Abram Duryée (; April 29, 1815 – September 27, 1890) was a
Union Army general during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the commander of one of the most famous
Zouave regiments, the
5th New York Volunteer Infantry. After the war he was
New York City Police Commissioner
The New York City police commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsibl ...
.
Birth and early years
Duryée was born in New York City to a family of soldiers of French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
ancestry. His grandfather fought in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, and his father and two uncles were officers during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. Graduating from the grammar school at
Columbia College, Abram worked as a
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
and became wealthy as a mahogany importer in New York. In 1833, he joined the
New York State Militia, serving in the 142nd New York Regiment. He moved on to the 27th Regiment (the 7th today) five years later. Starting as a private, he eventually rose to
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...
of the regiment in 1859. During his time in the militia, he led the regiment in the
Astor Place Riot and was wounded twice. When he resigned his commission in 1859, it was against the protests of his colleagues.
Civil War
Just after the start of the Civil War, Duryée raised a new regiment, the 5th New York Volunteers, in less than a week. He became its colonel on May 14, 1861. It was one of the several
Zouave units that were formed in the mid-19th century. "Duryée's Zouaves", as they became known, fought at
Big Bethel. Duryée was appointed
brigadier general, on August 31, 1861, to rank from that date. President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
submitted the nomination to the U.S. Senate on December 21, 1861, and the Senate confirmed the nomination on February 3, 1862. Duryée was given command of a brigade in the division under General
James B. Ricketts. He later fought in the
Battle of Cedar Mountain,
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...
, and several others. At the
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...
, he succeeded Ricketts as division commander, when the latter was wounded. He was not afraid to be in the thick of the action; he was wounded at
Second Bull Run,
South Mountain, and
Antietam.
After Antietam, Duryée went on a short leave of absence, and, when he returned, was disheartened to find his brigade under the command of Brig. Gen.
John Gibbon, who was his junior by date of rank. He resigned on January 5, 1863, after the army rejected his claims to his old command. Despite this, on July 20, 1866, President
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...
nominated Duryée for appointment to the
brevet grade of
major general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination on July 26, 1866. He was also elected by the 71st New York Infantry Regiment as their colonel and as Brigadier General by the 4th New York Brigade, both of which he declined.
Later career
In 1873, Duryée was appointed
New York City Police Commissioner
The New York City police commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsibl ...
. During his tenure as police commissioner, on January 13, 1874, Duryée led a force of 1,600 policemen to
suppress a labor protest in Tompkins Square Park. Although there were no notices in sight to inform the crowd that the meeting's permit had been revoked, Commissioner Duryée led a squad of patrolmen into the crowd and ordered protestors to disperse. Police immediately began to attack the crowd using batons and mounted police charges.
Samuel Gompers later described the scene in his memoirs, writing that "mounted police charged the crowd on Eighth Street, riding them down and attacking men, women, and children without discrimination. It was an orgy of brutality. I was caught in the crowd on the street and barely saved my head from being cracked by jumping down a cellarway." 46 protestors were arrested by the police, and ten were later arraigned on charges of assault and battery against police officers, aiding and inciting a riot, or with charges of "meeting and talking wildly in the streets." Speakers for the New York Committee of Safety, the organizers of the Tompkins Square protest, condemned Commissioner Duryée for having "charged his police upon inoffensive workingmen like so many 'bulldogs.'" Duryée defended the police's use of force: "It was the most glorious sight I ever saw the way the police broke and drove the crowd. Their order was perfect as they charged with their clubs uplifted."
In 1884, Duryée served as dockmaster.
Abram Duryée died in New York and is buried in
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
.
Family
Gen. Duryee and his wife, Caroline Elizabeth Allen Duryee (1820–1905), had five children. His son
Jacob Duryée (1839 – 1918), who was also a lieutenant colonel in the Civil War, and who was nominated by President Andrew Johnson on July 5, 1867, for appointment to the brevet grade brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, which the U.S. Senate confirmed on July 19, 1867.
[Eicher, 2001, p. 744] Gen. Duryee's other children were Adelaide Allen Duryee (c. 1842–1911), Caroline Antoinette Duryee (1845–1918), William Allen Duryee (1850–1852), and Cordelia Wetmore Duryee (1854–1891).
See also
*
List of American Civil War generals (Union)
Notes
References
* Eicher, John H., and
Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, .
* Warner, Ezra J., ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders'', Louisiana State University Press, 1964, .
External links
Green-Wood Cemetery Burial Search
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duryee, Abram
1815 births
1890 deaths
19th-century police officers
Union army generals
Military personnel from New York City
People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
American people of French descent