Crisp and clear image of Marcy posed with his arms crossed on his chest. He wears a dark double-breasted frock coat with black felt collar and brigadier general’s shoulder straps.

Image has light surface dirt, especially on the edges.

Reverse has E. ANTHONY FROM A BRADY NEGATIVE back mark and “GENL. MARCY” in pencil.

Randolph Barnes Marcy was born April 9, 1812 in Greenwich, Massachusetts. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1832 as a lieutenant in the 5th U. S. Infantry. He married soon afterwards, and one of his children, Ellen Mary, would later marry future General-in-Chief George B. McClellan.

Marcy first saw action while serving in the Black Hawk War. He was promoted Captain in the Mexican War, and fought at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. He was then assigned to duty in Texas and Oklahoma, where he escorted emigrants, located military posts, explored the wilderness, and mapped routes. In 1852 he was in charge of the expedition that first reached the headwaters of both forks of the Red River.

In 1857, Marcy accompanied Brigadier General Albert Sidney Johnston on the expedition against the Mormons in Utah. Here he distinguished himself on a forced march through the Rockies in midwinter, when he led his troops to safety after they had run out of provisions for two weeks. Meanwhile, his achievements and well-written military reports had attracted attention in Washington, and he was recalled to work for the Department of State. Here he prepared his acclaimed guidebook to the western trails, The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions, with Maps, Illustrations, and Itineraries of the Principal Routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific.

After completing this work, Marcy was promoted to the rank of major and posted to the Pacific Northwest, where he was assigned as paymaster. At the start of the Civil War, he returned East and served as chief of staff to McClellan, by now his son-in-law. By the end of the war, he was Inspector-General of the U. S. Army. Marcy was promoted major general of volunteers in 1868 and brigadier general of the U.S. Army in 1878.

General Marcy died on November 2, 1887 and is buried in Riverview Cemetery, Trenton, New Jersey.    [ad]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS,

CLICK ON ‘CONTACT US’ AT THE TOP OF ANY PAGE ON THE SITE,

THEN ON ‘LAYAWAY POLICY’.

THANK YOU!