James Pond (Medal of Honor)
Encyclopedia
James Burton Pond was an officer in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. For his actions during the Battle of Baxter Springs
, he received the Medal of Honor
. Returning to civilian life, he became a highly successful lecture manager whose clients included Mark Twain
, Winston Churchill
, and Henry Morton Stanley
.
, though his official residence was listed as Janesville, Wisconsin
. The family moved, first to Illinois
in 1844, then to Wisconsin
in 1847. Pond became a strong abolitionist. He was a member of the Underground Railroad
, helping escaped slaves reach freedom, and reportedly riding with John Brown
for a time in the mid-1850s. He studied printing and published The Journal in Markesan, Wisconsin
between 1860 and 1861.
broke out, he enlisted in the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as a lieutenant. At the Battle of Baxter Springs, he fought against the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill
and his Raiders
. For his heroism in that action, he was award the Medal of Honor on March 30, 1898. By the end of the war in 1865, he had been promoted to the rank of major.
In Salt Lake City, he was asked to manage a national lecture tour for Ann Eliza Young
, the 52nd wife of Brigham Young
, who had become disillusioned with her husband. She eventually divorced Young and spoke out against him, the LDS Church, and polygamy
.
In 1874, Pond purchased the Lyceum Theatre Lecture Bureau and embarked on a career managing speakers. In 1879, he moved his main office to New York City
. In addition to Mark Twain
's 1884-85 tour, Pond managed the North American stage of the world-wide lecture tour the author undertook in 1895-96 to pay off his enormous debts. He also promoted Winston Churchill
's first American tour, though the two had a falling out and Churchill referred to Pond as "a vulgar Yankee impresario." Explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley
earned $60,000 for an 1890-91 U.S. tour set up by Pond. Other clients included P. T. Barnum
, Booker T. Washington
, Frederick Douglass
, Arthur Conan Doyle
, Ellen Terry
, and Henry Ward Beecher
.
Pond wrote a book entitled Eccentricities of Genius (1900), in which he reminisced about his experiences with his famous clients.
Pond died due primarily to an ulcer on his right foot that turned gangrenous
. All seemed well after a successful amputation below the knee, but Pond took a turn for the worse and died of heart failure on June 21, 1903. He was survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx
, New York. His grave can be found in section 70, lawn plot, lot 6393 NW 1/4.
Three of his brothers also fought for the Union in the Civil War, George
, Homer, and Philip. George F. Pond was awarded the Medal of Honor as well, for a later action.
After his death, his son James B. Pond Jr. took over the business.
.
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...
during 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...
. For his actions during the Battle of Baxter Springs
Battle of Baxter Springs
The Battle of Fort Blair, sometimes called the Fort Baxter Massacre, or the Battle of Fort Baxter was a minor battle of the American Civil War, fought on October 6, 1863, near the present-day town of Baxter Springs, Kansas....
, he received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. Returning to civilian life, he became a highly successful lecture manager whose clients included Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and Henry Morton Stanley
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
.
Early life
Pond was born on June 11, 1838 in Cuba, Allegany County, New YorkAllegany County, New York
Allegany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 48,946. Its name derives from a Delaware Indian word, applied by settlers of Western New York State to a trail that followed the Allegheny River. Its county seat is...
, though his official residence was listed as Janesville, Wisconsin
Janesville, Wisconsin
Janesville is a city in southern Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat of Rock County and the principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 62,998.-History:...
. The family moved, first to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in 1844, then to Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
in 1847. Pond became a strong abolitionist. He was a member of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, helping escaped slaves reach freedom, and reportedly riding with John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
for a time in the mid-1850s. He studied printing and published The Journal in Markesan, Wisconsin
Markesan, Wisconsin
Markesan is a city in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,396 at the 2000 census. The center of population of Wisconsin is located in Markesan.-Geography:Markesan is located at ....
between 1860 and 1861.
Civil War
When the American Civil WarAmerican 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...
broke out, he enlisted in the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as a lieutenant. At the Battle of Baxter Springs, he fought against the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill
William Quantrill
William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. After leading a Confederate bushwhacker unit along the Missouri-Kansas border in the early 1860s, which included the infamous raid and sacking of Lawrence, Kansas in 1863, Quantrill eventually ended up in...
and his Raiders
Quantrill's Raiders
Quantrill's Raiders were a loosely organized force of pro-Confederate Partisan rangers, "bushwhackers", who fought in the American Civil War under the leadership of William Clarke Quantrill...
. For his heroism in that action, he was award the Medal of Honor on March 30, 1898. By the end of the war in 1865, he had been promoted to the rank of major.
Medal of Honor citation
- For extraordinary heroism on 6 October 1863, while serving with Company C, 3d Wisconsin Cavalry, in action at Baxter Springs, Kansas. While in command of two companies of Cavalry, First Lieutenant Pond was surprised and attacked by several times his own number of guerrillas, but gallantly rallied his men, and after a severe struggle drove the enemy outside the fortifications. First Lieutenant Pond then went outside the works and, alone and unaided, fired a howitzer three times, throwing the enemy into confusion and causing him to retire.
Post-war
After the war, he tried his hand at various business enterprises in the western United States.In Salt Lake City, he was asked to manage a national lecture tour for Ann Eliza Young
Ann Eliza Young
Ann Eliza Young also known as Ann Eliza Webb Dee Young Denning was one of Brigham Young's fifty-five wives and later a critic of polygamy...
, the 52nd wife of Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, who had become disillusioned with her husband. She eventually divorced Young and spoke out against him, the LDS Church, and polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.
In 1874, Pond purchased the Lyceum Theatre Lecture Bureau and embarked on a career managing speakers. In 1879, he moved his main office to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In addition to Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's 1884-85 tour, Pond managed the North American stage of the world-wide lecture tour the author undertook in 1895-96 to pay off his enormous debts. He also promoted Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's first American tour, though the two had a falling out and Churchill referred to Pond as "a vulgar Yankee impresario." Explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
earned $60,000 for an 1890-91 U.S. tour set up by Pond. Other clients included P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
, Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
, and Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
.
Pond wrote a book entitled Eccentricities of Genius (1900), in which he reminisced about his experiences with his famous clients.
Pond died due primarily to an ulcer on his right foot that turned gangrenous
Gangrene
Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
. All seemed well after a successful amputation below the knee, but Pond took a turn for the worse and died of heart failure on June 21, 1903. He was survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York. His grave can be found in section 70, lawn plot, lot 6393 NW 1/4.
Personal life
Pond's first wife, the former Ann Frances Lynch, died in 1871. He married Martha Glass of Jersey City in 1880.Three of his brothers also fought for the Union in the Civil War, George
George F. Pond
George F. Pond served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor....
, Homer, and Philip. George F. Pond was awarded the Medal of Honor as well, for a later action.
After his death, his son James B. Pond Jr. took over the business.
In film
He was played in the 1948 The Adventures of Mark Twain by Donald CrispDonald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: M–P