Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885

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Phelps was an officer in the US military. His career began as a cadet at West Point in the 1830s. He retired as a brigadier general in 1862.

From the description of Papers, 1833-1884. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79136348

From the description of Diary, [19--?]. (Peking University Library). WorldCat record id: 60355023

John Wolcott Phelps (1813-1885), Brigadier General in the U.S. Army was a native of Vermont. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, served in the Mexican War, was made captain in 1850, and resigned in 1859. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Phelps returned to the military as Colonel of the First Regiment of Vermont Volunteers. In 1861 he was made Brigadier General of Volunteers. He assisted Farragut in the campaign to capture New Orleans and organized the first body of African-American troops in the U.S. Army. When General Benjamin Butler assigned these troops to a work detail rather than military duties, Phelps tendered his resignation. Phelps retired to his home in Vermont where he wrote several books and numerous articles on public affairs. In 1880 Phelps ran for president on the anti-Masonic American Party ticket. He received 700 votes.

From the guide to the John Wolcott Phelps papers, 1833-1884, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)

Phelps was a career officer in the United States Army. He was a cadet at West point in the 1830s and retired as a brigadier general in 1862.

From the description of Diaries, 1857-1859. (Brigham Young University). WorldCat record id: 51592465

From the guide to the J. W. Phelps diaries, 1857-1859, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

John W. Phelps, (1813-1885), Brigadier General of the 12th Connecticut Volunteers.

From the description of John W. Phelps papers, 1862-1870. (Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, Inc.). WorldCat record id: 38477750

John Wolcott Phelps (1813-1885) was born in Guilford, Vermont, to John and Lucy Lovell Phelps on November 3, 1813. He was appointed to West Point on July 1, 1832, graduating in 1836. His military career prior to the Civil War included service in the Creek and Seminole Wars, the Mexican War, and the Mormon Expedition or Utah War of 1857-1858. In 1859, Phelps resigned from the U. S. Army and settled in Brattleboro, Vermont.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Phelps was appointed Colonel of the 1st Vermont Infantry. On May 27 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general. He served under Major General Benjamin F. Butler in the Gulf of Mexico, where his regiment took military possession of Ship Island, Mississippi. His troops also provided support to Commodore David Farragut's fleet in April 1862. and fought in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. General Phelps was then stationed at Camp Parapet in Carrollton, just outside of New Orleans. While there, General Phelps organized fugitive slaves arriving at the camp into companies before formally requesting arms for these men from his commanding officer, General Butler. However, Butler told Phelps to put them to work as laborers cutting down trees around the camp instead. General Phelps refused and offered his resignation to first General Butler and later Abraham Lincoln in August 1862.

Phelps returned to Brattleboro following his military service. In 1883, he married Anna Bardwell Davis and the couple returned to his hometown of Guilford, Vermont. Phelps served as president of the Vermont Teacher's Association between 1865 and 1885 and wrote several books, eventually gaining a reputation as a scholar. In 1880, Phelps was the presidential candidate of the American Party (or Anti-Masonic Party). His ticket received only 1,045 votes nationwide. His campaign platform included ideas such as prohibition of alcohol and secret lodges, as well as justice for Native Americans, use of the Bible as a required school text, and the end of the electoral college.

From the description of John W. Phelps papers, 1835-1884. (Vermont Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 756915677

John Wolcott Phelps (1813-1885), American soldier, served in the Mexican War, was made captain in 1850, and resigned in 1859, but returned to the Civil War with a troop of volunteers he raised in Vermont.

He assisted Farragut in the campaign to capture New Orleans and organized the first body of African-American troops in the U.S. Army. After the federal government ordered the troops disbanded, Phelps resigned from the army.

From the description of John Wolcott Phelps papers, 1833-1884. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122597531

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Forry, Samuel, 1811-1844. Letters, 1837-1839. University of Florida
referencedIn Mullaly, John. Letter : New York, to Archbishop John Hughes, n.p., 1861 Dec. 17. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Perry, William H., [ca.1838]-1910. William H. Perry journal and photographs, 1857-1861. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. John W. Phelps papers, 1835-1884. Vermont Historical Society
creatorOf Phelps, John Wolcott, 1819-1855. John W. Phelps papers, 1841-1843 Detroit Public Library, Detroit Main Library
referencedIn Philip Case Lockwood memorial collection of Civil War portraits and autographs, 1862-ca. 1886. Houghton Library
creatorOf Phelps, John W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. John W. Phelps papers, 1862-1870. Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library
referencedIn Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874. Letter : Peterboro, N.Y., to J[ohn] W[olcott] Phelps, n.p., 1972 Aug. 19. Texas Christian University
creatorOf Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. Diaries, 1857-1859. Harold B. Lee Library
creatorOf John Wolcott Phelps papers, 1833-1884. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
creatorOf Phelps, John Wolcott. Diary, January 1, 1858 to March 11, 1858. microfilm. University of New Mexico, Los Alamos, UNM-Los Alamos Library
creatorOf John Wolcott Phelps papers, 1833-1884 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Charles Eliot Norton papers Houghton Library
referencedIn Autograph File, P, 1554-2005. Houghton Library
referencedIn Slaughter, Henry P.,. Henry P. Slaughter collection, 1697-1946 (bulk 1797-1890). Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library
referencedIn Mullaly, John. Letter : New York, to Archbishop John Hughes, n.p., 1861 Dec. 17. Texas Christian University
creatorOf Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. John Wolcott Phelps papers, 1857-1858. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909. Phelps family collection, 1885-1930. Brooks Memorial Library
referencedIn S. Griswold Flagg collection, 1825-1938 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. Papers, 1833-1884. Harold B. Lee Library
referencedIn Flagg, S. Griswold. S. Griswold Flagg collection, 1825-1938 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Letter, 1864 Dec. 30, Senate Chamber [Washington, D.C.] to J. W. Phelps, Brattleboro [Vt.] University of Michigan
creatorOf Auerbach, Herbert S. (Herbert Samuel), 1882-1945. Herbert S. Auerbach collection on Mormons and Indians, 1808-1935. Princeton University Library
creatorOf Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. Requisition for ordnance for African regiments, 1862. Vermont Historical Society
creatorOf Phelps, John Wolcott. Papers, 1857-1859. Utah Division of State History, Utah Historical Society
referencedIn Palfrey family papers, 1713-1915 Houghton Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part III: The Civil War: The Union, 1804-1915. Houghton Library
creatorOf Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. Diary, [19--?]. Princeton University Library
referencedIn Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874. Letter : Peterboro, N.Y., to J[ohn] W[olcott] Phelps, n.p., 1972 Aug. 19. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Wilson, Geo. C. (George C.), fl. 1841. Letter to Maj. John L. Devotion from Geo. C. Wilson, 1841 May 21. New London County Historical Society
referencedIn Correspondence and other papers, 1831-1891. Houghton Library
creatorOf Phelps, J. W. (John Wolcott), 1813-1885. Letter : to Adjutant Gen. Thomas Hillhouse, 1861 November 6. University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB Library
creatorOf J. W. Phelps diaries, 1857-1859 L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
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associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
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associatedWith DePoyester family. person
associatedWith Ferry, Samuel. person
associatedWith Flagg, S. Griswold. person
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associatedWith Forry, Samuel, 1811-1844. person
associatedWith Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872. person
associatedWith Hillhouse, Thomas, 1816-1897, person
associatedWith Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875. person
associatedWith Joyce, M. E. person
associatedWith Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. person
associatedWith Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897 person
associatedWith Maynadier, Henry Eveleth, d. 1868. person
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associatedWith Mullaly, John. person
associatedWith Norton, Charles Eliot, 1827-1908 person
associatedWith Online Archive of California. corporateBody
correspondedWith Palfrey family. family
correspondedWith Parton, James, 1822-1891 person
associatedWith Perry, William H., [ca.1838]-1910. person
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associatedWith Phelps, Helen person
associatedWith Phelps, Helen. person
associatedWith Santelli, S., Fr. person
associatedWith Slaughter, Henry P., person
associatedWith Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874 person
associatedWith Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. person
associatedWith Sumner, Charles, 1811-1974. person
associatedWith Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments. corporateBody
associatedWith Tower, Fayette B. person
associatedWith Tower, F. B. (Fayette Bartholomew) person
associatedWith Tower, Lawrence person
associatedWith Tower, Lawrence. person
associatedWith United States. Army corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 12th (1861-1865) corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. Vermont Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861) corporateBody
associatedWith United States Military Academy corporateBody
associatedWith Utah Expedition (1857-1858) corporateBody
associatedWith Webster, Thomas. person
associatedWith Wilson, Geo. C. (George C.), fl. 1841. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York
Texas
Brattleboro (Vt.)
Louisiana
Camp Parapet (New Orleans, La.)
Vermont
Utah
United States
Fort Brown (Brownsville, Tex.)
Fort Monroe (Va.)
Saratoga Springs (N.Y.)
Louisiana
Fort Leavenworth (Kan.)
Fort Mackinac (Ill.)
Fort Brown (Brownsville, Tex.)
Texas
Utah
Ham's Fork (Wyo.)
Canada
Camp Parapet (New Orleans, La.)
Camp Parapet (La.)
Fort Bridger (Wyo.)
Southern States
Fort Mackinac (Mackinac Island, Mich.)
Camp Scott (Utah)
Utah
New York (State)--New York
Kansas
Camp Floyd (Utah)
Southern States
Brattleboro (Vt.)
Louisiana
United States
Utah
Mississippi
Black's Fork (Wyo.)
Connecticut
Europe
Fort McKee (Fla.)
Florida
Wyoming
Wyoming
Utah
Fort Kearney (Utah)
Utah
Europe
Brattleboro (Vt.)
Camp Floyd (Utah)
Fort Crittenden (Utah)
Camp Jordan (Utah)
Utah
Virginia
West (U.S.)
Fort Crittenden (Utah)
Mississippi
United States
Ship Island (Miss.)
United States
Fort McIntosh (Tex.)
Fort Laramie (Wyo.)
Louisiana
United States
United States
Guilford (Vt.)
Fort Ewell (Tex.)
West Point (N.Y.)
Canada
Fort Mackinac (Mackinac Island, Mich.)
Florida
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Utah Expedition, 1857-1858
Utah Expedition, 1857-1858
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Birth 1813-11-13

Death 1885-04-02

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