Devens, Charles, 1820-1891

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Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Devens graduated from Boston Latin School and eventually Harvard College in 1838, and from the Harvard Law School in 1840. He was admitted to the bar in Franklin County, Massachusetts, where he practiced law from 1841 to 1849.

In 1848, he was a Whig member of the Massachusetts Senate. From 1849 to 1853, Devens was United States Marshal for Massachusetts, in which capacity he was called upon in 1851 to remand the fugitive slave, Thomas Sims, to slavery. This he felt constrained to do, much against his personal desire; subsequently, he attempted in vain to purchase Sims's freedom, and many years later appointed him to a position in the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Devens practiced law at Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1853 until 1861.

On April 16, 1861, Devens gave an impassioned speech at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. To a large crowd he called upon the young men of Worcester to "rise and go with" him to the "rescue of Washington". Three days later, he was appointed major of the 3rd Massachusetts Rifle Battalion.

He was appointed as colonel of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry in July 1861 and wounded at the Battle of Ball's Bluff in Virginia in October.

Although still recovering, Devens was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in April 1862 and assigned command of the 1st Brigade/1st Division. He was wounded a second time at the Battle of Seven Pines and spent most of the summer recovering. His brigade was not heavily involved in the Maryland Campaign. Shortly afterwards, it was reassigned to the VI Corps. Devens commanded the 2nd Brigade/3rd Division/VI Corps during the Battle of Fredericksburg.

In January 1863, Devens was given command of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, VI Corps. After Maj. Gen Oliver O. Howard took command of the XI Corps, he appointed Devens as a division commander, and at Chancellorsville he was wounded a third time. According to a report by Gen. Steward L. Woodford, who served with him, Devens remounted his horse, stayed with his men and did not go to the hospital until his men had bivouacked.

Peninsula Campaign March 17 – May 31, 1862

Devens distinguished himself at the Battle of Cold Harbor, while commanding the 3rd Division/XVIII Corps in Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign. During the final stages of the Siege of Petersburg, he commanded the 3rd Division of the XXIV Corps.

Devens's troops were the first to occupy Richmond after its fall in April 1865.

After the war, Devens became a companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

On January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Devens for the award of the honorary grade of brevet major general, United States Volunteers, to rank from April 3, 1865, for services during the Richmond campaign, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on March 12, 1866. Devens remained in the army for a year as commander of the military district of Charleston, South Carolina, before mustering out and returning home. He later served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic from 1873 to 1875 and was also a veteran companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Devens was also a key figure in the investigation into the unlawful execution of Confederate veteran Calvin Crozier by soldiers of the 33rd Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, at Newberry, SC in September 1865 following an altercation. Over Devens's strong objections the officer who took responsibility for the lynching was exonerated and returned to duty.

He was a judge of the Massachusetts superior court, from 1867 to 1873, and was an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1873 to 1877, and again from 1881 to 1891. From 1877 to 1881, he was Attorney General of the United States in the Cabinet of President Rutherford B. Hayes.

He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1878.

Charles Devens died of heart failure in Boston, Massachusetts in 1891, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1906, the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, erected an equestrian statue of Charles Devens in front of the former Worcester Court House, located on Court Hill. The statue was originally located on the front middle of the Courthouse area, it was later relocated to the front side.

Camp Devens near Ayer, Massachusetts, was established in 1917 on about 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of land leased then later purchased from 112 owners who sold 230 parcels of land in the towns of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster and Shirley, to the United States of America. Some was fine farmland along the Nashua River and other was "sprout" land where trees had been cut leaving stumps.

Construction, by the largest labor force assembled in the United States, to build an entire city for 10,000 requiring barracks, training buildings, water and sewer systems, raced at the rate of 10.4 new buildings every day. As one of 16 temporary cantonments, Camp Devens processed and trained more than 100,000 soldiers of the 76th and 12th Divisions. In 1918, it became a separation center for over 150,000 troops upon their return from France. Put on inactive status, it served next as a summer training camp for National Guardsmen, Reservists and ROTC cadets.

Following years of debate regarding preparedness for another global war, passage of the National Defense Act in 1920 established an important role for the citizen army. Appropriations were made for permanent construction of buildings in 1927 but the stock market crash nearly called a halt. Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, of Lowell, recognized the economic significance of Camp Devens to this largely agricultural community. Through her efforts, Camp Devens became Fort Devens, a permanent US Army post in 1931. However, during the depression, construction was slow; most of the work was done by the Works Progress Administration.

During World War II, Fort Devens served as a mobilization and training center. It also was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp housing both German and Italian prisoners.

After the war, Fort Devens served training site for the Army Security Agency School from 1951 to 1996, and also as the home of the 10th Special Forces Group from 1968 to 1995. It also served as a training center for members of the Army Reserve and National Guard.

In 1996, Fort Devens was closed and the post was repurposed as an industrial park and the site of Federal Medical Center, Devens, a Federal prison hospital. A hotel, a restaurant and a small shopping area have been built there as well. The cantonment area of the post was retained by the Army for use as a training facility for reservists and was called the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area, until Fort Devens was reactivated in 2007. Despite the name change, no units of active Army have been located there.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Stuart, Alexander H. H. (Alexander Hugh Holmes), 1807-1891. Papers of Alexander H. H. Stuart and the related Stuart and Baldwin families [manuscript], 1776-1878 (bulk 1850-1861). University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn James Russell Lowell papers, 1835-1919. Houghton Library
creatorOf Evarts, William Maxwell, 1818-1901. Autograph letter signed : Dept. of State, Washington, to Chas. Devens, 1871 Dec. 1. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn United States. Dept. of Justice. United States Department of Justice general records, 1877-1906 (bulk 1877-1890). Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
referencedIn Devens, Charles -- Brigadier General United States. National Archives and Records Administration
referencedIn Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911. Papers, 1853-1911. Gadsden Public Library
referencedIn Massachusetts. Adjutant General's Office. Fifteenth Massachusetts collection, 1890-1920 (bulk 1915-1919). Worcester Historical Museum
referencedIn General Records of the Department of Justice. 1790 - 2002. Photographs of Attorneys General National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Papers Relating to Introductions and Resignations of Attorneys General, 1881 - 1893 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
referencedIn Autograph File, D, 1586-1975. Houghton Library
creatorOf Devens, Charles, 1820-1891. Charles Devens letter, 1887 April 6. University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB Library
referencedIn Thomas Wentworth Higginson correspondence Houghton Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
referencedIn Dick, Robert P. (Robert Paine), 1823-1898. Papers, 1855-1895. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn United States. Dept. of State. Letter : [Washington, D.C.], to Charles Devens, [Washington, D.C.], 1879 Mar. 31. Texas Christian University
referencedIn Chamberlain, Daniel Henry, 1835-1907. Letter : Columbia, S.C., to Charles Devens, Washington, D.C., 1877 Apr. 8. Texas Christian University
referencedIn McCrary, George Washington, 1835-1890. George Washington McCrary collection, 1824-1936. Rutherford B Hayes Presidential Center, Hayes Presidential Center
referencedIn Swayne, Wager, 1834-1902. Military officer correspondence, 1875-1896. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Clarke, James Freeman, 1810-1888. Additional correspondence, 1787-1886 Houghton Library
creatorOf Evarts, William Maxwell, 1818-1901. Letter signed : "Department of State," Washington, to Charles Devens, 1877 Dec. 1. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Ames, Adelbert, 1835-1933. Autograph letter signed : Northfield, Minn., to Charles Devens, 1877 Apr. 5. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Houston, George Smith, 1811-1879. Autograph letter signed : Montgomery, Ala., to W.W. Garth, 1877 Dec. 10. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery of the State of Massachusetts Civil War collection, 1724-1933 (inclusive); 1861-1912 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Photographic Portrait File The Huntington Library
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
creatorOf Henderson, John Brooks, 1826-1913. Autograph letter signed : St. Louis, Mo., to Charles Devens, 1880 Jan. 30. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Baldwin, George William, 1832-1930. Correspondence, 1856-1879. American Antiquarian Society
creatorOf Devens, Charles, 1820-1891. Charles Devens notebooks, 1841-1885. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Thurman, Allen Granbery, 1813-1895. Letter : Washington, D.C., Charles Devens, [Washington, D.C.], 1880 Jan. 21. Texas Christian University
referencedIn Thurman, Allen Granbery, 1813-1895. Letters, 1880. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
creatorOf Devens, Charles, 1820-1891. Autograph telegram signed : [n.p.], to Lt. Col. E.W. Smith, 1865 Jan. 14. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Broadhead, James O. (James Overton), 1819-1898. Autograph letter signed : St. Louis, Mo., to Charles Devens, 1880 June 19. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Henry Lee Higginson papers relating to the gift of Soldiers Field, Harvard University, 1890. Houghton Library
referencedIn Rosenthal, Max, 1833-1918. Descriptions and portraits of American government officials, circa 1891-1893. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Edmunds, George Franklin, 1828-1919. Letter : Washington, [D.C.], to Charles Devens, 1878 May 24. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
creatorOf Hay, John, 1838-1905. Correspondence, 1854-1914, "Curtis" to "Devens". Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Morrison R. Waite Papers, 1818-1933, (bulk 1874-1888) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Hines family. Hines Family Papers, 1874-1894. New Jersey Historical Society Library
referencedIn Carrington Family papers, 1749-1929 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Philip Case Lockwood memorial collection of Civil War portraits and autographs, 1862-ca. 1886. Houghton Library
referencedIn Consolidated Military Officer's File of General Charles Devens United States. National Archives and Records Administration
referencedIn Allison, William B. (William Boyd), 1829-1908. Letter : Dubuque, Iowa, to Charles Devens, Washington, D.C., 1879 July 30. Texas Christian University
creatorOf Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911. Autograph letter signed : Cambridge, Mass., to Charles Devens, 1878 Dec. 28. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn United States. War Dept. Letter : Washington, D.C., to [Charles Devens], n.p., 1879 July 25. Texas Christian University
referencedIn Papers, 1836-1942. Houghton Library
referencedIn United States. War Dept. Letter : Washington, D.C., to [Charles Devens], Attorney General, [Washington, D.C.], 1877 Apr. 17. Texas Christian University
referencedIn McCrary, George Washington, 1835-1890. George W. McCrary collection, 1824-1936. Rutherford B Hayes Presidential Center, Hayes Presidential Center
referencedIn Osborne Family Papers, 1786-1968, 1880-1925 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Throckmorton, James Webb, 1825-1894. Autograph letter signed : Washington, to Charles Devens, 1879 Feb. 22. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Wetherell, John Walcott, 1820-1897. Papers, 1848-1895. American Antiquarian Society
referencedIn Clapp, William Warland, Jr., 1826-1891. Correspondence, 1790-1891 (bulk 1840-1891) Houghton Library
creatorOf Kirkwood, Samuel Jordan, 1813-1894. Autograph letter signed : Washington, to the Attorney General, 1879 Dec. 9. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn McCrary, George Washington, 1835-1890. George W. McCrary collection, 1824-1936. University of Oslo Medical Library
creatorOf Trafton, John W., 1839-. Papers, 1862-1891. Library of Congress
referencedIn Thurman, Allen Granbery, 1813-1895. Allen Granbery Thurman correspondence, 1881 January 29. Library of Congress
referencedIn Olin Levi Warner papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Baker, David Jewett, 1834-1899. Letter: Cairo, Illinois, to Attorney General [Charles Devens], Washington, D.C., 1879 Dec. 15. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
creatorOf United States. Justice Department. Records. Utah Division of State History, Utah Historical Society
creatorOf Coffey, Titian J. Letter, 1878, August 13, Washington, D.C., to Charles Devens. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery of the State of Massachusetts Civil War collection, 1724-1933 (inclusive); 1861-1912 (bulk). Houghton Library
Role Title Holding Repository
contributorOf Devens, Chas - District of Columbia - 1863 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1862 - Devens, Charles - File No. D249 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
referencedIn Consolidated Military Officer's File of Charles Devens, 1865 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Chas - File No. D261 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Charles - File No. D230 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Chas - File No. D627 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Charles - File No. D17 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Charles - File No. D208 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Chas - File No. D700 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
referencedIn Devens, Charles - Unit: 15th Infantry, Company: F&S - Enlistment Rank: Colonel, Discharge Rank: Colonel United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1866 - Devens, Chas - File No. D68 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Chas - File No. D513 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Charles - File No. D732 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Chas - File No. D564 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Chas - File No. D408 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf Consolidated Military Officer's File of Chas Devens, South Carolina, 1865 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Charles - File No. D121 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1866 - Devens, Charles - File No. D22 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Chas - File No. D299 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Chas - File No. D75 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1864 - Devens, Chas - File No. D142 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Charles - File No. D177 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1879 - File No. 1455 (Devens, Chas - District of Columbia) United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1864 - Devens, Chas - File No. D363 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
referencedIn Devens, Charles Jr. United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1879 - File No. 8122 (Devens, Charles - District of Columbia) United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Charles - File No. D228 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Charles - File No. D231 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1862 - Devens, Chas - File No. D357 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1865 - Devens, Charles - File No. D483 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1861 - Devens, Chas - File No. D622 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1878 - File No. 4195 (Devens, Charles - District of Columbia) United States. National Archives and Records Administration
Relation Name
associatedWith Allison, William B. (William Boyd), 1829-1908. person
associatedWith Ames, Adelbert, 1835-1933. person
associatedWith Baker, David Jewett, 1834-1899. person
associatedWith Baldwin, George William, 1832-1930. person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Boston Latin School (Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith Broadhead, James O. (James Overton), 1819-1898. person
associatedWith Carrington family family
associatedWith Carrington family. family
associatedWith Carrington family. family
associatedWith Chamberlain, Daniel Henry, 1835-1907. person
associatedWith Clapp, William Warland, 1826-1891 person
associatedWith Clarke, James Freeman, 1810-1888 person
associatedWith Coffey, Titian J. person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith Dick, Robert P. (Robert Paine), 1823-1898. person
associatedWith Edmunds, George Franklin, 1828-1919. person
associatedWith Evarts, William Maxwell, 1818-1901. person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Harvard University corporateBody
associatedWith Hay, John, 1838-1905. person
associatedWith Henderson, John Brooks, 1826-1913. person
associatedWith Higginson, Henry Lee, 1834-1919 person
associatedWith Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911. person
associatedWith Hines family. family
associatedWith Houston, George Smith, 1811-1879. person
associatedWith Kirkwood, Samuel Jordan, 1813-1894. person
associatedWith Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897 person
correspondedWith Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891 person
memberOf Massachusetts. General Court. Senate corporateBody
memberOf Massachusetts. Superior Court. corporateBody
memberOf Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court. corporateBody
correspondedWith McCrary, George Washington, 1835-1890. person
associatedWith Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Commandery of the State of Massachusetts, collector. corporateBody
associatedWith Online Archive of California. corporateBody
associatedWith Osborne family. family
correspondedWith Parsons, Thomas William, 1819-1892 person
associatedWith Smith, Worthington, d. 1883, person
associatedWith Stuart, Alexander H. H. (Alexander Hugh Holmes), 1807-1891. person
associatedWith Throckmorton, James Webb, 1825-1894. person
correspondedWith Thurman, Allen Granbery, 1813-1895. person
associatedWith Trafton, John W., 1839- person
leaderOf United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 15th (1861-1865) corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army. Massachusetts Rifle Battalion, 3rd (1861) corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army of the James corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army of the Potomac. Corps, 11th corporateBody
leaderOf United States. Dept. of Justice. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Dept. of State. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Justice Department. corporateBody
employeeOf United States. Marshals Service corporateBody
associatedWith United States. War Dept. corporateBody
correspondedWith Waite, Morrison R. (Morrison Remick), 1816-1888. person
associatedWith Warner, Olin Levi, 1844-1896. person
associatedWith Wetherell, John Walcott, 1820-1897. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Charleston SC US
Hanover County VA US
Chancellorsville VA US
Loudoun County VA US
Boston MA US
Charlestown MA US
Worcester MA US
Henrico County VA US
Fredericksburg VA US
Cambridge MA US
Boston MA US
Franklin County MA US
Richmond VA US
Washington City DC US
Petersburg VA US
Subject
Ball's Bluff, Battle of, Va., 1861
Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863
Civil War, 1861-1865
Court martials and courts of inquiry
Democratic Party
Legal documents
Fair Oaks (Henrico County, Va.), Battle of, 1862
Fredericksburg, Battle of, Fredericksburg, Va., 1862
Fugitive slaves
Judges
Lawyers
Maryland Campaign, 1862
Overland Campaign, Va., 1864
Peninsula Campaign, 1862
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
Republican Party
Siege of Petersburg, Va. (Richmond--Petersburg Campaign), 1864-1865
United States. Fugitive slave law (1850)
Whig Party (U.S.)
Occupation
Judges
Lawyers
Politicians
Union Army soldiers
Activity

Person

Birth 1820-04-04

Death 1891-01-07

Male

Americans

English

Information

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