John White Geary

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA, SAMUEL P. BATES.                PHILADELPHIA: T. H. DAVIS & CO., 1876.

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                              Part II.  BIOGRAPHY.

                                   CHAPTER VII.

JOHN WHITE GEARY, Colonel of the Twenty-eighth regiment, Brigadier and Major-General of volunteers, and Governor of Pennsylvania, was born on the 30th of December, 1819, near the little village of Mount Pleasant, in Westmoreland county, at the head of the Ohio valley, a region pronounced by the Duke of Carlisle to be the most picturesque and beautiful which the wide world affords.  His father, Richard Geary, was a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and was a man of culture, and of singular uprightness and integrity of character.  His mother, Margaret White, was a native of Washington county, Maryland, of an 

old slaveholding family, and, like her husband, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry.  Soon after their marriage the parents removed to Westmoreland county, where the father engaged in the manufacture of iron, which owing to the depression in the market for that commodity, proved a losing venture, and he was obliged to abandon it, absorbing not only the capital he had invested but entailing debts which he was unable to liquidate.  In this situation, doubly harassing from his 

delicate sense of honor, he resorted to teaching, for which he was well 

qualified; but soon sank to his grave, his declining hours embittered and doubtless hastened by the sense of his indebtedness.

  Many of the most gifted and successful of the public men of America have had an humble origin.  Geary was no exception to this rule.  A log cabin sheltered him in boyhood.  There were four children, all boys.  The first and third died young.  The second, the Rev. Edward R., has for nearly twenty years prosecuted a faithful and consistent ministry in Oregon.  The youngest, John W., after the usual preliminary course, entered Jefferson

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College; but owing to the death of his father he was obliged to leave before graduating.  His mother had inherited a number of slaves, but, impelled by that strict sense of probity and justice which ever characterized her, she not only manumitted them but before doing so gave them all the rudiments of an education.  That he might provide for that mother's immediate wants and make her comfortable, he taught school for a time, and by frugality was not only able to accomplish this filial duty but to complete his education.  A short experience 

in a wholesale business house in Pittsburg convinced him that he was not born for a tradesman, and he prosecuted the study of civil engineering, for which he had early developed a fondness.  He subsequently read law, and was admitted to practice.  But, an opportunity opening for employment as an engineer in Kentucky, he went thither, and was engaged in the survey of several lines of public works, acting as the joint agent of the State and the Green River 

Railroad Company.  With the income from this service, and the fortunate sale of a small land venture, he was enabled to return to his mother with sufficient means to discharge all his father's debts, which he did. 

  He soon after became assistant superintendent and engineer of the Allegheny and Portage Railroad in his own State, an important and responsible position; but he had not been long thus engaged before the Mexican war opened, and he at once abandoned a lucrative place, and recruited a company in Cambria county which was called the American Highlanders.  It was incorporated in the Second Pennsylvania regiment, Colonel Roberts, of which Geary was chosen Lieutenant-Colonel.  It joined General Scott's army at Vera Cruz and became a part of Quitman's division.  His first action was at the Pass of La Hoya, and in the 

storming of Chapultepec he received a wound.  Upon entering the valley of Mexico, Colonel Roberts was disabled by sickness, and the active command devolved upon Geary.  In the sharp action at Garita de Belen, he displayed such intrepidity that, upon the fall of the city, General Quitman assigned him to the command of the great citadel.  Colonel Roberts died soon afterwards, and Geary was promoted to succeed him.

  The executive ability displayed in his Mexican service attracted

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the attention of President Polk, who appointed him Postmaster of San Francisco, and general mail agent with authority to establish offices, routes, and appoint postmasters - being in effect a deputy Postmaster-General on the Pacific coast.  It was a position of great labor; but his ability to systematize soon enabled him to bring order out of chaos, and to inaugurate a well-regulated plan.  A new administration soon succeeded with altered politics, and with it a change of postmasters, and Geary was superseded by Jacob B. Moore.  But he was not long suffered to remain in retirement.  The citizens of San Francisco elected him First Alcalde, and shortly after he was made Judge of First Instance by the Military Governor of the Territory, General Riley.  These were Mexican offices, and involved nearly all the civil and criminal business of the city.  He was almost unanimously re-elected Alcalde, and when, in the following year, the Mexican forms gave place to American, he was chosen the first Mayor of the city.  

A turbulent population was now rushing to the new El Dorado, and his task in maintaining order was difficult.  In the meantime the question of a State Constitution was presenting itself for decision, and though not a member of the convention which framed that instrument, his voice is known to have been potential in devising and carrying through in the face of the fire-eaters of the South the clause which excluded slavery, and made it a free State.

  He had married, in 1843, Miss Margaret Ann, daughter of James R. Logan, of Westmoreland county.  Her failing health decided him to return to the Atlantic States in hope of her restoration.  Her death, soon after his arrival, caused him to abandon the purpose which he strongly cherished of going back to the Pacific coast and making it his permanent home.  He accordingly devoted himself to improved stock-raising and farming, in his native county.  Three years had scarcely elapsed, and his farming was just beginning to take the form which he 

had prefigured, when he was called to Washington by President Pierce, and asked to take the governorship of Utah.  This he declined, feeling that there was no field here for the development of executive ability.  But when, a short time afterwards, he was urged by the Chief Magistrate to take the helm on the troubled waters of Kansas, 

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he recognized the opportunity for great usefulness, and promptly accepted it.  The outlook before him was anything but promising.  Governor Reeder had failed to carry out the views of the administration, and had been superseded by Shannon, who in turn was leaving with no better success than his predecessor.  Governor Geary was a known Democrat when he left Pennsylvania.  He therefore entered the Territory with no very strong sympathies for the abolitionists, nor 

on the other hand had he any sentiments in common with the border ruffians.  He accordingly determined to pursue an upright and impartial course, let who would go down before it.  In his first communication to Secretary Marcy he says:  "The existing difficulties are of a far more complicated character than I had anticipated."  But he was one of the most hopeful and resolute of men, and the greater the difficulty the more was he aroused to meet it.  After giving a graphic picture of the condition of the Territory, where murder, arson, and crime were running riot, he concludes by saying:  "Such is the condition of Kansas, aintly pictured.  It can be no worse.  Yet I feel assured that I shall be able ere long to restore it to peace and quiet."  His previous political 

teachings and experience caused him to enter upon his duties with prejudices against the more violent of the abolitionists.  Yet when he came face to face with the two parties, and understood the real designs and purposes of each - that one was bent on settlement, and the other on breaking up such settlement - he determined to allow no preconceived opinions to have weight, and he declared, in his first address to the people, "I have deliberately accepted the executive office, and as God may give me strength and ability, I will endeavor faithfully to discharge its varied requirements. . . .  In my official action here, I will do justice at all hazards.  Influenced by no other considerations than the welfare of the whole people of this Territory, I desire to know no party nor section, no North, no South, no East, no West - nothing but Kansas and my country."  But this was not what the pro-slavery party wanted of a Governor, nor, as it subsequently appeared, what the administration at Washington designed.  To break up free-soil emigration and settlement and make it a slave State was the only purpose.  When, therefore, the Governor strove to stop

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outrage and violence, and give every bona fide settler a fair chance, he incurred the mortal hatred of the fire-eaters, was thwarted by nearly every local officer and Federal appointee, was threatened with assassination, and was left alone to battle with the wrathful elements.  "He no longer," says his biographer, "doubted his true position.  He was alone in the Territory.  He was not only not supported by a single officer sent there by the General Government, but every one of them was exerting his influence and power to oppose his efforts to do justice and secure the peace he had effected."  In one of his addresses to 

an excited crowd at Topeka which seemed bent on doing him personal violence, the Governor said:  "Gentlemen, I come not to treat with, but to govern you.  There is now no other Governor in the Territory than myself.  I will protect the lives and property of every peace-loving and law-abiding citizen with all the power I possess.  I will punish every lawbreaker, whatever may be his position or pretensions.  I will not for a moment tolerate any questioning of my authority.  

All who are in favor of restoring peace to this distracted Territory can range themselves under my banner; all others I will treat as bandits and robbers, and as such extirpate them at the point of the bayonet.  Don't talk to me about slavery or freedom, free-state men or pro-slavery men, until we have restored the benign influences of peace to the country; until we have punished the murderer, and driven out the bandit and rabble, and returned the industrious citizens to their homes and claims.  Do not, I pray you, attempt to embarrass me with your political disputations.  You shall all, without distinction of party, 

be alike protected.  This is no time to talk about party, when men, women and children are hourly being murdered at their own firesides or whilst sleeping in their beds or are being driven by merciless bands of marauders from their homes without money, food, or clothing.  In God's name, rise for a moment above party, and contemplate yourselves as men and patriots.  I am your friend - your fellow-citizen - moved by no other impulse than the welfare of the inhabitants of this Territory, and the protection of their honor, their lives and property.  When 

peace is fairly restored, I will see that every man of you is secured in his political rights. 

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  Although himself a Democrat of the strictest sect, and the appointee of a pro-slavery administration, there was a sentiment ever uppermost in the heart of John W. Geary that would never allow him to stand unconcernedly by and see right and justice trampled in the dust, and iniquity prevail, however much his party might seem to be strengthened thereby.  As a consequence, bloodshed, arson, and turbulence of every description were checked under his rule, and the tide of bona fide population set strongly and rapidly towards the new Territory.  The 

pro-slavery men saw their darling projects withering in his hand, and set themselves vigorously to work to have him recalled.  But in the meantime the administration of Pierce was at an end, and, moved by a desire to relieve the successor from any embarrassment on his account, he promptly placed his resignation in the hands of Mr. Buchanan on the day of his inauguration, and soon after issued his farewell address, in which he referred with honest pride to the pacification which had resulted from his rule, and the consequent prosperity and growth of the Territory, commending the interests of the infant State and the nation to the instincts of patriotism, and declared:  "All true patriots, whether from the North or South, the East or West, should unite together for that which is and must be regarded as a common cause, the 

preservation of the Union; and he who shall whisper a desire for its 

dissolution, no matter what may be his pretensions, or to what faction or party he claims to belong, is unworthy of your confidence, deserves your strongest reprobation, and should be branded as a traitor to his country."

  On retiring from Kansas he resumed his agricultural operations, which had suffered in his absence.  Four years of turmoil soon passed, in which the elements of discord which he found in Kansas, and which he strove to settle, were kept in constant agitation.  On the morning after the attack upon Sumter, governor Geary, unconscious of what had transpired, drove his farm-wagon to the neighboring village, where he learned that the flag of his country had been insulted and pulled down in Charleston harbor.  His resolution was immediately taken, and in less than one hour from that time he had an office open for recruits, and promptly tendered his services to the Government.  He was

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given authority to raise a regiment, and so great was the desire to serve with him that sixty-six companies sent applications to be taken into his command.  In consequence of this he was permitted to have fifteen companies and a battery of six guns.  As soon as officered and equipped, his command was assigned to the army of General Banks, and was posted at Harper's Ferry, where he had a front of twenty-one miles upon the river to guard.  On the 16th of October, while a portion of his force was out gathering wheat from the enemy, he was attacked by 

a large body under Ashby and Evans with seven guns; but he succeeded in 

repulsing them and capturing one of their pieces, though sustaining some loss and himself being wounded.  In the spring he was given the advance in the movement up the Valley, captured Leesburg, and uncovered, in succession, all the important passes through the Blue Ridge.  Soon after this he was appointed Brigadier-General of volunteers, and assigned to the command of a brigade in the Second corps.  In the hotly contested battle of Cedar Mountain, where Stonewall Jackson fought with his usual impetuosity and skill, General Geary, leading his brigade with remarkable courage and daring, was wounded, first in the foot and afterwards severely in the arm, to save which from amputation he was obliged to give himself unreservedly to surgical treatment.

  Upon the formation of the Twelfth corps, after the Maryland campaign, General Geary was assigned to the command of its Second or White Star division.  This corps accompanied Hooker in his advance upon Chancellorsville, and was on the centre of the original line of battle.  When disaster befell the right, and Hooker was obliged to fall back to a more defensible position, Geary was left upon the front to check the foe until the movement could be executed, and in finally withdrawing was fearfully exposed and suffered severely.  He was himself struck over the heart with the fragment of a shell, and his division lost over 

one thousand men in killed, wounded, and missing.  During the first day at Gettysburg the First and Eleventh corps and a division of cavalry were alone engaged.  Just at the close of the day, when, broken and decimated, the remnants of those heroic corps were retreating through the village of Gettysburg, the fainting and 

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dispirited soldiers descried far down the Baltimore pike a cloud of dust.  Higher and higher it rose, and finally was revealed to their eager gaze the dim outline of the stars and stripes.  It was the head of Geary's division advancing to the rescue, and soon his solid columns were deploying upon the field, bringing hope to their depressed and despondent minds.  Its arrival was known to the enemy, who was deterred from attacking, since that gallant division was ready to be thrown upon any part where he might choose to assault.  As the left of the line, in the direction of Little Round Top, was open and most liable to be turned, Geary was sent thither.  On the following morning he was recalled and put upon Culp's Hill, which he fortified.  Towards evening he was ordered over to the left with two of his brigades; but before he reached the point intended he returned to Culp's Hill.  In his absence the enemy had attacked and nearly over-borne the brigade which he had left, and completely overrun his own works.  To regain them the struggle was desperate, commencing at dawn and lasting till 

past ten o'clock.  Assault after assault of the enemy was repulsed, and the ground was piled with the slain and wounded.  Finally, seeing his antagonist weakened and beginning to waver, Geary charged and swept all before him, retaking his lost breastworks and inflicting fearful slaughter.  This ended the last real advantage obtained by the enemy on this field, and was an important agency in finally gaining the victory.

  But perhaps the two most notable military exploits of General Geary's life, though by no means the ones in which his manhood was most severely tested, were those of Wauhatchie, and Lookout Mountain or the BATTLE ABOVE THE CLOUDS.  Soon after the Gettysburg campaign closed, General Hooker, with the Eleventh and Twelfth corps, was sent to Chattanooga to the relief of Rosecrans, who was shut up in that out-of-the-way place, and in imminent peril of capture from the combined forces of Bragg and Longstreet, the latter, detached from Lee's army in 

Virginia, having reached this place in advance of Hooker.  The Union forces were pushing forward to open the way to the starving army of Rosecrans, the main avenues to which were in possession of the enemy.  On the 27th of October, Geary, with a portion of 

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his division, had reached a point opposite Lookout Mountain, where the Kelly's Ferry road intersects the railroad near the banks of Lookout Creek.  His force numbered but 1463, and no Union troops were within several miles.  It was an important position, as it commanded the roads necessary to be kept open for the passage of supplies, a result which the enemy was eager to defeat.  It lies immediately beneath the shadow of Lookout Mountain, upon whose serene summit a number of rebel generals, among whom were Longstreet, Breckenridge and Hood, were watching the toilsome progress of the Union troops.  Seeing this little 

force of Geary encamping with no supports they determined to surprise it by a night attack, and crush it utterly.  Geary was not aware when he formed his camp that any hostile forces were near him.  But it was a marked characteristic of him to be ever watchful, and fortunately he was that night especially vigilant.  He sent Colonel Rickards, with the Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania, to picket all the roads, with injunctions to throw the guards well out, and in double strength.  Colonel Rickards was a shrewd officer, and, when his men were posted, went to the house of a magistrate near by, under pretence of having some bread baked, 

and in response to a question apparently casually put to one of the women of the household he learned that the enemy had that very day been upon the ground.  This was startling intelligence.  Could it be that the foe in force was upon his track and no part of the Union army in supporting distance?  The magistrate was brought to General Geary's tent and quickly made to disclose the whole truth - that the enemy in heavy battalions, at least four times his own, was at that moment lying at the head of the bridge leading across the creek, not a mile and 

a quarter away, ready to advance and give battle.  The situation was critical; but General Geary was determined, if attacked, to sell his command dearly, and accordingly made every disposition.

  At a little past midnight, as he had anticipated, the attack came; and now was seen the advantage of strong picket lines well out; for they made a good fight, falling back slowly, and contesting every inch stubbornly, so that, by the time they had reached the main body, it was in readiness to receive the oncoming foe.  Charge after charge was made and the incessant

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flashes of the guns lighted up the whole heavens.  But firmly this handful of men held their ground, and dealt fearful destruction.  Thirty-five out of forty-eight artillery horses in Knap's battery were killed.  General Geary's son, Edward R., a gallant young officer, was instantly cut off while sighting his gun.  Until four o'clock the struggle was maintained.  The sixty rounds of ammunition were xhausted, and the dead and wounded were searched for a supply.  The Union guns were ably handled and produced terrible effect.  Finally, one of the pieces was dragged to a position where it enfiladed a rebel force which had taken shelter behind a railroad embankment, the fire from which caused his line to waver.  Taking advantage of this sign of weakness, Geary ordered a charge, which drove everything before it.  At this moment a pack of frightened mules broke away, and with their traces dangling at their sides rushed in a body in the same direction, producing the impression that the Union Cavalry was charging, and causing a stampede - the confident midnight assault of the enemy 

ending in inglorious rout.  One hundred and fifty-seven of the enemy's dead were left on the field, and one hundred and thirty-five severely wounded.  When Generals Grant and Hooker arrived, and witnessed the evidences of the intensity of that struggle, they expressed their surprise and gratification that so small a body of men had made so gallant a fight.  General Slocum wrote:  "I wish you and your command to know that I feel deeply grateful for their gallant conduct, and for the new laurels they have brought to our corps."  Badeau in his life of 

Grant says:  "Mr. Jefferson Davis had visited Lookout Mountain only a week before, and feasted his eyes with the sight of the National army shut up among the hills, like an animal ready for slaughter; and now, at a single stroke, the prey had been snatched from his grasp.  The door for relief was opened, and, from a besieged and isolated army, the force in Chattanooga had suddenly become the assailant. . . . The army felt as if it had been miraculously relieved.  Its spirit revived at once, the depression of Chickamauga was shaken off, and the unshackled giant stood erect."  "For almost three hours," says General Hooker in 

his official report of this battle, "without assistance he [Geary] repelled the repeated attacks of vastly superior numbers, 

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and in the end drove them ingloriously from the field.  At one time they had enveloped him on three sides, under circumstances that would have dismayed any officer except one endowed with an iron will, and the most exalted courage.  Such is the character of General Geary."  No words could more veritably portray his character, and the victory achieved

     "In the dead waste and middle of the night,"

against numbers many fold his own acting upon a preconcerted and well-matured plan, was gained by that iron will and most exalted courage.

  Scarcely a month had elapsed before he divulged to General Hooker an ingenious plan for sweeping the enemy from the seemingly impregnable heights of Lookout Mountain.  At a distance of half or two-thirds up the side of this bold chain rises a perpendicular, and in some parts overhanging, face of rock which reaches to a great height.  His device was to cause a close column to hug this palisade - where it would be sheltered from the fire of the troops above - which should turn the flank of any body of soldiers that might be encountered on the lower 

slope of the mountain, like the point of a ploughshare, and follow this up closely by a heavy force three lines deep and well supported, which like the moulding-board of the plough should overwhelm and scatter every opposing force. His plan was adopted and he was given a strong column.  A dense fog on the morning of the 24th of November served to screen his preliminary movements, and before the enemy were aware of it that resistless ploughshare was running along under the shadow of the towering rock.  Stubborn resistance was made; but taken unawares and in the reverse direction from that in which they were fortified to fight, they were swept along by this novel and swiftly moving force.  Still, 

taking advantage of the little ravines by which the face of the Mountain is seamed, and the loose rocks everywhere covering the ground, desperate fighting at every turn was kept up.  But nothing could stay the onward progress of Geary.  Mists hung low on the breast of the mountain, and the combatants were shut out from the view of the distant observer; yet the progress of the fight could be discerned by the flashes of  

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the musketry.  Grant, and Thomas, and Sherman, and Hooker, with their troops a hundred thousand strong, from their several positions were watching with the deepest solicitude the progress of the contest.  As Geary fought his way on he gradually wound upwards, and finally, having swept all before him, emerged into the bright sunlight far above the black clouds that still hung on the breast of the mountain, and planted the White Star flag upon the lofty summit.  As the Union army beheld that beautiful emblem floating upon the serene air, and knew that the victory was won, peals of rejoicing rung out from every valley and hillside, and the distant mountains repeated the glad shout.  It was the noted BATTLE ABOVE THE CLOUDS, which the imagination has allied to the fiery contests of angels upon heaven's battlements, as pictured by the prolific fancy of Milton.

  The battle of Missionary Ridge followed on the next day, when Sherman stood upon the left, Thomas upon the centre, and Hooker upon the right.  Geary was sent to turn the extreme right of the rebel column, and gaining the rear of that flank dashed on in triumphal course.  His progress here, as described by himself, was the most exciting and inspiring of any in the whole course of his military life.

  Early in the spring of 1864, Sherman commenced his campaign on Atlanta, where, for a hundred days, was one almost continuous battle, in which General Geary never for one moment left his post.  At Peachtree Creek, where the enemy, under Hood - the new rebel Commander-in-chief - attacked with unwonted power, he stood unmoved, and finally beat back the foe, gaining a complete triumph.  In the March to the Sea he led his division with unbroken success, and when arrived at Savannah, and that stronghold had fallen with its outlying forts, he was selected to be Military Governor of the city.  With the march northward through the Carolinas, and the surrender of Johnson, the war virtually ended, and the armies were disbanded.  General Geary now returned to private life, and, in 1866, was nominated and elected Governor of Pennsylvania for a term of three years.  At its close he was re-elected for a second term.  In his administration of civil affairs he showed himself, if possible, more gifted than in the field.  

His messages abound in recommendations for 

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correcting abuses in legislating and in administering affairs.  To this end the veto power was freely used, and a most careful and scrutinizing personal supervision was given to the entire working of the Government.  During the six years of his administration the State debt was diminished by the sum of $10,992,662.54.  In January, 1873, his gubernatorial labors closed.  Without allowing himself any time for relaxation, he at once entered upon extensive business projects, which he was preparing to carry forward with his usual unrelenting hand; but on the morning of Saturday, the 8th of February, while seated at the breakfast table in the midst of his family, his head dropped upon his breast, and without a struggle he expired.  An examination disclosed no 

apparent signs of disease.  But a microscopical inspection by an expert proved that death was caused by fatty degeneration of the heart and kidneys.  His brain weighed fifty-six and a half ounces, one of the largest on record.  The suddenness of his death, coupled with his having so recently laid aside the gubernatorial dignity, created a marked sensation at the capital and throughout the State.  A public funeral was accorded.  The Governor and heads of departments, members of both houses of the Legislature, military and civic societies, united in paying the last sad rites, which were rendered unusually solemn and impressive.

 By his first marriage he had three sons, one of whom died in infancy, another was killed at Wauhatchie, and a third was a recent graduate at West Point.  Mrs. Geary died in 1853.  In 1858, he was married to Mrs. Mary C. Henderson, daughter of Robert R. Church, of Cumberland county.  The issue of this marriage was three daughters and one son.

  In person Governor Geary was six feet four inches in height, and well 

proportioned.  In manners he was courteous, and at the same time affable and cordial.  He was endowed with a deep sense of religious obligation, and was hence preserved from those vices which have dragged down many of the most exalted intellects.  He had much of the iron in his nature, and consequently was exacting and imperious, not only towards others but also towards himself.  He was careful of the public welfare.  Few men have been more successful.  Though cut off in middle life, he had been much in the public eye, and had filled numerous stations of great responsibility - a soldier in two wars, and practically Governor in three States.  What to most men would have been regarded a short life to him was long and full; for 

      "We live in deeds, not years; in thought, not breath;

       In feelings, not in figures on the dial.

       We should count time by heart-throbs when they beat

       For God, for man, for duty.  He most lives

       Who thinks most, feels noblest, acts the best;

       And he but dead who lives the coward life."

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John White Geary

GEARY, John White, soldier, born near Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 30 December 1819" died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 8 February, 1873. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent. The son entered Jefferson College, but, on account of his father's loss of property and sudden death, was compelled to leave and contribute toward the support of the family. After teaching he became a clerk in a commercial house in Pittsburg, and afterward studied mathematics, civil engineering, and law. He was admitted to the bar, but never practiced his profession. After some employment as civil engineer in Kentucky, he was appointed assistant superintendent and engineer of the Allegheny Portage railroad. When war was declared with Mexico, in 1846, he became lieutenant colonel of the 2d regiment of Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, and commanded his regiment at Chapultepec, where he was wounded, but resumed his command the same day at the attack on the Belen gate. For this service he was made first commander of the City of Mexico, and colonel of his regiment. He was appointed in 1849 to be first postmaster of San Francisco, with authority to establish the postal service throughout California. He was the first American alcalde of San Francisco, and a "judge of the first instance." These offices were of Mexican origin, the "alcalde" combining the authority of sheriff and probate judge with that of mayor, and the judge of the first instance presiding over a court with civil and criminal as well as admiralty jurisdiction. Colonel Geary served until the new constitution abolished these offices. In 1850 he became the first mayor of San Francisco. He took a leading part in the formation of the new constitution of California, and was chairman of the territorial Democratic committee. In 1852 he retired to his farm in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and remained in private life until 1856, when he was appointed territorial governor of Kansas, which office he held one year. He then returned to Pennsylvania, and at the beginning of the civil war raised the 28th Pennsylvania volunteers. He commanded in several engagements, and won distinction at Bolivar Heights, where he was wounded, he occupied Leesburg, Virginia, in March, 1862, and routed General Hill. On 25 April, 1862, he received the commission of brigadier-general of United States volunteers. He was severely wounded in the arm at Cedar Mountain, 9 August, 1862, and in consequence could not take part in the battle of Antietam. At the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg he led the 2d division of the 12th corps. The corps to which General Geary's regiment was attached joined the Army of the Cumberland, under General Hooker's command, to aid in repairing the disaster at Chickamauga, and he took part in the battles Of Wauhatchie and Lookout Mountain, in both of which he was distinguished. He commanded the 2d division of the 20th corps in Sherman's march to the sea, and was the first to enter Savannah after its evacuation, 22 December 1864. In consideration of his services at Fort Jackson he was appointed military governor of Savannah, and in 1865 he was promoted to be major general by brevet. He was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 1866, and held this office until two weeks before his death. During his administration the debt of the commonwealth was reduced, an effort to take several millions from the sinking fund of the state bonds was prevented, a disturbance at, Williams-port quelled, and a bureau of labor statistics established by the legislature, 12 April, 1872. Governor Geary possessed great powers of application and perception, force of will, and soundness of judgment, and was popular among his troops. The general assembly has erected a monument at, his grave in Harrisburg. See " Governor Geary's Administration in Kansas," by John Soule (Philadelphia, 1857).--His eldest son, Edward Ratchford, born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 14 September, 1845; killed in the battle of Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain, 28 October, 1863, left the sophomore class in Jefferson College in 1861 to enlist as a private in the 28th Pennsylvania regiment, He became captain of Hampton battery, and subsequently a lieutenant in Knapp's battery, which post he held at the time of his death. He was engaged at Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.

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John White Geary (1819-1873)
Last Alcalde and First Mayor of San Francisco

John Geary was born December 20, 1819 in a log house near Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and served in the Mexican War with the 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment.

After the Mexican War, President Polk appointed him Postmaster of San Francisco, with powers to create post offices, appoint postmasters, establish mail routes, and make contracts for carrying the mails throughout California.

He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention at Monterey, and was elected San Francisco’s last American alcalde in August 1849, and became the city’s first mayor May 1, 1850. He served one year, then returned to Pennsylvania in 1852. As a parting gift, he gave the city the land that later became Union Square. He was governor of the Territory of Kansas in 1856, and resigned after numerous confrontations with pro-slavery forces.

He then served as a general in the Civil War and troops under his command were instrumental in repulsing the Confederates at Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg.

After the Civil War, he was elected governor of Pennsylvania and served two terms, from 1867 until his death in 1873.

He died February 8, 1873, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, just three weeks after leaving office. He was 53 years old.

A battlefield statue of Mayor Geary, as a general in the Union Army, was erected in 1915 at Gettysburg. The State of Pennsylvania erected the monument, but it was never dedicated. The reason is not known.

Geary Street in San Francisco is named for John White Geary.

GEARY AND KANSAS.

____________________

GOVERNOR GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION

IN

K A N S A S:

with a complete

HISTORY OF THE TERRITORY

U N T I L   J U L Y  1857:

EMBRACING A FULL ACCOUNT OF

ITS DISCOVERY, GEOGRAPHY, SOIL, RIVERS, CLIMATE, PRODUCTS; ITS

ORGANIZATION AS A TERRITORY, TRANSACTIONS AND EVENTS

UNDER GOVERNORS REEDER AND SHANNON, POLITICAL

DISSENSIONS, PERSONAL RENCOUNTRES, ELECTION

FRAUDS, BATTLES AND OUTRAGES.

ALL FULLY AUTHENTICATED.

BY

JOHN H. GIHON, M.D.,

PRIVATE SECRETARY OF GOVERNOR GEARY.

PHILADELPHIA:

C H A S. C. R H O D E S.

1857.

____________________

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by

C. C. RHODES.

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for

the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

http://www.kancoll.org/books/gihon/g_intro.htm

John White Geary was born in Mt. Pleasant in 1819.After leaving Jefferson College, he received an appointment on the Portage railroad. He was later a Lieutenant Colonel with the Second Pennsylvania Regiment during the Mexican War. When Mexico City was entered by American troops, General Quitman appointed him commander of the Citadel. President Polk named him postmaster of San Francisco in 1849. He later served as first alcade and then first mayor of San Francisco. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1852. President Pierce appointed him Governor of Kansas in 1856 and he served until 1857 when he again returned to Pennsylvania. When the Civil War broke out, he raised the Twenty-eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He commanded the upper Potomac District during the fall of 1861. The following winter, his regiment guarded all the fords of the Potomac from Harper's Ferry to Point of Rocks. His regiment led the advance of Banks' army crossing the Potomac at Harper's Ferry and had command of the movement along the Loudon Valley. By this time he had become a Brigadier General and later fought in the battle of Gettysburg. After the war ended, he entered politics, becoming Governor of Pennsylvania in 1866. He was re-elected in 1869 and a few days after completing his second term, he died in suddenly. It was 1873 and he was 54.

http://www.mtpleasantpa.com/gearyt.html

Born in Mount Pleasant, Pa., December 30, 1819, Geary was a man equally at home in politics and the military. He was a student at Jefferson College in Canons-burg, Pa., when the death of his father forced him to begin adult life early. Geary tested a number of professions before settling on law. Enlisting in the volunteer army for the Mexican War, he won praise as colonel of the 2d Pennsylvania Infantry, then organized postal service in California, served for a time as mayor of San Francisco, and was territorial governor of Kansas until his strong antislavery views forced his resignation.
        When the Civil War began, Geary immediately issued a call in his home state for troops; so well respected was he that 68 companies responded to his proclamation. Geary selected 15 and organized the oversized 28th Pennsylvania Infantry. Service with Brig. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks along the upper Potomac River brought him a brigadiers commission 25 Apr. 1862. At the Battle of Cedar Mountain in August of that year, Geary was wounded in the foot and shoulder. Yet this tall, full-bearded officer with sharp eyes and an equally sharp tongue soon returned to duty and assumed command of a division in the XII Corps. He displayed resoluteness at Chancellorsville, steadfastness at Gettysburg, extraordinary valor at Lookout Mountain, and administrative skills in Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Geary received brevet promotion to major general while military governor of Savannah.
        In 1866 he was elected to the first of 2 Consecutive terms as Republican governor of Pennsylvania. On 8 Feb. 1873, less than 3 weeks after leaving the governors post, Geary was fatally stricken while preparing breakfast for his infant son. He was buried with state honors in Mount Kalma Cemetery, Harrisburg, Pa.
Source: "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" Edited by Patricia L. Faust

Photos:

http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ngg/geary.htm

Geary County (originally Davis County) was named after John White Geary in 1889.

Geary Hall is a residence hall at Pennsylvania State University.

Geary State Park, Kansas

Geary Street and Boulevard, SanFrancisco

John W. Geary School - San Francisco

http://www.gdg.org/jgeary.html

http://www.falmr.org/geary.htm

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/governors/geary.asp?secid=31

http://www.angelfire.com/va3/valleywar/people/geary.html

John White Geary
1819 - 1873

Pre-War Profession:

John Geary was a student at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pa., when the death of his father forced him to begin adult life early. He triedseveral professions before settling on law: He was also an engineer and assistant superintendent on the Alleghany Portage Railroad.

Upon the break out of the Mexican War, John Geary volunteered his services as a soldier, and was named Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Pennsylvania Regiment. On September 2, 1846, he led the regiment against Chapultepac Castle, and his regiment was the first to arrive inside the walls of Mexico City. In recognition, General Quitman appointed him commander of the Citadel during the occupation of the city

Following the war, on January 22, 1849, President James Polk rewarded his heroism by appointing him to the office of Postmaster at San Francisco and Geary, with his wife, Margaret, and son, Edward, left for the west coast, arriving there in April 1849. As Postmaster, he had the power to create post offices, appoint postmasters, establish mail routes, and make contracts for carrying the mails throughout California. He later became a member of the State Constitutional Convention at Monterey.

Upon the election of Zachary Taylor as president, Geary was superseded as Postmaster; however, he was unanimously elected first alcalde of the city by its citizens in August 1849. The following year, under the first city charter, he was chosen mayor of San Francisco on May 1, 1850. General Geary served one year as mayor, then returned to Pennsylvania in 1852 on a six-months leave of absence to visit his family and friends. Soon after Geary's return home, his wife and several near relatives died, and he abandoned the idea of returning to California. As a parting gift, he gave the city the land that later became Union Square. Geary Street in San Francisco is named for him.

In July of 1856, General Geary was appointed Governor of Kansas. His strong antislavery views forced his resignation after numerous confrontations with pro-slavery forces.

Civil War Service  

In June 1861 Colonel Geary immediately issued a call in his home state for troops; so well respected was he that 68 companies responded to his proclamation. Geary selected 15 and organized the oversized 28th Pennsylvania Infantry, which included Knap’s Independent Artillery Battery E.

Service with Brigadier General Nathaniel P. Banks along the upper Potomac River (Harper's Ferry, Bolivar Heights, Leesburg ) resulted in his commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers on 25 April 1862. In August of that year, he commanded the 1st Brigade/2nd Divison of the II Corps at the Battle of Cedar Mountain where he was wounded in the foot and shoulder. Yet this tall, full-bearded officer with sharp eyes and an equally sharp tongue soon returned to duty and assumed command of the 2nd Division in the XII Corps. Troops under his command participated in the Battle of Chancellorsville, were instrumental in repulsing the Confederates at Culp's Hill at Gettysburg, and displayed extraordinary valor at Lookout Mountain.  

During the fighting at Wauhatchie, Tenn., his son, Edward R. Geary, 1^st Lt. Knap’s Independent Battey E, was killed by a rebel bullet on October 29, 1863.

In William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, Geary commanded the 2nd Division of the XX Corps, and Sherman’s subsequent March to the Sea. 

Following the surrender of CSA General Joseph Johnston’s Army of the West to General Sherman, General Geary served as military governor of Savannah.    While serving in this position, he received a brevet promotion to Major General

Post-War:

In 1866, General Geary, a Republican, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania; he served two consecutive terms, from 1867 to 1873. On February 8, 1873, less than 3 weeks after leaving the governors post, Geary, age 53, was fatally stricken while preparing breakfast for his infant son. He was buried with state honors in Mount Kalma Cemetery, Harrisburg, Pa.

A battlefield statue of Mayor Geary, as a general in the Union Army, was erected in 1915 at Gettysburg. The State of Pennsylvania erected the monument, but it was never dedicated. The reason is not known.

Honors::

Geary Street in San Francisco is named for John White Geary.

Geary County was originally named "Davis County" in 1855. For several years after the Civil War the citizens of Davis County complained about living in an area named for the President of the Confederate States of America, even though he was Secretary of War when the county was named for him. In 1889, the county's name was changed to honor John W. Geary, Governor of Kansas Territory (1856). He was also Mayor of San Francisco (1850), General, U. S. Army (1861-1865), and Governor of Pennsylvania (1867-1873).

Further Reading::

Geary, John White A politician goes to war : the Civil War letters of John White Geary . University Park PA, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995.

http://webtext.library.yale.edu/xml2html/beinecke.jwgeary.nav.html

JOHN WHITE GEARY MEXICAN WAR PAPERS WA MSS S-585

http://www.bartleby.com/65/ge/Geary-Jo.html

http://www.rocemabra.com/~roger/tagg/generals/general32.html

UNION TWELFTH CORPS, SECOND DIVISION 3,914 men
BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN WHITE GEARY

John Geary had already lived an unsurpassed lifetime of leadership before he ever set foot on a Civil War battlefield. Forty-four years old, he certainly had the perfect physique for a leader. He was a huge man, six feet six inches tall, well over two hundred pounds and solidly built (although enemy soldiers had been whittling away at him for years--he was an easy target, and by Gettysburg he had already been wounded nine times). One of his men described him as "a man of large stature, fine black eyes, very robust physique, and when mounted upon his horse was a figure of commanding presence. He was a strict disciplinarian, withal a warm-hearted, emotional man, and although some of the men feared him, they all respected him." He had a violent temper, which together with his size made a terrific impression on many in the army, who learned to give him a wide berth.

Geary was born in the Allegheny Mountains near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania He was attending Jefferson College when his father died, leaving him the head of the family and responsible for his father's debts. He left school and worked odd jobs, then went to Kentucky as a surveyor. There he speculated in land, making enough money to return to college in Pennsylvania, where he studied civil engineering. After graduation, he worked as an engineer constructing the Allegheny Portage Railroad. He had been active in the militia from the age of sixteen, and when the Mexican War came in 1846, he went to Mexico with a Pennsylvania regiment. He led the regiment in the assault on the fortress at Chapultapec, and was wounded five times. After this exploit, he was named the regiment's colonel and returned home a war hero.

Following the Mexican War, he was sent west and appointed postmaster of San Francisco, but lost the appointment when the national administration changed in 1849. In 1850, still serving in local offices there, he was named first mayor of San Francisco. He had to leave after about a year in office and go back to Pennsylvania because of his wife's failing health. After her death, President Franklin Pierce offered to appoint him governor of the Utah Territory, but Geary refused the appointment. In 1856, he accepted the governorship of the Kansas Territory, soon to be known as "Bleeding Kansas." Geary, an anti-slavery man, was unable to stop the bloodshed there, and stayed at this strife-torn post less than a year, again following the pattern of leaving before the end of his term to return to Pennsylvania.

A wealthy man by the time of the Civil War, Geary left his farm to raise the 28th Pennsylvania volunteer regiment and "Knap's Battery" in June 1861. Patrolling the Potomac near Harper's Ferry in March 1862 with his regiment, he was wounded below the knee by a piece of shell and captured, but was exchanged and promoted to brigadier general on April 25. Geary was given command of a brigade in Massachusetts politician Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's corps in time to be sent to the Shenandoah Valley to fight in that unfortunate campaign against Jackson in May 1862.

Geary's brigade was then incorporated into Pope's Army of Virginia in late June. He led it at the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, where he was seriously wounded--"a ball struck me in the ankle, and almost at the same instant a ball passed through my left arm," the latter in the elbow. Returning to duty in October with his arm in a bandage, he was raised to command of his division, replacing Maj. Gen. Christopher Auger, who had also been wounded at Cedar Mountain. By this time, Banks's old corps had been absorbed into the Army of the Potomac as the Twelfth Corps and was under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum.

Although the Twelfth Corps missed the army's next engagement, at Fredericksburg in December 1862, Geary's division was heavily engaged at Chancellorsville the next May. There he was stunned by the windage of a cannonball which just missed his head, and knocked unconscious. When he came to, he was able to talk only in whispers for weeks.

Geary, as his numerous wounds attested, was a fearless man. In Kansas he had turned his back contemptuously on a man threatening to shoot him. General O.O. Howard later remarked that "he reconnoitered without regard to personal safety." Geary demanded similar bravery in those around him. At Chancellorsville, Hancock was ordered to form with his division around Chancellor House. The angry Geary called to Hancock's troops to cover his retreat. "Charge, you cowards, charge!" he yelled. Two of Hancock's men were so insulted they lowered their bayonets toward Geary until an adjutant stepped in. There was one recorded exception to Geary's insistence on squarely facing the enemy: As the story goes, Geary caught a soldier he thought was a skulker and threatened him with the flat of his sword. When the private replied, "Put up your sword or I'll shoot you," Geary apparently concluded that such combativeness was inconsistent with cowardice and apologized.

By the summer of 1863, Geary had been in command of the division for the better part of a year, long enough to know it inside and out. He had been in the military long enough that his lack of military education did not hamper him. However, except for his bravery, nowhere is he mentioned as an exceptional division commander.

For further reading:
Beers, Paul. "General John W. Geary: A Profile." Civil War Times Illustrated 9, Jun 1970
Geary, John W. A Politician Goes to War: The Civil War Letters of . . . . University Park, 1995
Tinkom, Harry Marlin. John White Geary, Soldier-Statesman. Philadelphia, 1940

Excerpted from "The Generals of Gettysburg: The Leaders of America's Greatest Battle" by Larry Tagg

http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/zpub2000/sfentries&cmd=list&range=0,50&Title~=J&cmd=all&Id=100

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/g/geary_john_white.html

Transcribed from volume I of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. 3 v. in 4. : front., ill., ports.; 28 cm. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar. Transcribed May 2002 by Carolyn Ward.

Geary, John White, the third territorial governor of Kansas, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., Dec. 30, 1819. From his Scotch-Irish ancestry he inherited all those traits which developed in him a man of unquestioned courage, great force of character, and a high order of executive ability. His early education was acquired under the instruction of his father, who conducted an academy, after which he entered Jefferson College at Canonsburg, Pa., where he graduated in 1841. The death of his father about this time made it necessary for him to contribute to the support of his widowed mother and her children. He clerked in a store in Pittsburgh for a time, taught school, and finally took up the work of civil engineer—a profession for which he had thoroughly prepared himself. He followed this occupation in Pennsylvania and Kentucky until the breaking out of the war with Mexico, when he raised a company known as the "American Highlanders," which became a part of the Second Pennsylvania infantry, of which he was made lieutenant-colonel. His regiment was attached to the army of Gen. Scott, and for his gallantry at the Belen gate, City of Mexico, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. After the capture of the Mexican capitol he was placed in charge of the city as commandant. The discovery of gold in California lured him to the Pacific coast, and on Jan. 22, 1849, he was appointed postmaster of San Francisco by President Tyler. After a few months' service he was removed by President Taylor, and was then elected by the citizens to the office of first alcalde of the city. He was also elected the first mayor of San Francisco under the charter of 1850. In 1852 he returned to Pennsylvania on a visit, but while there his wife died, and he never returned to California. On July 31, 1856, he was appointed governor of Kansas. Connelley, in his Territorial Governors, says: "He was selected for the position because of his firmness and recognized executive ability." He resigned on March 12, 1857, and like Gov. Reeder left the territory at night to escape assassination at the hands of members of his own political party, returning to Pennsylvania, where he lived quietly on his farm until commencement of the Civil war in 1861. Upon the first call for volunteers, he raised the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania infantry and was commissioned colonel of the regiment. Subsequently he was promoted to brigadier and still later to major-general. During the Atlanta campaign and the famous march to the sea he commanded the "White Star" division of the Twentieth army corps, and on Dec. 22, 1864, was appointed by Gen. Sherman military governor of Savannah. In 1866 he was elected governor of Pennsylvania, and at the close of his term was reëlected. Gov. Geary died at Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 8, 1873, eighteen days after the expiration of his second term as governor. His work in Kansas did much to break the power of the pro-slavery party and contributed materially to the admission of Kansas as a free state. Geary county was named in his honor.

Pages 718-719 from volume I of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. 3 v. in 4. : front., ill., ports.; 28 cm. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar. Transcribed May 2002 by Carolyn Ward.

http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/cgiwrap/imlskto/index.php?SCREEN=keyword&selected_keyword=Geary,%20John%20White,%201819-1873

Territorial Kansas Reports

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/John%20W.%20Geary

http://www.geary.com/

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/g/geary_county.html

Transcribed from volume I of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. 3 v. in 4. : front., ill., ports.; 28 cm. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar. Transcribed May 2002 by Carolyn Ward.

Geary County, originally called Davis, is located in the northeastern part of the state, being in the third tier of counties south of Nebraska and in the fifth west from the Missouri river. It is bounded on the north by Riley county, east by Riley and Wabaunsee, south by Morris and Dickinson, and west by Dickinson and Clay. It is irregular in shape, contains 407 square miles, and is one of the 33 counties created by an act of the first territorial legislature in 1855 it was organized at the time of its creation and named "Davis" in honor of Jefferson Davis, who was at that time secretary of war. By act of the Kansas legislature of Feb. 28, 1889, the name was changed to Geary, in honor of John White Geary, third territorial governor of Kansas. An attempt was made by the act of March 11, 1893, to change the name back to Davis, provided a majority of the people of the county favored the proposition, but the majority was against the change and the name Geary remains.

It is generally believed that the first white men to visit Geary county were Coronado and his associates in their search for the unknown provinces of Quivira and Harahey. (See Coronado.) The Bourgmont expedition (q. v.) is supposed to have traveled along the south bank of the Kansas river through the present county of Geary. John C. Fremont, in his report of the expedition to the Rocky mountains, says, "we arrived on the 8th (June, 1843) at the mouth of the Smokyhill fork, which is the principal southern branch of the Kansas, forming here, by its junction with the Republican, or northern branch, the main Kansas river."

In 1853 settlers began to come into the territory now embraced within the bounds of Geary county. One of the first to locate permanently was Thomas Reynolds, who settled near Ogden. When Kansas was organized as a territory, there were only 20 voters in the region now embraced within the county. The Pawnee town association was organized on Nov. 26, 1854. Col. V. P. Montgomery was president of the association and William Hammond was secretary. Many of the officers stationed at Fort Riley took an active part in the management of local affairs. The first election, in what is now Geary county, was for the election of a delegate to Congress. It was held in Nov., 1854, and the voting place was at the house of Thomas Reynolds. The free-state candidate was R. P. Flenniken, and the pro-slavery candidate was J. W. Whitfield. The judges of election were all officers of the army, and of the 40 votes cast, Flenniken received 31 and Whitfield 9. In Dec., 1854, the town of Pawnee was started on the north shore of the river not far from Fort Riley. Some trouble arose in its establishment, as a few settlers had already located on the land. It is said that Col. Montgomery, the president of the town company, had the settlers driven off by a squad of soldiers, in Jan., 1855, and the association was assured by Gov. Reeder, the first governor of the territory, that if the necessary buildings were completed in time he would convene the first territorial legislature at Pawnee. In March a second town company was formed of which William Hammond was president, and a town was laid out and called Chetolah (q. v.). Before the close of March a third town company was organized, which laid out the town of Ashland on McDowell's creek and made a settlement.

On March 31, 1855, the first election for members of the territorial legislature was held, and Pawnee was the only voting, precinct in what is now Geary county. It formed a part of the eighth representative and the sixth council district. M. F. Conway was the free-state, and John Donaldson the pro-slavery candidate for the council; S. D. Houston was the free-state and Russell Garrett the pro-slavery candidate for the house of representatives. The free-state candidates were elected by a vote of 53 to 23.

In 1855, according to the promise made by Gov. Reeder, the executive office was removed to Pawnee, and in July the first territorial legislature convened there, but soon after adjourned to the Shawnee Mission in Johnson county. The resolution to adjourn was vetoed by the governor, but the territorial court sustained the measure and Pawuee lost the capital. This was a hard blow to the town company.

Gov. Geary visited the county in 1856, and the same year the county was represented in the Topeka legislature by J. H. Pillsbury in the council and Abram Barry in the house. An act to complete the organization of Geary county as a separate corporation was passed on Feb. 20, 1857. The legislature elected two county commissioners, a probate judge, who was ex-officio chairman of the board, and a sheriff. These officers were to hold office until the first Monday in October, when a county election was ordered, for county officers and to decide the permanent location of the county seat. The first commissioners were Robert Reynolds, C. L. Sandford, and N. B. White and the first meeting was held on March 16, 1857, but only Reynolds and Sandford were present. G. F. Gordon acted as clerk but E. L. Pattie was later regularly appointed to that position. H. N. Williams was elected sheriff; P. M. Barclay, treasurer, and G. F. Gordon, justice of the peace. At the election of Oct. 5, 1857, for members of the legislature, the voting precincts were Ashland, Ogden, Chetolah, Clark's Creek, Riley City and Montague's. At the election 126 free-state and 30 Democratic votes were cast.

The first post office in the county was established at Fort Riley in 1853, with Robert Wilson as postmaster. The first marriage solemnized in the county was that of Thomas Jenkins and Ella Wicks on Oct. 1, 1855, and the first white child born was John Fleming, whose birth occurred on Dec. 20, 1854. The pioneer merchant of Geary county was John T. Price, who opened a grocery store at Pawnee in 1854.

The legislature of 1859 located the seat of justice at Ashland. In the spring of 1860 Junction City was made a voting precinct, and a petition was presented to the commissioners for a change of the county seat. Accordingly, the question was submitted to the people and an election ordered for June 25, 1860. Ashland, Junction City, Riley City and Union were the contestants. The election resulted in 287 votes for Junction City, 129 for Union, 3 for Ashland and 3 for Riley City, and thus Junction City became the permanent seat of justice. The first meeting of the county board was held there on July 2, 1860.

Upon the outbreak of the Civil war there was much excitement in Geary county over the men who enlisted in the army. On March 10, 1862, some of the soldiers stationed at Fort Riley, dissatisfied with the secession sentiments expressed in the columns of the Kansas Frontier, attacked the newspaper office and did much damage. A meeting of the citizens denounced the action of the soldiers, and it is not certain whether this meeting or something published in the Frontier stirred the soldiers to a higher indignation, but the same week they again attacked the newspaper office and this time it was demolished. There were then several regiments encamped at Fort Riley, and the outbreaks of the soldiers became so frequent and annoying that the town was placed in charge of Capt. Sylvester of the Twelfth Wisconsin, who acted as provost guard.

About the same time great excitement was created in Geary and the adjoining counties, by a party of Comanche Indians, who entered the Republican valley, committed depredations and drove out the settlers. The people within easy reach of Fort Riley had little to fear because of the troops stationed there, and many settlers from further west sought refuge in Junction City.

Prior to 1866, the county officers were located in the upper story of a stone building at the corner of Sixth and Washington streets at Junction City. This building was destroyed by fire on the night of April 8, and a few days later the town and county were swept by a cyclone that did great damage.

On July 5, 1866, the county commissioners decided to build a bridge across the Smoky Hill river and authorized the sale of $20,000 of bonds for the purpose. In 1867 bonds were voted by the people to aid in the construction of the south branch of the Union Pacific railroad and the Kansas Pacific, which was the first railroad to enter Geary county, being completed as far as Junction City on Nov. 10, 1866. A great tide of immigration flowed into the county with the opening of the railroads, and most of the desirable land was soon taken up. In 1870, Geary county was sued by the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad company for $165,000 in bonds that the county had voted to aid in the construction of the railroad, but which had never been paid. After being in the courts for some time, the case passed to the supreme court where a decision was rendered in favor of the county.

Geary county constituted one municipal township up to Aug. 7, 1872, when the board of commissioners divided it into two civil townships, Smoky Hill and Jackson. In time these were subdivided to form the eight townships into which the county is now divided, viz:—Blakely, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Lyon, Milford, Smoky Hill and Wingfleld. In 1873, the legislature changed the boundaries of Geary county by taking away Ashland township and adding it to Riley county. At the same time Milford township was taken from Riley and annexed to Geary. The first newspaper was the Sentinel, edited by B. H. Keyser. It made its appearance in June, 1858, as the organ of the Democratic party. In 1859 this paper was bought by Samuel Medary and the name changed to Kansas Statesman. The Frontier Guide, started in 1861, was the second newspaper.

Transportation is furnished by the main line of the Union Pacific railroad, which runs across the northwest part of the country, from northeast to southwest, with a branch northwest from Junction City. A branch of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas enters in the south and terminates at Junction City, giving the county nearly 50 miles of main track railroad.

The east and central portions of the county are rough and hilly along the streams but the southeastern and western parts are undulating prairie. The county is well watered by the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers, which unite near Junction City to form the Kansas river.

The population of the county in 1910 was 12,631, a gain of 1,937 during the preceding ten years. The assessed valuation of property was 16,642,510, and the value of agricultural products for the year was $1,888,967.

Pages 715-718 from volume I of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. 3 v. in 4. : front., ill., ports.; 28 cm. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar. Transcribed May 2002 by Carolyn Ward.

http://lark.cc.ku.edu/cgiwrap/imlskto/index.php?SCREEN=bibliography/territorial_government

Geary, John W. “Governor Geary's Administration." Kansas Historical Collection, 1886-1888 4 (1890): 373-745. A biographical sketch of John White Geary is followed by a variety of documents including “President Pierce's Message, 1856,” the “Correspondence of Governor Wilson Shannon,” the “Correspondence of Governor Geary,” the “Executive Minutes of Governor John W. Geary,” and the “Executive Minutes of Daniel Woodson, Acting Governor from March 11, 1857, to March 31, 1857, Inclusive.”

Connelley, William E. Kansas Territorial Governors. Topeka, Kans.: Crane & Co., 1900. Brief biographical sketches of the ten men who served the territory as governor and/or acting governor.

http://www.clements.umich.edu/Webguides/C/Coulter.html

Coulter, Richard, 1827-1908 Typescript Journal, 1847 January 1-1848 July 14
100 pages