Here’s a Document Signed by Civil War Union Railroading Hero

GEN. JOHN HENRY DEVEREUX

(1832 - 1886)

CIVIL WAR UNION ARMY RAILROAD GENERAL, and COLONEL IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,

SUPERINTENDENT OF MILITARY RAILROADS IN VIRGINIA, and UNION ARMY CONTROLLER and CHIEF OF THE VIRGINIA LINES, APPOINTED BY GENERAL McCALLUM ,

RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL RAILROADS OUT OF ALEXANDRIA, and SUCCESSFULLY DEALT WITH CONSTANT CONFEDERATE ARMY ASSAULTS ON UNION-CONTROLLED RAILROAD LINES,

PROMINENT POST-WAR RAILROAD EXECUTIVE,

RAILROAD PRESIDENT, SIMULTANEOUSLY, OF THE ATLANTIC AND GREAT WESTERN and THE “BIG FOUR” CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS, CINCINNATI & INDIANAPOLIS, and SEVERAL OTHER SMALLER RAILROAD COMPANIES,

PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE LAKE SHORE and MICHIGAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY,

RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION CIVIL ENGINEER IN TENNESSEE DURING THE 1850s,

-&-

OWNER OF THE ‘DEVEREUX RESIDENCE,’ BUILT IN 1873, PART OF "MILLIONAIRES' ROW" ON EUCLID AVE IN CLEVELAND, OHIO.

In the early spring of 1862, the forward movements of the Union armies in Virginia called for active operation, by the government, of the railroad lines centering in Alexandria and connecting with Washington.  These lines of railroads were in the most deplorable condition, and in the midst of chaos, and of imperative demands for endless transportation to and from the advancing armies, General McCallum was suddenly called to the head of the Department of Railroads and, in turn, quickly summoned Colonel Devereux to act as the Controller and Chief of the Virginia lines.

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HERE'S A DOCUMENT SIGNED BY DEVEREUX – A CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS, CINCINNATI & INDIANAPOLIS RAILWAY COMPANY” STOCK CERTIFICATE, DATED circa 1880s and SIGNED BY DEVEREUX WHILE PRESIDENT OF THE RAILROAD.

A beautifully engraved antique stock certificate that was printed by the American Bank Note Company, and measures 11¼” (w) by 8" (h).
This piece features several attractive vignettes - a steam railroad engine and passenger cars passing under a tunnel, a bust of the company’s first president, and an American masted sailing ship on rough seas.

The document measures 11¼” x 8” and is in very fine condition, with typical punch cancellations affecting a portion of Devereux’s signature.

A RARE ADDITION TO YOUR CIVIL WAR MILITARY and AMERICAN RAILROAD HISTORY AUTOGRAPH, MANUSCRIPT & EPHEMERA COLLECTION!

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES and NOTES RE

 JOHN H. DEVEREUX

     He was educated at Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Academy, and, early in 1848, left his home in Massachusetts and came to Ohio in the capacity of a civil engineer.

     At that time he was but sixteen years old, a very independent and high-spirited boy, possessed of undaunted courage and unbounded enterprise  On arriving at Cleveland, he was at once employed as a constructing engineer on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati railroad.  After its completion he found similar employment on the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula railroad.

     In 1852 he went south, and, until 1861, was engaged as civil engineer in the construction of railroads in Tennessee.  He was prominently connected with the internal improvements of that State and section, and was referee in several important cases, as to location and construction.  He became the leading spirit in railroad affairs, and had determined upon residing there the remainder of his life, but on the breaking out of the war he left Tennessee - regretfully and regretted.

     IN the spring of 1862, after having made a reconnaissance for a military railroad in the Shenandoah Valley, he received the appointment of superintendent of military railroads in Virginia, and under it had charge of all railroads out of Alexandria, and connected therewith.  It was early in the spring of 1862 that the forward movements of the Federal armies in Virginia called for active operation, by the government, of the railroad lines centering in Alexandria and connecting with Washington.  These lines of railroads were in the most deplorable condition, and in the midst of chaos, and of imperative demands for endless transportation to and from the advancing armies, General McCallum was suddenly called to the head of the department of railroads and in turn summoned Colonel Devereux to act as the controller and chief of the Virginia lines.

     The work was herculean, and its difficulties were well nigh insurmountable; the constant assaults of the enemy upon the roads being almost equaled in injurious effect by the intolerance and ignorance of Federal officers, whose ambition by turns extended to the special ownership and direction of every mile of track, and every car and locomotive.  No definite line was drawn between the jurisdiction of the chiefs of the road management, of the War department, and of the army, but the unwritten law was none the less exacting as laid down by quartermaster's and commissaries' departments, by ordnance and hospital departments, by the chiefs in command in the field.  Through the whole ran the demands necessitated by the movement of large bodies of troops, of batteries and pontoon trains, and the carriage of the sick and wounded.

     The roads were infested with suspicious characters and peddlers, and the trains swarmed with these, to the injury of every interest in the service.  There was no time for preparation.  Colonel Devereux plunged into the chaotic mass, and, meeting unmoved each obstacle, laid at once the foundation of discipline and brought the strictest order and obedience into almost instant action.  He filled the reconstructed shops with tools, and the roads with adequate equipments; quietly and patiently but persistently developed the system of military railroad law, and made it harmonize with the regulations of each department.  He swept away with a single stroke every peddler, and leech, and spy and thief from the trains, which now became in reality "through trains of government supplies," as the orders required, and were manned and officered with the most rigid discipline.  He organized a corps of inspection and detection which swept away all that was bad or suspicious, and made his eye eye the chief sentinel of the army, before which everything and everybody had to pass for recognition and approval.

     With strong practical sense he avoided clashing between the departments by litting the vast machine of transportation to their wants, and thus aided greatly all the plans of General Haupt, as of his predecessor, General McCallum.  With unwearied energy he developed the resources of the same ponderous machine until Alexandria became the center of a great system, that worked with the precision of a chronometer in the distribution, under his hand, of countless stores, munitions, and troops.  It mattered but little how many roadways or bridges were destroyed by the enemy, the railroad trains were never behind.  Major General Meade particularly was supplied with rations and forage "so magnificently," as he expressed it, under all circumstances, that his repeatedly expressed appreciation removed the last obstacle that might have remained to cause friction to the system.

     It was a gallant thing, with Pope's army driven back and scattered in confusion, to bring into Alexandria every car and engine in safely—in some cases working the cars up the grades by hand while the ground trembled with the shock of battle.  Such work as this he repeatedly performed.  It was a noble labor, that of caring for the sick and wounded, which was made a part of the military railroad work, and the United States Sanitary Commission gratefully acknowledged his constant and valuable aid in this direction.  No officer stood better with the War Secretary nor with the President, and, holding a position which could have been turned into a source of immense personal gain, his integrity was beyond doubt—no man dared even attempt to bribe him.  He directed and moved men and machines by a thorough system, and the result was great smoothness in operation and precision in management; hence the promptness of movement and immunity from serious accident which marked the working of these military railroads.

     In the spring of 1864 the military railroad work was drawing to a close, and Col. Devereux felt at liberty to heed the calls made for his services in civil life.  During his connection with the Army of the Potomac he had won the good will and respect of all, and the entire confidence of the leading men in the army and the government with whom his position brought him in contact.  His resignation was received with sincere regret, and he bore with him to Ohio the hearty good wishes of those with whom he had been associated.  Accepting the management of the Cleveland and Pittsburg railroad, he was its vice president and general superintendent for five years, and under his control it was one of the most judiciously managed roads in the State.

     In 1866 he was invited to become vice president of the Lake Shore railroad company, and soon after accepting that position he was elected to the presidency.  When the consolidation of the Lake Shore road with the connecting lines between Buffalo and Chicago was effected, under the name of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad company, he was appointed general manager, and had executive control of this great line with all its connections and branches.  During his government the line was very successful, and its reputation among railroads for safety and accommodation to the public, and prudent and economical management in the interests of the stockholders, stood deservedly high.
     The estimate placed upon his ability as a railway manager was so high that in June, 1873, he received overtures from the Atlantic and Great Western and the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad companies of such a character that he could not in justice to his own interests refuse the offer.  He accepted and held, at the same time, the position of president of both the companies.  At the same time he was president of minor railroad corporations, whose lines formed part of the system of the larger companies under his direction.

     When he assumed control of the Atlantic and Great Western railroad its fortunes were at a low ebb.  Laboring under the most discouraging odds, he succeeded in putting the line in the best condition under the circumstances, but at the close of the year 1874 it was deemed useless to continue the struggle, until a change in its financial condition had been effected.  He was accordingly made receiver, and shortly afterwards resigned his position as president and director, as incompatible with that of receiver appointed by the courts.  His appointment to the position just named was received with satisfaction by all concerned, who knew that their clashing interests were in safe and honorable hands.

     Although never a politician, Col. Devereux has always manifested an active interest in public affairs.  Twice he was tendered a nomination to Congress, but declined.  He is a man of large brain, great capacity for work, generous impulses and a benevolent heart.  He is a member of the Episcopal Church, and very active in its affairs, particularly in missionary and Sunday-school work, laboring zealously and giving freely to aid the cause of religion.  In the Masonic order he ranks high, and in 1860 was elected Thrice Illustrious Grand Master of the Grand Council of Tennessee.

     He was married in 1851 to Miss Antoinette C. Kelsey, daughter of Hon. Lorenzo A. Kelsey formerly mayor of Cleveland.  They have four children.

Source: History of Cuyahoga Co., Ohio - Published by D. W. Ensign & Co., - 1879 - Page 348 - Chapter LXVI

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DEVEREUX, JOHN H. (5 Apr. 1832-17 Mar. 1886), a civil engineer and leading Midwest railroad manager, was born in Boston, son of John and Matilda (Burton) Devereux. He attended Portsmouth Academy in New Hampshire, and at 16 came to Cleveland as a construction engineer on first the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad, then the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad.

From 1852-61 he worked in Tennessee, joining the Union Army when the Civil War began. In 1862, as a colonel, he was in charge of all Union rail lines in Virginia, in disarray because of damage inflicted by Confederates and conflicts between various Army and government departments using the lines. Devereux improved efficiency, organized inspection and repair units, obtained equipment, enforced use rules, and smoothed differences between departments. Under his supervision, the trains moved large amounts of troops, artillery, and the sick. Devereux resigned as a general in the spring of 1864.

After the war, Devereux returned to Cleveland as general superintendent, and later vice-president, of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad. In 1868 he became vice-president, then president, of the Lake Shore Railroad, and became general manager when that consolidated into the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. In 1873 he became president of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad and the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Co. and several smaller companies. The Devereux residence, built in 1873, was part of "Millionaires' Row" on EUCLID AVE. Devereux was twice defeated for Congress. In 1851, Devereux married Antoinette Kelsey. They had 4 children: Mary, John, Antoinette, and HENRY K. DEVEREUX. Devereux is buried at LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.

Source: Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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GEN. DEVEREUX'S ILLNESS.

CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 10.—Gen. J.A. Devereux, President of the Cleveland, Columbus. Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroad, is very ill at his residence in Euclid-avenue. Gen. Devereux is one of the best known railroad men in the country, and was a confidential friend of W.H. Vanderbilt.

New York Times, March 11, 1886

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 THE “BEE LINE” RAILROAD and DEVEREUX’S REIGN

BY ANDREW OLSON, June 21, 2017

On December 5^th 1868, a home gas stove explosion nearly killed and “terribly burned” longtime Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad (CC&C) president, Leander M. Hubby. For more than a decade Hubby had led this regional powerhouse as it solidified its financial grip on the Bee Line component railroads. In May 1868 Hubby had assumed the presidency of the successor railroad that, for the first time, combined the Bee Line components roads into a single legal entity: the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway (CCC&I). Unfortunately, his near-death experience effectively sidelined Hubby until he officially resigned his role in September 1870.

Into this leadership vacuum stepped a series of new RR presidents ew duo of recently ensconced Bee Line board members. Oscar Townsend’s board appointment in September 1868 closely followed Hinman B. Hurlbut’s similar election at the formation of the CCC&I that May. Then, following Hubby’s unfortunate accident and subsequent resignation in 1870, the Townsend/Hurlbut duo formally assumed their heretofore-tacit responsibilities as president and vice president. They could not have written a more perfect script.

In the Bee Line’s new form, an old and wily politician to handle the Hoosier “good old boy” network was no longer needed. The long railroad career of David Kilgore came to an end in February 1870. And with his departure went the last vestige of the Hoosier Partisans.

Only one significant transregional railroad would be constructed during the Civil War. The amalgam of railroads that became known as The Atlantic and Great Western Railway Company (A&GW) would stand by itself. With huge capital infusions from London and Continental investors, the road opened for business in August 1865 along its entire 388 mile route from Salamanca in Upstate New York to Dayton Ohio.

Nefarious London rail broker-cum-financier James McHenry had cajoled voracious  English and European investors to fund the improbable A&GW project. Exploiting his role as proxy for these complacent capitalists, McHenry seized control of the road Ohioan Marvin Kent had brought to life in the 1850s. And by the early 1870s, he also commandeered the board of the Eastern trunk line intersecting with the A&GW at Salamanca: The Erie Railway. Now, he needed an outlet to St. Louis to complete his domination of railroads extending from New York City to the West.

James McHenry’s financial flimflam with A&GW’s European investors always left free cash with which to subsidize his own schemes. He had used some of those funds to insert Peter H. Watson as president of the Erie Railway in 1872. Watson became McHenry’s conduit to Hinman B. Hurlbut and the Bee Line. McHenry would sprinkle a substantial amount of cash on Hurlbut, and their subterfuge to assume control of the CCC&I.

Within weeks of Watson’s elevation to Erie’s presidency, he penned a letter to McHenry:

I opened negotiations with the parties controlling this road [CCC&I], and my success was greater and more rapid than I could have hoped. The result is embraced in the conditional agreement made by you with Mr. Hurlbut.

Hurlbut convinced members of the Cleveland Clique to sell their shares before word of an impending takeover became public. He then conveyed the acquired shares, and others from the Bee Line treasury, to McHenry. As S. F. Pierson noted:

…several members [of the CCC&I board] were …retired from active pursuits, and not disposed to take much trouble in the matter; and of the balance, one portion used the Vice-President [Hurlbut] to further some scheme of their own, and the other hoped he might want to use them.

When the A&GW’s plans for the CCC&I became public in early 1873, members of the Cleveland business establishment and other New York investors were completely flummoxed. After all, the A&GW showed assets of less than $40 million while reporting liabilities of more than $120 million. By comparison, the CCC&I was of robust but declining financial health. S. F. Pierson was stunned, noting, “Vice President [Hurlbut] has unbolted our doors from within.”

John H. Devereux, soon to become a key player in the final destiny of the Bee Line, painted a more colorful picture. He characterized the possibility as “an attempt to chain a living man to a dead corpse.” Before long, as orchestrated by James McHenry, Devereux would become President of both the Bee Line and the A&GW, and vice president at the Erie – all at the same time!!

McHenry had arranged for Devereux’s CCC&I presidential appointment as soon as the A&GW assumed financial and board control of it in April 1873. Devereux’s installation quelled some of the Bee Line stockholders’ angst, given his upstanding reputation as a railroad executive. But when Ohio’s legislature blocked McHenry’s plan to lease the CCC&I to the anemic A&GW, the Bee Line shareholders’ attitude shifted.

Still seeking to run the A&GW and CCC&I as a single entity in spite of his failed leasing scheme, McHenry orchestrated Devereux’s appointment as general manager at the A&GW. By January 1874 he was bumped up a notch to president – while still heading the rival Bee Line!

The Bee Line shareholders had had enough. In an effort to oust McHenry’s A&GW and Erie board proxies, they orchestrated a massive CCC&I shareholder turnout for the March 1874 annual meeting. The opposition candidate slate included several former Cleveland Clique members, New York investors, and one Hoosier: David Kilgore.

And in an interesting twist, deposed CCC&I president Oscar Townsend headed the opposition – until Hinman Hurlbut brought to light Townsend’s involvement in a freight payola ring. The revelation tipped the balance. The opposition suffered a narrow defeat. There would be no Hoosier Partisan revival.

Longer term, James McHenry’s self-induced financial problems would only mount. His tenuous grip on the A&GW and CCC&I slipped away at the hands of Peter Watson’s 1874 Erie Railway successor: Hugh H. Jewett. Jewett would extricate the Erie from McHenry’s grasp, and push him to near-bankruptcy.

John Devereux remained president of both the Bee Line and A&GW (exiting bankruptcy as the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad [NYPA&O; Nypano]) until 1881. At that time William H. Vanderbilt, of New York Central Railroad fame, sought control of the Bee Line to assure an entry into Cincinnati and St. Louis. Devereux had taken control of the linchpin to Cincinnati: the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad. He soon yielded to Vanderbilt’s advances.

By 1889 the Bee Line and the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railroad it controlled (between Indianapolis and St. Louis) would be folded into another Vanderbilt-controlled railroad and emerge as the Big Four route.

In making this decision Devereux, in his role as president of the NYPA&O, effectively parted ways with a livid Hugh Jewett and the Erie. A week later Devereux resigned. Soon, the Erie would subsume the NYPA&O.

The die was now cast for the future of the Bee Line as well. Its destiny would lie with Vanderbilt’s New York Central.

Source: Information and Excerpts from “National Aspirations, Financial Chicanery and the Ultimate Destiny of the Bee Line Railroad” by Andrew Olson (June 21, 2017)

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