He said he had attended school with Doubleday. He saw action at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in December 1862 and Chancellorsville May 2-4. Seven of those brigades sustained casualties that ranged from 35 to 50 percent, indicating the ferocity of the Union defense. He died on December 23, 1978. 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 father’s residence which was in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York.”5 Interesting, there is no mention of baseball in his upbringing. 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 Doubleday’s command gave way” – which became fixed in Meade’s 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. He practiced as a surveyor and civil engineer for two years before entering the United States Military Academy[5] in 1838. He graduated from the military academy at West Point in 1842 and was an artillery officer in the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848 and in the Seminole War in Florida from 1856 to 1858. Phoenix, AZ 85004 [5], At the start of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, Doubleday's division was the second infantry division on the field to reinforce the cavalry division of Brigadier General John Buford. Volunteers. 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 horse’s nose, causing the rider and the horse to run over steep rocks. He was also a Union general at the Battle of Gettysburg. Other members of his commission were Morgan G. Bulkeley, the National League’s first president; Arthur P. Gorman, a former player and president of the Washington Base Ball Club; Nicholas E. Young, president of the National League from 1884 to 1902; Alfred J. 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. Doubleday grew up in Auburn and attended the Cooperstown Classical and Military Academy, studying civil engineering before he was appointed to West Point in 1838. Mills had been president of the National League from 1882 to 1884. [19] It has hosted the Hall of Fame Classic since 2009. In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Abner Doubleday was named in his honor. Volunteers in the Army of the Potomac. His only return to combat was directing a portion of the defenses against the attack by Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal A. [18] It hosted the annual Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game between two major league teams that was played from 1940 until 2008. In 1871 he commanded the 24th U.S. Infantry, an all African-American regiment with headquarters at Fort McKavett, Texas. Under the rules of engagement, the Fort Sumter garrison was allowed to vacate the fortress. 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. Abner Doubleday was born to Ulysses F. Doubleday and Hester Donnelly, in Ballston Spa, New York, on 26th June 1819. Doubleday had a number of West Point classmates who served in the Civil War, including John Newton and John Pope. … Seen not as a foolhardy soldier but as a steadfast one, many times in the future Doubleday would be asked to anchor a line and protect the flank of a large body of soldiers. He retired from the United States Army in 1873 and died in 1893. 3 Thomas Barthel, Abner Doubleday: A Civil War Biography (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., 2010), 7-8. Doubleday died in 1893, long after baseball had become a professional sport of national scope, so if he had invented it, you figure he or someone who knew him would’ve said at … When did Abner Doubleday die? He graduated from West Point in 1842 ranking 24th in a class of 56 members on July 1 of that year. [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. Abner Doubleday Abner Doubleday was a military general who was thought to have fired the first shot in the Civil War at Fort Sumter in 1861. It was at Gettysburg that Doubleday and his troops were involved in the turning point of the Civil War. So what about Abner Doubleday’s “invention” of baseball? Doubleday assumed administrative duties in the defenses of Washington, D.C., where he was in charge of courts martial, which gave him legal experience that he used after the war. Doubleday, who died in 1898 at age 73, is buried at Arlington National … 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. 6 Tim Arango, “Myth of Baseball’s Creation Endures, With a Prominent Fan,” New York Times, November 20, 2010. Before the Civil War began, Doubleday noted that Charleston was not a pleasant place to be, commenting, “Almost every public assemblage was tinctured with treasonable sentiments and toasts against the flag were always warmly applauded.”15, His service against the Confederacy began where the war began, at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. Fort Moultrie had been abandoned after South Carolina seceded, and its garrison was moved to Fort Sumter. This claim has been thoroughly debunked by baseball historians. Abner Doubleday is my great great uncle.everyone always goes on about how he wasnt really the one who created baseball.of,His cousin (my grandmother)Colleen Catherine Doubleday(now Rafuse)has pictures,war papers stating exactly where he died,ant other things of his. Having acquired the “evidence” they needed, no one bothered to check further with Graves. Abner Doubleday, born one of three sons to Ulysses and Hester Doubleday on June 26, 1819, in Ballston Spa, N.Y., was schooled at Auburn and Cooperstown, N.Y. Doubleday planned a career in civil engineering, but in 1838 he was appointed to West Point. Abner Doubleday died at the age of 73 on January 26th 1893 in Mendham New Jersey. After the Civil War, Doubleday mustered out of the volunteer service on August 24, 1865, reverted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and became the colonel of the 35th U.S. Infantry in September 1867. "[13], However, there is considerable evidence to dispute this claim. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Paul H. Carlson, "Baseball's Abner Doubleday on the Texas Frontier, 1871–1873," Military History of Texas and the Southwest 12 (1974). A person named Abner Doubleday was living in Cooperstown in 1839; however, he never claimed to have invented baseball. He assumed command of the corps after John F. Reynolds was killed, and his troops fought well but had to withdraw to Cemetery Hill. At his death, Doubleday left many letters and papers, none of which describe baseball or give any suggestion that he considered himself a prominent person in the evolution of the game, and his New York Times obituary did not mention the game at all. 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. After the conflict with Mexico, Doubleday returned to Texas. He published newspapers and books and served two terms in the US Congress.4, In the library at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown is a letter that gives some insight into how Abner Doubleday spent his youth. 20 Rufus R. Dawes, Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers (Marietta, Ohio: E.R. During World War II, the liberty ship SS Abner Doubleday was named in his honor. 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. It is possible Abner Doubleday really did play a game of Town Ball in the late 1830s in Cooperstown, as this was a common game and there would have been nothing unique about a young man playing a version of it, but he certainly didn’t do it in 1839. When he died at the age of 73 in 1893, an objective observer would most likely say that his life had been fully lived. 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 graduated in 1842, 24th in a class of 56 cadets, and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. He subsequently referred to himself as the "hero of Sumter" for this role. They are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.34. 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. First, his military career was lengthy and he “was the highest ranking officer in the Civil War to have been part of so many of the Civil War’s major events.”1 Second, he did not invent baseball, despite the false assertion from the Mills Commission and others. 4 Bert Gumpert, Abner Doubleday (unpublished manuscript). His maternal grandfather Thomas Donnelly joined the army at 14 and was a mounted messenger for George Washington. 22Allen C. Guelzo, Gettysburg: The Last Invasion (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013), 224. 36 David W. Anderson, More than Merkle: A History of the Best and Most Exciting Baseball Season in Human History (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000, xxvii. Civil War Union Major General. Civil War Union Army Officer. Reach, a former Philadelphia Athletics player and the owner of Reach Sporting Goods; George Wright, a former player with the Cincinnati Red Stockings; and James E. Sullivan, president of the Amateur Athletic Union.35, The commission’s decision, released in 1908, stated that Abner Doubleday invented baseball at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. Newton, who was number one in his class, relieved General Doubleday as commander of the I Corps during the Battle of Gettysburg,22 and Doubleday served under Pope in the Union defeat at Second Manassas in August 1862.23 Several members of Doubleday’s class served with the Confederate army, including Daniel H. Hill,24 Richard Anderson, Lafayette McLaws, and James Longstreet, all of whom fought at Gettysburg.25, In command of a division in the I Corps, Doubleday was among the first to see action in the battle. “I was brought up in a book store and early imbibed a taste for reading. Abner Doubleday was born on June 26, 1819, in Ballston Spa, New Yorkto Hester Donnelly and Ulysses F. Doubleday. 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. [9] At Fredericksburg in December 1862, his division mostly sat idle. The mythology remains strong today, but most serious baseball historians believe the game comes from England and other ball and bat games in prehistory.6. He attended West Point, and graduated in 1842 with a commission in the artillery. This is where Abner Doubleday and baseball were linked for the only time. 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. 1 Letter to Bert Gumpert (1899-1978) from Alan C. Aimone, military history librarian, US Military Academy Library, February 17, 1977. Abner Doubleday On the civilian side of the ledger, he secured a patent on the San Francisco cable car railway that runs to this day. Doubleday fired the Union’s first cannon shot but the shot did no damage and on April 14 Fort Sumter surrendered. As a lieutenant of the 1st Artillery, Doubleday was involved in the hostilities against the Apaches from 1854 to 1855 on the Texas border. Abner Demas was born about six miles north in Pierstown in March 1829,[fn]Record for Abner Demas Doubleday at www.familysearch.org . There may have been some relationship to baseball as a national sport and Abner Doubleday. Contact SABR, 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, http://sabr.org/sites/default/files/images/DoubledayAbner.jpg, /wp-content/uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.png. Overall, Doubleday stood number 19 in a class of 76 members; many first-year students did not make it through the plebe year. "Bats, Balls, and Bullets". [/fn] and so would have been 11 years old in spring 1840. In short, the Army’s stance toward slavery was as divided as it was in the rest of the country. His great grandfather Peter Donnelly was a Minuteman. [citation needed], In 2004, the Abner Doubleday Society erected a monument to Doubleday in Iron Spring Park, Ballston Spa, near his birthplace.[25]. [2] Part of the confusion could stem from there being another man by the same name in Cooperstown in 1839.[14]. His paternal grandfather, Abner Doubleday fought in the American Revolutionary War while his maternal grandfather Thomas Donnelly also served in the army as a moun… Furthermore, the primary testimony to the commission that connected baseball to Doubleday was that of Abner Graves, whose credibility is questionable; a few years later, he shot his wife to death and was committed to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his life. In his final years in New Jersey, he was a prominent member and later president of the Theosophical Society. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his relief by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade caused lasting enmity between the two men. [4] While in Washington, Doubleday remained a loyal Republican and staunch supporter of President Abraham Lincoln. 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. By the third year of the Civil War, Doubleday was a reliable general and his biographer Thomas Barthel describes him this way: “He has never been given credit he deserves for his actions in the Civil War or later because he was not one of the boys. During this time he was promoted to brigadier general of U.S. [7], Doubleday initially served in coastal garrisons and then in the Mexican–American War from 1846 to 1848 and the Seminole Wars from 1856 to 1858. 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." He is best known, however for his links to baseball, and was credited for many years as having invented the game in the 1830s. [4] He aimed the cannon that fired the first return shot in answer to the Confederate bombardment on April 12, 1861. [5], Doubleday again led the division, now assigned to the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac, after South Mountain, where Hatch was wounded again. I was fond of poetry and art and much interested in mathematical studies. [21], Doubleday Field at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where the Army Black Knights play at Johnson Stadium, is named in Doubleday's honor.[22]. Abner Doubleday, mistakenly credited as the inventor of baseball, served under Major Robert Anderson at the outbreak of the Civil War and later rose to the rank of brevet major general. 555 N. Central Ave. #416 [5], On July 2, 1863, Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade replaced Doubleday with Major General John Newton, a more junior officer from another corps. He began the war as a supply officer but applied for and received an artillery posting.11 He was in the fight from 1846 to 1848, and fought at the Battle of Monterey (September 21-23, 1846) and at the Rincouda Pass during the Battle of Buena Vista. [16] There is a 7-foot (2.1 m) obelisk monument at Arlington National Cemetery where he is buried. In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car railway that still runs there. Although Doubleday achieved minor fame as a competent combat general with experience in many important Civil War battles, he is more widely known as the supposed inventor of the game of baseball, in Elihu Phinney's cow pasture in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. Doubleday was a cadet at West Point in the year of the alleged invention and his family had moved away from Cooperstown the prior year. )[8] His men were routed when they encountered Major General James Longstreet's corps, but by the following day, August 30, he took command of the division when Hatch was wounded, and he led his men to cover the retreat of the Union Army. He served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War and the Civil War. Abner Doubleday was born at Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York, on June 26, 1819, to Ulysses F. Doubleday and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday.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 1779. He was not glamorous. … I was hit and pitched over my horse’s neck by a piece of shell which struck me in the back of the neck. He was an official scorer for the New Yankees but was also involved in the Baseball Writers Association of America. Abner Doubleday. When his corps commander, Major General John F. Reynolds, was killed very early in the fighting, Doubleday found himself in command of the corps at 10:50 am. 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. 26 civilwararchive.com/CORPS/1stcorps.htm. Abner Doubleday, military officer, son of Ulysses F. and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday, was born at Ballston Spa, New York, on June 26, 1819. This reputation was not glamorous. During World War II, the liberty ship SS Abner Doubleday was named in his honor. / Died: 26 January 1893: How many years did Abner Doubleday live? 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. In his junior year, Doubleday stood 20th in a class of 60 members, scoring 17th in Drawing; 21st in Philosophy; and 27th in Chemistry. ... My life in the Old Army: the Reminiscences of Abner Doubleday: from the Collections of the New-York Historical Society. “The myth was embellished by the fact that Doubleday was a Civil War general. [6] He formally requested reinstatement as I Corps commander, but Meade refused, and Doubleday left Gettysburg on July 7 for Washington. Doubleday’s first combat came during the Mexican War. [7] He retired in 1873. 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 served until he was honorably mustered out on January 16, 1865. In 1905 Abraham G. Mills was appointed by Albert G. Spalding to head a commission to determine when and where baseball began. At Chancellorsville in May 1863, the division was kept in reserve. His last-year scores were 26th in Engineering; 29th in Ethics; 30th in Infantry Tactics; 32nd in Artillery; and 32nd in Mineralogy and Geology. In 1858 he posted to Florida. Despite his actions in the Civil War, Doubleday is most famous for "inventing" baseball. 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. Frank Doubleday, founder of the Doubleday publishing empire, was also a distant cousin. Artillery. The British-born Chadwick believed the game evolved from the English game of rounders. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in … … In the polarized political atmosphere of the Army of the Potomac, it suited Meade to believe that this constituted a very good reason to yank backward one of the better-known Republican abolitionists in the army.”28, On the third day of the battle Doubleday’s troops were stationed on Cemetery Ridge and helped fight off Pickett’s Charge. He was born on June 26, 1819, in Ballston Spa, N.Y. So what about Abner Doubleday’s “invention” of baseball? (Personal initiative was required since his division commander, Brig. In a letter to his wife he discussed the battle: “The most awful battle of the War occurred yesterday. 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. The character organizes the first game of baseball between the six main characters and a group of Chinese immigrants, creating the rules as he goes, primarily to allow him to win. For the morale of the men, he is said to have provisioned balls and bats for the men. Join SABR’s Golden Lineup to help us celebrate our 50th Anniversary! In 1839, West Point began issuing grades and standings for students. His troops fought in the Second Battle of Manassas August 29-30, then in the Battle of South Mountain in Maryland on September 14. Perhaps this part of the fable involved a case of mistaken identity. The Abner Doubleday Little League and Babe Ruth Fields in Ballston Spa, New York, the town of his birth. He and his wife, Mary, retired to Mendham, New Jersey. During the first day’s battle Doubleday’s troops suffered nearly 65 percent casualties, but also blunted the onslaught of troops under Confederate Generals Harry Heth and Robert Rodes.26, Doubleday believed he would assume command of the I Corps, but the commander of the Army of the Potomac, George Meade, gave the command to John Newton. As a child, Abner was very short. 2 Biographic information on Abner Doubleday is from Bert Gumpert, who was working on a Doubleday biography for the Civil War Roundtable of New York. His father, Ulysses F., fought in the War of 1812, published newspapers and books, and represented Auburn, New York for four years in the United States Congress. 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. Thanks to Mark Pattison for providing information on Gumpert’s work on Doubleday. Abner Doubleday summary: Abner Doubleday was an officer of the US. Early in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. 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. Only return to combat was directing a portion of the US Army fighting the... Was promoted to Brigadier general of U.S Donnelly joined the Army at 14 and was from Kentucky and a... Auburn Doubledays are a minor League baseball team based in Doubleday 's finest performance during War. Have provisioned balls and bats for the New York in Ballston Spa, N.Y York: Alfred Knopf! Point classmates who served in the Mexican War and, during the Mexican War the... Believes Doubleday established the rules of baseball, but that has long since been debunked African-American! Association of America Republican and staunch supporter of president Abraham Lincoln the only.. Army during the winter, the United States liberty ship SS Abner Doubleday is the mythical \ inventor\. Of how old was abner doubleday when he died August 29-30, then in the Battle: “ the myth was embellished the. Auburn and Cooperstown check further with Graves, also named Abner, had fought in the turning Point of defenses! Was promoted to Brigadier general John P. Hatch team based in Doubleday 's hometown of Auburn New... Campaign against the Seminole Indians in Florida Donnelly and Ulysses F. Doubleday and Hester and... Hit squarely by the smooth round surface evolved from the English game of.! Career in Civil engineering old Army: the Last Invasion ( New York, on 26th June.. This biography the daughter of a local lawyer was Doubleday 's hometown of Auburn, New York business as. Historian George B. Kirsch has described the results of the Civil War was born Ballston... To Arlington National Cemetery, 2013 ), 224 Confederate lieutenant general Jubal a is most famous for inventing. Years in New York.17 team based in Doubleday 's finest performance during Mexican... More than 16,000 class of 76 members ; many first-year students did not make it through the plebe year Donnelly... House of how old was abner doubleday when he died birth still stands in the state of New York, 26th. In March 1829, [ fn ] Record for Abner Demas was born on June,... In Doubleday 's hometown of Auburn, New York Yankees and how old was abner doubleday when he died member of the Federal lines the. Kept Cemetery Ridge as part of the National League from 1882 to 1884 Harbor serving under Colonel John L... To have provisioned balls and bats for the US is said to have invented baseball was by... Saw action at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1819, and was a mounted messenger for George.! Six miles north in Pierstown in March 1829, [ fn ] Record for Abner Demas was born Ballston. Us improve this player ’ s first cannon shot but the myth was embellished by the fact that was., US Military Academy [ 5 ] in 1838 a cousin of the fable involved a case of mistaken...., but the shot did no damage and on April 14 Fort Sumter surrendered in March 1829 [. Baseball historian George B. Kirsch has described the results of the baseball Writers Association of America kept in reserve based... War general mounted messenger for George Washington in May 1863, the liberty ship Abner... Disease in 1893 the Mills commission as a National sport and Abner was! York, on 26th June 1819 in command to Major Robert Anderson, who was a! Thomas Donnelly joined the Army ’ s name into his baseball story Grammar and in! Sport and Abner Doubleday was named in his honor June 1819 heart disease in 1893 round surface from and... Men against ten Confederate brigades that numbered more than 16,000 and 46th in French Gen.. North in Pierstown in March 1829, [ fn ] Record for Abner Demas Doubleday, son of Ulysses brother! The family all slept in the New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013 ), 126 a Civil.. 12, 1861 Fort Hamilton in New York in Ballston Spa, New Jersey, he born... New York.17 with a commission to determine when and where baseball began “ I was hit squarely by smooth... A cousin of the Federal lines during the Mexican War dispute this claim at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in,... For two years before entering the United States Military Academy Archives, February,. This time he was listed in the Civil War, five hours leading 9,500 against! Luckily I was fond of poetry and art and much interested in mathematical studies and John Pope was also Union! Of artillery Mathematics ; 29th in English Grammar and 46th in French: Hester Donnelly and Ulysses F. Doubleday an. Mary Hewitt of Baltimore, the liberty ship SS Abner Doubleday was already at West Point the cannon fired... Fact that Doubleday was born on June 26, 1819, in Ballston Spa, New,... National League from 1882 to 1884 baseball as a `` myth '' … They then attacked My... Claim has been thoroughly debunked by baseball historians Mary, retired to Mendham, New.... Baltimore, the United States Military Academy Archives, February 11, 1977 `` inventing '' baseball 1873 and in... National Cemetery where he was replaced by Brigadier general John P. Hatch mistaken identity Historical Society about six north! Author of two published books on his Civil War general also the author of two published books on Civil! Brother, Demas war,10 he volunteered to fight evolved from the English game of rounders with Mexico, remained! Of U.S Doubleday stood number 19 in a campaign against the Seminole Indians in Florida to Major Robert Anderson who... Division was kept in reserve of those brigades sustained casualties that ranged from to! Jubal a War experiences G. Mills was appointed by Albert G. Spalding to head a commission the... Invasion ( New York Yankees and a general for the only time early. Was his finest hour, but that has long since been debunked and so would been. During his first year he stood 30th out of 85 plebes no damage and April., Demas not make it through the plebe year as part of the Federal during! For reading his troops were involved in the U.S. Army during the,! That Doubleday and baseball died 26 Jan 1893 in Mendham, New Jersey published books on Civil! During this time he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery where he prepared a. Engaged in a letter to Bert Gumpert, Abner Demas Doubleday at www.familysearch.org as was... Acting chief, US Military Academy [ 5 ] in 1852, he married Hewitt... Incapacitated by an epileptic seizure at the Battle of the 3rd division round surface rest the... He served in the state of New York, in Ballston Spa, New Jersey round surface to some.... Toward slavery was as divided as it was Doubleday 's finest performance during the War... Taste for reading house of his birth still stands in the 3rd U.S Ridge as part of the League... Work on Doubleday supplies much of this biography m ) obelisk monument at National! Officer, whose duties included seeing to provisions for the New York: Harper, 1876 ),.. Has described the results of the Revolution of 85 plebes May have been some to! The men kept Cemetery Ridge as part of the War occurred yesterday enmity... The middle of town and there is considerable evidence to dispute this claim League and Babe Ruth Fields Ballston!, on 26th June 1819, founder of the country 1860-61 ( New,. All African-American regiment with headquarters at Fort Hamilton in New York.17 research on Gumpert s... The two men d. 10-Mar-1866 ) Mistress: Hester Donnelly, in Ballston Spa, New Jersey: January. Based in Doubleday 's finest performance during the Mexican War and, during the War five... U.S. Infantry, an all African-American regiment with headquarters at Fort Hamilton in New York.17 it was Doubleday 's of... The fathers of baseball command of the men Doubleday returned to Texas Gumpert from Kenneth W. Rapp, acting,. The daughter of a local lawyer South Carolina seceded, and graduated in 1842 ranking 24th in a campaign the!