Civil War Travels with Ms. Rebelle

Myles Keogh, William Henry Seward, and Me   

        Ms. Rebelle cannot seem to stay away from anything to do with Myles Keogh so here she is again in Auburn, New York at Fort Hill Cemetery to visit Keogh’s grave (see January 31, 2013 Patch article).  Since going to Little Big Horn last year, I felt that Myles Keogh should have a 7th Cavalry flag on his grave to commemorate his brave efforts at Custer’s Last Stand.  I scoured the internet and stores selling flags trying to find a 7th Cavalry flag.  There were none available.  I did find a large one, but at 2’ x 3’, it was way too big to put on someone’s grave. 

            The only possible thing to do was to try to make one of my own to place on his grave.  I printed a copy of the flag on 8 x 10 photo paper, placed it on poster board, and encased it in plastic with dowels to hold it up and “a lot” of Scotch tape.  “Rest in peace Myles Keogh – Ms. Rebelle” was written on the back.  When I got to Keogh’s final resting place, other people had left mementos there as well including a picture of him in his 1872 uniform with a fancy helmet, flowers, flags, and a Rosary hung on his monument.  He’s buried between his two good friends Generals Emory Upton and Andrew Alexander.  It felt really good to leave the flag there for him.  Ms. Rebelle also placed three American flags there surrounding the 7th Cavalry flag.

 William Henry Seward’s House in Auburn, NY

             May 16th was the date of my visit to Auburn which happened to be the 212th anniversary of William Seward’s birth in 1801 in Florida, New York.  William Seward was President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State.  Seward is also buried in Fort Hill Cemetery near Myles Keogh.  An American flag was also left for him in tribute.  Since May 16th was his birthday, all fees were waived to enter and tour his beautiful mansion on 33 South Street.

             The house was owned and built originally in 1816 by Elijah Miller, a Cayuga County judge, the father of Seward’s wife Frances.  He must have been extremely wealthy as the house was absolutely opulent.  Seward’s sister Cornelia, a classmate of Frances, introduced Frances to Seward.  Our tour guide said Seward was interested in two women but picked Frances. The other woman was Mary Ann Kellogg whose father was wealthier than Judge Miller.  Seward’s prerequisites for a wife were:  a strong attachment, proper respect, and financial prospects.  Judge Miller was a widower with two children.  Kellogg’s father had seven children so Seward went with Frances Miller and in doing so moved up in the world.  The judge gave his permission for them to marry but required that the two of them live in the house before the marriage.  The Sewards married October 20, 1824 in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Auburn and had six children:  Augustus (1826-1876), Frederick (1830-1915), Cornelia (1836-1837), William, Jr. (1839-1920), Frances (Fanny) (1844-1866), and an adopted daughter Olive (1841-1908).    His son Augustus was paymaster of the Army in the Civil War as his mother didn’t want him in the line of fire.  Son William, Jr. was a brigadier general. 

             Photos were not allowed to be taken in the house but there are several proprietary photos available on the internet to share with the readers.  One of the most interesting things on display was the carriage that Seward was riding in when he had his carriage accident and was confined to bed on April 14, 1865.  Five men were injured that night during the John Wilkes Booth conspirator Lewis Powell’s attack on Seward:  Seward, his sons Augustus and Frederick, his nurse Sgt. George Robinson, and messenger Emerick Hansell.  Hansell was paralyzed permanently from the stabbing.  The small museum upstairs has a piece of the bed sheet that was on the bed at the time of the attack.  All five men including Seward survived the attack.  Frederick had to wear a skull cap the rest of his life because of his misshapen head.   Seward’s wife Frances died two months later on June 21, 1865 from a heart attack due to the anxiety she suffered from the attack.  Their daughter Fanny died from tuberculosis two years later in 1866.

           The house was the only one ever owned by Seward who inherited it from Judge Miller.   All the furnishings in the house belonged to the Sewards.  On display are mementoes from his 44 year political career.  There are many beautiful antiques in each room.  The drawing room has a large painting of their daughter Fanny showing her with one glove on her hand holding flowers pointing downward, with lilies and clouds in the background.  This symbolism represents the fact that she sat for the portrait but died before it was finished.  There was a small chair nearby that had a hand-cranked music box under the seat.  There were many large paintings in every room.

             His library was magnificent.  There were books in most every room.  He had the complete Official Records of the Civil War which looked to be very old.  The “OR” was originally published between 1881-1901.  There was a bust of Lincoln in one window and a bust of Seward in the other.  Seward was a short man at 5’4”, and being sensitive about his height, always sat for his pictures.  His wife Frances was an inch taller than him.  There is a picture of Seward with his daughter Fanny, and he is seated.  There are several pictures around the house of the famous Lincoln cabinet picture. The dining room was very large and several china pieces belonging to the Sewards were on the table. 

             A curving stairway lead up to what Seward called his diplomatic gallery.  He has many pictures of people he met while being Secretary of State and his later travels.  He numbered all his pictures.  Abraham Lincoln’s picture is No. 66 and Seward numbered his No. 66 ½ to show how close he was to the president.  The suit he wore when he met Queen Victoria is displayed in a cabinet upstairs.  There were four bedrooms upstairs.  The house has 21 rooms.

             On display upstairs too are items from Alaska which Seward facilitated the purchase of in 1867.  Also on display was a gold ring that the tour guide said was one of five made from the golden spike finishing the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah.  He told us that one was given to President U.S. Grant, one to each of the presidents of Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, one to the minister giving the invocation, and one to William Seward.  When researching the golden spike, this story does not come up but the ring is definitely there.

             For those of you who saw the recent movie Lincoln, actor David Strathairn who portrayed William Seward in the movie visited the house to soak in the atmosphere prior to filming per the tour guide.

             After graduating from Union College with a law degree, he entered into a law partnership with his father-in-law Judge Miller. He was the 12th Governor of New York from 1839-1842.   He was a U.S. Senator from New York from 1849-1861.  Seward was favored to win the nomination for president in 1860 but lost to Lincoln.  Seward was Secretary of State under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson from 1861-1869.  Both Seward and his wife were involved with the abolitionist movement even though Seward’s family owned seven slaves while he was growing up.  Frances operated a safe room in their home for fugitive slaves.  Seward travelled extensively around the world from 1870-1871.  On October 10, 1872 he died in his downstairs office on a green velvet couch which is still in the room.

           There is a small park towards the garden side of the house with a statue honoring William Seward.

           Ms. Rebelle is a member of the The Bull Run Civil War Round Table which  meets every second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Centreville Regional Library. The public is invited to attend at no cost and visit the website www.bullruncwrt.org for additional activities (tours, etc.)