.

lavish lifestyle, trader post monopolies 1870-1876

fort sill

oklahoma indian territory

on july 15, during summer of 1870, belknap lobbied congress grant him sole power appoint , license agents, known sutlers, ownership rights highly lucrative traderships @ u.s. military forts in western frontier. these monopoly traderships considered investments during gilded age , highly sought after. commanding general of army s power appoint traderships repealed, empowering belknap while further eroding sherman s authority. ensure maximum profits, belknap ordered soldiers stationed @ forts having belknap approved sutlers buy supplies through authorized traderships. soldiers on western frontier, forced buy goods @ exorbitant prices far exceeded usual rate, left in debt or destitute result. hostile american indians bought supplies @ these traderships, including high-quality single-shot breech-loaders , repeating rifles. @ same time, army requisitions rifles filled belknap s war department inferior single-shot breech-loaders jammed frequently, , no match superior breech-loaders , repeating rifles. policy affected firepower of u.s. troops , may have contributed defeat of col. custer , 7th cavalry @ battle of little big horn in june 1876, several months after belknap out of office. (however, custer had decided against bringing gatling guns; version of machine gun had ability shoot 300 rounds or more per minute, , have increased custer s firepower, if troops armed inferior rifles.)

belknap s second wife, carita, socially ambitious , unwilling live off belknap s annual $8,000 salary in washington d.c. when couple arrived in washington keokuk, iowa in 1869, belknap rented large house vacated secretary of state william h. seward. in hosting large parties other cabinet members, belknaps on extended invitations; 1 of events had 1,200 guests in attendance, including many young army officers; resulting raucous behavior led extensive damage , vandalism, including destruction of curtains, couches, , other furniture. belknaps not afford pay damages, , had leave washington society , reduce expenses living in boarding house, or find way replenish losses. decided additional income, , carita engineered plan obtain lucrative cash cow indian tradership position @ built fort sill, located in oklahoma indian territory. carita lobbied husband appoint new york contractor, caleb p. marsh, fort sill tradership; john s. evans, experienced sutler, had been appointed , did not want give up. settle question, marsh drew illicit partnership contract allowed evans keep tradership @ fort sill, provided pay marsh $12,000 per year in quarterly installments. marsh, in turn, required give half of $12,000 carita, in quarterly installments. parties agreed arrangement; however, carita received 1 payment before death tuberculosis after childbirth in december 1870.

after carita s death, marsh continued pay quarterly share of profits carita s younger sister amanda, had moved in belknaps, ostensibly hold trust fund benefit of carita s child. profiteering arrangement between amanda , marsh done belknap s full knowledge , consent. after carita s child died in june 1871, amanda left tour europe, , belknap continued take quarterly bribery payments until december 1873, when amanda returned , became belknap s third wife. amanda beautiful young socialite; intending keep modest fortune inherited family while attaining high position in washington society, required belknap sign prenuptial agreement. belknap rented new large house amanda on g street, had been built orville babcock, president grant s personal secretary. time onward, belknap , amanda continued accept marsh s quarterly payments. amanda considered more self-indulgent sister carita, donning gorgeous gowns, jewelry , other accessories parties , other events, , dubiously called spendthrift belle washington society. belknaps extravagant lifestyle entertaining washington society holding lavish parties created envy among democrats , washingtonians. however, not publicly known belknaps receiving kickbacks until february 1876, when democratic-controlled house of representatives launched investigation, discovered belknap , wives had received $20,000 in bribes marsh.

french arms sales 1870

during franco-prussian war lasted 1870 1871, united states declared neutrality. belknap had been criticized , accused grant administration critics, senator charles sumner , senator carl schurz, violating neutrality , selling arms french agents. belknap sold obsolete u.s. war department firearms neighbor of remington family. samuel remington, arms-selling agent french government, subsequently arranged sale of firearms france. belknap subsequently sold 54,000,000 cartridges french army fit firearms had sold remington neighbor. congressional investigation took place in 1872 exonerated belknap, , no criminal charges impeachment initiated.

pardoned cadet smith 1871

during reconstruction era, in 1870, former slave james webster smith, through private sponsorship, became first african american cadet enroll @ west point. smith, however, , severely hazed white cadets. believed academy s military establishment determined force smith out. 1 of belknap s nephews, cadet @ academy, had been reprimanded (but not otherwise punished) hazing smith. in 1 instance, smith arrested , taken military court fighting white cadet. however, major general oliver o. howard, advocate african american civil rights , in charge of trial, acquitted smith of charges , gave him light punishment unruly conduct. outraged academy s bureau of military justice, made formal protest belknap on november 20, 1870. in second instance in january 1871, smith arrested again not holding head when marching, after being severely harassed white cadets. time smith convicted , case appealed belknap. smith recommended expulsion, belknap intervened president grant, changed sentence setting smith 1 academic year, caused him repeat plebe year. smith continued @ west point until 1874, when professor peter s. michie, white supremacist, gave smith private test, in defiance of traditional west point practice. smith forced out of west point after having supposedly failed test , being denied chance retest. belknap concurred when major general thomas h. ruger, appointed superintendent of west point in 1871, reduced amount of hazing of cadets 1873 , made strong efforts eradicate discreditable practice. belknap admired ruger s performance west point superintendent , stated, pretty satisfied success of management, , private conversations officers of grades, & civilians too, have been there since accession... other african americans followed smith s entrance west point , henry o. flipper became first graduate academy in 1877. in 1997, president bill clinton attempted acknowledge , right wrong done smith awarding him posthumous commission second lieutenant.

aided chicago fire victims 1871


belknap aided victims of devastating 1871 chicago fire.

from october 8, 1871 october 10 devastating fire burned , destroyed of chicago. fire killed hundreds of people , caused $200,000,000 in damages. on 100,000 citizens left destitute , homeless. belknap, concerned victims, promptly took action on october 9 , sent food rations st. louis, tents jeffersonville many homeless persons, , 2 company troops omaha infantry keep peace , order. on october 10, belknap in writing dispatch lt. general philip sheridan stated fire ...a national calamity. sufferers have sincere sympathy of nation. belknap ordered military officers around nation send supplies chicago liberally , promptly . in annual report president grant in december 1871, belknap praised war department efficiency of operations in aiding homeless , destitute of chicago fire within hours of notification, while fire in progress. belknap praised sheridan , several companies of troops under command keeping law , order in ruined city.

requested prisoner , prison reform 1871

in summer of 1871, u.s. board of military officers visited quebec, canada military prison run under british army. having investigated how british ran prison system in quebec, board returned u.s. , advocated british system adopted u.s. army. belknap approved board s recommendations , requested congress incorporate british system of prisoner punishment u.s. military system. belknap requested funding new program paid forfeiting prisoner pay.

new orleans street riot 1872

during reconstruction grant enforced civil , voting rights african americans in south, using army , newly created justice department destroy ku klux klan in 1871, under enforcement acts. louisiana during reconstruction 1 of politically turbulent , disputed states. rival political factions fought power in state government, requiring deployment of federal troops keep peace. during january 1872, war department kept on high alert, concerned potential violent confrontation, in new orleans, between gov. henry clay warmoth s faction , former speaker of louisiana house, george w. carter s faction. warmoth supported social equality , voting rights african americans, southern conservatives considered him corrupt northern carpetbagger. prevent disorder major general william h. emory, louisville district commander, in charge of new orleans, decided federal troops needed prevent violence. belknap @ war department informed general in chief william t. sherman , supported emory s request use of federal troops. on january 5, federal troops deployed in new orlean prevent violence until 11th. sec. belknap advised president grant emory best man on scene make decision use military force. on 9th street riot broke out after gov. warmoth supporter assassinated; gov. warmoth s state police retaliated attacking , dispersing carter s faction @ gem saloon; emory deployed reinforcement troops on 10th restore order. on january 12, grant, wanting stay out of state politics, told mayor of new orleans through war department martial law not declared in louisiana. angry mob of thousands of carter s men took streets. emory deployed troops equipped gatling guns. carter s men dispersed knowing emory use u.s. military force keep peace. on january 15, grant wrote belknap desired prevent danger of bloodshed without having take sides 2 factions. on january 16, att. gen. george h. williams told gov. warmoth, grant take sides if there clear case of legal right , overruling necessity. on january 22, both gov. warmoth , carter formed rival militias , 2 ready war, president grant issued orders through war department emory use troops if necessary. when emory communicated grant s message both gov. warmoth , carter, 2 rival factions dispersed , 10-month peace kept.

eads bridge commission 1873

eads bridge

in 1873, construction of america s first steel arched bridge, named after james b. eads, nearing completion in st. louis. belknap, under influence keokuk packet steamliner company, opposed completion. desired bridge torn down, steamers not have lower smoke stacks go under bridge. belknap created commission either destroy , rebuild bridge allow steamers go under, or build canal around bridge steamers pass. eads, friends grant, visited washington d.c. in november 1873 before belknap submitted report congress, , asked grant rescue bridge destruction. belknap stated had authority keep rivers being obstructed according federal law.

president grant reminded belknap congress had authorized construction of bridge. president grant convinced congress not authorize money tear bridge down, overruled belknap s decision, , told belknap in person cannot destroy structure on own authority...general, had better drop case. belknap embarrassed, stood blushing, bowed president grant, , left meeting. eads bridge completed in 1874 , still in active use today.

preserved mathew brady civil war photos 1874

in 1872, photographer mathew brady went bankrupt; possessions, including photographs , negatives, sold satisfy creditors. in 1874, owner of warehouse in new york city offered set of on 2,000 brady negatives sale; belknap authorized purchase $2,500. negatives not packed or transported care, , time war department took possession, one-third of them damaged or destroyed.

brady subsequently complained belknap none of $2,500 had gone him or of creditors. during discussion, brady offered sell second set of negatives; congress appropriated $25,000 purchase, , after reviewing materials , obtaining advice war department attorney value, belknap authorized payment in full.

as result of belknap s initiative, war department acquired on 6,000 images of civil war era, including photos of prominent military , government officials, battlefields, , defensive works. collection subsequently combined other collections of brady photos purchased federal government; later catalogued, , maintained national archives , records administration , library of congress.

yellowstone expedition 1875

during summer of 1875, belknap decided explore yellowstone nation s first national park, created result of law signed president grant on march 2, 1872. accompanying belknap colonel randolph b. marcy, lieutenant colonel james w. forsyth, , chicago businessman william e. strong. leading expedition lieutenant gustavus c. doane, had led washburn-langford-doane expedition in 1870, first extensive federal survey of yellowstone territory, responsible in part formation of park. doane left fort ellis, stationed, , made preparations belknap s party s arrival @ mammoth hot springs. on july 26, belknap s party reached fort ellis , proceeded meet doane. led doane, belknap s party attempted retrace original 1870 expedition in addition hunting big game found on journey. belknap s party included 24 soldiers , 2 ambulances. two-week expedition proved troublesome doane unable find big game hunt , after briefly viewing grand canyon of yellowstone, belknap s party had wait several hours before doane found trail.

great sioux war 1876

in late july 1874 u.s. army expedition under col. george a. custer discovered gold in black hills. many gold miners trespassing on land granted indians under 1868 treaty of fort laramie. in june 1875, president grant attempted resolve problem offering indians $100,000 per year lease land or $6,000,000 black hills. lakota sioux under chief red cloud refused since offer require sioux moved indian territory in oklahoma. on november 3, 1875, crisis escalated, president grant held secret meeting @ white house including belknap , secretary of interior zachariah chandler. grant, belknap, , chandler agreed plan withdraw u.s. troops black hills, allowing miners mine on indian territory. purpose of troop withdrawal start indian war. on december 3, 1875 chandler ordered indians return respected reservations, however, militant indians under sitting bull , crazy horse refused return. january 1876, 4,000 miners illegally occupied indian land. when hostile indians refused leave hunting grounds january 31 deadline, chandler turned indians on belknap s war department stating said indians hereby turned on war department such action on part of army [belknap] may deem proper under circumstances. on february 8, 1876 generals crook , terry ordered start winter military campaigns against hostile indians , great sioux war commenced. on march 1, 1876 crook, in freezing weather, marched north fort fetterman near douglas, wyoming attack sitting bull , crazy horse , indian followers on powder river. following day, march 2, belknap abruptly resigned office on fort sill traderpost scandal. march 3 march 7 war department run ad interum under secretary of navy george m. robeson. on march 8, 1876 alphonso taft appointed grant secretary of war. great sioux war ended in april 1877 under president rutherford b. hayes.

house investigation, corruption, , resignation 1876


democratic congressman hiester clymer investigated belknap s war department

on february 29, 1876 rumors belknap receiving profits traderships reached representative hiester clymer, chairman of committee on expenditures in department of war. in response, clymer launched investigation war department. although clymer , belknap friends , had been college roommates, clymer opposed republican reconstruction. during belknap s tenure, army used in combination justice department prosecute ku klux klan, policy opposed democrats. caleb p. marsh testified clymer committee belknap had taken fort sill tradership profit payments part of partnership agreement between marsh , john s. evans. on march 1, belknap , counsel went before clymer s committee, belknap declined testify. on morning of march 2, treasury secretary benjamin bristow told president grant of belknap s impending impeachment. in white house meeting afterwards, grant asked belknap s resignation. move effort forestall pending impeachment proceedings; resigning first, belknap argue congress had no authority, since no longer in office. grant accepted belknap s resignation @ 10:20 a.m. clymer s committee informed @ 11:00 a.m. although belknap s resignation caused great commotion among house members, did not prevent action clymer committee. committee unanimously passed resolutions impeach belknap , drew 5 articles of impeachment sent senate. belknap, private citizen, impeached unanimous vote of house of representatives. speaker of house michael c. kerr wrote senate belknap resigned intent evade proceedings of impeachment against him. belknap s case constitutionally unprecedented , serve reference 9 other civilian officials resignations before trial, including president richard nixon.

on march 29 , april 4, 1876, george custer testified before clymer committee, continued gather evidence senate trial. custer s testimony national media sensation because accused both grant s brother , secretary of war of corruption. although belknap had resigned, had many political allies in washington d.c., including grant. custer had arrested grant s son fred, army officer, on charge of drunkenness. result of incident , testimony clymer committee, custer incurred grant s displeasure. took more month custer resolve situation , obtain grant s permission return duty , lead expedition culminated battle of little bighorn.

upon belknap s sudden resignation in march, grant had hastily ask secretary of navy george m. robeson run war department ad interum, lasted week. grant appointed alphonso taft secretary of war; taft attorney , former judge; unfamiliar military matters, reluctantly agreed serve in order stabilize war department, , grant promised nominate him later another, more suitable position. in may, grant kept word when created vacancy in attorney general s post naming incumbent, edwards pierrepont, serve minister england; appointed taft serve attorney general, , j. donald cameron succeed taft secretary of war.