Henry Leavenworth
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldier active 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...
and early military expeditions against the Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
Indians. He established Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and also gave his name to Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Leavenworth County, Kansas
Leavenworth County, Kansas
Leavenworth County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 76,227. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth...
, and the Leavenworth Penitentiary
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The United States Penitentiary , Leavenworth was the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005. It became a medium security prison in 2005.It is located in Leavenworth, Kansas...
.
Early life and education
He was born at New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, a son of Col. Jesse and Catharine (Conklin) Leavenworth. Soon after his birth his parents became alienated and his father moved with the children to Danville, Vermont
Danville, Vermont
Danville is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. It was named for the 18th-century French cartographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville...
, where he was educated. He then read law with General Erastus Root
Erastus Root
Erastus Root was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1793 and became a teacher...
of Delhi, New York
Delhi (village), New York
Delhi is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 2,583 at the 2000 census. Delhi is the county seat of Delaware County...
; and upon being admitted to the bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
formed a partnership with his preceptor which lasted until 1812.
Military career
He was appointed a captain in the 25th U. S. infantry. A few months later he was made major; was wounded at the Battle of NiagaraBattle of Lundy's Lane
The Battle of Lundy's Lane was a battle of the Anglo-American War of 1812, which took place on 25 July 1814, in present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario...
on July 25, 1814, and the following November was 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...
ted colonel. He then served in the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
, and then he went to Prairie du Chien as Indian agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
, and on February 10, 1818, was made lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth U. S. infantry. In 1820 he began constructing Fort St. Anthony from the Cantonment New Hope stockade.
In 1823, he led U.S. Army troops in the Arikara War
Arikara War
The Arikara War took place in August of 1823 between the United States and the Arikara native Americans near the Missouri River, in present-day South Dakota. Arikara warriors had previously attacked a trapping expedition traveling on the river. The United States responded with forces of 230...
, the first U.S. military expedition against a Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
Indian nation. While on duty in the West he built several military posts, one of which was Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, established May 8, 1827 as Cantonment Leavenworth, now one of the leading military establishments of the country. In 1825 he was made brigadier-general by 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...
, and in 1833 received the full rank of brigadier-general.
In 1834 he commanded the United States Regiment of Dragoons during its expedition from Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson, now located in Oklahoma and designated Fort Gibson Historical Site, guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 until 1890...
, Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
to the Wichita Mountains
Wichita Mountains
The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The mountains are a northwest-southeast trending series of rocky promontories, many capped by 540 million-year old granite. These were exposed and rounded by weathering during the Permian Period...
. They hoped to meet and open formal relations between the United States and the Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
, Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
, and Wichita (tribe)
Wichita (tribe)
The Wichita people are indigenous inhabitants of North America, who traditionally spoke the Wichita language, a Caddoan language. They have lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas...
peoples. But he died on the expedition.
Marriages
He was married three times, first to Elizabeth Eunice Morrison, with whom he had two children, and divorced, then to Electa Knapp, who died within the year, then to Harriet Lovejoy, with whom he had another child. Lake Harriet in Minneapolis is named for Harriet Lovejoy.His son Jesse Henry Leavenworth
Jesse Henry Leavenworth
Colonel Jesse Henry Leavenworth was military careerist and the second member of his family to serve in the regular army. He was the son of Brigadier General Henry Leavenworth and his wife Elizabeth Eunice Morrison. He was born March 29, 1807, in Danville, Vermont. He was a graduate of West Point...
was also a military careerist.
Death
He died in the Cross TimbersCross Timbers
The term Cross Timbers is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas...
, in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, July 21, 1834, of either sickness or an accident while buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
-hunting; while leading an expedition against the Pawnee and Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
. His regiment erected a monument at Cross Timbers; he was first buried in Delhi, with his remains later reinterred at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army installation north of Leavenworth, Kansas. It was officially established in 1862, but was used as a burial ground as early as 1844. The cemetery is the resting place of eight...
.
In addition to the fort, Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Leavenworth County, Kansas
Leavenworth County, Kansas
Leavenworth County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 76,227. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth...
, the Leavenworth Penitentiary
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The United States Penitentiary , Leavenworth was the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005. It became a medium security prison in 2005.It is located in Leavenworth, Kansas...
, and Leavenworth Streets in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
and San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
are named after him.
See also
- First Dragoon ExpeditionFirst Dragoon ExpeditionThe First Dragoon Expedition of 1834 was the first official contact between the American government and the Plains Indians....
- Describes both time and place of General Leavenworth's death - Fort Snelling, MinnesotaFort Snelling, MinnesotaFort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota...
- Supported surveying fur trading routes and watershedWater divideA drainage divide, water divide, divide or watershed is the line separating neighbouring drainage basins...
s earlier in his career
External links
- 1st Dragoons Living historyLiving historyLiving history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...