Description
Very nice carte view of Brigadier General James Totten. A West Point graduate in 1841, he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant and then to 1st lieutenant in 1847. Totten served in Florida to help suppress the Seminole Indians before a promotion to the rank of captain in 1855, and in 1857–58, he intervened in the Bloody Kansas conflict. In 1860, Totten expelled all non-Indians from Indian reserves in Kansas. In November 1860, Totten and sixty-five men were transferred to occupy the Little Rock Arsenal. The Little Rock Arsenal was previously unmanned, and the arrival of the Federal troops in the city created unrest. Governor Henry Rector informed Totten on January 28, 1861, that neither reinforcements nor the removal of any weapons from the arsenal would be tolerated. Totten replied that he reported to the Federal government and not the State of Arkansas. Militia groups from across Arkansas began to arrive in the capital city and prepared to stop any possible reinforcement of the arsenal. The Little Rock City Council demanded that the governor take control of the units and prevent an assault on the arsenal. Rector replied that he did not have any authority over the groups. The council replied by calling out the Capital Guards and by February 6th, the governor convinced Totten to surrender the arsenal to the troops. Totten agreed, as he had not received any instructions from his superiors. On February 8, Totten and his men were escorted from the arsenal. While he waited to leave the city, Totten received a sword presented by the ladies of the city in honor of his conduct during the crisis. By avoiding any conflict, Totten earned the respect of the citizens of Little Rock and his superiors, who allowed him to remain in command of his battery. Totten served in Missouri during the opening days of the Civil War, participating in actions at Camp Jackson and the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. He continued to serve in both staff and field commands in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters. Totten also served as the inspector-general of the Military Division of the Atlantic. He was brevetted to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army and promoted to the same rank in the Missouri Militia. At the conclusion of the war, Totten returned to his regular rank of lieutenant colonel; he retired from the army in 1870. Beautiful clarity in this seldom found carte view. Back marked out of St. Louis.
