Benjamin W. Crowninshield
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| Benjamin W. Crowninshield | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1837  |
| Died | 1892 (aged 54–55) |
Brvt. Col. Benjamin Williams Crowninshield (1837–1892)[1] was a member of the Boston Brahmin Crowninshield family.
Life[]
He was born in Boston March 12, 1837. His father was Francis Boardman Crowninshield (1809–1877) and mother was Sarah Putnam (1810–1880).[2] He attended Harvard College, graduating in 1858, along with classmates Henry Hobson Richardson and Henry Adams.[3][4] Adams' Education of Henry Adams (1918) includes descriptions of his friendship with Crowninshield.[4]
At Harvard, Crowninshield kept a daily diary through his junior and senior years, which was published in 1941 by his son Francis, under the title A Private Journal, 1856–1858. It records that he was captain of the rowing team; handled most of his classes with ease, with the exception of Logic which he called "that cursed nonsense"; was president, Learoyd Director, and Abercrombie Treasurer of the Glee Club; was a member of the Porcellian Club and Pierian Sodality; was treasurer of the Hasty Pudding; sang in the choir; and played the 'cello. He resided, in 1856, at Number 9 Hollis Hall. His diary records many activities, from visiting old friends through attending drawing courses and music lessons; going to dances, theatres, and concerts; playing billiards at Ripley's; and spending the evening in Parker's Restaurant; to spending a whole day making a model boat.[5]
Other people that he befriended at Harvard, according to his diary, include Robert Gould Shaw, whom Crowninshield first met when Shaw was a freshman who was hoping to become a member of the Pierian Sodality. Crowninshield was also friends at Harvard with William Henry Fitzhugh Lee. His diary entry for 1856-11-19, for example, records him playing whist "till the sociable (Lee's) was ready at L. Erving's room". (The "sociable" was a party.) Its entry for 1857-06-24 records him going "into town to a supper at Parker's given in honor of Lee, Jones, Lowndes all of whom are going to leave the class".[5]
Civil War service[]
With the onset of the Civil War, Crowninshield enlisted as a lieutenant with the First Massachusetts Cavalry on 1861-11-05. He rose through the ranks, being promoted to first lieutenant on 1861-12-19, captain on 1862-03-26, and major on 1864-08-10. He was aide de camp to General Philip Sheridan, remaining with the General until mustered out on 1864-11-06. On 1865-06-17 he reached the highest rank that he was to attain, brevet colonel of the U.S. Volunteers.[5]
One coincidence that befell him during the War was that when W.H.F. Lee (by then major general in the Confederate army) was captured, as a prisoner he automatically fell under the direct control of the provost marshal. At the time, that was Crowninshield. Crowninshield 's son, , was later to record that it was "a truly embarrassing position for both of them", with Lee rejecting "any of the privileges [that] Crowninshield tried to bestow upon him".[5]
After the war he became a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States - a military society of officers who had served in the Union armed forces.
Post war[]
Crowninshield pursued the study of history, publishing and speaking on various topics, such as yachting[6] and military history.[citation needed] He wrote his History of the First Massachusetts Cavalry (see further reading) in 1891.[5] His personal account of Sheridan at Winchester (also listed in further reading) was published in Atlantic Monthly.
In 1868, Crowninshield commissioned his friend H.H. Richardson to design and build a house on Marlborough Street in the newly land-filled Back Bay area of Boston. The Crowninshield House, completed in 1870, still exists.[7]
After the War, Crowninshield married and moved to New York,[5] where he was a member of New York drygoods merchants Sprague, Colburn, and Company.[3] In 1868 he moved to Boston to join a different drygood merchants, Wheelwright, Anderson, and Company.[3][5] He was later president of the Realty Company.[3]
His health began to fail in 1891, and he died January 16, 1892, at age 55, in Rome, having travelled to Europe for a rest.[5] His oldest son was boat designer Bowdoin B. Crowninshield (1867–1948).[2]
Family tree[]
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References[]
- ^ http://www.worldcat.org/wcidentities/lccn-n88-674263
- ^ Jump up to: a b Danvers Historical Society (1922). Historical collections of the Danvers Historical Society. Danvers Historical Society. p. 42.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Jeffrey Karl Ochsner (1984). H.H. Richardson, complete architectural works. MIT Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780262650151.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Henry Adams. Education of Henry Adams.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Helen Hannon (2006-06-08). "A diarist in the Class of 1858". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University.
- ^ Yacht Luxury. Boston Daily Globe. July 28, 1889. p.19.
- ^ James F. O'Gorman. Living architecture: a biography of H.H. Richardson. Simon and Schuster, 1997.
Further reading[]
- BW Crowninshield and D H L Gleason (1891). A history of the First regiment of Massachusetts cavalry volunteers. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and co.
- Benjamin W. Crowninshield (1878). "Sheridan at Winchester". Atlantic Monthly. XLII: 683–691.
- reprinted as: Benjamin W. Crowninshield (2004). "Sheridan at Winchester". In Peter Cozzens (ed.). Battles and leaders of the Civil War. 6 (reprint ed.). University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252028793.
- BW Crowninshield and Francis Boardman Crowninshield. A private journal, 1856–1858. Cambridge MA: Riverside Press, 1941.
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- People from Back Bay, Boston
- 19th-century American people
- Harvard College alumni
- 1837 births
- 1892 deaths
- Crowninshield family