ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK, FIRST CITIZEN
AND
STATESMAN OF THE MIAMI VALLEY
by FRED B. JOYNER
Professor of History, Miami
University
In 1937 in a radio address celebrating
Founders Day of Miami
University, President A. H. Upham called
attention to the fact that
the university had sent two ambassadors
to the Court of St. James.
Whitelaw Reid was one. Robert Cumming
Schenck was the other.
The work of the former is well known.
The career of Schenck is
less well known.
A study of his life reveals much that is
of interest today.
Schenck came from distinguished Dutch
and Scotch ancestry. His
father, William Cortenus Schenck, came
to Ohio from Monmouth
County, New Jersey, about 1795.1 John
Cleves Symmes had inter-
ested him in coming to Ohio as a
surveyor to help open the purchase
recently made between the Great Miami
and Little Miami rivers.
The father resided in Cincinnati for
some years following his
arrival in the West, where he followed
his profession of surveying.
In 1796 he obtained a large tract of
land on the south side of the
Great Miami River. After a thorough
exploration of the region,
the elder Schenck selected the present
site of Franklin for his future
home. He laid out the town and moved
there some time in 1803.
His residence was on Front Street
between First and Second streets,
a beautiful spot overlooking the Miami
River.2 Here the subject of
this sketch, Robert Cumming Schenck, was
born, October 4, 1809.
The father became a man of wealth and
influence throughout the
valley and the state of Ohio. Death cut
his career short when
Robert Cumming was only twelve years of
age.3
1 A. D. Schenck, The Rev. William Schenck, His Ancestry
and His Descendants
(Washington, 1883), 56. Hereafter this
book is referred to as the Schenck Ancestry.
2 Fred B. Joyner, "William Cortenus
Schenck, Pioneer and Statesman of Ohio,"
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly, XLVII (1938), 365.
3 Schenck Ancestry, 68.
286
ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK 287
Information concerning young Robert
Schenck is meager until
1824. The family owned a farm a little
more than a half-mile
east of the town of Franklin on the road
to Springboro. He noted
in later life that he spent many happy
hours here. The Indians
still roamed the valley. Dense forests
were everywhere. Schools
were none too good, but young Schenck
was well prepared for col-
lege when he entered Miami University as
a sophomore in 1824.4
Miami University had opened its doors to
all who sought an
education on November 1, 1824. After
much controversy it had
been located in Oxford, Ohio, Butler
County, thirty miles to the
west of Franklin. At this time the
physical plant of the university
consisted of the central part of the
building now known as Harrison
Hall. Two dormitories were added a few
years later. The first
students lived in cottages south of the
main building. The faculty
consisted of three men who were
responsible for the guidance and
instruction of twenty students: four
juniors, three sophomores, five
freshmen, and eight students in the
grammar school.5
Schenck took the classical course under
the direction of Presi-
dent Robert H. Bishop. In addition to
his classroom work the
future orator and statesman was very
active in the Miami Union
Literary Society. He was a charter
member of this famous old
society. Long hours were spent debating
such learned subjects as:
Which is more useful to man, a study of
history or the dead lan-
guages; and Would turnpikes be more
beneficial than canals.6
Schenck graduated from Miami in 1827
with the bachelor of arts
degree at the age of eighteen. There
were nine men in his gradu-
ating class.7
On September 27, 1826, the board of
trustees of the university
authorized the president to hire a
professor of French and Spanish.
It was stipulated that the salary could
run as high as $150 per
year. The position was not filled that
year, however, and in No-
vember 1827 Robert C. Schenck, A.B., was
employed to teach
4 Information compiled by General Robert
C. Schenck in 1882, in Schenck papers
in the possession of Mrs. J. Sprigg McMahon, New York
City. All manuscripts
referred to hereafter are in this collection unless
otherwise noted.
5 James
H. Rodabaugh, A History of Miami University from Its Origin to 1845
(Unpublished master's thesis, Miami
University, 1933), 82-83.
6 Minutes of the Miami Union Literary
Society, in Miami University Library.
7 Rodabaugh, History of Miami, 84.
288
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
French. At the same time he worked
toward a master of arts
degree, which was awarded him in 1830.8
In 1829 Schenck proved
himself an accomplished orator by
delivering an address on the
"Prevalence of Intemperance."9
At the age of twenty he foresaw
many of the evils of alcohol that later
generations were to struggle
with none too successfully.
It is uncertain what caused Schenck to
give up the teaching
profession for law. Most probably teaching
was merely a stepping-
stone to his lifework. He entered the
law office of Thomas Corwin
of Lebanon, Ohio, to begin the study of
law. Tom Corwin was at
this time well started on his legal and
political career. So dili-
gently did Schenck apply himself that he
was admitted to the Ohio
bar in January of 1831. He promptly
opened a law office in Day-
ton, Ohio, with the following title on
his shingle: Robert C.
Schenck, attorney and counselor-at-law
and solicitor in chancery.
Six years later he was licensed to
practice in the United States
courts.10
Very early Schenck became a serious
student of the American
political system. The ideas of Andrew
Jackson and all the "non-
sense" he advocated about the
common man did not fit in with the
young lawyer's scheme of things. He cast
his political fortunes
with the Whig party of Henry Clay,
Tom Corwin, and Daniel
Webster. It should be noted that his
father had been a follower
of Hamilton.
In the year 1837 the worst financial
panic of our history hit
the nation. It caused special hardship
in Dayton and in the law
office of Robert C. Schenck. Part of
this came from his rapidly
growing family and the expenses that it
entailed. On August 21,
1834, Schenck was married to Miss
Rennelche Smith at Misse-
quoque, Long Island. Six children were
born to the union, all
girls. Three of them died in infancy.
Three daughters survived
him.11
8 James
H. Rodabaugh, Robert Hamilton Bishop (Ohio Historical Collections,
IV, Columbus, 1935), 64.
9 Manuscript copy in the Schenck papers.
10 Copy of license dated December 3,
1837.
11 Schenck Ancestry, 105.
ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK 289
Amidst the havoc and despair wrought by
the panic of 1837
Schenck was induced to become a
candidate for representative in
the lower house of the state legislature
on the Whig ticket. He was
defeated by a small majority. Three
years later he was chosen a
member of the lower house and served
with distinction in 1841 and
1842.
At this time Schenck was working in
close cooperation with
his old law teacher, Tom Corwin, who had
been chosen governor
of the state on the Whig ticket in the
Harrison-Tyler landslide of
1840. Corwin complained at this time
that about all he did was
to write an annual message, sign the
commissions of the state, and
act upon the applications for reprieves
and pardons. The governor
and Representative Schenck lived at
their homes in Lebanon and
Dayton respectively and made such trips
to the state capital as their
duties made necessary.
While a member of the Ohio legislature
Schenck voted con-
sistently with his Whig colleagues. One
of the most important
matters he was called upon to deal with
was redistricting the state
for representatives in congress. The
passage of a law by congress
apportioning representatives among the
states under the census of
1840 had been delayed so long that the
regular session of the Ohio
legislature was ended before the
apportionment was made. When
the matter was finally taken up by the
legislature, the two parties
were almost equally balanced. The
Democrats had a slight ma-
jority in each house. In order to
prevent this majority from re-
districting the state in a manner that
would give the Democrats
almost all the members of congress, the
Whigs adopted the bold
and unprecedented course of tendering
their resignations in a body.
This left both houses without a quorum
of two-thirds.12 At the
age of twenty-eight Schenck had
demonstrated his ability as a
rough-and-ready debater as well as a
considerable talent for
intrigue.
Schenck's popularity in the Miami Valley
was such in 1843
that he was nominated for congress from
the Dayton district. Again
Tom Corwin was his political guide.
Corwin wrote Schenck at
12 Josiah Morrow, Life and
Speeches of Thomas Corwin, Orator, Lawyer, and
Statesman (Cincinnati,
1896), 41.
290
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
this time: "Get all or a majority
of the Montgomery delegation[.]
I do not see why you are not sure of the
nomination. Our delega-
tion [Lebanon] will be made today. I
cannot be active for obvious
reasons but I am quite sure the men will
be true hearted Whigs."13
Schenck was nominated for congress at
the district convention
which met at Waynesville in August. He
was elected to congress
in November and was returned each term
until 1851 when he re-
fused another nomination.
Schenck arrived upon the national scene
when slavery and the
Mexican War were the foremost topics of
the day. His first con-
spicuous work was to help repeal the gag
rule which had long been
used to prevent antislavery petitions
being read on the floor of the
house.14 He opposed the
Mexican War as a war of aggression to
further slavery. On slavery itself he
took a conservative constitu-
tional view. He said no one could
interfere with slavery where it
was sanctioned by local laws. He denied
that he was an abolitionist.
"We abide by the Constitution. But
we would curse no more land;
we will not willingly submit to any more
inequality of rights."15
He opposed taking the Mexican Cession
and introduced a bill
to return New Mexico and most of
California to Mexico. He gave
as his reason that he was opposed to all
schemes for the annexation
of additional territory to these United
States. The acquisition of
these distant lands would bring nothing
but trouble. The agitation
over them threatened to destroy the
harmony, even the very exist-
ence of the Union itself. "The gold
fever is exciting our people to
despise the slow and regular
acquisitions of honest industry, and
maddening them with a morbid desire for
a sudden and irregular
attainment of wealth."16 To remedy
this he proposed that the
United States return the land west of
the Rio Grande and south of
San Francisco to Mexico. He also favored
canceling $12,000,000
worth of Mexican claims against the
United States.
Schenck championed a policy of internal
improvements at
national expense which would set aside
the states rights policy
13 Corwin to Schenck, July 30, 1843.
14 Charles Francis Adams, ed., Memoirs
of John Quincy Adams (12 vols., Phila-
delphia, 1874-77), XI, 521.
15 Congressional Globe, 30 cong., 1 sess., 1022-1023.
16 Ibid., 30 cong., 2 sess., 556-558.
ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK 291
advocated by Andrew Jackson and followed
by the national gov-
ernment since 1830.17
Schenck refused a fifth nomination to
congress in 1850. His
domestic situation was largely
responsible for this decision. Mrs.
Schenck had contracted tuberculosis and
died with the dread disease
in 1849.18 At the age of forty Schenck
was left with the care of
three small daughters. He was threatened
with tuberculosis him-
self. Mrs. Schenck's sister cared for
the young children. Schenck
himself looked around for some means of
recovering his health.
This came from an unexpected source.
The Whig victory of 1848 had elevated
Zachary Taylor and
Millard Fillmore to the presidency and
vice presidency respectively.
Daniel Webster became secretary of
state. Schenck had attracted
Webster's attention because of his
brilliant record in congress. The
secretary of state offered the post of
minister to Brazil to Schenck.
It was hoped that the tropical climate
of that part of South America
might be beneficial to his health.19
In addition to his letters and reports
to the state department
Schenck wrote constantly to his small
daughters in Dayton. In
these letters home he revealed himself
as nowhere else in the volu-
minous correspondence of a lifetime. He
gave minute directions for
the daily care and education of his
children. He described the
daily routine of a homesick ambassador
six thousand miles from
home. He was amazed to find ice cut on
the Ohio River on sale
in Buenos Aires and Montevideo.20
In addition to his regular duties in
Brazil Schenck had special
instructions while there to negotiate
special treaties with the repub-
lics of Paraguay and Uruguay. Several
treaties were completed
with these governments by which the
United States gained advan-
tages never accorded to any European
nation. The Democratic
victory in 1852 caused the treaty of
commerce with Uruguay to
fail to be ratified by the United States
Senate.
17 Ibid., 30 cong., 1 sess., 36-38.
18 Schenck Ancestry, 105.
19 Webster to Schenck, July 6, 1850.
20 Letters in Schenck papers.
292
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Schenck returned from his mission to
South America in 1854
with his health somewhat improved.
Between the years 1854 and
1861 he took no active part in politics.
He formed a partnership
with Thomas Corwin and William B. Webb
for the practice of law
in the court of claims and the supreme
court of the United States
in Washington City.21
During these years he was also busily
engaged in the construc-
tion of a railroad from Fort Wayne,
Indiana, west to the Mississippi
River, thence to central Iowa. The
company was known as the Fort
Wayne Western Railroad Company.22 Schenck
served as president
of the company. He spent much of his
time making speeches to
arouse interest in nearby towns and
traveling through the country-
side securing the right of way or urging
towns that wanted the road
to pledge subscriptions for its
building. A large sum of money
was borrowed from Atwood and Company,
doing business at 92
Broadway, New York City.23
Mud was everywhere. The weather was bad.
Results were
worse. Schenck wrote from Rensselaer,
Indiana, on June 6, 1858:
"Perhaps this country never looked
worse than it does now. Such
a rough and wallowing ride, as I had
last Thursday night, the one
solitary passenger in the County Stage
Coach from Bradford to
this place, I never knew in all my
travelling experiences before,
and wish never to have to repeat.24
For six years the major portion of his
time was spent in
hustling back and forth between Dayton,
Ohio, New York, Boston,
and Chicago promoting the interests of
his railroad. On April 28,
1860, he wrote:
I have to go to Boston at any rate for a
day to see Mr. Winthrop about a
letter to England, and some of the
Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad
people.
I get an iron buying agent, Mr. Hull,
off to Boston next Tuesday, to sail
from there on the Steamer America, the
next day. My pamphlet (it misses
21 Engraved announcement, May 1855.
22 Schenck to his daughter Sally, August
30, 1857, written from Kankakee,
Illinois.
23 Schenck to Sally Schenck, June 22,
1858.
24 Schenck to Sally Schenck, June 6,
1858.
ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK 293
the dignity of a book with its more than
a hundred pages), I have been at
work with all the week; we shall get
through the press, and some copies ready
for Mr. Hull barely in time.
My railroad affairs look encouraging.25
The railroad was not completed when the
Civil War began.
When Fort Sumter was fired upon Schenck
offered his services
to President Lincoln signifying his
willingness to serve in any ca-
pacity. In an interview with the press
in later life Schenck reported
his conference with the chief executive
as follows:
Lincoln sent for me and asked,
"Schenck what can you do to help me?" I
said, "Anything you want me to do.
I am anxious to help you." He asked,
"Can you fight?" I answered,
"I would try." Lincoln said, "Well, I want
to make a general out of you." I replied, "I don't know about that Mr.
President, you could appoint me as
general but I might not prove to be one."
Then he did so and I went to war.26
Schenck was commissioned brigadier
general of volunteers.
He saw his first combat service in the
first battle of Bull Run and
brought his troops from that disastrous
defeat for the Union in
good order. He next served with General
Rosecrans in West Vir-
ginia and in campaigns on the Kanawha
and New rivers. He also
led his troops in the battle of Cross
Keys and the second battle of
Bull Run. On the second day of the
second Bull Run he was
severely wounded having been struck by
bullets three times. He
was carried from the field unconscious.
His right arm and hand
were permanently disabled. At this time
he was promoted to major
general of volunteers. It was six months
before Schenck was ready
for active duty.
Schenck next saw service in Maryland.
His reputation and
experience in civil affairs caused
President Lincoln to appoint him
commander of the Middle Department of
the Army with headquar-
ters at Baltimore. He also commanded the
Eighth Army Corps.
He assumed command of his new post
December 22, 1862.27
The people of Maryland were lukewarm
toward the Union.
Schenck's new duties required the utmost
tact and firmness. Quick
25 Schenck to Sally Schenck, April 28,
1860.
26 Interview with General Schenck on September 27, 1881. Copy in Schenck
papers.
27 The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies (130 vols., Washington, 1880-1901), Series I, vol. XXI,
873.
294
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
decisions were called for. His duties
were largely administrative.
Some newspapers had to be suppressed
which did not please the
fiery Marylanders. He received the
following letter dated June 22,
1863: "I see you have suppressed
several newspapers. Let me
tell you that you are a d---d old ass
and I only hope Lee will
take you to the Libby prison at
Richmond. You merit the utter
contempt of every gentleman, and if I
had you by a gallows I
would pull a rope d---d quick on
you."28
While General Schenck was thus engaged,
disloyalty to the
Union cause was growing in his home city
of Dayton, Ohio.
Clement L. Vallandigham, a popular man
and gifted orator, was
opposing the war and the draft, and
openly advocating opposition
to them. General Schenck was nominated
for congress from the
third Ohio district to oppose him and
lead the loyalist element in
1862. After a very heated campaign
Schenck was elected repre-
sentative from his district by a large
majority.
Schenck resigned his commission in the
army December 5,
1863, and at once took his seat in
congress. He was made chair-
man of the important ways and means
committee as well as the
committee on military affairs. He served
four terms in congress.
The first objective was to push the war
as vigorously as possible
and bring it to a quick and successful
conclusion.29 Most of the
war plans had been made by December
1863. In the main Schenck
saw eye to eye with Lincoln as to the
best way to win the war.
As soon as the Union victory was assured
Schenck turned his
attention toward peace and
reconstruction. His first concern was
the return of the soldier to civilian
status in as orderly a manner
as possible. It is evident from a study
of the Schenck correspond-
ence over this period and from a careful
reading of his speeches
in congress that the Ohio congressman
understood clearly the vast
industrial changes that were taking
place within the country. It is
equally clear that he did not know how
the social and economic
problems that would arise should be
solved.
The tariff as a means of fostering home
industries was of im-
28 Letter from "New Yorker" to
Schenck, June 22, 1863.
29 Congressional Globe, 39 cong.,
1 sess., 3402-3403.
ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK 295
mediate and vital concern to the nation.
Schenck announced early
that he was against any tariff reduction
after the war. He hoped
the time would never come again when the
United States would
need to go to Belgium for rifles or to
England for percussion caps.30
Schenck was responsible for a complete
revision of the internal
revenue laws which saved the nation
millions of dollars annually.
He piloted the bill through congress,
making many speeches in its
defense.31 In debate he
showed how the law that his bill would
supersede worked a hardship on his
native Dayton. He said: "I
live in Dayton, Ohio, a little town of
30,000 inhabitants. Before
you put your tax on as you have done, we
were making there nine
million cheap cigars annually. Now, we
do not make any. The
whole interest has been destroyed."32 The advantages of the new
revenue bill as Schenck saw them were:
It would carry a large
reduction of duties, increase the free
list, and substitute a con-
densed, orderly body of revenue
regulations for the scattered and
unrelated laws that had existed before.
Schenck was never a radical on the
question of negro suffrage.
Rather he worked consistently for the
gradual improvement of the
colored race. He sponsored legislation
that would guarantee that
the Negro soldier got the soldier's
bonus as did the white.33 He
advocated and secured an appropriation
to care for the ex-slave
and sought at the same time to make him
self-sustaining.34 His
idea was gradually to enfranchise the
Negro but to have it done
under the guidance of the South.35
Andrew Johnson's plan of reconstruction
was intolerable to
Schenck. He backed the congressional
plan wholeheartedly. All
southerners should be disfranchised
until 1870. The leaders of the
Rebellion should be deprived of their
vote for a longer time. The
southern states were not out of the
Union but had been in rebellion
and must be punished like a wilful
child.36 Martial law should be
maintained for an indefinite period.
30 Ibid., 39 cong., 1 sess.,
3640.
31 Ibid., 40 cong., 2 sess., 2844-2855.
32 Ibid., 39 cong., 1
sess., 2747.
33 Ibid., 39 cong., 1 sess.,
3402-3403.
34 Ibid., 38 cong., 2 sess., 430.
35 Ibid., 39 cong., 1 sess., 2465.
36 Ibid., 39 cong., 1 sess., 2470-2471; 39 cong., 2 sess., 1320.
296
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Schenck recommended that the Naval
Academy should be
moved from Maryland to a more loyal part
of the country. The
pupils of the institution would thus be
secure against the surround-
ing political and social influences
hostile to the national govern-
ment. He thought New Jersey would be an
acceptable state in
which to place it if the move were
decided upon.37
The national debt gave much concern to
many thoughtful
people between the years 1865-70.
Schenck was very optimistic
concerning the ability of the nation to
pay it. He advocated im-
mediate consolidation of all securities
into one issue of bonds. Our
credit would be so good, he thought,
that the government could
borrow all needed money. Many
bondholders would be ready to
exchange low interest rate bonds for new
securities as soon as they
came due.38
In December 1870, President Grant
appointed Schenck minister
to England. At the same time he was
asked to serve as a member
of the Joint High Commission for the
settlement of questions then
in dispute between the governments of
England and the United
States. These questions, in the main,
arose over damages to Amer-
ican commerce from vessels that had been
built in English shipyards
and used by the Southern Confederacy
during the Civil War.
General Schenck proved to be a popular
minister to the Court
of St. James. No important questions
arose during his tenure of
office. Routine matters were attended to
promptly and efficiently.
He introduced the American game of poker
to his British friends
and found time to write a brochure for
the guidance of all who
wished to learn the game.39
Only one cloud appeared during the years
1871-75. General
Schenck, as he was universally called
during the later years of his
life, permitted his name to be used to
promote the sale of a block
of gold mining stock. A gold mine, known
as the Emma Mine, had
been discovered in Utah. The general was
persuaded that the mine
would produce heavily. He was given a
block of stock if he would
permit his name to be used on the
promotion literature. The British
37 Ibid., 39 cong., 2 sess., 418 et seq.
38 Ibid., 40
cong., 2 sess., 4308, 4298, 4311.
39 E. P. Oberholtzer, A History of the
United States Since the Civil War (5 vols.,
New York, 1917-37), III, 77.
ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK 297
people invested heavily in the stock
when they found the American
minister's name connected with it. For a
number of years the stock
paid no dividends. It was assumed to be
worthless. Schenck was
blamed. He was ordered home for
investigation and resigned his
post in the spring of 1875.
A congressional investigation revealed
that he was not guilty
of wrong-doing but that he had shown
very bad judgment in lend-
ing his name and office to promote any such
scheme.40 It was the
irony of fate that after the old general
had disposed of his mining
stock the mine produced heavily for many
years.
General Schenck lived in Dayton and
Washington, D. C., for
the remainder of his life. He died in
Dayton in 1890 and is buried
there. He is honored by the city as her
first citizen.
40 House Reports, 44 cong., 1 sess., No. 579.