JeffHendricks
Private
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2023
- Location
- Independence MO
I recently bought the George Francis Train estate of photos and portraits. George was not in the military but had aspirations of being President in 1872. He was also the person that Jules Verne based his "Around The World in 80 Days" on. But George had many friends in many genres. I am going to share this one because it has to do with the Civil War. Once I receive all the portraits, I will list the entire lot on my website. But here is an awesome CDV of George with his pal Cassius Marcellus Clay. Below the picture I have added some excepts from Wikipedia. Cassius was quite the character!!
Clay was a member of a large and influential Clay political family. His older brother Brutus J. Clay became a politician at the state and federal levels. They were cousins of both Kentucky politician Henry Clay and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay. Cassius's sister Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887) married John Speed Smith, who also became a state and US politician.[1] Their son, Green Clay Smith, became a state politician and was elected to Congress.
Clay was elected to three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives,[7] but he lost support among Kentuckian voters as he promoted abolition. His anti-slavery activism earned him violent enemies. During a political debate in 1843, he survived an assassination attempt by Sam Brown, a hired gunman. The scabbard of Clay's Bowie knife was tipped with silver and, in jerking the Bowie knife out in retaliation pulled this scabbard up so that it was just over his heart. Brown's bullet struck the scabbard and embedded itself in the silver. Despite having been shot in the chest, Clay tackled Brown, and with his Bowie knife removed Brown's nose and one eye and possibly an ear before he threw Brown over an embankment.[8][9]
President Lincoln appointed Clay to the post of Minister to the Russian court at St. Petersburg on March 28, 1861. The Civil War started before he departed and, as there were no federal troops in Washington at the time, Clay organized a group of 300 volunteers to protect the White House and U.S. Naval Yard from a possible Confederate attack. These men became known as Cassius M. Clay's Washington Guards. President Lincoln gave Clay a presentation Colt revolver in recognition. When federal troops arrived, Clay and his family embarked for Russia.[11] As Minister to Russia, Clay witnessed the Tsar's emancipation edict.
During the Civil War, Russia came to the aid of the Union, threatening war against Britain and France if they officially recognized the Confederacy. Cassius Clay, as minister to Russia during that time, was instrumental in securing Russia's aid.[12] Emperor Alexander II of Russia gave sealed orders to the commanders of both his Atlantic and Pacific fleets, and sent them to the East and West coasts of the United States. They were instructed that the sealed orders were to be opened only if Britain and France entered the war on the side of the Confederacy.[13] When the Russian Atlantic fleet entered New York harbor, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles wrote in his diary: In sending these ships to this country, there is something significant. What will be its effect on France, and French policy, we shall learn in due time. It may be moderate, it may exacerbate. God bless the Russians.
His family home, White Hall, is maintained by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as White Hall State Historic Site.
In 1912, Herman Heaton Clay, a descendant of an African-American slave owned by Henry Clay,[21] named his son Cassius Marcellus Clay in tribute to the abolitionist, who had died nine years earlier.[22][23] This Cassius Clay gave the same name to his son, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., who became an internationally renowned world heavyweight champion boxer. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 upon converting to Islam and joining the Nation of Islam,[24][25] as he considered his earlier name a "slave name", adding that "I didn't choose it and I don't want it." He further asserted in his autobiography that while Clay may have gotten rid of his slaves, he "held on to ****." This led Ali to conclude: "Why should I keep my white slavemaster's name visible and my black ancestors invisible, unknown, unhonored?"[26][27][28]
Clay was a member of a large and influential Clay political family. His older brother Brutus J. Clay became a politician at the state and federal levels. They were cousins of both Kentucky politician Henry Clay and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay. Cassius's sister Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887) married John Speed Smith, who also became a state and US politician.[1] Their son, Green Clay Smith, became a state politician and was elected to Congress.
Clay was elected to three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives,[7] but he lost support among Kentuckian voters as he promoted abolition. His anti-slavery activism earned him violent enemies. During a political debate in 1843, he survived an assassination attempt by Sam Brown, a hired gunman. The scabbard of Clay's Bowie knife was tipped with silver and, in jerking the Bowie knife out in retaliation pulled this scabbard up so that it was just over his heart. Brown's bullet struck the scabbard and embedded itself in the silver. Despite having been shot in the chest, Clay tackled Brown, and with his Bowie knife removed Brown's nose and one eye and possibly an ear before he threw Brown over an embankment.[8][9]
President Lincoln appointed Clay to the post of Minister to the Russian court at St. Petersburg on March 28, 1861. The Civil War started before he departed and, as there were no federal troops in Washington at the time, Clay organized a group of 300 volunteers to protect the White House and U.S. Naval Yard from a possible Confederate attack. These men became known as Cassius M. Clay's Washington Guards. President Lincoln gave Clay a presentation Colt revolver in recognition. When federal troops arrived, Clay and his family embarked for Russia.[11] As Minister to Russia, Clay witnessed the Tsar's emancipation edict.
During the Civil War, Russia came to the aid of the Union, threatening war against Britain and France if they officially recognized the Confederacy. Cassius Clay, as minister to Russia during that time, was instrumental in securing Russia's aid.[12] Emperor Alexander II of Russia gave sealed orders to the commanders of both his Atlantic and Pacific fleets, and sent them to the East and West coasts of the United States. They were instructed that the sealed orders were to be opened only if Britain and France entered the war on the side of the Confederacy.[13] When the Russian Atlantic fleet entered New York harbor, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles wrote in his diary: In sending these ships to this country, there is something significant. What will be its effect on France, and French policy, we shall learn in due time. It may be moderate, it may exacerbate. God bless the Russians.
His family home, White Hall, is maintained by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as White Hall State Historic Site.
In 1912, Herman Heaton Clay, a descendant of an African-American slave owned by Henry Clay,[21] named his son Cassius Marcellus Clay in tribute to the abolitionist, who had died nine years earlier.[22][23] This Cassius Clay gave the same name to his son, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., who became an internationally renowned world heavyweight champion boxer. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 upon converting to Islam and joining the Nation of Islam,[24][25] as he considered his earlier name a "slave name", adding that "I didn't choose it and I don't want it." He further asserted in his autobiography that while Clay may have gotten rid of his slaves, he "held on to ****." This led Ali to conclude: "Why should I keep my white slavemaster's name visible and my black ancestors invisible, unknown, unhonored?"[26][27][28]
Bringing the