Captain Willard W. Glazier

lupaglupa

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Upstate New York
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A simple school teacher from upstate New York, Willard Worchester Glazier (1841 – 1905) turned his thrilling Civil War experiences into several books and went on to become a well-known author and explorer. His escapades made him rich and famous, yet he is barely known today.

Glazier was born in the small town of Fowler, New York, set at the western edge of the Adirondack Mountains. His father Ward was a farmer. Eager for an education, Glazier attended a local district school, then the well-known Governeur Wesleyan Seminary, a Methodist school located in the nearest village to Fowler. Determined to become a teacher, he went to Albany to attend the State Normal School (now the University at Albany). He paid his way at school by working as a trapper in the Adirondacks. Glazier’s earnings only paid for one semester so he dropped out and taught school in a village near Albany until he had enough money to finish his degree.

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After graduation, Glazier returned home and took a job as a teacher. But soon the outbreak of the Civil War called him to the military. Travelling to Troy, New York, Glazier enlisted in Company E of the Harris Light Cavalry in August of 1861, just six days after his nineteenth birthday. The unit, which later became the Second New York Cavalry, was sent in the fall of 1861 to assist in defending Washington, D.C., a duty they continued until the spring of 1862. Glazier thrived in service, rising quickly through the ranks.

In March of 1862 the 2nd​ NY Cavalry joined the Battle of Manassas, the first in a long series of battles and skirmishes in Virginia. Glazier, now a lieutenant, was on maneuvers near New Baltimore, VA, in 1863 when he encountered Confederate cavalrymen. His horse shot out from under him, Glazier was taken captive. After stealing his watch and coat, the CSA troops took Glazier to Richmond, where he was confined in Libby Prison. He was held there until May of 1864, when Libby was closed and its prisoners relocated. Glazier was transferred to Columbia, SC. During this period a report was made that Glazier had died, plunging his family in New York in grief.

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But Glazier had not died. He was still a prisoner of the Confederacy, carted between several different camps. On November 26, 1864, Glazier and a friend managed to escape by joining a group of paroled prisoners. Before their ruse could be discovered, the two men slipped into nearby woods. Eager to get home but hundreds of miles from friendly territory, the men relied on slaves living on plantations in the area for help. Travelling at night, they joined more escaped troops, passing from one friendly group of slaves to another. After several weeks on the run, Glazier had the back luck to stumble into a picket line; he was recaptured and taken to a Confederate outpost. The following day Glazier escaped again but lasted less than a day before once again being taken captive by a company of scouts serving under Gen. Wheeler. Convinced he was a spy, the cavalry troops put Glazier on trial and prepared to shoot him. Once more, Glazier made an escape. With the help of sympathetic slaves, he managed to reach the Federal lines near Savannah, arriving just two days before Christmas.

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Despite his long captivity and the privations he’d suffered while on the run, Glazier wanted to return to duty. He joined the 26th​ Regiment of New York Cavalry Company L, in February of 1865 and served through the end of the war.

Released from service after Lee’s surrender, Glazier returned to his father’s farm. He brought with him the diaries he had kept over the war years – including notes he had made while imprisoned. Each evening after helping on the farm, he rewrote the diary, filling in details of his experiences. When the manuscript was finished, Glazier took it to Albany to a publisher and convinced the man to print 1,000 copies. Certain that his story would sell, Glazier hit the road and sold his book in person until every single copy was gone. With the evidence of his success, Glazier returned to his publisher and had a re-print of 5,000 copies made. Unable to take on that large a run himself, Glazier hired agents to help him sell the book – a sales system he used for most of his life. The book, entitled Capture, Prison-Pen, and Escape, eventually sold over 400,000 copies, becoming one of the best sellers of its day.

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Glazier settled into life as a successful writer. In recognition of his meritorious service (and perhaps his growing fame), he was given the rank Brevet Captain. He married and moved to New York City, where he listed his occupation as ‘book publisher.’ He and his wife had a daughter and a very comfortable life. Glazier put out a second book about his war experiences, Three Years in the Federal Cavalry. Two years later, Glazier published a book about the war itself, Battles for the Union. Both books were a success and Glazier found himself well off and well respected.

But Glazier, evidently, was bored. In 1875 he decided to take off on an adventure. Joined by a friend, he determined to cross the United States on horseback, travelling from Boston to San Francisco without and aid or support. Keen to record his experiences, Glazier took notebooks and a camera. The journey up to the edge of the frontier was an easy one, but once in less settled lands Glazier and his friend found themselves in trouble. Near Skull Rock, Wyoming they were captured by a band of Arapahoe Indians. After three days, they were able to escape and continue on their journey, arriving in San Francisco 200 days after leaving Boston. Glazier’s trip was hailed as a great feat of daring and covered in newspapers across the country.

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And this became the pattern of Willard Glazier’s life. He published books, generally one every few years or so. In between writing, he set out on adventures. When he ran out of material on the Civil War to write about, he began to describe the things he had seen and done on his travels. By the end of his life he had written 8 books and led five expeditions. He was a sought out speaker and contributed articles to multiple newspapers. He even went back to war – or at least, he intended to. In 1898, while preparing for an expedition to the headwaters of the Yukon River, Glazier responded to the attack on the USS Maine by becoming Commander of Blue and Grey Legion from Illinois. Before the legion was fully ready to set out, the Spanish-American War had ended. Now promoted from captain to colonel, Glazier travelled to Havana as a tourist - sending descriptive letters of his impressions back to New York newspapers.

At each step Glazier sought – and got – attention. He enjoyed being well-known and used his fame to sell his books – and vice versa. Glazier was unfazed by negative publicity, often sending a copy of his latest book to critics. He authorized an illustrated biography – writing, most believe, the majority of the glowing text himself. Glazier never lost a chance to get his name out in the world; he made a habit on expeditions of naming newly discovered geographic features after himself or close family and friends. That these features were often previously discovered and already named didn’t stop him.

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A 1881 trip to the headwaters of the Mississippi River is a classic example of the Willard Glazier approach to exploration. He set out with his brother and a friend to explore the upper reaches of the Mississippi. The source of the river had been set decades before as Lake Itasca. But Glazier had heard that there were waters which flowed into Lake Itasca, thus making an unnamed body of water the actual source. After taking on three local guides, Glazier’s group travelled into the area and found a pond which fed Lake Itasca. Certain he had found the true source of the river; Glazier named the pond “Glazier Lake” and set out to herald his own discovery. Travelling by canoe, he, his brother, and friend set down the Mississippi. Stopping at towns along the way, Glazier spoke of his great discovery – the true source of the mighty Mississippi.

People in Minnesota were shocked by the news and then, angered. Glazier’s lake had been on official maps for years and already had a name – Elk Lake. That its waters flowed into Lake Itasca wasn’t unknown either; the entire area has numerous marshy ponds that drain into Itasca. The Minnesota Historical Society sent General James H. Baker to investigate Glazier’s claim. He attacked Glazier in the press for his presumption, detailing the flaws in Glazier’s methods and findings. The Minnesota Legislature went to so far as to pass a bill mandating the use of Elk Lake for the disputed pond. Glazier was unfazed. He published a book detailing his discovery and subsequent Mississippi River journey six year later, still claiming to have discovered the true headwaters of the river. This book raised more outcry as numerous passages appeared to be plagiarized from other works. Yet, when Glazier died almost twenty years later, quite a number of obituaries listed him as the discoverer of the Mississippi’s headwaters.

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In 1904 Glazier announced to the press that a third planned expedition into Labrador had to be postponed, as his family had been under quarantine due to an outbreak of scarlet fever. Not long after, Glazier fell ill and did not recover. He died in his Albany home on

April 25, 1905. The official cause of death was heart disease, a result some posited of the hard times Glazier had suffered during the war and his travels. His wife raised a monumental tombstone in his memory in a local cemetery, along a path known as “Millionaire’s Row.” In a eulogy a newspaper located near his hometown stated he “…started out as a youth to win fame.” Though it faded over time, he certainly did.

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Note - all illustrations taken from Wikimedia Commons except the final which is by @lupaglupa. Many of the pictures are from Glazier's biography.
 
I just pulled my copy of Three Years in the Federal Cavalry off the shelf last week, as the 2nd New York Cavalry played a major role in the August 20, 1862 fight at Brandy Station, which is the topic of my current project. It's a good read, but I find its lack of any significant battle detail hugely frustrating. His account of the August 20 fight is a single sentence.
 
Great story of a man who was up for any challenge. His signature is really something. Is he buried in Albany Rural Cemetery?
Yes, he is buried at Albany Rural. Due to the shade I couldn't get a good shot of the long bio printed on one side of the stone. It's a doozy - the longest I've ever seen on a personal tombstone. I need to go back in the afternoon and get a shot of it.
 
I just pulled my copy of Three Years in the Federal Cavalry off the shelf last week, as the 2nd New York Cavalry played a major role in the August 20, 1862 fight at Brandy Station, which is the topic of my current project. It's a good read, but I find its lack of any significant battle detail hugely frustrating. His account of the August 20 fight is a single sentence.
Maybe he didn't play a large role and thus had little to say?
 
But that's also fairly typical of all of the engagements that he was in. There's just not much useful detail there.
I was being a bit snarky. I found Glazier a fascinating man but not shy about making every story all about himself. I read only bits and pieces of his writings; they seem quite dated in style. But I was fascinated that he was so very well known during his lifetime and yet almost forgotten now, just over a century later.
 
Just guessing about his accounts, but he would have only been in service five months at Brandy Station and spent a long time a prisioner from sometime in 1863 to November 1864. May very well have been tidbits from other prisioners that he embellished on for his book.
 
I was being a bit snarky. I found Glazier a fascinating man but not shy about making every story all about himself. I read only bits and pieces of his writings; they seem quite dated in style. But I was fascinated that he was so very well known during his lifetime and yet almost forgotten now, just over a century later.

Your take is right on. He certainly made the most of his stint in the army. :smile:
 
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