Abner Doubleday
Encyclopedia
Abner Doubleday was a career United States Army
officer and Union
general in the American Civil War
. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter
, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg
. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his relief by Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade caused lasting enmity between the two men.
In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car
railway that still runs there. In his final years in New Jersey
, he was a prominent member and later president of the Theosophical Society
.
Doubleday is often mistakenly credited with inventing baseball, although he never made such a claim, and there is no evidence to support it.
. He was born in a small house on the corner of Washington and Fenwick Street. The family all slept in the attic loft of the one-room house. His Doubleday grandfather, also named Abner, had fought in the American Revolutionary War
. His maternal grandfather joined the Army at 14 and was a mounted messenger for George Washington
. His father, Ulysses F. Doubleday
, fought in the War of 1812
, was a newspaper publisher, a book publisher, and represented Auburn, New York
, for four years in the United States Congress
. Abner spent his childhood in Auburn and later was sent to Cooperstown
to live with his uncle and attend a private preparatory high school. Abner practiced as a surveyor and civil engineer for two years before entering the United States Military Academy
in 1838, from which he graduated in 1842, 24th in a class of 56 cadets, and was commissioned a brevet
second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery. One of the persistent legends of baseball history is that Doubleday invented the game in 1839, although he was in West Point at the time.
Doubleday initially served in coastal garrisons and then in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848 and the Seminole Wars
from 1856 to 1858. In 1852 he married Mary Hewitt of Baltimore. In 1858 he was transferred to Fort Moultrie in Charleston
harbor, but by the start of the Civil War, he was a captain and second in command in the garrison at Fort Sumter
, under Maj.
Robert Anderson. He aimed the cannon that fired the first return shot in answer to the Confederate
bombardment on April 12, 1861, starting the war. He subsequently referred to himself as the "hero of Sumter" for this role.
from June to August, and then the artillery for Maj. Gen.
Nathaniel Banks's division of the Army of the Potomac
. He was appointed brigadier general
of volunteers on February 3, 1862, and was assigned to duty in northern Virginia while the Army of the Potomac conducted the Peninsula Campaign
. His first combat assignment was to lead the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps of the Army of Virginia
during the Northern Virginia Campaign
. In the actions at Brawner's farm, just before the Second Battle of Bull Run
, he took the initiative to send two of his regiments to reinforce Brig. Gen. John Gibbon
's brigade against a larger Confederate force, fighting it to a standstill. (Personal initiative was required since his division commander, Brig. Gen. Rufus King
, was incapacitated by an epileptic
seizure at the time. He was replaced by Brig. Gen. John P. Hatch.) His men were routed when they encountered Maj. Gen. James Longstreet
's corps, but by the following day, August 30, he took command of the division when Hatch was wounded, and he led his men to cover the retreat of the Union Army.
Doubleday again led the division, now assigned to the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac, after South Mountain
, where Hatch was wounded again. At Antietam
, he led his men into the deadly fighting in the Cornfield and the West Woods, and one colonel described him as a "gallant officer ... remarkably cool and at the very front of battle." He was wounded when an artillery shell exploded near his horse, throwing him to the ground in a violent fall. He received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel
in the regular army for his actions at Antietam and was promoted in March 1863 to major general of volunteers, to rank from November 29, 1862. At Fredericksburg
in December 1862, his division mostly sat idle. During the winter, the I Corps was reorganized and Doubleday assumed command of the 3rd Division. At Chancellorsville
in May 1863, the division was kept in reserve.
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At the start of the Battle of Gettysburg
, July 1, 1863, Doubleday's division was the second infantry division on the field to reinforce the cavalry division of Brig. Gen. John Buford
. When his corps commander, Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds
, was killed very early in the fighting, Doubleday found himself in command of the corps. His men fought well in the morning, putting up a stout resistance, but as overwhelming Confederate forces massed against them, their line eventually broke and they retreated back through the town of Gettysburg
to the relative safety of Cemetery Hill
south of town. It was Doubleday's finest performance during the war, five hours leading 9,500 men against ten Confederate brigades that numbered more than 16,000. Seven of those brigades incurred casualties that ranged from 35 to 50 percent, indicating the ferocity of the Union defense. But on Cemetery Hill, the I Corps could muster only a third of its men as effective for duty and the corps was essentially destroyed as a combat force for the rest of the battle; it would be decommissioned in March 1864, its surviving units combined into other corps.
On July 2, 1863 Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade replaced Doubleday with Maj. Gen. John Newton, a more junior officer from another corps. The ostensible reason was a report by XI Corps commander Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard
that Doubleday's corps broke first, causing the entire Union line to collapse, but Meade also had a long history of disdain for Doubleday's combat effectiveness, dating back to South Mountain. Doubleday was humiliated by this snub and held a lasting grudge against Meade, but he returned to division command and fought well for the remainder of the battle. He was wounded in the neck on the second day of Gettysburg and received a brevet promotion to colonel in the regular army for his service. He formally requested reinstatement as I Corps commander, but Meade refused, and Doubleday left Gettysburg on July 7 for Washington.
Doubleday's indecision as a commander in the war resulted in his uncomplimentary nickname "Forty-Eight Hours."
, where he was in charge of courts martial, which gave him legal experience that he used after the war. His only return to combat was directing a portion of the defenses against the attack by Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early in the Valley Campaigns of 1864
. Also while in Washington, Doubleday testified against George Meade at the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
, criticizing him harshly over his conduct of the Battle of Gettysburg. While in Washington, Doubleday remained a loyal Republican and staunch supporter of President Abraham Lincoln
. Doubleday rode with Lincoln on the train to Gettysburg for the Gettysburg Address
and Mr. and Mrs. Doubleday attended events with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln in Washington.
railway that still runs there, receiving a charter for its operation, but signing away his rights when he was reassigned. In 1871 he commanded the 24th U.S. Infantry
, an all African-American regiment with headquarters at Fort McKavett Texas
. He retired in 1873.
In the 1870s, he was listed in the New York business directory as lawyer.
, and became a prominent member of the Theosophical Society
. When two of the founders of that society, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott
, moved to India at the end of that year, he was constituted as the President of the American body. Another prominent member was Thomas A. Edison. Doubleday was active in veterans' reunions and in organizing the management of Gettysburg National Park.
Doubleday spent much of his time writing. Doubleday published two important works on the Civil War: Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie (1876), and Chancellorsville and Gettysburg (1882), the latter being a volume of the series Campaigns of the Civil War.
Doubleday died of heart disease in Mendham, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
in Arlington, Virginia.
's cow pasture in Cooperstown, New York
, in 1839.
The Mills Commission, chaired by Abraham G. Mills
, the fourth president of the National League
, was appointed in 1905 to determine the origin of baseball. The committee's final report, on December 30, 1907, stated, in part, that "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839." It concluded by saying, "in the years to come, in the view of the hundreds of thousands of people who are devoted to baseball, and the millions who will be, Abner Doubleday's fame will rest evenly, if not quite as much, upon the fact that he was its inventor ... as upon his brilliant and distinguished career as an officer in the Federal Army."
However, there is considerable evidence to dispute this claim. Baseball historian George B. Kirsch has described the results of the Mills commission as a "myth". He wrote, "Robert Henderson, Harold Seymour, and other scholars have since debunked the Doubleday-Cooperstown myth, which nonetheless remains powerful in the American imagination because of the efforts of Major League Baseball and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown." At his death, Doubleday left many letters and papers, none of which describe baseball, or give any suggestion that he considered himself a prominent person in the evolution of the game. Chairman Mills himself, who had been a Civil War colleague of Doubleday and a member of the honor guard for Doubleday's body as it lay in state in New York City, never recalled hearing Doubleday describe his role as the inventor. Doubleday was a cadet at West Point in the year of the alleged invention and his family had moved away from Cooperstown the prior year. Furthermore, the primary testimony to the commission that connected baseball to Doubleday was that of Abner Graves, whose credibility is questionable; a few years later, he shot his wife to death, apparently because of mental illness, and he was committed to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his life. Part of the confusion could stem from there being another man by the same name in Cooperstown in 1839.
where he is buried, located about 130 feet (39.6 m) behind the Lee Mansion. There is a movement to petition the postmaster general
to issue a U.S. postage stamp for him in 2011, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Fort Sumter. Doubleday Field
is a minor league baseball
stadium
named for Abner Doubleday, located in Cooperstown, New York
, near the Baseball Hall of Fame
. It hosted the annual Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game
between two major league
teams that was played from 1940 until 2008.
The Auburn Doubledays
are a minor league baseball
team based in Doubleday's hometown of Auburn, New York
.
Doubleday Field at West Point, New York, where the Army Black Knights
play at Johnson Stadium
, is named in Doubleday's honor.
The Abner Doubleday Little League and Babe Ruth Fields in Ballston Spa, New York, the town of his birth. The house of his birth still stands in the middle of town and there is a monument to him on Front Street.
Doubleday's purported invention of baseball was such a widely accepted belief in the late 19th century, that the legend was recorded on a Civil War monument in Maryland in 1897. The Doubleday Hill Monument
, erected in Williamsport, Maryland
to commemorate Doubleday's occupation of a hill there during the Civil War, claims he invented the game in 1835.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer and Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
general in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...
, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his relief by Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
George G. Meade caused lasting enmity between the two men.
In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
railway that still runs there. In his final years in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, he was a prominent member and later president of the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
.
Doubleday is often mistakenly credited with inventing baseball, although he never made such a claim, and there is no evidence to support it.
Early years
Doubleday was born in Ballston Spa, New YorkBallston Spa, New York
Ballston Spa is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,556 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Saratoga County. The village is named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler. The village lies on the border of two...
. He was born in a small house on the corner of Washington and Fenwick Street. The family all slept in the attic loft of the one-room house. His Doubleday grandfather, also named Abner, had fought in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. His maternal grandfather joined the Army at 14 and was a mounted messenger for George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. His father, Ulysses F. Doubleday
Ulysses F. Doubleday
Ulysses Freeman Doubleday was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Otsego County, New York, Doubleday received a limited schooling....
, fought in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, was a newspaper publisher, a book publisher, and represented Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
, for four years in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. Abner spent his childhood in Auburn and later was sent to Cooperstown
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
to live with his uncle and attend a private preparatory high school. Abner practiced as a surveyor and civil engineer for two years before entering the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
in 1838, from which he graduated in 1842, 24th in a class of 56 cadets, and was commissioned a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery. One of the persistent legends of baseball history is that Doubleday invented the game in 1839, although he was in West Point at the time.
Early commands and Fort Sumter
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
from 1856 to 1858. In 1852 he married Mary Hewitt of Baltimore. In 1858 he was transferred to Fort Moultrie in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
harbor, but by the start of the Civil War, he was a captain and second in command in the garrison at Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
, under Maj.
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Robert Anderson. He aimed the cannon that fired the first return shot in answer to the Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
bombardment on April 12, 1861, starting the war. He subsequently referred to himself as the "hero of Sumter" for this role.
Brigade and division command in Virginia
Doubleday was promoted to major on May 14, 1861, and commanded the Artillery Department in the Shenandoah ValleyShenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
from June to August, and then the artillery for Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Nathaniel Banks's division of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
. He was appointed brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of volunteers on February 3, 1862, and was assigned to duty in northern Virginia while the Army of the Potomac conducted the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
. His first combat assignment was to lead the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps of the Army of Virginia
Army of Virginia
The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E...
during the Northern Virginia Campaign
Northern Virginia Campaign
The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...
. In the actions at Brawner's farm, just before the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, he took the initiative to send two of his regiments to reinforce Brig. Gen. John Gibbon
John Gibbon
John Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
's brigade against a larger Confederate force, fighting it to a standstill. (Personal initiative was required since his division commander, Brig. Gen. Rufus King
Rufus King (Civil War General)
Rufus King was a newspaper editor, educator, U.S. diplomat, and a Union brigadier general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
, was incapacitated by an epileptic
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
seizure at the time. He was replaced by Brig. Gen. John P. Hatch.) His men were routed when they encountered Maj. Gen. James Longstreet
James Longstreet
James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the...
's corps, but by the following day, August 30, he took command of the division when Hatch was wounded, and he led his men to cover the retreat of the Union Army.
Doubleday again led the division, now assigned to the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac, after South Mountain
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...
, where Hatch was wounded again. At Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, he led his men into the deadly fighting in the Cornfield and the West Woods, and one colonel described him as a "gallant officer ... remarkably cool and at the very front of battle." He was wounded when an artillery shell exploded near his horse, throwing him to the ground in a violent fall. He received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
in the regular army for his actions at Antietam and was promoted in March 1863 to major general of volunteers, to rank from November 29, 1862. At Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
in December 1862, his division mostly sat idle. During the winter, the I Corps was reorganized and Doubleday assumed command of the 3rd Division. At Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
in May 1863, the division was kept in reserve.
Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, July 1, 1863, Doubleday's division was the second infantry division on the field to reinforce the cavalry division of Brig. Gen. John Buford
John Buford
John Buford, Jr. was a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early years:...
. When his corps commander, Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds
John F. Reynolds
John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a general in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was killed at the start of the battle.-Early...
, was killed very early in the fighting, Doubleday found himself in command of the corps. His men fought well in the morning, putting up a stout resistance, but as overwhelming Confederate forces massed against them, their line eventually broke and they retreated back through the town of Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
to the relative safety of Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
south of town. It was Doubleday's finest performance during the war, five hours leading 9,500 men against ten Confederate brigades that numbered more than 16,000. Seven of those brigades incurred casualties that ranged from 35 to 50 percent, indicating the ferocity of the Union defense. But on Cemetery Hill, the I Corps could muster only a third of its men as effective for duty and the corps was essentially destroyed as a combat force for the rest of the battle; it would be decommissioned in March 1864, its surviving units combined into other corps.
On July 2, 1863 Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade replaced Doubleday with Maj. Gen. John Newton, a more junior officer from another corps. The ostensible reason was a report by XI Corps commander Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard
Oliver O. Howard
Oliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War...
that Doubleday's corps broke first, causing the entire Union line to collapse, but Meade also had a long history of disdain for Doubleday's combat effectiveness, dating back to South Mountain. Doubleday was humiliated by this snub and held a lasting grudge against Meade, but he returned to division command and fought well for the remainder of the battle. He was wounded in the neck on the second day of Gettysburg and received a brevet promotion to colonel in the regular army for his service. He formally requested reinstatement as I Corps commander, but Meade refused, and Doubleday left Gettysburg on July 7 for Washington.
Doubleday's indecision as a commander in the war resulted in his uncomplimentary nickname "Forty-Eight Hours."
Washington
Doubleday assumed administrative duties in the defenses of Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he was in charge of courts martial, which gave him legal experience that he used after the war. His only return to combat was directing a portion of the defenses against the attack by Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early in the Valley Campaigns of 1864
Valley Campaigns of 1864
The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
. Also while in Washington, Doubleday testified against George Meade at the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was a United States Congressional investigating committee created to handle issues surrounding the American Civil War. It was established on December 9, 1861, following the embarrassing Union defeat at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, at the instigation of...
, criticizing him harshly over his conduct of the Battle of Gettysburg. While in Washington, Doubleday remained a loyal Republican and staunch supporter of President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. Doubleday rode with Lincoln on the train to Gettysburg for the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
and Mr. and Mrs. Doubleday attended events with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln in Washington.
Postbellum career
After the Civil War, Doubleday mustered out of the volunteer service on August 24, 1865, reverted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and became the colonel of the 35th U.S. Infantry in September 1867. He was stationed in San Francisco from 1869 through 1871 and he took out a patent for the cable carCable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
railway that still runs there, receiving a charter for its operation, but signing away his rights when he was reassigned. In 1871 he commanded the 24th U.S. Infantry
24th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and again from 1995 until 2006. The regiment is notable for having a colorfully checkered history, with a record of mostly meritorious service and valorous combat performance interspersed with episodes of...
, an all African-American regiment with headquarters at Fort McKavett Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He retired in 1873.
In the 1870s, he was listed in the New York business directory as lawyer.
Theosophy
In the summer of 1878 Doubleday lived in Mendham, New JerseyMendham, New Jersey
Mendham is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 Census, the borough population was 5,097.While New Jersey was an English colony, Mendham Township was formed on March 29, 1749 as a new governmental entity, from portions of Hanover Township, Morris Township,...
, and became a prominent member of the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
. When two of the founders of that society, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott
Henry Steel Olcott
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer and the co-founder and first President of the Theosophical Society....
, moved to India at the end of that year, he was constituted as the President of the American body. Another prominent member was Thomas A. Edison. Doubleday was active in veterans' reunions and in organizing the management of Gettysburg National Park.
Doubleday spent much of his time writing. Doubleday published two important works on the Civil War: Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie (1876), and Chancellorsville and Gettysburg (1882), the latter being a volume of the series Campaigns of the Civil War.
Death
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
in Arlington, Virginia.
Baseball
Although Doubleday achieved minor fame as a competent combat general with experience in many important Civil War battles, he is more widely remembered because of stories that he invented the game of baseball, supposedly in Elihu PhinneyElihu Phinney
Elihu Phinney was the first printer in Cooperstown, New York. In the early 1790s he lived in Canaan, Columbia County, New York, where he published the Columbian Mercury, and Canaan Repository of Rural Knowledge....
's cow pasture in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
, in 1839.
The Mills Commission, chaired by Abraham G. Mills
Abraham G. Mills
Abraham Gilbert Mills was the fourth president of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs , and is best known for heading the "Mills Commission" which controversially credited Civil War General Abner Doubleday with the invention of baseball.- Early life :Mills was born in New York City...
, the fourth president of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, was appointed in 1905 to determine the origin of baseball. The committee's final report, on December 30, 1907, stated, in part, that "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839." It concluded by saying, "in the years to come, in the view of the hundreds of thousands of people who are devoted to baseball, and the millions who will be, Abner Doubleday's fame will rest evenly, if not quite as much, upon the fact that he was its inventor ... as upon his brilliant and distinguished career as an officer in the Federal Army."
However, there is considerable evidence to dispute this claim. Baseball historian George B. Kirsch has described the results of the Mills commission as a "myth". He wrote, "Robert Henderson, Harold Seymour, and other scholars have since debunked the Doubleday-Cooperstown myth, which nonetheless remains powerful in the American imagination because of the efforts of Major League Baseball and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown." At his death, Doubleday left many letters and papers, none of which describe baseball, or give any suggestion that he considered himself a prominent person in the evolution of the game. Chairman Mills himself, who had been a Civil War colleague of Doubleday and a member of the honor guard for Doubleday's body as it lay in state in New York City, never recalled hearing Doubleday describe his role as the inventor. Doubleday was a cadet at West Point in the year of the alleged invention and his family had moved away from Cooperstown the prior year. Furthermore, the primary testimony to the commission that connected baseball to Doubleday was that of Abner Graves, whose credibility is questionable; a few years later, he shot his wife to death, apparently because of mental illness, and he was committed to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his life. Part of the confusion could stem from there being another man by the same name in Cooperstown in 1839.
Namesakes and honors
There is a monument to Doubleday at Gettysburg erected by his men, admirers, and the state of New York. There is a 7 feet (2.1 m) obelisk monument at Arlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
where he is buried, located about 130 feet (39.6 m) behind the Lee Mansion. There is a movement to petition the postmaster general
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
to issue a U.S. postage stamp for him in 2011, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Fort Sumter. Doubleday Field
Doubleday Field
Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York named for Abner Doubleday and located two city blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Phinney's farm...
is a minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
named for Abner Doubleday, located in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
, near the Baseball Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
. It hosted the annual Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
between two major league
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams that was played from 1940 until 2008.
The Auburn Doubledays
Auburn Doubledays
The Auburn Doubledays are a minor league baseball team in Auburn, New York, USA, that is owned and operated by Auburn Community Baseball. They are a member of the Short-Season Class A New York-Penn League and have been a farm team of the Houston Astros , the Toronto Blue Jays , and Washington...
are a minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team based in Doubleday's hometown of Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
.
Doubleday Field at West Point, New York, where the Army Black Knights
Army Black Knights
Army Black Knights is the name of the athletics teams of the United States Military Academy. They participate in NCAA Division I-A as a non-football member of the Patriot League, a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school, and a member of Atlantic Hockey, the Collegiate Sprint...
play at Johnson Stadium
Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field
Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field is located on the campus of the United States Military Academy, at West Point, New York, and is the home of the Army Black Knights baseball team.-History:...
, is named in Doubleday's honor.
The Abner Doubleday Little League and Babe Ruth Fields in Ballston Spa, New York, the town of his birth. The house of his birth still stands in the middle of town and there is a monument to him on Front Street.
Doubleday's purported invention of baseball was such a widely accepted belief in the late 19th century, that the legend was recorded on a Civil War monument in Maryland in 1897. The Doubleday Hill Monument
Doubleday Hill Monument
The Doubleday Hill Monument is an American Civil War monument located in Williamsport, Maryland, in what is now River View Cemetery. Erected in 1897, the monument commemorates the crossing of the Potomac River and occupation of the hill by Major General Abner Doubleday...
, erected in Williamsport, Maryland
Williamsport, Maryland
Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,278 as of July 2008.-Geography: Williamsport is located at ....
to commemorate Doubleday's occupation of a hill there during the Civil War, claims he invented the game in 1835.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
- William Webb EllisWilliam Webb EllisRev. William Webb Ellis was an Anglican clergyman who is famous for allegedly being the inventor of Rugby football whilst a pupil at Rugby School....
, sometimes apocryphally credited with inventing rugby footballRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
Further reading
- Doubleday, Abner. Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1882. .
- Hyde, Bill. The Union Generals Speak: The Meade Hearings on the Battle of Gettysburg. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0-8071-2581-6.