Yager’s Mills, Virginia through Yreka Road, California

YAGER'S MILLS, VIRGINIA, September 24, 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Army of the Shenandoah. While pursuing the Confederates from Rude's hill the brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General G. A. Custer, met and routed a detachment of Imboden's cavalry near Yager's mills on Hawksbill creek, pursuing them on the charge for nearly 3 miles and capturing a number of prisoners. Casualties not stated in the official report of the affair.


YALE, Linus, inventor, born in Salisburv, New York, 4 April, 1821; died in New York City, 24 December, 1868. His ancestors were of the same family as Elihu Yale, and his father, Linus, was a successful inventor. The son devoted himself for a time to portrait-painting, but, having considerable mechanical skill and ingenuity, began in 1850 to study mechanical problems. He devised in that year a plan by which the key to locks for the protection of bankers' safes and vaults should be so constructed that, when its essential portion was doing its work within the lock, it should be at some distance removed from the key-hole through which it had entered, and at the same time isolated from the exterior of the door by a hardened steel plate, which automatically covered the key-hole behind it. This device he patented in 1851. Thereafter until his death he was a recognized authority on all matters pertaining to locks and safes. His first patent was followed by others for bankers' safes, and for bankers' flat-key and common locks, he patented in 1858 a device for adjusting at a right angle the joiners' square, in 1865 one for reversing the motion of screw-taps, and in 1868 two for improvements in mechanics' vises, and he also obtained patents abroad for certain of his inventions. In the course of his experience he became convinced of the necessity of abandoning the use of a key-hole as it afforded an easy introduction for gunpowder or other explosive. This led to the adoption of the permanent dial and shaft as used in the so-called "combination locks," and subsequently to the perfection of the mechanism that is known as the clock lock. His most radical invention was the double lock, which consisted in practically placing two within one case, to be operated by the same or different combinations so that the unlocking of either allowed the bolt to be withdrawn. His improvements in locks and boxes for post-office use are of recognized utility and world-wide adoption. He was an exhibitor at the world's fairs of this and other countries, and was the recipient of gold, silver, and bronze medals as first awards at these exhibitions. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 636-637.


YANCEY, William Lowndes, statesman, born in Ogeechee Shoals, Georgia, 10 August, 1814: died near Montgomery, Alabama, 28 July, 1863. He was the son of Benjamin C. Yancey, a lawyer of Abbeville, South Carolina. He was educated at Williams College, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Abbeville. In 1830 he moved to Alabama, and was admitted to the bar. He edited the "Cahawba Democrat" and the "Wetumpka Argus." He served in both branches of the legislature, and was elected to Congress in 1844 to fill a vacancy, and re-elected in 1845, but resigned in 1847 to devote his entire attention to law. In 1845 he was challenged to a duel by General Thomas L. Clingman, but neither was injured in the encounter that ensued. He was a member of the National Democratic Convention that met at Baltimore in May, 1848. He was a zealous opponent of the compromise measures of 1850, a presidential elector in 1856, and one of the leaders of the extreme party in the south. In a letter written in June, 1858, and published in 1860, he advised the organization of committees of safety in all the cotton states to "fire the southern heart," and ultimately to precipitate those states into revolution; and in 185 he urged the calling of a convention by the state of Alabama, in the event of the election of the Republican candidate for president in 1860. He was a member of the Democratic Convention at Charleston, 23 April, 1860, and withdrew with other southern extremists. During the presidential canvass he made a tour through the north and west, speaking at Faneuil Hall, Boston, Cooper Institute, New York, and else-where, urging the rejection of the Republican candidate on the ground that the platform adopted by that party would make the south hopeless of justice on the slavery question. In the Alabama Convention, which met at Montgomery, 7 January, 1861, he reported the ordnance of secession, which was passed on 14 January. On 27 February he was appointed a commissioner to the governments of Europe to obtain a recognition of the Confederate States, and left New York in March. He returned in February, 1862, and was a member of the Confederate Senate at Richmond until the time of his death in July, 1863. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 637.


YANDELL, David Wendell, physician, born in Murfreesborough, Tennessee, in 1826. He was graduated in medicine at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1846, was in Europe in 1846-'7. He began his  practice in Louisville in 1848. He became a professor in the University of Louisville in 1859. Yandell was a medical director in the Confederate Army in 1861-'5. Dr. Yandell was elected president of the American Medical association in 1871, and appointed professor of surgery in the Indiana Medical College in 1874. In 1870 he established the "American Practitioner."  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 637.


YANKEETOWN, TENNESSEE, November 30, 1863. Detachments of 9th Pennsylvania and 1st East Tennessee Cavalry. Colonel Hughes' Confederate command attacked a Federal scouting party under Lieutenant Bowman in the vicinity of Yankeetown and drove it to within 2 miles of Sparta. The garrison at the latter place went to Bowman's assistance and drove the Confederates 8 miles, killing 5. The Federal casualties were 5 killed, 1 wounded and 5 captured. Yates' Ford, Kentucky. August 31, 1862. 94th Ohio Infantry.


YARD. (See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)


YARD, Edward Madison, naval officer, born in Hunterdon, New Jersey, 24 November, 1809. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 1 November, 1827. He became a passed midshipman, 10 June, 1833, was commissioned a lieutenant, 23 February, 1838, and during the Mexican War was part of the time executive of the "Dale,'' and for several months in command. He rendered distinguished services at the capture of Guaymas, in the blockade and other operations on the west coast of Mexico. He was promoted to commander, 14 September, 1855. Yard was light-house inspector from 1850-"9. When the Civil War began he was assigned to the sloop ' Dale" on the blockade, but by act of 21 December, 1861, he was placed on the retired list because he was more than sixty-two years of age. His services being no longer available by law, he resigned, 3 May, 1866.   Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.


YARROW, Henry Crecy, physician, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19 November, 1840. He studied in Pennsylvania and in Switzerland and was graduated at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1861. During the Civil War he served as assistant surgeon in the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Subsequently he was surgeon and naturalist to the expedition for the exploration of the territory west of the 100th meridian, under Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, of the U. S. Engineers. Dr. Yarrow is a member of the faculty of the medical department of the Columbian University, and is curator of the department of reptiles in the U. S. National Museum in Washington, D. C. He is a member of the Philosophical, Anthropological, Biological, and Geographical Societies of Washington, and of other scientific bodies in this country and abroad, to whose proceedings he has contributed papers. Dr. Yarrow was associated with Dr. Elliott Coues in the publication of various papers on the natural history of North Carolina, his latest work giving the results of. his experiments with serpent-venom and so-called antidotes. His writings include articles in the annual volumes of the U. S. National Museum and the Bureau of Ethnology; in part, vol. v., on "Zoology," of the " Report upon Geographical and Geological Explorations and Surveys west of the 100th Meridian" (Washington, 1875); and "Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians" (1881); also the article on venomous serpents in "Handbook of the Medical Sciences" (New York, 1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.


YATES, John Barentse, engineer, born in Schenectady. N. Y„ 19 October, 1833, was graduated at Union in 1852, and served during the Civil War as colonel of the 1st Michigan Engineers under General William T. Sherman. Subsequently he became a division engineer on the New York State Canals. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.


YATES, Austin Andrew, lawyer, born in Schenectady, New York. 24 March. 1830.  Yates was graduated at Union in 1854. He served during the Civil War as captain in the 134th New York Volunteers, and subsequently was assistant to Judge-Advocate-General Joseph Holt. In 1868 he was elected district attorney of Schenectady County, and he was judge from 1873 till 1870. He has a large law-practice in Schenectady, and has been twice a member of the New York assembly. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.


YATES, Arthur Reid, naval officer, born in Schenectady, New York, 20 October, 1838. He was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1857, and served during the Civil War. He was an aide to Admiral Farragut in the battle of Mobile Bay, and was commended in that officer's report to Congress. Since 9 February, 1884, he has been captain, and he now has command of the steamer "Pensacola." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 638.


YATES, Richard, governor of Illinois, born in Warsaw, Kentucky, 18 January, 1818; died in St. Louis, Missouri, 27 November, 1873. At thirteen years of age he went with his father's family to reside in Springfield. Illinois. He was graduated at Illinois College, Jacksonville, in 1838. Yates studied law, and practised his profession in Springfield. From 1842 till 1849 he was a member of the legislature,. In 1850 he was elected to the U.S. Congress. He was the youngest member of the 32d Congress, and was re-elected in 1852. In 1860 he was elected governor, and he was chosen again in 1862. Governor Yates had been an outspoken opponent of slavery, and at the opening of the Civil War was very active in raising volunteers. He convened the legislature in extra session on 12 April, 1861, the day after the attack on Fort Sumter, and took military possession of Cairo, garrisoning it with regular troops. In Governor Yates's office General Ulysses S. Grant received his first distinct recognition as a soldier in the Civil War, being appointed by him mustering officer for the state, and afterward colonel of the 21st Illinois Regiment. At the expiration of his term of office as governor he was elected to the U. S. Senate, where he served from 1865 till 1871. His death occurred while he was returning from a visit to Arkansas, where he had been examining a railroad as U. S. commissioner. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 638-639.


YAZOO CITY, MISSISSIPPI, February 28, 1864. Yazoo Expedition. On Sunday, the 28th, Colonel James H. Coates, commanding the expedition, disembarked his cavalry, the 1st Mississippi colored, 6 miles from Yazoo City and ordered it to reconnoiter in the rear of the city. Before long the pickets were attacked and Major Cook with a detachment of the cavalry started out and after some skirmishing came on Ross' entire command. About 3 p. m. he returned, closely pursued by a superior force of Confederates, who were only repulsed after the infantry had been advanced to meet them. The casualties were not reported.


YAZOO CITY, MISSISSIPPI, March 5, 1864. Yazoo Expedition. Early on Saturday morning the Confederates under Ross and Richardson began a vigorous attack on the Federal picket on the Benton road just outside of Yazoo City. The Union troops were collected in two redoubts, commanded respectively by Major McKee, with the 11th Illinois infantry, and Lieutenant-Colonel Peebles, with part of the 8th Louisiana colored infantry, and in the city, where Colonel James H. Coates, leader of the expedition, was in command. By 10 a. m. the whole Federal line had become engaged, Coates saw an attempt was being made to outflank him, and before the four companies of the 8th Louisiana colored infantry which he hurried to the support of the detachment of the 1st Mississippi colored cavalry at that point could reach their destination Richardson's whole command was in the city, between McKee and Coates' headquarters. Several times McKee was called on to surrender, but each time refused, even after he had been entirely surrounded. Coates posted his men in doorways and buildings and opened a telling fire upon the enemy in the streets. Subsequently he brought up a piece of artillery from one of the gunboats and under cover of its fire a charge was made at 2 p. m. The result was the driving out of the Confederates in the town and the force surrounding McKee, on seeing their comrades giving way, fell back in disorder. During the night the Confederates withdrew and the next day transports conveyed the expedition back to Vicksburg. The Federal loss in the expedition, which was a part of the Meridian campaign, was 31 killed, 121 wounded and 31 captured or missing, the larger part of whom fell at Yazoo City. Coates reported the Confederate loss on the 5th as 40 killed, but their own reports place it at 6 killed and 51 wounded.


YAZOO CITY, MISSISSIPPI, December 1, 1864 . Detachment of the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry. Yazoo City, Mississippi (Note). During the operations tending toward the opening of the Mississippi river and in the Vicksburg campaign several expeditions were made against Yazoo City. The most important of these were in May, July, September and October, 1863, and in May and October, 1864. The various engagements that occurred during these movements are separately described under the proper titles.


YAZOO PASS, MISSISSIPPI, February 19, 1863. Detachment of the 1st Indiana Cavalry. While the effort was being made to open the Yazoo Pass route to Vicksburg Lieutenant-Colonel W. F. Wood, with a portion of his regiment, engaged some of Forrest's cavalry near the Coldwater river and put them to rout. Six of the enemy were killed, 3 wounded and 15 captured, while the Union troops suffered no casualty. (See Vicksburg.)


YEAMAN, George Helm, born 1829, lawyer, jurist, diplomat, writer.  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. Elected to Congress 1862, served until March 1865. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 639; Congressional Globe)


YEAMAN, George Helm, lawyer, born in Hardin County, Kentucky, 1 November, 1829. He was educated at an academy, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1852, and began to practise at Owensborough, Kentucky. In 1854 he was elected a judge of Daviess County. In 1861 he was chosen a member of the legislature, and in 1862 he recruited a regiment for the National Army. The same year he was sent to Congress as a Unionist to fill a vacancy, and, being re-elected, he served from 1 December., 1862, till 3 March, 1865. In the latter year he was appointed by President Johnson minister to Denmark, which office he held till 7 November, 1870, since which time he has practised law in New York. Besides pamphlets on “Naturalization” (1867) and “Privateering” (1868). Mr. Yeaman has published “A Study of Government” (Boston, 1870). He has also written for periodicals on the labor and currency questions. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI. pp. 639.


YELLOW BAYOU, LOUISIANA, May 17-18, 1864. See Bayou de Glaize.)


YELLOW CREEK, TENNESSEE, May 22, 1863. Detachment of 5th Iowa Cavalry. Major Harlon Baird with a portion of the 5th la. was attacked by a party of the enemy in ambush on Yellow creek. The Federals were routed and chased 12 miles, losing 7 prisoners and 1 man wounded. The Confederate loss was not learned.


YELLOW HOUSE, VIRGINIA, August 18-21, 1864. Some of the Federal reports mention an action at Yellow House, while the operations against the Weldon railroad were in progress, during the siege of Petersburg, but from these reports it is difficult to determine the exact location of the house, or the character of the engagement. (See Weldon Railroad..)


YELLOW MEDICINE, MINNESOTA, September 23, 1862. (See Wood Lake, same date.)


YELLOW TAVERN, VIRGINIA, May 11, 1864. 1st and 3d Cavalry Divisions, Army of the Potomac. During the military operations about Spottsylvania, in the campaign from the Rapidan to the James, the 1st division, Brigadier-General A. T. A. Torbert commanding, encountered the Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart at the Yellow tavern. The brigades of Devin and Merritt became engaged immediately, and Custer’s brigade was thrown in on Merritt's left. In front of Custer the enemy was strongly posted on a bluff behind a thin skirt of woods, and opened a heavy fire on his line before it was fairly formed. Brigadier-General J. H. Wilson, commanding the 3d division, was ordered to take position on the left of Custer and support that brigade. Custer dismounted the 5th and 6th Michigan and Wilson dismounted all his 1st brigade except the 1st Vermont, the dismounted men being deployed as skirmishers and thrown forward to drive the enemy from his position. A Confederate battery, concealed by the timber, had obtained perfect range of Custer's position and was doing considerable damage by its fire. By a personal examination of the ground,  Custer saw that the battery could be charged by keeping well to the right. Forming the 1st Michigan under cover of the wood, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Stagg, the regiment was advanced to the edge of the timber, when the battery opened a brisk fire of canister. Just at this critical moment the dismounted men and Heaton's battery moved against the enemy in front and with a yell Stagg's men charged upon the battery, capturing 2 pieces of artillery, 2 limbers filled with ammunition and a number of prisoners. Chapman's brigade of Wilson's division charged at the same time, turning the defeat into a rout. It was in this charge the Confederate General Stuart was killed. Colonel Henry Clay Pate was also among the enemy's killed. In his report Custer says: "I have every reason to believe that the rebel General J. E. B. Stuart received his death wound from the hands of Private John A. Huff, Company E, 5th Michigan cavalry, who has since died from a wound received at Haw's shop." Concerning the death of Stuart, Wilson says in his report of the action at the Yellow tavern: "From it may be dated the permanent superiority of the national cavalry over that of the rebels."


YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA, April 5-May 4, 1862. 2nd, 3d and 4th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. Yorktown is situated on the right bank of the York river, about 20 miles from Fortress Monroe. Opposite the town is Gloucester point, projecting into the river and reducing its width about one-half. A short distance from Yorktown the Warwick river rises and flows a southerly direction into the James river. In the early spring of 1862 the Confederate fortifications at Yorktown. Gloucester point and along the Warwick were manned by some 12,000 to 15,000 troops, all under the command of General J. B. Magruder. The Army of the Potomac, numbering about 145,000 men, was divided into four corps and was under the command of Major-General George B. McClellan. The 1st corps, commanded by General Irwin McDowell, was composed of the divisions of Franklin, McCall and King; the 2nd corps, General Edwin V. Sumner, embraced the divisions of Richardson, Blenker and Sedgwick: the 3d corps. General S. P. Heintzelman, consisted of the divisions of Porter, Hooker and Hamilton, and the 4th corps, under command of General E. D. Keyes, included the divisions of Couch. Smith and Casey. The reduction of Yorktown was the initial movement of the Peninsular campaign. McClellan's plan was to land the main body of his army at Fortress Monroe, establish a base there, and then move up the peninsula between the York and James rivers, while McDowell's corps was to land about 4 miles below Yorktown and move directly against that place. Or, if conditions were favorable, McDowell was to land on the left bank of the York river and carry the enemy's works at Gloucester point, after which he was to move to West Point, thereby gaining the rear of the works at Yorktown, which would compel the enemy to evacuate them or be cut off. In the execution of this plan McClellan expected the cooperation of the gunboats under command of Flag-officer Goldsborough. then lying in the vicinity of Fortress Monroe. Two divisions of Heintzelman's corps reached Fortress Monroe on March 23, but owing to limited transportation facilities nearly two weeks elapsed before enough troops had been assembled there to begin the advance. The enemy, well aware of McClellan's movements, took advantage of this delay to strengthen his works all along the line. McClellan arrived at Fortress Monroe on April 2 and reported 58,000 men, with 100 pieces of artillery, as his total force with which to begin the campaign, instead of the 145,000 he had expected. On the 5th he received notice from Washington that McDowell's corps had been withdrawn from his command, and at the same time Goldsborough announced that he did not "feel able to detach to the assistance of the army a suitable force to attack the water batteries at Yorktown and Gloucester." This necessitated a change in the entire plan of campaign. In his report McClellan says: "It was now, of course, out of my power to turn Yorktown by West Point. I had therefore no choice left but the attack it directly in front, as I best could with the force at my command." Reconnaissances had already commenced along the line of the Warwick river, and on the very day that McClellan received the notice of McDowell's withdrawal skirmishes occurred at Lee's mill and the junction of the Warwick and Yorktown roads. In these reconnaissances General W. F. Smith, commanding the 2nd division of Keyes' corps, reported the weakest part of the line to be near Lee's mill, and by McClellan's order a second assault was made at that point on April 16, but the line held fas'. (See Lee's Mill and Warwick Road). McClellan then determined to besiege the place. General Fitz John Porter was placed in charge of the construction of batteries, in which he was assisted by General W. F. Barry, chief of artillery, and General J. G. Barnard, chief of engineers. About 100 heavy Parrott guns, mortars and howitzers were placed in position to bear upon the town at a range of from 1,500 to 2,000 yards, and on May 1 fire was opened from the f1rst battery with good effect. Magruder's object in holding his line of defenses at Yorktown and on the Warwick river was "to keep the enemy in check by an intervening line until the authorities might take such steps as should be deemed necessary to meet a serious advance of the enemy on the Peninsula." By the time McClellan's siege guns were in position this object had been attained. May 6 was f1xed as the date when all the Union batteries were to be opened on the intrenchments at Yorktown, but on the night of the 3d the entire Confederate line was evacuated. Fifty-six pieces of artillery, all in good condition except three, were abandoned by the Confederates in their retreat, as well as large quantities of ammunition, all their camp equipage, etc.


YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA, April 11, 1862. 57th Pennsylvania Infantry. Colonel Charles T. Campbell, in reporting this affair, says: "The enemy were concealed in a peach orchard near the road leading to Yorktown and along a cross fence from a road toward the woods on the left—I should suppose about 600 or 700 strong. Their fire on our approach was very heavy from their cover and from their fort on the right, but they were soon compelled to cease and quit their cover by the well-directed lire of the 57th. They returned towards their fort in very good order, though I am convinced their loss was heavy. The loss of the 57th is 4 wounded."


YORKTOWN ROAD, April 5, 1862. (See Warwick and Yorktown Roads.)


YORKVILLE, TENNESSEE, January 28, 1863. Detachments of 22nd Ohio Infantry and nth Illinois Cavalry. A foraging party from the two regiments was attacked by Dawson's band of Confederates at 9 a. m. The enemy was repulsed in a sharp skirmish, losing 1 killed and 5 wounded; there were no Union casualties.


YOUNG, Brigham, president of the Mormon church, born in Whitingham, Vermont, 1 June, 1801; died in Salt Lake City, 29 August, 1877. His father, John, a farmer, served in the Revolutionary War. In 1804 Brigham went with his parents to Sherburne, New York, where, until he was sixteen, he received only eleven days' schooling. He then engaged in business and was a carpenter, joiner, painter, and glazier in Mendon, New York. In 1830 he first saw the "Book of Mormon,” and a year later he was converted by Samuel H. Smith, the “prophets” brother. On 14 April,1832 he was baptized and began to preach in the vicinity of Mendon. In the autumn of 1832 he went to Kirtland, Ohio, where he became the close friend of Joseph Smith. He was ordained an elder, and in the winter of 1832-'3 was engaged in Canada, preaching, baptizing, and organizing missions. His advancement in the church was rapid, and on 14 February, 1835, he was chosen one of the twelve apostles, becoming their president a year later. Meanwhile much of his time was spent in Kirtland, where he was occupied in working on the Temple and in studying Hebrew, also in travelling, preaching, and making converts. During 1830-'7, an effort was made to depose the prophet Joseph and appoint David Whitmer president of the church. A council was held for this purpose, at which Young made an earnest plea for Smith, and the meeting terminated unpleasantly. On 22 December, 1837, Brigham Young left Kirtland. He purchased land in Far West, Missouri, in 1838, and settled there: but, in pursuance of the order of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, he and his family left their home and much of their personal property on 14 February, 1830, and returned to Quincy, Illinois Later he was one of the twelve that founded Nauvoo, and in September of that year set out on a mission to England. His experience there is given in his own words: "We landed in the spring of 1840 as strangers in a strange land and penniless, but through the mercy of God we have printed . . . 5,000 'Books of Mormon, 3,000 hymn-books, 2,500 volumes of the ' Millennial Star’, and 50,000 tracts, . . . emigrated to Zion 1,000 souls, yet we have lacked nothing to eat, drink, or wear. The death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage jail was announced to him by letter while he was on a mission in Peterborough. New Hampshire, and he returned to Nauvoo on 6 August. Sidney Rigdon was then claiming leadership in the church, but two days later Young was chosen successor to Smith, in the autumn the people of Hancock and adjacent counties clamored for the removal of the Mormons from the state. In reply to such a demand, Young said, on 1 October, 1845, that it was the intention of from 5,000 to 6,000 persons to leave Nauvoo early in 1840 to seek a home in the wilderness. Subsequently the charter of Nauvoo was revoked, and the Mormons suffered house-burnings, plunderings, whippings, murders, and the fury of mob violence. In pursuance of his promise, many of the Mormons crossed Mississippi River early in February, 1846, and on the 15th of that month President Young and his family set out. On 1 March, while there was still several inches of snow on the ground, the exodus began with about 400 wagons in line. Brigham Young was chosen president in "Camp of Israel " on 27 March, and captains of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens were appointed to conduct the march. By command of Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, a call was made on President Young, on 26 June, 1846, to furnish 500 men for one year's service during the Mexican War. "You shall have your battalion at once," he replied, and the quota of what was known as " the Mormon battalion " was filled within three days. On their arrival near what is now Florence, Nebraska, on 21 July, the Omaha and Pottawattamie Indians received them kindly, and urged the fugitives to establish a camp in their midst. President Young accepted this offer, after obtaining the consent of President Polk, and made his winter-quarters there. They laid the settlement out in streets and blocks, on which comfortable log-houses were built and a grist-mill was erected. On 7 April, 1847, Young, with 142 men, set out in search of a suitable place for a settlement. They entered Salt Lake valley on 24 July, 1847, and, after a survey had been made of the locality and the first house erected. Young returned to winter-quarters on 31 October, 1847, and on 5 December was elected president by the "twelve apostles," with Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards as counsellors. On 26 May, 1848. he set out again, accompanied by his family and 2,000 followers, for Salt Lake City, and arrived there on 20 September. A provisional government being requisite until Congress should otherwise provide, he was elected on 12 March, 1840, governor of "Deseret," which is understood by the Mormons to signify "the land of the honeybee." The territory of Utah was established on 9 September, 1850, and on 3 February, 1851, Young took the oath of office as its governor, commander-in-chief of the militia, and superintendent of Indian affairs, to which places he had been appointed by President Fillmore. Under his administration extensive tracts of land were brought under cultivation and large numbers of converts were brought from Europe. On 20 August, 1852, the doctrine of polygamy was first announced as a tenet of the Mormon church by Brigham Young. He claimed that a revelation commanding it had been made to Joseph Smith: but the widow and four sons of Smith denied ever having seen or heard of any such revelation. Polygamy is strictly forbidden in the "Book of Mormon," the "Doctrine and Covenants." and all Mormon publications that were issued before Smith's death, and many left the church on this question. Subsequently they formed an independent organization under the leadership of one of the sons of Smith. To sustain the new dogma, papers and periodicals were established in various parts of the world. Meanwhile the Federal judges were forced by threats of violence to leave Utah, and the laws of the United States were defied and subverted as early as 1850. Colonel Edward J. Steptoe was sent in 1854 to Utah as governor, with a battalion of soldiers; but he did not deem it prudent to assume the office After wintering in Salt Lake City, he formally resigned his post and went with his command to California. Most of the civil officers that were commissioned about the same time with Colonel Steptoe arrived in Utah a few months after he had departed, and were harassed and terrified like their predecessors. In February, 1856, a mob of armed Mormons, instigated by sermons from the heads of the church, broke into the court-room of the U. S. district judge and compelled him to adjourn his court. Soon afterward all the U. S. officers, with the exception of the Indian agent, were forced to flee from the territory. These and other outrages determined President Buchanan to supersede Brigham Young in the office of governor, and to send to Utah a military force to protect the Federal officers. (See Cumming, Alfred, and Johnston, Albert Sidney.) The affair terminated with the acceptance of a pardon by the Mormons, who on their part promised to submit to the Federal authority. Throughout his life Young encouraged agriculture and manufactures, the opening of roads and the construction of bridges and public edifices, and pursued a conciliatory policy with the Indians. He successfully completed a contract to grade more than 100 miles of the Union Pacific Railroad, was the prime mover in the construction of the Utah Central Railroad, aided in building the Utah Northern and Utah Western narrow-gauge roads, introduced and fostered co-operation in all branches of business, and extended telegraph wires to most of the towns of Utah. Young took to himself a large number of wives, most of whom resided in a building that was known as the "Lion house," from a huge lion carved in stone that stands upon the portico. In 1871 he was indicted for polygamy but not convicted. At the time of his death he left seventeen wives, sixteen sons, and twenty-eight daughters, and had been the father of fifty-six children. Besides his office of president of the church, Young was grand archer of the order of Danites, a secret organization within the church, which was one of the chief sources of his absolute power, and whose members, it is claimed, committed many murders and other outrages by his orders. By organizing and directing the trade and industry of the community, he accumulated great wealth. His funeral was celebrated with impressive ceremonies, in which more than 30,000 persons participated. See " The Mormons," by Charles Mackay (London, 1851); "The Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake," by Lieutenant John W. Gunnison (Philadelphia, 1852); "Utah and the Mormons," by Benjamin G. Ferris (New York, 1856); "Mormonism: its Leaders and Designs," by John Hyde, Jr., formerly a Mormon elder (New York, 1857); "New America," by William Hepworth Dixon (London, 1807); "The Rocky Mountain Saints," by Thomas B. H. Stenhouse (New York, 1873); "History of Salt Lake City " (Salt Lake City, 1887); and “Early Days of Mormonism." by James Harrison Kennedy (New York, 1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 645-646.


YOUNG, Charles Augustus, astronomer, born in Hanover, New Hampshire, 15 December, 1834. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1853 and then taught classics at Phillips Andover Academy for three years, during one year of which he studied at, the theological seminary. In 1856 he was called to fill the chair of mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy at Western reserve College, Ohio. During the Civil War he was captain of a company in the 85th Ohio Volunteers for three months in 1862. He was chosen professor of natural philosophy and astronomy at Dartmouth in 1865, which post had been held by his fattier, Ira Young, in 1838-"58, and remained there until 1877, when he accepted the chair of astronomy at Princeton. […]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 646.


YOUNG, John, governor of New York. born in Chelsea, Vermont, 12 June, 1802; died in New York City. 23 April, 1852. He was taken in early life to Conesus, Livingston County, New York, received a common-school education, taught himself the classics, was a teacher for several years, studied law in Geneseo, was admitted to the bar in 1827. Young attained a high reputation, especially as a jury lawyer. Early in life he engaged in politics, supporting Andrew Jackson in 1828, and in the following year attaching himself to the Anti-Masonic Party, by which he was elected to the legislature in 1832. He was elected to Congress as a Whig in 1830, and served from 4 December of that year till 3 March. 1837. He declined a re-election for the following term, but was again put in nomination in 1840, and was elected, took his seat when Congress was called together in extra session on 31 May, 1841, and served till 3 March, 1843. He was elected to the legislature in 1844, became leader of the Whigs, and carried through the bill for a constitutional convention, with the aid of the Hunker or Radical Democratic vote. He was re-elected in 1845, acquired great popularity as the champion of the anti-renters, received the Whig nomination for governor in 1846, and was elected. He condemned the Mexican War in his messages, and sanctioned resolutions of the legislature in favor of excluding slavery from the territory that had been acquired from Mexico. He supported Henry Clay's candidacy in the Whig National Convention of 1848. In July, 1849, he was appointed Assistant Treasurer of the United States in New York City. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 648.


YOUNG, John Russell, journalist, born in Dowington, Chester County. Pennsylvania, 20 November, 1841. He received his education in the public schools of Philadelphia and the New Orleans high-school. He entered the employment of the Philadelphia " Press" in 1857 as copy-boy, and was promoted to other duties. At the beginning of the Civil War he was sent to Virginia as war-correspondent. He remained with the Army of the Potomac from the battle of Bull Run till the end of the Chickahominy Campaign. In 1864 he accompanied General Nathaniel P. Hanks on his Red River Expedition, after which he returned to Philadelphia to assume editorial charge of the " Press." He resigned in 1865 and attempted to establish a new paper in Philadelphia, which he called the "Morning Post," and after its failure began the publication of one in New York City named the "Standard," with which he had no better success. He then connected himself with the New York "Tribune," of which he was managing editor from 1866 till 1869. Having studied law for the prescribed term, he obtained admission to the bar in 1867. In 1871 he went to Europe as a correspondent of the New York " Herald," and was engaged in collecting news in Great Britain and on the continent till 1877, when, as commissioner of the "Herald," he accompanied ex-President Grant around the world. After his return to New York City in 1879 he resumed his place on the editorial staff. On 15 March, 1882, he was appointed U. S. minister to China, he filled that post until the accession of President Cleveland, and then returned to New York and engaged in his former occupation. He has published "Around the World with General Grant (2 vols.. New York, 1879).—His brother. James Rankin, journalist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 6 March, 1847, enlisted in the emergency campaign of 1863, and then entered the volunteer army in 1864, serving until the close of the war. In 1866 he became connected with the New York "Tribune," was its Washington correspondent until 1871. In that same year he became executive clerk of the U. S. Senate, which place be has since held. He is one of the owners of the Philadelphia "Evening Star." to which he has contributed the "S. M." correspondence. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 649.


YOUNG, Jonathan, naval officer, born in Ohio, 27 November, 1825; died in New London, Connecticut, 17 May, 1885. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 19 October, 1841. Young served in the West Indies, where he participated in an engagement with pirates on the Isle of Pines off the south coast of Cuba, and captured a slaver with 500 slaves on board. He cruised in the ship-of-the-line " Columbus" around the world, 1845-'8. At Yeddo, Japan, succeeded in forcibly delivering a letter to the Japanese government. He became a passed midshipman, 10 August, 1847, was commissioned a master, 14 September, 1855, and a lieutenant the next day, while on a cruise in the steamer "Massachusetts." of the Pacific Station. In this cruise he participated in engagements with Indians in Puget sound. He commanded the steamer "Westernport" in the Paraguay Expedition of 1859. When the Civil War began he was serving on the steamer "Susquehanna in the Mediterranean, in which he returned, 6 June, 1861, and participated in the capture of the forts at Hatteras inlet, 28 August, 1861, and of Port Royal, South Carolina 7 November, 1861. He was executive in the steamer "Powhatan" in chase of the Confederate privateer "Sumter" to Brazil and Gibraltar in 1861-'2. He commanded the steamer "Pembina," of the Western Gulf Squadron, a short time in 1863, and was promoted to lieutenant-commander, 10 July, 1862, and to commander, 25 July, 1866. Young then commanded the receiving ship at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1866-'7, and steamer " Mahaska." North Atlantic Squadron, 1806-9. He served at the Naval Observatory in Washington, 1869, and U.S. Navy-yard, Portsmouth, 1869-72. He was chief of staff on the flag-ship "Lancaster," of the Brazil Squadron, in 1873, was commissioned a captain, 8 November, 1873, commanded the steamer "Tennessee," of the Asiatic Squadron, in 1870-'8, and served at the U.S. Navy-yard, Portsmouth. In 1879-'81. He was promoted to commodore, 19 June, 1882, and commanded the naval station at New London in 1882-'5. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 649.


YOUNG, Joseph, New York, American Abolition Society (Radical Abolitionist, Vol. 1, No. 1, New York, August 1855)


YOUNG, Pierce Manning Butler, soldier, born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, 15 November, 1839. He was taken to Georgia when he was a year old, was educated at the military institute in that state, began the study of law, and then entered the U. S. Military Academy in 1857. Within two months of the time for graduation he resigned on account of the secession of the southern states, and joined the Confederate Army as a 2d lieutenant. He was successively promoted through all the grades of the service to that of major-general on 12 December, 1864, when he was assigned to the command of a cavalry division. He resided in Cartersville, Georgia, after the war, and was the only Democrat who was elected to Congress when representation was restored under the reconstruction acts, taking his seat on 25 July, 1868. He was re-elected for the three succeeding terms, serving till 3 March. 1875. General Young has been a delegate to every National Democratic Convention since 1868. In 1877 he was appointed one of the commissioners from the United States to the World's Fair held in Paris. He was appointed consul-general to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1885, but, owing to the severe climate, resigned a year later, and has since resided on his plantation near Atlanta, Georgia.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 650.


YOUNG, Thomas Lowry, soldier, born in Killyleagh. Ireland, 14 December, 1832; died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 20 July, 1888. He came to this country at an early age. Young served in the U. S. Army during the last year of the war with Mexico, and afterward taught in Cincinnati. He entered the National Army at the beginning of the Civil War, and was promoted colonel, but, having contracted disease in the Atlanta Campaign, he was honorably discharged in September, 1864, and brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, 13 March, 1865. He was graduated at the Cincinnati law-school, admitted to the bar in 1865. The same year he was appointed assistant city auditor of Cincinnati, and was elected a member of the state house of representatives for a term of two years. He was elected recorder of Hamilton County in 1867, appointed a supervisor of internal revenue in 1868, and was a delegate to the National Republican Convention the same year. He was elected state senator in 1871, lieutenant-governor in 1875, and in 1877 became governor after Rutherford B. Hayes was chosen president. He served in Congress in 1878-'82, and in 1886 was appointed a member of the board of public affairs of Cincinnati, which office he held at his death in 1888. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 650-651.


YOUNG, William, journalist, born in Deptford, England, in 1809; died in Paris, France, 15 April, 1888. His father was an admiral in the Royal Navy. He married an American lady in 1839, and came to this country, where, from 1848 till 1867, he edited in New York City "The Albion," a paper devoted to British news and interests. In 1868 he established "Every Afternoon," which was discontinued in four weeks with heavy loss. He then moved to Paris, where he afterward resided. Mr. Young published "Two Hundred Lyrical Poems of Beranger, done into English Verse (New York, 1850); "Carmina Collegensia" (1868); "Mathieu Ropars, etc., by an Ex-Editor" (1868); and "The Man who Laughs," from the French of Victor Hugo (1869). He also wrote the letter-press for a collection of photographs entitled "Lights and Shades of New York Picture Galleries" (1863), and adapted several plays from the French. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 651.


YOUNG. William Henry Harrison Hutchinson, journalist, born in Amherst, Erie County, New York, 4 May, 1819. He was educated at Fredonia Academy. New York, admitted to the bar, and practised in Buffalo, but moved to the south, took part in the Texan revolution and the Mexican War, and also edited the Savannah "Georgian" and Young's Spirit of the South" at Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky. He has also been connected editorially with several papers at the north, including the "Spirit of the Times," the "Democratic Review," and the Cincinnati "Sunday Despatch." He married a wealthy southern lady, and together they aided in establishing the "Kinney Colony" in Nicaragua, publishing there the "Central American." At the opening of the Civil War they raised and equipped at their own expense Young's Kentucky light Cavalry (afterward the 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry), which was the first cavalry regiment to take the field, and of which Mr. Young became colonel. Since the war Colonel Young has practised law in Washington, and has been interested in establishing a colony of veteran soldiers in Florida. He and his wife also founded the New York Volunteer institute, a school in which they educated 900 soldiers' orphans at their own expense. Colonel Young has invented and patented an artificial stone. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 651.


YOUNG'S CROSS ROADS, NORTH CAROLINA, May 15, 1862. Detachment of 2nd Maryland Infantry. A detachment of three compan1es under Captain M. Wilson stationed at Young's cross-roads was attacked by a considerable body of Confederate cavalry. The Federals allowed the enemy to come within 200 yards and then fired. driving him back with r officer badly wounded. During the night Wilson's pickets were twice driven in, but no attack was made by the enemy.


YOUNG'S CROSS ROADS, NORTH CAROLINA, July 27. 1862. Detachments of 9th New Jersey Infantry and 3d New York Cavalry. This affair was an incident of a reconnaissance from Newport to Young's crossroads under Colonel C. A. Heckman. A portion of the cavalry was fired into from across a creek, the bridge over which had been destroyed. Heckman deployed his men and after receiving reinforcements rebuilt the bridge under cover of a musketry fire and crossed the stream, when the enemy had fled. The Federals lost 6 wounded.


YOUNG'S MILL, VIRGINIA, October 21, 1861. The following is a despatch to the Confederate adjutant-general from General J. Bankhead Magruder, commanding at Yorktown: "A part of General McLaws' force is now engaged with the enemy in front of his command at Young's mill." This is the only official mention of the affair.


YOUNG'S POINT, LOUISIANA, June 7, 1863. During the operations about Milliken's bend. General Hawes' Confederate brigade made a demonstration on the Union camp at Young's point, but it did not develop into a serious attack, and Hawes retired, shelled by three gunboats lying in the Mississippi river. No casualties reported.


YULEE, David Levy, senator, born in the West Indies in 1811; died in New York City, 10 October, 1886. His father, whose name was Levy, was of Hebrew extraction. The son moved with him to Virginia when quite young, and there received the rudiments of a classical education. In 1824 he went to Florida, studied law, and engaged in planting. He was elected a delegate to Congress from that territory, and served from 31 March, 1841, till 3 March, 1845, under the name of David Levy, but afterward changed it to David Levy Yulee, under which designation he was subsequently known.  He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention, was elected a U. S. Senator from Florida as a Democrat, serving from 1 December, 1843, till 3 March. 1851. He was again elected to the Senate from 3 December, 1855, till 21 January, 1861, when he retired to join the southern Confederacy. During the Civil War he served as a member of the Confederate Congress, and at its termination was confined as a prisoner of state at Fort Pulaski until he was pardoned. At one time he was president of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad in Florida. Mr. Yulee was interested in the development of Fernandina and Cedar Keys, and was one of the corporators of the railroad between those two places. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 651-652.


YREKA ROAD, CALIFORNIA, September 21, 1862. (See Fort Crook.)