John Adams Dix- U.S. Senator, Governor of NY, Civil War Major General-ALS-1832

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John Adams Dix- U.S. Senator, Governor of NY, Civil War Major General-ALS-1832:
$325.00

John Adams Dix, 1798-1879, served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, later attaining the rank of Captain, as a U.S. Senator representing New York, as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Governor of New York. Served in the Union Army as a Major General during the Civil War. Famous for sending a telegram at the outbreak of the Civil War, ordering Treasury agents in New Orleans: \"If any one attempts to haul down the American Flag, shoot him on the spot.\"
Autograph letter signed, headed from Albany, 29th December, 1832. On one side of an 8\" x 10\" sheet.
John Adams DixFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor the Governor of New York who served in the 1910s, seeJohn Alden Dix.John Adams Dix24thGovernor of New YorkIn office
January 1, 1873– December 31, 1874LieutenantJohn C. RobinsonPreceded byJohn T. HoffmanSucceeded bySamuel J. Tilden24thUnited States Secretary of the TreasuryIn office
January 15, 1861– March 6, 1861PresidentJames Buchanan
Abraham LincolnPreceded byPhilip ThomasSucceeded bySalmon P. ChaseUnited States Senator
fromNew YorkIn office
January 27, 1845– March 3, 1849Preceded byHenry A. FosterSucceeded byWilliam H. Seward16thSecretary of State of New YorkIn office
January 15, 1833– February 4, 1839Preceded byAzariah C. FlaggSucceeded byJohn C. SpencerPersonal detailsBornJuly 24, 1798
Boscawen, New HampshireDiedApril 21, 1879(aged80)
New York City, New YorkPolitical Morgan DixProfessionPolitician,Lawyer, Railroad serviceService/branchUnited States Army
Union ArmyYears of service1813–1828; 1861–1865RankMajor GeneralCommandsDepartment of Virginia

John Adams Dix(July 24, 1798 – April 21, 1879) wasSecretary of the Treasury,Governor of New YorkandUnionmajor generalduring theCivil War. He was notable for arresting the pro-Southern Maryland legislature, preventing that divided border state from seceding, and for arranging a system for prisoner exchange via the Dix-Hill cartel, concluded in partnership with Confederate Major GeneralDaniel Harvey Hill.

Contents[show]

Biography[edit]

Dix was born inBoscawen, New Hampshire, the son of Timothy Dix and Abigail Wilkins, and brother of composerMarion Dix Sullivan.[1]He joined theUS Armyas anensignin May 1813, serving under his father. He attained the rank of captain in August 1825, and resigned from the Army in December 1828.[2]

In 1826, Dix married Catherine Morgan, the adopted daughter of CongressmanJohn J. Morgan, who gave Dix a job overseeing his upstate New York land holdings inCooperstown. Dix and his wife moved to Cooperstown in 1828, and he practiced law in addition to overseeing the land holdings. In 1830, he was appointed by GovernorEnos T. Throopas Adjutant General of the New York State Militia, and moved toAlbany, New York. He wasSecretary of State of New Yorkfrom 1833 to 1839, and a member of theNew York State Assembly(Albany Co.) in1842.

U.S. Senator[edit]Dix as a Senator

Dix was elected as aDemocratto the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofSilas Wright, Jr., and held office from 1845 to 1849. InNovember 1848, he was theBarnburner/Free-Soilcandidate for Governor of New York, but was defeated by WhigHamilton Fish. InFebruary 1849, he ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate as the Barnburners\' candidate, but the Whig majority of theState LegislatureelectedWilliam H. Seward.

Railroad president and postmaster[edit]

In 1853 Dix was president of theMississippi and Missouri Railroad. He was appointedPostmaster of New York Cityand served from 1860 to 1861.

In addition to his military and public duties, Dix was the president of theUnion Pacificfrom 1863 to 1868 during construction of theFirst Transcontinental Railroad. He was thefigureheadfor rail baronThomas C. Durant, in both of his railroad presidencies. He was also briefly President of the Erie Railroad in 1872.

Civil War service[edit]Dix asU.S. Secretary of the Treasury

Dix was appointedUnited States Secretary of the TreasurybyPresidentJames Buchananin January 1861. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he sent a telegram to the Treasury agents inNew Orleansordering that: \"If any one attempts to haul down the American Flag, shoot him on the spot.\" Although the telegram was intercepted byConfederates, and was never delivered to the Treasury agents, the text found its way to the press, and Dix became one of the first heroes of the North during the Civil War. The saying is found on manyCivil War tokensminted during the war, although the wording is slightly modified.

Major General[edit]Major General Dix

At the start of the American Civil War, Dix was appointed amajor generalin the New York Militia. He joined theUnion Armyas the highest ranking major general ofvolunteersduring the war, effective May 16, 1861; also appointed on that day wereNathaniel P. BanksandBenjamin Franklin Butler, but Dix\'s name appeared first on the promotion list, meaning that he had seniority over all major generals of volunteers.[3]In the summer of 1861, he commanded the Department of Maryland and theDepartment of Pennsylvania. His importance at the beginning of the Civil War was in arresting six members of the Maryland legislature and thereby preventing the legislature from meeting.[4]This prevented Maryland from seceding, and earned him President Lincoln\'s gratitude. That winter, he commanded a regional organization known as \"Dix\'s Command\" within Maj. Gen.George B. McClellan\'sDepartment of the Potomac.[5]Dix commanded theDepartment of Virginiafrom June 1862 until July 1863, and the Department of the East from July 1863 until April 1865.

On July 22, 1862, Dix and Confederate Major GeneralDaniel Harvey Hillconcluded an agreement for the general exchange of prisoners between the Union and Confederate armies.[6]This agreement became known as theDix-Hill Cartel. It established a scale of equivalents, where an officer would be exchanged for a fixed number of enlisted men, and also allowed for the parole of prisoners, who would undertake not to serve in a military capacity until officially exchanged. (The cartel worked well for a few months, but broke down when Confederates insisted on treating black prisoners asfugitive slavesand returning them to their previous owners.)

On October 10, 1862,Lincoln’sSecretary of the Navy,Gideon Welleswrote that “a scheme for permits, special favors, Treasury agents, and improper management” existed and was arranged by Treasury SecretarySalmon P. Chasefor General John A. Dix. The motive of Chase appeared to be for political influence and not for financial gain.[7]

Dix was considered too old for field command. Some believe that his most distinguished contribution to the war was the suppression of the New York Draft Riots in July 1863, although the rioting had already subsided by the time he replaced GeneralJohn E. Wool.[8]He was also active in thedefense of Suffolk, which was part of his department. He served as the temporary chairman of the1866 National Union Convention.

Later career[edit]

He wasUnited States Minister to Francefrom 1866 to 1869

He wasGovernor of New Yorkfrom 1873 to 1874, elected on theRepublicanticket inNovember 1872, but defeated for re-election bySamuel J. TildeninNovember 1874. He suffered another defeat when he ran for theMayor of New York Cityin 1876.

Death[edit]The John Adams Dix memorial at the Cathedral of All Saints (Albany, New York).

Dix died in New York City and was buried at theTrinity Church Cemetery.

Legacy[edit]

Fort Dix, New Jersey, aUnited States Armypost, is named for Dix, as isDix, Illinois, and alsoDix Township, Ford County, Illinois, and severalrevenue cutters,John A. Dix.
Dix Mountain, one of theAdirondack High Peaks, was named for him. The name was later extended toits entire range, and unofficially applied to neighboring High PeaksSouth Dix(soon[when?]to be renamed Carson Peak) andEast Dix. TheForest Preservemanagement unit in which those peaks are located is theDix Mountain Wilderness Area.
There is a memorial to Dix at theCathedral of All Saints (Albany, New York).

John Adams Dix- U.S. Senator, Governor of NY, Civil War Major General-ALS-1832

John Adams Dix- U.S. Senator, Governor of NY, Civil War Major General-ALS-1832: $325.00

John Adams Dix- U.S. Senator, Governor of NY, Civil War Major General-ALS-1832: $325.00

John Adams Dix- U.S. Senator, Governor of NY, Civil War Major General-ALS-1832:
$325.00

John Adams Dix- U.S. Senator, Governor of NY, Civil War Major General-ALS-1832:
$325.00