Description:

Denver James

Recruiting Volunteers for the Mexican War in Missouri

 

[U.S. ARMY]. James W. Denver, Autograph Document Signed Twice, ca. May 1847. 1 p., 9" x 12"  Expected folds; some marginal tears not affecting text.

 

Captain James W. Denver reports his contingent expenses for recruiting a company for the 12th U.S. Volunteer Infantry under Colonel Milledge Luke Bonham.

 

Historical Background

On April 19, 1847, Secretary of War William L. Marcy authorized James W. Denver to expend $400 in recruiting a company for service in Mexico. The War Department sent Denver his commission as a captain on June 4, 1847.

 

The expenses for recruiting summarized by Denver here included Elisha Camron’s voucher of $22.75 for lodging and boarding Denver and three other men in Athens, Missouri, from April 13-17, 1847, and for transporting 17 recruits to St. Joseph, Missouri;  F. A. Pollock’s voucher of $7.75 for lodging and boarding Denver from May 2-4, 1847, in Oregon, Missouri; William H. Edgar’s voucher of $13.50 for subsistence for Denver’s recruiting party from April 2 to May 19, 1847; and William H. Edgar’s voucher of $49.42 for subsistence for recruits. One expense, $2.50 to William Ridenbaugh (1821-1874), the publisher of the St. Joseph Gazette, was stricken and not included in the totals.

 

In 1850, Merit Tillery was a wool carder and Calvin Smith was a merchant in Clay County, Missouri.

 

James W. Denver (1817-1892) was born in Virginia and moved with his parents to Ohio in 1830. He graduated from the law school at the University of Cincinnati in 1844 and was admitted to the bar. He moved to Platte City, Missouri, in 1845. In 1847, he recruited a company for the 12th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, received a commission as captain, and served under General Winfield Scott. In 1850, he traveled to California and became a trader. After killing a rival newspaper editor in a duel in 1852, he was elected to the California State Senate. He served as California Secretary of State from 1853 to 1855, and represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1855 to 1857. In late 1857, President James Buchanan appointed Denver as territorial governor of Kansas. During the Civil War, Denver served as a brigadier general in the western armies from 1861 to 1863. The city of Denver, Colorado, is named for him.

 

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