Reuben D. Mussey Jr.

Reuben D. Mussey Jr.
Born(1833-05-30)May 30, 1833
Hanover, New Hampshire
DiedMay 29, 1892(1892-05-29) (aged 58)
Washington, D.C.
Place of burial
Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
AllegianceUnited States United States of America
Union
Service / branchUnited States Union Army
Years of service1861–1866
Rank Colonel
Unit19th U.S. Infantry Regiment
Commands100th U.S. Colored Troops
Battles / warsAmerican Civil War
Other workLawyer, Journalist

Reuben D. Mussey Jr. (often called RD Mussey) (May 30, 1833 – May 29, 1892) was a Union Army colonel during the American Civil War and a distinguished lawyer. He was an important recruiter of black men into the United States Colored Troops. Between April 1865 and November 1865, Mussey was President Andrew Johnson's private secretary. Johnson nominated Mussey for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general of volunteers, but the U.S. Senate did not confirm the appointment. Mussey was the husband of Ellen Spencer Mussey who was also his law partner and became the head of the practice upon his death.

Early life

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Mussey was the son of the medical doctor Reuben D. Mussey and his wife Hettie Osgood. He was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on May 30, 1833.[2] Some sources list his name as Reuben Delevan Mussey, suggesting that Jr. may not be technically correct, but since both he and his father are referred to as Reuben D. Mussey or Reuben Mussey, the Jr. is the best way to distinguish the two.

After matriculating from Dummer Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, and attending Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, RD Mussey graduated from Dartmouth College in 1854. After College, he began teaching and working in the press in Boston. In 1859, he was the Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette.

Civil War

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He campaigned for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and was a leader in the Wide Awakes and at the outbreak of the Civil War joined a militia company led by abolitionist Cassius M. Clay which organized to guard the president and the White House. When the regular army was expanded in May 1861, he began serving in the regular army of the United States as captain of the 19th U.S. Infantry Regiment.[1][2]

Mussey supported the anti-slavery movement and was in favor of the enlisting of black troops in the war.[3] Mussey was a strong advocate of enlisting African-American soldiers and in correspondence with his superiors took issue with William T. Sherman's view on this issue.[4] As a captain of the 19th U.S. Infantry Regiment from May 14, 1861, until June 14, 1864,[2] Mussey helped recruit African-American soldiers for the Union Army, being detailed to act as a commissioner for organizing black troops with headquarters at Nashville.[1] On June 14, 1864, Mussey was appointed colonel of the 100th U.S. Colored Infantry.[2][5] However, he remained in Nashville rather than serving with the regiment, instead continuing his organizational duties.[1]

After the war

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While in Nashville, he became connected with then governor and later President Andrew Johnson.[1] Mussey served as President Johnson's private secretary from April 1865 to November 1865.[2] At some date for which the record has not been found, Johnson nominated Mussey for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general in the regular army, to rank from March 13, 1865, but the U.S. Senate did not confirm the appointment.[2][6]

Mussey was mustered out of the volunteers on December 26, 1865, and resigned from the regular army on February 19, 1866.[2] Soon after this date, he began a law practice in Washington, D.C. He had two daughters with his first wife. It was after her death he met and latter married Ellen Spencer. Mussey also served as an adjunct professor of law at Howard University.

Reuben Delevan Mussey died in Washington, D.C., on May 29, 1892.[2] He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.).[2] Religiously, he was a member of The New Church[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, Volume 23, 1892, Edited by Clarke, Robert.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 606
  3. ^ Cimprich, John. Book details, Slavery's End in Tennessee, 1861-1865 by John Cimprich, [1][dead link‍]
  4. ^ Smith, John David. Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era. University of North Carolina Press, 1 Aug 2004, p 231. [2]
  5. ^ [3] [dead link‍]
  6. ^ Mussey is shown on page 440 of Hunt, Roger D. and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. ISBN 1-56013-002-4, but no confirmation date is given and the Eicher's positively state that Mussey's appointment to rank from March 13, 1865 was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate. On the other hand, despite the Eichers statement that Reuben D. Mussey Jr. was not confirmed as a brevet brigadier general, other sources list him as a brevet brigadier general without reservation, including the relatively recent source of Hunt and Brown, 1990, p. 440. The Eichers cite Hunt and Brown but there is nothing in the Mussey entry in that book which supports their conclusion about Mussey's appointment not being confirmed and the editor of this footnote found nothing elsewhere in the Hunt and Brown book concerning Mussey. This means that it must be said that Mussey's full actual substantive rank was colonel and, pending the discovery of information from another definitive source, that there is a conflict in the sources as to whether or not his nomination as a brevet brigadier general ever was confirmed.

On Page 270 of Medical Record, Volume 1, edited by George Frederick Shrady, Thomas Lathrop Stedman. This document reflects an obituary of the father of Brigadier-General Reuben D. Mussey and, it is on this document that satisfies the claim of Brigadier-General Reuben D. Mussey.

References

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