Theodore Winthrop
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Major Theodore Woolsey Winthrop (September 22, 1828 – June 10, 1861) was a writer, lawyer, and world traveller. He was one of the first
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
officers killed in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.


Biography

Winthrop was born in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, a descendant of several prominent Colonial families. He was descended through his father from Governor
John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...
, and through his mother from theologian Jonathan Edwards and early settlers George (Joris) Woolsey and Thomas Cornell. He graduated in 1848 from
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, where his uncle
Theodore Dwight Woolsey Theodore Dwight Woolsey (31 October 1801 – 1 July 1889) was an American academic, author and President of Yale College from 1846 through 1871. Biography Theodore Dwight Woolsey was born 31 October 1801 in New York City. His mother was Elizabe ...
was President, and he was a member of the Phi Chapter of the
Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
fraternity. He traveled for a year in Great Britain and Europe and then through the United States, settling in
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
in the 1850s. After contributing to periodicals, short sketches, and stories, which attracted little attention, Winthrop enlisted in the 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, an early volunteer unit of the
Federal Army The Mexican Federal Army ( es, Ejército Federal), also known as the Federales in popular culture, was the military of Mexico from 1876 to 1914 during the Porfiriato, the long rule of President Porfirio Díaz, and during the presidencies of Franci ...
that answered
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's call for troops in 1861. He wrote a popular essay about the experience titled "Our March to Washington." He was appointed Major and soon became an aide-de-camp to
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is ...
, commander of the Department of Virginia headquartered at
Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
. Winthrop had, along with his younger brother William Winthrop who later became the nation's leading authority on military law, long been an abolitionist. Butler credited Winthrop with first formulating the policy that automatically conferred freedmen status on escaped slaves who entered into Union Army held territory.Joshua E. Kastenberg, The Blackstone of Military Law: Colonel William Winthrop (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2009), 77-79


Battle of Big Bethel

At the
Battle of Big Bethel The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861. Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vot ...
on June 10, 1861, he volunteered for General
Ebenezer W. Peirce Ebenezer Weaver Peirce (April 10, 1822 – August 14, 1902), was a brigadier general in the Massachusetts militia, serving as 90–day volunteers in the Union Army in the opening months of the American Civil War, and a colonel of the 29th ...
's staff and drew up a crude plan of battle. After a Federal attack to the enemy right flank was foiled, Winthrop led an ill-fated assault on the Confederate left held by four companies of the 1st Regiment North Carolina Infantry, under the command of
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
(later
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
)
Daniel Harvey Hill Lieutenant-General Daniel Harvey Hill (July 12, 1821 – September 24, 1889), commonly known as D. H. Hill, was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the eastern and western theaters of the American Civil Wa ...
. In the heat of battle, Major Winthrop leapt onto the trunk of a fallen tree and reportedly yelled, "One more charge boys, and the day is ours." Soon thereafter, he was killed by a
musket ball A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...
to the heart and became the first casualty of rank for the Northern side in what history regards as the first pitched land battle of the Civil War. Ironically, ardent abolitionist Winthrop may have been shot by the African-American slave of a Confederate officer in the 1st North Carolina Infantry. (Three different soldiers, as well as this slave, referred to in the records only as "Sam," claimed to have killed him.)


Author

Winthrop's
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s, for which he had failed to find a publisher during his lifetime, appeared posthumously. They include ''John Brent'', founded on his experiences in the far West, and ''Edwin Brothertoft'', a story of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. ''
Cecil Dreeme ''Cecil Dreeme'' is a novel written by Theodore Winthrop and published posthumously by the author's friend George William Curtis in 1861, after author's death at the battle of Big Bethel on June 10, 1861. (The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the e ...
'', his most important work, was a semi-autobiographical novel dealing with social mores and gender roles set at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, where Winthrop had once been a lodger. Other works include ''
The Canoe and the Saddle ''The Canoe and the Saddle'' (1862) is a novelized adventure memoir by the American author Theodore Winthrop (1828–1861). It vividly describes Washington state’s landscape and natural resources as well as the tumultuous relationship between Wi ...
'' and ''Life in the Open Air''. His sister,
Laura Winthrop Johnson Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...
, assembled a collection of his poems and prose organized by the time period of his life ''Life and Poems of Theodore Winthrop''. Works published during Winthrop's lifetime include a pamphlet accompanying the painting
The Heart of the Andes ''The Heart of the Andes'' is a large oil-on-canvas landscape painting by the American artist Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900). At more than five feet (1.7 metres) high and almost ten feet (3 metres) wide, it depicts an idealized landscape in ...
by his friend
Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...
, distributed in 1859. After Winthrop's death in 1861, the ''Atlantic Monthly'' published sketches of the military campaigns in Virginia based on his own experiences.


See also

* Elmer E. Ellsworth


References


External links


''NYU and the Village: Theodore Winthrop''

Life and Poems of Theodore Winthrop
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winthrop, Theodore 1828 births 1861 deaths 19th-century American novelists American male novelists American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Cornell family Writers from New Haven, Connecticut People of Connecticut in the American Civil War Writers from Staten Island Union Army officers Military personnel from Connecticut 19th-century male writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Connecticut Woolsey family Winthrop family Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War