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Union Provost Marshal
James H. Baker was Union Provost Marshal of St. Louis in 1863, later of the Department of Missouri. In his role as Provost Marshal he pursued, among others, Robert Louden, subject of the article in "North and South" magazine.
Baker was from Minnesota, having served as Secretary of State. He became a Colonel in the 10th Minnesota, later brevet brigadier-general.
Baker in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion
Following are memorial tributes by fellow Minnesotans:
I met General Baker first in the political campaign of 1860. I heard him then make one of the very ablest and most eloquent speeches I had ever listened to, though I had heard speeches by Daniel Webster, Daniel S. Dickinson, William H. Seward, Joshua R. Giddings, Benjamin F. Wade, Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and many other noted orators. I say now, after hearing many speeches delivered by General Baker, that in true eloquence he was the peer of all of them, and in power the superior of all of them, Abraham Lincoln excepted. Once I heard Henry Clay, when I was in my "teens" and Clay was an old man, somewhat enfeebled doubtless by age and disappointment; but the old fire flashed as he "picked his flint and tried it again,"--at any rate, he electro-fired me. When I heard General Baker the first time (and many times after), the image of Henry Clay came before me like a flash.
James Heaton Baker, son of Rev. Henry
Baker, a Methodist preacher, and Hannah (Heaton) Baker, was born in Monroe,
Ohio, May 6, 1829. He graduated at Ohio Wesleyan University in 1852. In 1853 he
purchased the Sciota Gazette, at Chillicothe, Ohio. In 1855 he was elected
secretary of state on the ticket headed by Salmon P. Chase as governor. In 1857
he removed to Minnesota, where, for two successive terms he was elected to the
same office. At the outbreak of the Civil War he resigned, and accepted a
colonel's commission in the Tenth Minnesota Volunteers. In 1863 his command was
ordered to the South, and he was detached and made provost marshal of St. Louis,
and subsequently of the department of Missouri, in which position he served
until the close of the war, he being meanwhile promoted to a brevet brigadier
generalship.
At the close of the war he was appointed register of the
land office at Booneville, Missouri, but in two years resigned and returned to
his farm in Blue Earth county, Minnesota.
In 1871 President Grant appointed him commissioner of
pensions, a position for which he was singularly well fitted. He resigned in
1875, and was appointed by President Grant surveyor general of Minnesota. Gen.
Baker has been prominent in Masonic circles, and has contributed much to the
newspaper and periodical press. He was married Sept. 25, 1852, to Rose, daughter
of Reuben H. Thurston, then of Delaware, Ohio, now of Mankato, Minnesota. This
estimable lady died at Washington City, March 21, 1873, leaving two sons, Arthur
and Harry E. Gen. Baker, since his appointment as surveyor general, has resided
at Mankato. He served in 1885 and 1886 as railroad commissioner for the State.
General James
H. Baker, a life member of the Minnesota Historical Society, died at his home in
the City of Mankato in this state on May 25, 1913.
General Baker was born in Monroe, Butler county, Ohio, on
the 6th day of May, 1829. He was the son of Henry Baker, M. D., and Hannah
Heaton Baker. In his youth he attended the Firnian Academy at Middletown, Ohio,
and later the Ohio Wesleyan University. For a period of time he edited the
Sciota Gazette at Chillicothe, Ohio, it then being the oldest newspaper in the
state. He served as Secretary of State of Ohio from 1854 to 1856, when Salmon P.
Chase was Governor of that State. In 1857 he came to Minnesota, and shortly
thereafter located with his family in Blue Earth County.
He was elected Secretary of State in 1859 and again in 1861.
In 1862 he was commissioned, by Governor Alexander Ramsey, to be Colonel of the
Tenth Minnesota Volunteers, then being recruited for service in the War of the
Rebellion. He served with his regiment the first year in the campaign against
the Sioux Indians, and in the fall of 1863 with his regiment went South. At the
close of the war General Baker was appointed Commissioner of Pensions, and
afterward Surveyor General for Minnesota. In 1881 he was elected State Railway
Commissioner, in which office he served two terms.
For a time General Baker was the editor and proprietor of
the Mankato Free Press. A goodly portion of his life in Blue Earth county was
spent on a beautiful farm owned by him near Rapidan, where he personally engaged
in agriculture, in which he was always much interested and very progressive.
General Baker was always much interested in the early
history of Minnesota, and was never more at home than at the meetings
of the old settlers of his county and state. He was pre-eminently a social man,
an easy, fluent, and very interesting conversationalist, and hospitable to a
fault. He was never more happy than when surrounded by his friends whom he
always delighted to entertain.
He was a consistent attendant and supporter of the Methodist
Church, and also belonged to the Masonic Order, as well as the Elks, the Grand
Army of the Republic, and the Loyal Legion.
He was a power to be reckoned with in politics, and his
influence was always felt in the civic and social life of the community in which
he lived, and always for the betterment of conditions and of humanity in
particular. The life of General Baker stands out as one of pronounced
individuality, and of great strength of purpose.
On September 25, 1851, he was married to Rose Lucia Thurston
at Delaware, Ohio, who died March 20, 1873. On December 23, 1879, he was married
to Miss Zula Bartlett, who survives him and now resides in the homestead in
Mankato.
General Baker was away in beautiful Glenwood Cemetery in
Mankato. His funeral was held on Wednesday, May 28, 1913, being largely
attended.
The
late General James H. Baker was a man of many splendid talents. Eminent as he
was as an orator, warrior, and statesman, he also possessed rare talents as an
author. His numerous and valuable historical and biographical contributions
found in the publications of this Society attest this fact. Among these papers
are "History of Lake Superior," "The Sources of the Mississippi
River," "Transportation in Minnesota," and "The Lives of the
Governors of Minnesota." All these writings show great research and a
masterly selection and presentation of the mass of material their author was
always able to discover.
The general had a very acute mind and retentive memory, and
his long life spanned one of the most eventful periods of the world's history;
and so far as this related to the "Middle West" of our own country, he
had a personal acquaintance with most of the great men and a personal touch with
most of the big events which went to make up that history. Hence the ease with
which General Baker could always command the right material and infuse into it
the very life and atmosphere it had when it was the actual reality.
Besides
the very unique relation he bore to the people and the times concerning which he
wrote, the general had a remarkable command of the English language and a fervid
literary spirit, which gave force, fitness, and finish to every sentence he
penned. His style is never dull nor florid, but always elegant, incisive, and
vigorous.
His monograph on "The Sources of the Mississippi"
is a valuable contribution to geographic knowledge, and it dealt a mortal blow
to certain theories as to the head of the great river once in vogue. His
"History of Lake Superior" did much to call attention to the world's
greatest waterway and the world's greatest iron mines. "The Lives of the
Governors of Minnesota," forming Volume XIII of this Society's Historical
Collections, written at the eventide of our author's life, is a fitting climax
to his literary activity, being truly a great work, which will grow in worth and
importance as the years go by.
Mighty was he with tongue, sword, and pen, and his passing
removes from our midst one of our greatest and best citizens.
©2001 D. H. Rule
No reproduction or distribution without consent of author.
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