Andrew Barclay Spurling (March 20, 1833 – August 13, 1906) was an officer in the Union Army. Serving in the American Civil War, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Early life

Spurling was born March 20, 1833, in Cranberry Isles, Maine, the son of Captain Samuel L. Spurling and Abigail Hadlock. Both his father and grandfather were seafarers by trade. His grandfather, Captain Benjamin Spurling, was in the War of 1812, and spent time as a prisoner on a British

man-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...

. Spurling's father, Captain Samuel Spurling, was master of the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Cashier'' of Cranberry Isles and had several run-ins with

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

in the Caribbean. On at least one occasion he was rewarded for having defeated pirates. Spurling attended school until the age of 12, when he became a sailor.

Career

Early career

Spurling remained a sailor until the age of 18, when he moved to California to work as a miner. His health suffered in the mines, and within a couple of years he left mining to become a farmer, having acquired land in the San Jose valley. At the age of 22, Spurling returned to Maine. He married Harriet S. Black, granddaughter of Colonel Black who served in the War of 1812, in 1855. Following in his father's footsteps, Spurling became

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of a

merchant vessel A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

before joining the military in September 1861.

American Civil War

When the civil war began Spurling, who had long supported anti-slavery, enlisted in the Union Army. In September 1861 he was commissioned as a first lieutenant of Company D, 1st Maine Cavalry Regiment. He saw action at Middleton and Winchester, Virginia. By February 1863 he had been promoted to the rank of

. He later served in General David Gregg's cavalry division, where he led his company against J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederate troops at the Battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863. During the battle, Spurling was hit in the thigh by a pistol ball. He also fought at Middleburg, Virginia, from June 17 to 19, 1863, and again on June 21 at Upperville, Virginia, during which he received several saber wounds to his right hand and arm in

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

. Captain Spurling was promoted to junior major of the

2nd Maine Cavalry Regiment The 2nd Maine Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 2nd Maine Cavalry was organized in Augusta, Maine November 30, 1863, through January 2, 1864, and mustered in for three ...

in January, 1864. Overseeing four companies, he proceeded to Brazier City, Louisiana, where they fought against guerrillas. In June, 1864, Spurling was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the regiment and led troops in combat in Florida later that fall. During the fall, while serving in Florida, Spurling and a small detachment were ordered to proceed in a different direction than the main expedition and to rejoin later. By the time they rejoined the expedition, Spurling and his 19 men had captured “15 prisoners, 50 horses, several teams, and a large train of cattle, mules, and contrabands, having been absent 5 days, and accomplished all this without the loss of a man.” The height of his military career occurred at Evergreen, Alabama, when, in 1865, the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

of scouts he was commanding captured three confederate soldiers who were attempting to call reinforcements, a feat for which he received a Medal of Honor in 1897. According to a newspaper at the time: “On that day he captured three Johnnie Rebs single handed, wounding two of them and bringing all three into the Union camp. He was at that time in command of a cavalry expedition and, while visiting his pickets, heard men approaching. Leaving his outpost he advanced in the dark and came upon the three rebels. He fired at them and the fire was returned. Gen. Spurling wounded two of the rebels and proceeded to take the trio back into the Union lines. The official endorsements on his papers in the War Department state that this capture prevented the rebels from obtaining information concerning the movements of Union troops and was of great value to the Union cause.” At the end of the war, Spurling was mustered out and brevetted brigadier general. He had reportedly been wounded a dozen times throughout the war.

Post-war career

After the Civil War, he returned to sea as a captain in Maine. He left that line of work after being

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

ed off Cape May. He served four years as

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Hancock County before taking up employment at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Spurling also worked for the Department of Justice, as well as the

Postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

where he was a post-office inspector in Chicago, Illinois, for five years. Spurling, along with two other investors, each of whom invested $50,000, formed the Chicago Rawhide Manufacturing company. The company produced leather belting for machinery. After incorporating the firm, Spurling was elected as its first president and remained president for 12 years. He was instated as sheriff of Elgin, Illinois, by Mayor Vincent S. Lovell. He garnered a reputation for enforcing the law without partiality. While one newspaper admired this characteristic, some citizens, notably saloon owners, did not appreciate such strict enforcement as it negatively impacted the sale of

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

. As a result, the city council declined to renew his appointment, causing Mayor Lovell to resign his office out of protest. Spurling, now wealthy, began to invest in real estate. His goal was to build Elgin's first

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

. Construction on the five-story steel-framed building began in 1891, but work was delayed due to the Homestead Strike at the Carnegie Steel Company. The project ended up costing approximately $105,000, much of which was borrowed. A year later, an

economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economical downturn that is result of lowered economic activity in one major or more national economies. Economic depression maybe related to one specific country were there is some economic ...

(the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

) and the ensuing failure of many businesses, resulted in a lack of tenants for Spurling's large building. The project's financial backers foreclosed and Spurling lost much of his wealth, as well as his

stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

in the Chicago Rawhide Manufacturing company. After losing a campaign for sheriff of Kane County, Spurling returned to Chicago, where he remained until his death.

Death

Spurling suffered an

apoplectic stroke Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

on October 19, 1900, after which he retired from business activities. At this time he was living at 77 Maple Street in Chicago, Illinois. Spurling suffered “heart trouble” in August 1906. He died August 13, 1906, at the age of 73, in Chicago's Homeopathic hospital. Spurling is buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.

References

External links

''Military Times'' Hall of Heroes: Andrew Barclay Spurling * http://www.elginhistory.com/dgb/ch05.htm Alft, E. C., ''Elgin History–VETERANS (The General)''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spurling, Andrew Barclay 1833 births 1906 deaths People from Hancock County, Maine Maine sheriffs People of Maine in the American Civil War Burials at Rosehill Cemetery People from Elgin, Illinois Union Army officers Military personnel from Illinois