After a period commanding artillery defenses around Washington, D.C., Doubleday was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in February 1862 and placed in command of a brigade under General Irvin McDowell. [16] There is a 7-foot (2.1m) obelisk monument at Arlington National Cemetery where he is buried. Abner Doubleday. Instead, he served as a Union major general in the American Civil War and later became a lawyer and writer. The Mills Commission, chaired by Abraham G. Mills, the fourth president of the National League, was appointed in 1905 to determine the origin of baseball. His father fought in the War of 1812, serving at the naval facility at Sacketts Harbor in New York.3 He returned to Auburn, New York, after the war. In the actions at Brawner's farm, just before the Second Battle of Bull Run, he took the initiative to send two of his regiments to reinforce Brigadier General John Gibbon's brigade against a larger Confederate force, fighting it to a standstill. He was born in the state of New York in Ballston Spa. Abner Doubledays career in the army began with the Mexican-American War, after which he also fought in the Seminole War. [11] In recent years, biographers have turned the nickname into an insult, incorrectly claiming "Forty-Eight Hours" was coined to highlight Doubleday's supposed incompetence and slowness to act.[11]. While the modern rules of baseball were formulated in New York during the 1840s, it was the scattering of New Yorkers exposed to these rules throughout the country, that spread not only baseball, but also the "New York Rules", thereby harmonizing the rules, and being a catalyst for its growth. Abner Doubleday was born on June 26th 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York. Little is known of him, but in the 1893 "Biographical Review of Otsego County," Cousin Abner is listed as the brother of a William Doubleday, who was born in 1823. His paternal grandfather, also named Abner, had fought . Before he entered the United States Military Academy, he also worked as a surveyor and civil engineer. Also while in Washington, Doubleday testified against George Meade at the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, criticizing him harshly over his conduct of the Battle of Gettysburg. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Gumperts work on Doubleday supplies much of this biography. Volunteers in the Army of the Potomac. Course: American Civil War Era, Furman University. 2 Doubleday's ancestors participated in the American Revolution; his paternal grandfather fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, served at Valley Forge, and fought in the Battle of Stony Point (New York) in Doubleday fired the Unions first cannon shot but the shot did no damage and on April 14 Fort Sumter surrendered. In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car railway that still runs there. In a letter to his wife he discussed the battle: The most awful battle of the War occurred yesterday. The committee's final report, on December 30, 1907, stated, in part, that "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839." [4] Abner spent his childhood in Auburn and later was sent to Cooperstown to live with his uncle and attend a private preparatory high school. For this achievement, he used to refer to himself as the Hero of Sumter.. He was assigned to duty in northern Virginia while the Peninsula Campaign was being conducted by the Army of the Potomac. However, he did have a role in popularizing the game. Cartwrights changes made the burgeoning pastime faster-paced and more challenging while clearly differentiating it from older games like cricket. Powel family papers, 1681-1938 . [23], Mendham Borough and Mendham Township, New Jersey has held a municipal holiday known as "Abner Doubleday Day" for numerous years in the General's honor[24] and commissioned a plaque near the site of his home in the borough in 1998, even though the borough was known as Mendham Township back then. His Doubleday grandfather, also named Abner, had fought in the American Revolutionary War. Doubleday became an Army captain and served as second-in-command at Fort Sumter, a Union sea fort in the Charleston, South Carolina, harbor, when the Confederacy began the Civil War by shelling . Both of his grandfathers were veterans of the Revolutionary War. Abner practiced as a surveyor and civil engineer for two years before entering the United States Military Academy in 1838. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. However, a lot of counterevidence has been presented by baseball historians that refute this claim. "[13], However, there is considerable evidence to dispute this claim. Doubleday touched off the first reply by the United States Army at 7 p.m. Doubleday, who graduated from West Point in 1842 had served in the Mexican War of 1846-1848, and then fought Seminole Indians in Florida from 1856 to 1858. Maj Gen Abner Doubleday Born 26 Jun 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York, USA Ancestors Son of Ulysses Freeman Doubleday and Hestor (Donnelly) Doubleday [sibling (s) unknown] Husband of Mary (Hewitt) Doubleday married 27 Jan 1852 in District of Columbia, United States [children unknown] Died 26 Jan 1893 at age 73 in Mendham, New Jersey, USA During the Confederate bombardment that took place on 12th April 1861, he became known for aiming the cannon and firing the first counter shot in response to the enemys fire. Doubleday then went on to become a Civil War hero, while baseball became Americas beloved national pastime. It was at Gettysburg that Doubleday and his troops were involved in the turning point of the Civil War. In both battles Doubledays men acquitted themselves well.18, South Mountain was the precursor to Antietam, the bloodiest one-day battle of the war. Doubleday rode with Lincoln on the train to Gettysburg for the Gettysburg Address and Col. and Mrs. Doubleday attended events with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln in Washington. [5], Doubleday was promoted to major on May 14, 1861, and commanded the Artillery Department in the Shenandoah Valley from June to August, and then the artillery for Major General Nathaniel Banks's division of the Army of the Potomac. Gen. Abner Doubleday, NOT the inventor of baseball but a Union leader who seemed to be in some of the hottest spots in the war between 1861-63, wrote the above narrative shortly after Gettysburg where he served temporarily in command of the 1st Corp (Reynolds was acting as the Left Wing commander until his death) until his relief following an unjust report by Gen. O. O. Howard, commander of XI . His paternal grandfather was also a soldier; he had fought during the American Revolutionary War. His men fought well in the morning, putting up a stout resistance, but as overwhelming Confederate forces massed against them, their line eventually broke and they retreated back through the town of Gettysburg to the relative safety of Cemetery Hill south of town. Doubleday was in the midst of heavy fighting in the Corn Field and West Woods.19 Late in the battle, Doubleday was wounded when a shell exploded under his horses nose, causing the rider and the horse to run over steep rocks. They had no children. [5] He was wounded in the neck on the second day of Gettysburg and received a brevet promotion to colonel in the regular army for his service. NEW YORK Bertelsmann, the large West German publishing and entertainment conglomerate that owns Bantam Books and that just 19 days ago agreed to buy RCA's record business, on Friday agreed to. The house of his birth still stands in the middle of town and there is a monument to him on Front Street. Doubleday stayed in the army after the Civil War and in 1866 assumed command of troops in New York City. He was a staunch Union loyalist from New York, he served in many of the most famous battles during the Civil War. Try NewspaperArchive.com. Due to his bravery, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the regular army and major general of volunteers. This claim has been thoroughly debunked by baseball historians. Promoted to full colonel in the regular army in March 1865, he remained in administrative duty until the end of the war. Jul 2021 Family. [12] Chairman Mills himself, who had been a Civil War colleague of Doubleday and a member of the honor guard for Doubleday's body as it lay in state in New York City, never recalled hearing Doubleday describe his role as the inventor. This has been proven to be false. [25], In 2004, the Abner Doubleday Society erected a monument to Doubleday in Iron Spring Park, Ballston Spa, near his birthplace.[26]. Mary died on March 13, 1907. The General came from a distinguished family, his father being a Congressman from Connecticut. Doubleday never forgave Meade, and his career with the Army of the Potomac was over.27 Allen C. Guelzo, in Gettysburg: The Last Invasion, writes, The written update (General John) Hancock sent back to Meade from Gettysburg included a brief statement Howard says that Doubledays command gave way which became fixed in Meades mind as proof that Doubleday had lost all control of I Corps and somehow caused the collapse of both the I and the XI Corps. @darkblue1876_PSN said in Abner Doubleday 99 Card confirmed for 23:. I am not a fan of the game . Despite the lack of solid evidence linking Doubleday to the origins of baseball, Cooperstown, New York, became the new home of what is today the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1937. When forces under General Jubal Early threatened the city in July 1864, he was briefly placed in command of defensive units, but was never engaged. SPORTS HISTORY > History Of Baseball >> Abner Doubleday . Born Abner DOUBLEDAY United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War Born on June 26, 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York, USA , United States Died on January 26, 1893 in Mendham, New Jersey, USA Born on June 26 44 Deceased on January 26 40 Family tree Report an error Doubleday Elisha 1713 - 1806 Bayley Hannah 1732 - 1774 Freeman During the conflict he served as an artillery officer and commanded a supply depot in Camargo, Mexico. In his final years in New Jersey, he was a prominent member and later president of the Theosophical Society. Mary Hewitt had married Abner Doubleday eight years earlier, when she was about 28 and he was a 32-year-old first lieutenant. He graduated in 1842, 24th in a class of 56 cadets, and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. He spent six months without orders before being assigned to serve as president of the United States Military Commission in January 1864. His family lived in a tiny house, and they all slept in the attic. Liljenquist Family collection (Library of Congress) Repository Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 . He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. True Alexander Cartwright is credited with being the inventor of modern baseball. He criticized Meades handling of the Gettysburg Campaign and argued that a pro-slavery faction existed within the Union Army. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Doubleday, the son of Ulysses F. Doubleday and Hester Donnelly, was born in Ballston Spa, New York, in a small house on the corner of Washington and Fenwick streets. We strive for accuracy and fairness. His grandfather, also named Abner Doubleday, served under "Mad" Anthony Wayne in the American Revolution. New York State Library - Manuscripts and Special Collections . In 1871, he commanded the 24th U.S. Infantry, an all African-American regiment with headquarters at Fort McKavett, Texas. Doubleday was a high-ranking officer, whose duties included seeing to provisions for the US Army fighting throughout the south and border states. Abner Doubleday in MyHeritage family trees (Tucker Web Site) Abner Doubleday in MyHeritage family trees (MacGuire Web Site) view all 19 Immediate Family Mercy Doubleday wife Rep. Ulysses Freeman Doubleday son Hannah Hunt Bayley mother Elisha Doubleday father Margaret Doubleday sister Sgt. 19 Genealogytrails.com, West Point bios 1842 class. By the time of the American Revolution, variations of such games were being played on schoolyards and college campuses across the country. They then attacked near my position opening with from 100 to 150 pieces of artillery. Ammi Doubleday, Revolutiona. Up the hill from John F. Kennedy's grave and behind Arlington House on . Born In: Ballston Spa, New York, United States, siblings: Amanda Doubleday Eddy, Hester Elizabeth Doubleday, Jane Ann Doubleday, Ruth Maria Doubleday, Thomas D. Doubleday, Ulysses Doubleday, William James Doubleday, place of death: Mendham, New Jersey, United States, education: United States Military Academy, See the events in life of Abner Doubleday in Chronological Order, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Doubledayo.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Doubleday_and_wife_(1).jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abner_Doubleday.jpg. At approximately 10:15 AM on the morning of July 1, 1863, Major General Abner Doubleday was thrown into command of the forces along McPherson's Ridge when his immediate superior, General John F. Reynolds, was shot and killed in the early engagement between Union and Confederate infantry. In 1839, West Point began issuing grades and standings for students. Abner Doubleday's grandfather, also named Abner, fought in the American Revolution, including being a mounted messenger to George Washington at the age of 14. In reality, Doubleday was a bookish man who was not known to participate in athletics. His great grandfather Peter Donnelly was a Minuteman. He was the third of eight children of Ulysses Freeman Doubleday and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday. Did you know? Parents. Personal life. [10], Doubleday's staff nicknamed him "Forty-Eight Hours" as a compliment to recognize his tendency to avoid reckless or impulsive actions and his thoughtfulness and deliberateness in considering circumstances and possible responses. His father was a wealthy man who owned a large amount of land. In 1856 he was transferred to Florida for the Third Seminole War (1855-58). In 1875, Mary Stewart Doubleday married . But Doubleday was not a man to worry about his appearance; rather, his concern would be his obligations to the men in his command.21. Prior to that he was present when Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.30 Mustering out of the Union volunteer service in late August 1865, he became a colonel in the regular army and was sent to California, where he helped get a charter for the first cable car railway in San Francisco.31, In 1871 Doubleday was in Texas, where he commanded the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment. Who Was Abner Doubleday? Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window). A Civil War hero named Abner Doubleday is often credited with developing the game in 1839, but the real history is olderand more complicated. In other words, the Hall of Fame is built on a lie. Register now to join us on July 5-9, 2023, in Chicago. Baseball's creation myth goes like this: A boy named Abner Doubleday invented baseball on a schoolyard near Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. During the first day of fighting, he was forced to take command of the I Corps following the death of General John Reynolds. [2][3], Doubleday, the son of Ulysses F. Doubleday and Hester Donnelly, was born in Ballston Spa, New York, in a small house on the corner of Washington and Fenwick streets. June 17, 2015 Nelson Doubleday Jr., who shortly after taking over his family's publishing business used it in 1980 to buy the lowly New York Mets and put the team on course to win the World. Four of the Doubleday children survived to adulthood. By his indefatigable industry and good management he had become well. 26 civilwararchive.com/CORPS/1stcorps.htm. Spalding was engaged in a dispute with Henry Chadwick. Doubleday later commanded an all-Black unit in Texas before retiring from the army in 1873. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Abner Doubleday's grave at Arlington National Cemetery (staff photo by Matt Blitz) 1/4. The Abner Doubleday Little League and Babe Ruth Fields in Ballston Spa, New York, the town of his birth. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! After receiving a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Doubleday was transferred to command the garrison at Fort Hamilton in New York.17. He wrote, "Robert Henderson, Harold Seymour, and other scholars have since debunked the Doubleday-Cooperstown myth, which nonetheless remains powerful in the American imagination because of the efforts of Major League Baseball and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown." Doubleday later moved to New York City and served as president of the Theosophical Society, a group devoted to the study of spiritualism and eastern philosophy. A native of New York, Doubleday graduated from West Point and served during the Mexican-American War (1846-48). Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-baseball. Rental of the field for a baseball or softball game ranges in price between $400 and $550 per game. True Babe Ruth is credited not only with being a remarkable player during the 1920s, but also for earning more than then-President Herbert Hoover. Born on 26 June 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York to Ulysses F. and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday, Abner joined a respected family with deep ties to the still-young United States. Written as part of Scribner's "Campaigns of the Civil War" series and published in 1882, the book bristled with criticism of the pair. Doubleday remained in Washington for the remainder of the Civil War. The commission based its decision on a letter to a newspaper by Abner Graves of Denver, who claimed he had seen Doubleday making drawings on baseball. I was fond of poetry and art and much interested in mathematical studies. 20 Rufus R. Dawes, Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers (Marietta, Ohio: E.R. Doubleday then led rearguard operations during the Union retreat from the field. Doubleday died of heart disease in Mendham Township on January 26, 1893. 24 Byron Farwell, Stonewall: A Biography of General Thomas J. Jackson (New York: W.W. Norton, 1992), 109-110, 129. Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 - January 26, 1893) [1] was a career United States Army officer and Union major general in the American Civil War. He was appointed brigadier general of volunteers on February 3, 1862, and was assigned to duty in northern Virginia while the Army of the Potomac conducted the Peninsula Campaign. Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 January 26, 1893)[1] was a career United States Army officer and Union major general in the American Civil War. Baseball's real origins date back way father, to at least the 18th century. Abner Doubleday Field not to be missed especially when Legends of Baseball are playing! All Rights Reserved. At Antietam, he led his men into the deadly fighting in the Cornfield and the West Woods, and one colonel described him as a "gallant officer remarkably cool and at the very front of battle. Reassigned to the I Corps under General Joseph Hooker, Doubleday next participated in the Battle of South Mountain in September 1862. An unreliable man named Abner Graves told the Mills Commission in 1905 that Doubleday had invented it in Cooperstown . It concluded by saying, "in the years to come, in the view of the hundreds of thousands of people who are devoted to baseball, and the millions who will be, Abner Doubleday's fame will rest evenly, if not quite as much, upon the fact that he was its inventor as upon his brilliant and distinguished career as an officer in the Federal Army. He grew up near Cooperstown, but his family moved away in 1838, and by 1839, while Doubleday was alleged to have been inventing baseball at Cooperstown, he was a cadet at West Point, about 75 miles away. Updated: February 6, 2023 | Original: October 27, 2009. [18] It hosted the annual Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game between two major league teams that was played from 1940 until 2008. Doubleday was popularly credited with inventing the game of baseball for many years, but this claim was later debunked. If Doubleday were still alive he would likely wonder why his name is connected with baseball and not with his participation in the Civil War battles including Fort Sumter, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.38. In 1908, it named Doubleday the creator of baseball. In 1860 he was Captain of Company E of the First United States Artillery stationed at Fort Moultrie in South Carolina. Until not too terribly long ago, if you asked most people about the origins of baseball, they'd say "a man named Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York in 1839." They'd say that because, until not too long ago, there was a sign there, right next to the Hall of Fame, saying so. Enter Abner Doubleday, the focus of 71-year-old Abner Graves's testimony, which he submitted to Akron, Ohio's Beacon Journal after having read a "call for people who had knowledge of the beginnings of the game.". He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. His first combat assignment was to lead the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps of the Army of Virginia during the Northern Virginia Campaign. He soon received his first combat assignment. In the 1870s, he was listed in the New York business directory as a lawyer. @kovz88_MLBTS said in Abner Doubleday 99 Card confirmed for 23:. Bert Gumpert was an official scorer for the New York Yankees and a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America. It was Doubleday's finest performance during the war, five hours leading 9,500 men against ten Confederate brigades that numbered more than 16,000. Abner Doubleday was born at Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York, on June 26, 1819, to Ulysses F. Doubleday and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday.2 Doubledays ancestors participated in the American Revolution; his paternal grandfather fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, served at Valley Forge, and fought in the Battle of Stony Point (New York) in 1779. The application process for the upcoming summer season begins the . Mining engineer Abner Graves authored a letter claiming that Doubleday invented baseball. Doubleday was posted to the garrison at Fort Moultrie at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1858, an assignment that had a huge influence on his military career.13 In the 1850s there was a huge split in the Army over slavery. Spalding, an exemplar of hyper-American nationalism prevalent in the early years of the 20th century, believed baseball was invented in America, by an American. Born in Piers, town, New York County, New York, USA on Jan 1 1801 to Abner Doubleday and Mercy Freeman. Some years later Doubleday would be mistakenly credited with inventing the game of baseball. For the morale of the men, he is said to have provisioned balls and bats for the men. Wrong username or password. This book was released on 2009-05-18 with total page 269 pages. He died on January 26, 1893. Doubleday had a number of West Point classmates who served in the Civil War, including John Newton and John Pope. His family had a military tradition as his paternal grandfather also fought in the Revolutionary War while his maternal grandfather started his army career at the age of 14 and served as a mountain messenger for General . His father was Ulysses F. Doubleday, and his mother was Hester Donnelly. Abner Doubleday was born on June 26, 1819, in Ballston Spa, New York. 15 Meredith L. Jones, In Memoriam Abner Doubleday, 1819-1893, commemorative address, New York Monuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettysburg, Chattanooga and Antietam; and John Cleveland Robinson, 1817-1897. His last-year scores were 26th in Engineering; 29th in Ethics; 30th in Infantry Tactics; 32nd in Artillery; and 32nd in Mineralogy and Geology. He was the third of five children. He was then transferred to San Francisco to serve as a recruitment officer. Administrative Command in Washington, D.C. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/abner-doubleday. When two of the founders of that society, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, moved to India at the end of that year, he was constituted as the president of the American body. Abner Doubleday was a Union general during the Civil War who is often mistakenly credited with inventing the game of baseball. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Book excerpt: Abner Doubleday: His Life and Times is a full-length biography of a man who lingered on the fringes of history for nearly 150 years. Promoted to major, Doubleday served with the 17th Infantry in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and in the defenses of Washington from September 1861 to May 1862. His father had fought in the War of 1812. His stubborn defenses finally collapsed in the late afternoon, and his I Corps then retreated through the town of Gettysburg to the heights at Cemetery Hill. 3 Thomas Barthel, Abner Doubleday: A Civil War Biography (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., 2010), 7-8. He was named the inventor of baseball by the Mills Commission, which had been appointed in 1905 to find the origin of the game. During the battle, Army Brig. Doubleday's body was laid in state in New York's City Hall and then was taken to Washington by train[5] from Mendham, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia. In my outdoor sports I was a addicted to topographical work and even as a boy amused myself by making maps of the country around my fathers residence which was in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York.5 Interesting, there is no mention of baseball in his upbringing. Doubleday was born in Ballston Spa, New York, in a small house on the corner of Washington and Fenwick Streets. During this time he was promoted to brigadier general of U.S. An error has occured while loading the map. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. Abner Doubleday, one of three sons of Ulysses F. and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday, was born at Ballston Spa, New York, on June 26, 1819. Alderman, 1890), 115. During his years at West Point, he did not leave West Point from August 1838 until graduation in 1842;7 he was considered to be a diligent and thoughtful student, something of a critic, and was fond of questions in moral philosophy.8 Doubleday was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd Artillery and was sent to Fort Johnson in North Carolina as his first assignment.9. Doubleday was humiliated by this snub and held a lasting grudge against Meade, but he returned to division command and fought well for the remainder of the battle. Doubleday returned to garrison duty after the war and in 1852 married Mary Hewitt, the daughter of a Baltimore lawyer. [6] In 1852, he married Mary Hewitt of Baltimore, the daughter of a local lawyer. background-image:unset; In 1846, the Knickerbockers played the first official game of baseball against a team of cricket players, beginning a new, uniquely American tradition. As a child, Abner was very short. During the Second World War, the United States liberty ship SS Abner Doubleday was named in his honor. General Abner Doubleday was long believed to have invented the game of baseball in 1839, but this has since been proven to be a myth. In the mini-series North and South, George Hazzard is seen watching a primitive form of baseball with a wounded Orry Main, while referring to the game being invented by Doubleday, a fellow West Point cadet. Civil War Union Major General. He graduated in 1842, finishing in the middle of his class. Instead, he served as a Union major general in the American Civil War and later became a lawyer and writer.
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