Samuel Ryan Curtis (February 3, 1805 – December 26, 1866) was an American military officer and one of the first Republicans elected to Congress. He was most famous for his role as a Union Army general in the

Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War The trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War was the scene of the major military operations west of the Mississippi River. The area is often thought of as excluding the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed ...

, especially for his victories at the Battles of Pea Ridge in 1862 and Westport in 1864.

Early life, Mexican–American War and politics

Born near

Champlain, New York Champlain is a town in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 5,754 at the 2010 census. The town is located on the western shore of Lake Champlain, near the northern end of Lake Champlain and is on the U.S./Canadian border ...

, Curtis graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1831. He was stationed at Fort Gibson in the Indian Territories (present-day

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

) before resigning from the Army in 1832. He moved to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, where he worked as a civil engineer on the Muskingum River improvement projects and also became a lawyer in 1841. During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, he was appointed

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

of the 3rd Regiment of Ohio Volunteers and served as military governor of several occupied cities. After the war in the 1850s, he served as chief engineer for river improvements in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, for public infrastructure works in St. Louis, as well as for the American Central Railroad in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. He became Mayor of Keokuk in 1856 and in the same year was elected as a Republican to represent

Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southeastern part, bordering the states of Illinois and Missouri, and the Mississippi River. ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. Curtis and Timothy Davis (elected the same day to represent

Iowa's 2nd congressional district Iowa's 2nd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of its northeastern part. It includes Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Iowa, Dubuque ...

) were the first Iowa Republicans elected to serve in the U.S. House. Curtis was re-elected in 1858 and 1860; during his time in Congress, he was a strong advocate of a transcontinental railroad.

Civil War service

He was a supporter of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, and was considered for a cabinet position in the Lincoln administration. However, after the Civil War broke out, Curtis was appointed

of the 2nd Iowa Infantry on June 1, 1861, prompting him to resign his congressional seat on August 4 of that year. He was subsequently promoted to brigadier general, with the promotion backdated to May 17, 1861. After organizing the chaos in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, Curtis was given command of the Army of the Southwest on December 25, 1861, by Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck. The Army originally consisted of three divisions, the 1st commanded by Brig. Gen. Franz Sigel, the 2nd by Brig. Gen. Alexander Asboth, and the 3rd by Col. Jefferson C. Davis. However, Sigel, a native German who held significant influence amongst the many German immigrants in the army, threatened to resign over having not been appointed to command of the army himself. Curtis subsequently gave him overall command of the first two divisions, consisting mainly of German immigrants, while creating a 4th Division commanded by Col. Eugene A. Carr. Curtis moved his headquarters south to

Rolla, Missouri Rolla () is a city in and the county seat of Phelps County, Missouri, United States. Its population in the 2020 United States Census was 19,943. It is approximately midway between St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. Its micropolitan sta ...

, to solidify Union control in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. In March 1862, his army won the

Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place during the American Civil War near Leetown, Arkansas, Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. United States, Feder ...

in northwest Arkansas. His success made him pensive rather than triumphant. A few days after the battle he wrote, "The scene is silent and sad. The vulture and the wolf now have the dominion and the dead friends and foes sleep in the same lonely graves." He was promoted to major general for his success, effective March 21, 1862. On the same day in late March that he heard about his promotion, he also found out that his twenty-year-old daughter Sadie died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

in St. Louis. After Pea Ridge, Curtis' small army moved east and invaded northeast Arkansas, capturing the city of

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phil ...

in July. In September, Curtis was given command of the District of Missouri, but Lincoln was soon forced to reassign him, after Curtis's

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

views led to conflict with the governor of Missouri. He was reassigned to command the Department of Kansas & Indian Territory. In October 1863, his son

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Henry Zarah Curtis,

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt, was killed by Quantrill's Raiders. In this surprise attack at the Battle of Baxter Springs, Quantrill's men wore Federal uniforms and gave no quarter.Boatner, p 51 Samuel Curtis named Fort Zarah in memory of his son. In 1864, Curtis returned to Missouri, fighting against the Confederate invasion led by Maj. Gen.

Sterling Price Sterling Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was a senior General officers in the Confederate States Army, officer of the Confederate States Army, fighting in both the Weste ...

. Curtis gathered the forces of his department together, including several regiments of Kansas State Militia, calling his force the Army of the Border. Price's incursion was halted by Curtis' victory at the

Battle of Westport The Battle of Westport, was fought on October 23, 1864, in modern Kansas City, Missouri, during the American Civil War. Union Army, Union forces under Major General (United States), Major General Samuel R. Curtis decisively defeated an outnumber ...

. Curtis was then reassigned to a completely different armed conflict, commanding the Army's "Department of the Northwest," which was in the closing phase of a military response to uprisings in southern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

by Native Americans against settlers.

Later life and death

In late 1865, he returned to Iowa where he was involved with the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

until his death the following year in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery, in Keokuk.

References

Sources

* Boatner, Mark M. III. ''The Civil War Dictionary.'' New York: David McKay, 1959. * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, * Shea, William & Hess, Earl, ''Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West.'' University of North Carolina Press, 1992.

External links

National Park Service Biography
* Samuel Ryan Curtis Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Samuel 1805 births 1866 deaths People from Champlain, New York Mayors of places in Iowa Politicians from Council Bluffs, Iowa People from Keokuk, Iowa People of Iowa in the American Civil War American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Ohio lawyers Union army generals United States Military Academy alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives