| On April 9, 1812, Randolph Barnes Marcy was born in
Greenwich, Massachussetts. Twenty years later, he graduated from the
Military Academy and began a long and distinguished career in the U.
S. Army. Much of this career was spent on the frontier. In 1846,
he was promoted to Captain of Infantry and fought in the Mexican War
at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. He was then
assigned to duty in the West escorting emigrants, locating military
posts, exploring the wilderness and accompanying Albert S. Johnston
on the expedition against Mormons in Utah. It was during this period
that Capt. Marcy led his men safely from Utah to New Mexico on a
forced march through the Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter, an
extraordinary accomplishment made even more amazing by their
shortage of provisions in the harsh weather.
Shortly after his promotion to acting Inspector General of the
Department of Utah, Capt. Marcy was recalled to Washington to
prepare a guidebook on Western travel for the many emigrants heading
west -- people poorly informed and ill-prepared for such a journey.
His well-written military reports had attracted attention in
Washington, and, at the direction of the Department of State, Capt.
Marcy produced "The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-book for Overland
Expeditions" in 1859.
A bestseller in its day, the book was essential to the westward
traveler, and no doubt saved many lives with its practical and
experienced advice. "The Prairie Traveler" also provides a unique
insight into the character and personality of the author. Capt.
Marcy was extremely well-read and observant, and he was more than
willing to adopt any idea that would work: "The
Prairie Traveler" describes portable Indian lodges, advice from
French and British medical journals, Norwegian saddling techniques,
Mexican pack practices, African methods for carrying rifles while
riding, and so on. He also wrote concisely and plainly, but in
painstaking detail on matters most important to survival out West.
His dry sense of humor, his commitment to the military and the men
who served under him, and his independence and clarity in assessing
people and situations all indicate the kind of military officer, and
gentleman, he was. Capt. Marcy also wrote two other books describing
his Western experiences, on his own initiative, but both are
unfortunately long out of print.
Until 1861, Capt. Marcy served as paymaster with the rank of
major in the Pacific Northwest, but with the start of the Civil War,
he returned East to serve as chief of staff to General George B.
McClellan, who was married to Major Marcy's daughter, Mary Ellen.
Before the War ended, he was appointed as one of the four
Inspectors-General of the U. S. Army, and as brigadier general of
volunteers. After the War, he continued to serve as inspector
general, but the Senate had failed to confirm his wartime rank of
general before it expired. Not until 1878, when he was appointed to
brigadier general as the Inspector General of the U. S. Army, was he
finally given the rank consistent with the duties he had continued
to perform all that time.
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