Thomas Sidney Jesup (1788-1860) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

General Thomas Sidney Jesup

Born 16 Dec 1788 in Berkeley, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Son of James Edward Jesup and Ann (O'Neill) Jesup

Brother of Samuel Blackleach Jesup

Husband of Ann Heron (Croghan) Jesup — married [date unknown] [location unknown]

Father of Mary Serena Elizabeth (Jesup) Blair

Died 10 Jun 1860 at age 71 in District of Columbia, United States

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Profile last modified 29 Feb 2024 | Created 11 Nov 2016

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1 Biography
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Biography

Thomas Jesup is Notable.

General Thomas Jesup was Wounded in Action during War of 1812.

Thomas Sidney Jesup was born in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia), on December 16, 1788. He was the son of a distinguished Revolutionary officer, Major James Edward Jesup, and his wife, a native of Ireland, Ann O'Neill.^[1]

Thomas' father, Edward, died in 1796; Thomas was only eight years old. Since he was the oldest child in the family, once he was in the military, he made right the debts of his mother and father.^[2]

Thomas married Ann Heron Croghan^[3], daughter of William Crogan, and Lucy Clark, a sister of General George Rogers Clark, on Friday, June 14, 1822^[4], at the residence of Major Groghan, near Louisville, Kentucky.^[5]Ann's parents owned Locust Grove near Louisville, Kentucky. Ann was a sister of Colonel George Croghan, a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal' for defending Fort Stephenson, Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio, in the War of 1812.^[6]

Thomas and Ann had eight children:^[7]

Lucy Ann Sitgreaves, b. 17 Apr 1823, born in Kentucky.^[8]
Eliza Hancock, b. 11 Sep 1824; d. 13 Jul 1825
Mary Serena Elizabeth, b. 7 Dec 1825
Jane Findlay Nicholson^[9], b. 29 Nov 1827, District of Columbia.
Elizabeth Croghan, b. 17 Feb 1829; d. 18 Jun 1830.^[10]
William Croghan, b. 27 Jun 1833; Admitted to West Point
Charles Edward, b. 14 Mar 1835; Admitted to West Point
Julia Clark, b. 10 Jul 1840, District of Columbia.

Military Career

Thomas Sidney Jesup, Major General U.S.A.1788-1860

Thomas Sidney Jesup was a United States Army officer who was known as the Father of the Modern Quartermaster Corps.^[11] His 52-year (1808-1860) military career was one of the longest in the history of the United States Army.

General Jesup began his military career in 1808 at the age of 19, as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army 7th Infantry. The young officer had abundant opportunities for distinguishing himself, of which he was always ready to take advantage. He was commissioned first lieutenant in December, 1809.^[12]

U.S. Army Quartermaster Insignia

Dates of Rank

The dates of promotion for the general are from the U.S. Army Historical Records and Wikipedia.^[13]^[14]

2nd Lieutenant, 7th Infantry, Ohio - 3 May 1808
1st Lieutenant, 7th Infantry - 1 December 1809
Captain, 7th Infantry - 20 January 1813
Major, 19th Infantry - 6 April 1813
Major, 25th Infantry - 18 April 1814
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel - 5 July 1814
Brevet Colonel - 25 July 1814
Major, 1st Infantry - 17 May 1815
Lieutenant Colonel, 3rd Infantry - 30 April 1817
Colonel, Assistant Adjutant General - 27 March 1818
Brigadier General, Quartermaster General - 8 May 1818
Brevet Major General - 8 May 1828

War of 1812

Seige of Detroit

Under the command of Brigadier General Hull, Thomas was taken prisoner, along with 2, 493 comrades (Three Ohio militia regiments)^[15], as General Hull surrendered to the British and their allied Indian forces, led by the Shawnee Chief, Tecumseh .^[16]^[17]

The Siege of the Fort at Detroit by Frederic Remington

"Major Jesup asked for one hundred and fifty men to go over and spike the enemy's guns opposite Detroit. General Hull said he could not spare so many. 'Give me a hundred, then', said the brave Jesup. 'Only one hundred,' said Captain Snelling imploringly. 'I will think of it,' was Hull's reply."

The request was not granted, and these gallant officers were soon after astonished at the surrender of the post without an effort at defense.

Later, in 1814 General William Hull was court-martialed for cowardice and neglect of duty in surrendering the fort, and sentenced to die. However, because of his service in the Revolutionary War, General Hull's sentence was remitted by President James Madison. During this time, Thomas Jesup was 24 years of age, he was a Major in the 19th Infantry.^[18]

The Battle of Chippewa

Early in 1814, Major Jesup was transferred to the Twenty-fifth, a regiment raised largely through his own exertions. The Battle of Chippewa (Canada, three miles above Niagara Falls) occurred on the 5th of July, 1814, between the Americans under Major-Gerneral Jacob Brown and a superior British force under Major-General Riall, in which the Americans were victorious. Major Jesup commanded the 25th, and afterwards brevetted a Light Colonel for his "distinguished and meritorious service" on this occassion. "General Winfield Scott noted in his report that Major Jesup had two horses shot under him..."He deserves, in my humble opinion, everything which conspicuous skill and gallantry can win from a grateful country.

Battle of Niagara (Lundy's Lane)

On the 25th of July, 1814, the still more hotly contested battle of Niagara (Lundy's Lane) took place. Between four and five o'clock in the afternoon General Brown ordered General Scott with his brigade, including the 25th commanded by Major Jesup, to march rapidly and disperse what he then thought a small body of the British in front of him, but what proved to be the main body of the enemy, which had been re-enforced since the recent battle of Chippewa. An engagement was thus unexpectedly begun in the coming darkness, with gallantry on both sides, however resulting in the defeat of the British, who numbered over 7,000, and the Americans with less than 3,000.

Gallant Conduct and Distinguished Skill.

Both sides incurred heavy losses and Major Jesup was severly wounded in the hand and the shoulder, and also through the neck, and also struck in the chest by a spent ball. The hilt of his sword was broken by a ball, and driven through his right hand. Just as General Scott urged him to leave the field, and was about to give him a positive order to leave, the general was himself wounded and Major Jesep sent him to the rear! (narrated by a comrade, Major Jesup was brevetted colonel "for gallant conduct and distinguished skill" in this battle.^[19]

President James Monroe appointed Jesup Quartermaster General on May 8, 1818.

Second Seminole War

Commander 2nd Seminole War-1836

When Thomas was still Quartermaster General, Andrew Jackson assigned him to command all U. S. troops in the state of Florida during the Second Seminole War.^[20]

By 1836, while he was still Quartermaster General, General President Andrew Jackson detached him to deal with the Creek Indian tribe in both Georgia and Alabama. Supsequently, he assumed command of all the U.S. Troops during the 2nd Seminole War, from 1835-1842. Jesup brought a new approach to the war. He concentrated on wearing the Seminoles down rather than sending out large groups who were more easily ambushed. He needed a large military presence in the state to control it, and he eventually brought a force of more than 9,000 men into the state under his command.

Osceola seized by orders of General Jesup.

About half of the force were volunteers and militia. It also included a brigade of marines, and Navy and Revenue-Marine personnel patrolling the coast and inland rivers and streams.^[21]^[22]In this campaign, Jesup was again severely wounded, but despite this he insisted on continuing his command of the Army.

As a result of his Florida service, General Jesup's name was mentioned as a candidate for president.^[23]

After capturing the leader of the Seminoles, he returned to his official post as Quartermaster General, in 1839.

Mexican-American War

During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Thomas Sidney Jesup^[24] had charge of supply activities during the Mexican-American War.^[25]

Legacy and Honors

Quartermaster Hall of Fame

In1986, General Jesup was inducted into the Quartermaster Hall of Fame.^[26]

Eponyms

Jesup, Georgia^[27]

Fort Jesup, Louisiana^[28]
Lake Jesup, Florida^[29]

Battery Jesup at the , Fort Fremont

Battery Jesup, Fort Fremont, South Carolina^[30]. A Spanish American War fort.^[31]Battery Jesup (1899-1918) - Battery Jesup was a reinforced concrete, Endicott Period 10 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Fremont, South Carolina. The battery was named in G.O. 78, 25 May 1903, after Brigadier General and Bvt. Major General Thomas S. Jesup, U.S. Army, who served with distinction in the War of 1812 and the Florida war, and died 10 Jun 1860, at Washington D.C. The Battery was transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 2 Sep 1899 at a cost of $ 124,293.85. Deactivated in 1918.

End of Life

General Thomas Sidney Jesup died while in office in Washington D.C., on June 10, 1860^[32], at 71 years of age.^[33]

He was inducted into the Quartermaster Hall of Fame in 1986, the charter year. He has been described by one of his successors in that post as one of the "most colorful and remarkable" characters that ever occupied the position of Quartermaster General. He was Quartermaster General for 42 consecutive years, the longest continual service in the same position in the U.S. military history.^[34]

The General's advice was eagerly sought on all questions, and he numbered among his intimate friends almost all the prominent statesmen of the half-century preceding the Civil War.<

Major General Quartermaster General Thomas Sidney Jesup is buried at the Oak Hill Cemetery in the District of Columbia, Washington.^[35] The general survived his wife by 15 years.

Commander 2nd Seminole War-1836