Reid, Samuel C. (Samuel Chester), 1818-1897

Biographical Note

Samuel Chester Reid

• 1783, Aug. 25: Born, Norwich, Conn.
• 1813: Married Mary Jennings (died 1855)
• 1814, Sept.: Captain of the privateer General Armstrong in battle with British warships at Faial, Azores
• 1816: Petitioned Congress for compensation for the officers and crew of the scuttled General Armstrong
• 1818: Congress established the current design of the United States flag in conformity with a design by Reid
• 1822: Published The New York Telegraph and Signal Book. New York: N.p.
• 1843: Appointed harbor master, New York, N.Y.
• 1861, Jan. 28: Died, New York, N.Y.

Samuel C. Reid

• 1818, Oct. 21: Born, New York, N.Y.
• 1838: Participated in United States government survey of Ohio River
• 1839: Settled in Natchez, Miss., and studied law under John A. Quitman
• 1841: Admitted to the Mississippi bar
• 1844: Admitted to the Louisiana bar
• 1846: Admitted to U.S. Supreme Court bar
• 1846 - 1848 : Served in the Texas Rangers under Ben McCulloch during the Mexican War
• 1847: Published The Scouting Expeditions of McCulloch's Texas Rangers. Philadelphia, Pa.: G. B. Zieber & Co.
• 1849: Editor, New Orleans Picayune, New Orleans, La.
• 1853: Louis Napoleon decided General Armstrong case in favor of Portugal and England
• 1854: Appealed unsuccessfully to Congress on behalf of General Armstrong shareholders for financial reimbursement
• 1857: Declined invitation from James Buchanan to be ambassador to Italy Published The Case of the Private Armed Brig of War Gen. Armstrong. New York, N.Y.: Banks, Gould & Co.
• 1860: Published A Reply to Lord Brougham. Charleston, S.C.: N.p.
• 1861: Candidate for Confederate Congress from Louisiana
• 1861 - 1865 : Confederate war correspondent
• 1863: Published Great Battle of Chicamauga!, by Ora [pseud.]. Mobile, Ala.: F. Titcomb
• 1864: Published A Full Account of the Capture and Wonderful Escape of Gen. John H. Morgan with Captain T. Henry Hines, by 290 [pseud.]. Atlanta, Ga.: Intelligencer Steam Power Presses
• 1865: Married Josephine Rowan (died 1911)
• 1874: Founded Mississippi Valley & Brazil Steamship Co., St. Louis, Mo.
• 1882: Published Reasons for Asking a Reconsideration of the Conclusions Determined by the Secretary of State in the Settlement of the Claim of the Brig General Armstrong. Washington, D.C.: N.p. Congress appropriated $70,739 to General Armstrong shareholders for loss of the privateer and personal effects
• 1891: Retrieved "Long Tom" gun of General Armstrong from Castle of Santa Cruz, Faial, Azores, and returned it to United States
• 1893: Published The History of the Wonderful Battle of the Brig-of-War General Armstrong with a British Squadron, at Fayal, 1814. Boston, Mass.: L. Barta & Co.
• 1894: Arranged display of "Long Tom" gun at World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Ill.
• 1895: Arranged placement of "Long Tom" gun at the Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
• 1897, Aug. 13: Died, Washington, D.C.
• 1947: Published posthumously, The Capture and Wonderful Escape of Gen. John H. Morgan as Reported by Samuel Chester Reid, Joseph J. Mathews, ed. Atlanta, Ga.: Emory Univ. Library

From the guide to the Samuel Chester Reid Family Papers, 1807-1963, (bulk 1830-1897), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)