John S. Casement
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John Stephen "Jack" Casement (January 19, 1829 – December 13, 1909) was a general and
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commander in the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and a noted
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
contractor and
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
. He directed the construction of the Union Pacific's section of the
Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
, which linked the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
with the
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
.


Early life and career

John S. Casement was born in
Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...
on January 19, 1829, to Robert Casement (1795-1849) and Anna Curphey (1794-1878) who were themselves of Manx descent from the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
.Upton, H. Taylor. (1910). History of the Western Reserve. Chicago, New York: The Lewis publishing company. Vol II, page 805 John had a brother, Daniel T Casement. Casement's education was mostly self-acquired.Cutter, 1922 Casement married Frances Marion Jennings (1840-1928), a native of Painesville, Ohio on October 15, 1857, in Lake County, Ohio. They had three sons, Charles J. (1861-1865) John Frank (1866-1886) and Dan Dillon Casement (1868-1953) . His son Dan, first graduated from Western Reserve Academy in 1886 and was also a
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
, graduating from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 1890. In 1878, Casement bought Juniata farm, near Manhattan, Kansas which his son, Dan operated from 1889 until his death in 1953.


Railroad contractor

In 1844, the family moved from New York to Michigan where Casement started his railroad career with the
Michigan Central railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...
as a laborer on the track gang. In 1850, he relocated to Ohio to work on the
Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad (CC&C) was a railroad that ran from Cleveland to Columbus in the U.S. state of Ohio in the United States. Chartered in 1836, it was moribund for the first 10 years of its existence. Its charter was ...
as foreman and then moving on to the Lake Shore railroad in the same capacity as a foreman of the track gang ballasting track, finishing in 1852. He then went into railroad contracting in the Spring of 1853 largely working the double tracking of the Lake Shore railroad, Grand Trunk. In the early 1860s, Casement and his future business partner, brother Dan contracted for trackwork on the Sunbury and Erie Railroad as well as the Erie and Pittsburgh railroads. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Casement turned over management of the business to his brother, Daniel and entered military service with the Ohio Voluntary Infantry.


Civil War

Soon after the beginning of the War with
Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
, Casement volunteered for ninety days militia service with the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was also elected
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
of the
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
. Following his ninety days, he re-enlisted for three years. Casement's first battle was at Kessler's Cross Lanes,Virginia on August 26, 1861. Although the Union forces were surprised and routed with severe loss, Casement, at the head of the Union left wing, commenced a retrograde march through Confederate territory over mountain ranges and rivers to Charleston, West Virginia without the capture of a man. Casement also served in the
Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...
against Confederates under
Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...
. After his heroic actions at the
First Battle of Kernstown The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American ...
near Winchester Virginia, March 23, 1862, Casement was appointed
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
of the newly formed 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry and fought in the operations around
Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...
. He continued to lead his regiment during the first phase of the Atlanta Campaign in 1864. During the Siege of Atlanta, he assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXIII Corps. Casement's 2nd Brigade was at the center of the Union line at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee conducted numerous frontal assaults against fortified positions occupied by the Union forces under Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield. Hood's forces struck Casement's brigade with multiple waves of brigade assaults—probably as many as six distinct attacks. All of these assaults were turned back with heavy losses. The Confederate assault of six infantry divisions containing eighteen brigades with 100 regiments numbering almost 20,000 men, sometimes called the "Pickett's Charge of the West", resulted in devastating losses to the men and the leadership of the Army of Tennessee. Casement's commanding officer,
Jacob D. Cox Jacob Dolson Cox, Jr. (October 27, 1828August 4, 1900), was a statesman, lawyer, Union Army general during the American Civil War, Republican politician from Ohio, Liberal Republican Party founder, educator, author, and recognized microbiologist ...
, credited him with "saving the day for the Union."Cox, J. D. 1828-1900. (1897). The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864: a monograph. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. Accessed a

/ref> Casement was appointed as a Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general by brevet commission in January 1865. :"''(Casement) was known throughout the South as the Brigadier-General who held our line east of the Columbia Pike in front of the old cotton gin where so many of Hood's men lost their lives in trying to drive him out of the works. In front of his brigade Generals Cleburne,
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
, and Quarles gave up their lives and fully 40 percent of their commands were left stretched on the field In front of Casement's Brigade. For this service as you know Casement received a Brigadier Generals commission and served to the end of the war as commander of the Second Brigade of the Third Division of the Twenty third Corps. I (T. H. Stevens) have always been proud that I was a humble member of his command. His men all loved him and would have died for him at any time if called upon to make the sacrifice."'' Casement's brigade consisting of four regiments, was transferred to
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
as part of Reilley's third division, XXIII Army Corps under Major General John Schofield.United States. (1895). Official records of the Union and Confederate navies in the war of the rebellion: Series 1., Vol 47, Part 1 Reports. Washington, D.C.: GPO. During the
Carolinas Campaign The campaign of the Carolinas (January 1 – April 26, 1865), also known as the Carolinas campaign, was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army (Union Army) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater. On January 1 ...
, he took a prominent part in the
Battle of Wilmington The Battle of Wilmington was fought February 11–22, 1865, during the American Civil War, mostly outside the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, between the opposing Union and Confederate Departments of North Carolina. The Union victory in Ja ...
, entering the City of
Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
on February 22, 1865 which was to be his last major combat as Casement resigned his commission on April 30, 1865 and his unit was disbanded in August 1865.


Postbellum career

After the war, he resumed his involvement in the burgeoning railroad industry. In 1866,
Thomas Clark Durant Thomas Clark Durant (February 6, 1820 – October 5, 1885) was an American physician, businessman, and financier. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific railroad at Promontory Sum ...
appointed
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Grenville M. Dodge as the chief engineer for the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Dodge hired Casement and his brother Daniel to direct the construction crews. Daniel T. Casement (1834 - 1881) was responsible for financing the operations, while John directed the construction crews who took to calling their boss "General Jack." The brothers oversaw the construction from
Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city and county seat of Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 census. Fremont is the home of Midland University. History From the 1830 ...
, to the railroad's completion at
Promontory, Utah Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above sea ...
. In 1867 when the Union Pacific crossed into what was to become the
Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The bou ...
, Casement, a popular figure, was elected to be Wyoming's first Representative in Congress. After a long struggle, Congress ruled that the election was illegal and Casement was never seated. Legend has it that when the
Golden Spike The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad ...
was to be placed to mark the completion of the transcontinental railway, the driving of the spike was to be done by
Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Se ...
, President of the Southern Pacific. When Stanford was unable to hit the spike properly, Casement supposedly took the spike maul and drove it himself, but the story is probably apocryphal. After the completion of the transcontinental railway Casement continued to be active in railway construction. In July 1870, Casement was part of an effort to reconstruct the Union & Titusville Railroad from wide gauge (6'-0") to standard gauge at an estimated cost of one million dollars. The railroad planned to reconstruct its track Financing for the project was to be a mix of existing funds in the corporation ($250,000) with the remainder of the funding to be provided by the Casement brothers in exchange for additional stock or bonds. For about half its length, the railroad ran alongside the
Oil Creek and Allegheny River Railway The Oil Creek and Allegheny River Railway was a railroad in western Pennsylvania. Initially incorporated under a Private bill, special act of Pennsylvania on 17 April 1861 as the Warren and Tidioute Railway, it changed its name first to the Wa ...
and then onto Union Mills to connect with the
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania between 1861 and 1907. It was subsequently merged into the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). History The Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company (also known a ...
. The railroad eventually became a part of the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad in 1871. In 1880
Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...
interests let a contract to Casement for trackwork on the Butler & Detroit Railroad. The next year 1881, Casement constructed the road between Cleveland and Buffalo for the
Nickel Plate The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York, Pennsylva ...
. By 1885, Casement claimed that he had constructed more trackwork mileage than any other in the United States. Casement even played a role in the construction of a second route to the Pacific, this time in Costa Rica in 1897. Casement had the misfortune to be in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
when the
1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
struck. Staying at the Vendome Hotel with his wife, he was pinned in his bed and suffered three broken ribs when parts of the hotel collapsed.Salt Lake Tribune, April 29, 1906, pg. 2. Although he survived this encounter, his full health never returned. Casement died in
Painesville, Ohio Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River northeast of Cleveland. Its population was 19,563 at the 2010 census. Painesville is the home of Lake Erie College, Morley Libra ...
, on December 13, 1909. Casement Airport at Painesville was named in his memory, as was a
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...
, the SS ''John S. Casement''.


Hell on Wheels

As crews pushed across the plains during Casement's involvement with the transcontinental railway, they were followed by a large contingent of "camp followers" who provided such indulgences as prostitution, liquor, gambling, and other services for the laborers. This ever-moving assemblage of rail workers and hangers-on became known as
Hell on Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First transcontinental railroad in 186 ...
. As well as being descriptive of daily life at "end track," the term has become further enshrined by an eponymous TV series, ''Hell on Wheels''. In the series, the character of Cullen Bohannon (portrayed by
Anson Mount Anson Adams Mount IV (born February 25, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cullen Bohannon in the AMC western drama series '' Hell on Wheels'', as Jim Steele on the NBC series '' Conviction'' (2006), as the Marv ...
) is loosely modeled on Casement's life and career.


See also

List of Union Pacific railroad civil engineers (1863–1869) This is a partial list of Union Pacific railroad civil engineers who worked on the Union Pacific railway in its initial construction from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Promontory Summit, Utah from its groundbreaking on December 1, 1863, to its complet ...


References

Sources: * Cutter, William Richard, ed
American Biography: A New Cyclopedia
Vol. 11. Pub. under the direction of the American historical society, 1922. page 3 * Jacobson, Eric A., and Richard A. Rupp. ''For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin''. Franklin, TN: O'More Publishing, 2007. . * Sword, Wiley, ''The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville''. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1993. . First published with the title ''Embrace an Angry Wind'' in 1992 by HarperCollins. * Toponce, Alexander, ''Reminiscences of Alexander Toponce, pioneer, 1839-1923'', page 167, 1923. Accessed a

* Upton, H. Taylor. (1910). History of the Western Reserve. Chicago, New York: The Lewis publishing company. Vol II, page 805 * Welcher, Frank J. ''The Union Army, 1861–1865 Organization and Operations''. Vol. 2, ''The Western Theater''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993. . * White, John ''Making Tracks: John Casement's Triumph'', Timeline (Ohio Historical Society), Vol 18, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 2001):2-17 Manuscript Collections * Casement Collection, 1795-1959. c. 2,000 items. Incl. a large group of letters written by John S. Casement about the Union Pacific. Kansas State U. Lib. and Dept. of Hist., Manhattan. 60-1211 * Casement, John S. 158 items. Incl. correspondence, relating to the Union Pacific, 1866-69. Huntington Lib., San Marino. * Papers of Levi O. Leonard, Collection Dates: 1850–1942, Special Collections Department, the University of Iowa Libraries, Accessed a


External links


John Stephen and Frances Jennings Casement Papers, 1837-1928
at the University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
Papers and photographs, 1871-1979
at John S. and Dan Dillon Casement Collection, Kansas Collection, RH MS 755, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries.

* ttp://collections.museumca.org/?q=collection-item/h694592026 Engineers of U.P.R.R. at the Laying of the Last Rail, Promontory1869 Work (by Andrew J. Russell), identified by
Oakland Museum of California The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Cali ...
. This collection also has other pictures of Casement.
Nebraska State Historical Society Manuscript Finding Aid
for Record Group 3761.AM: Union Pacific Railroad (Omaha, Neb.)
Historic Casement house and marker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casement, John S. 1829 births 1909 deaths Engineers from Ohio American civil engineers American railroad pioneers 19th-century American railroad executives History of rail transportation in the United States Union Pacific Railroad people American people in rail transportation People from Painesville, Ohio People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union Army generals