Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/447

Rh quite as likely to injure him at the north as to gain support for him in the south, and his resolute adoption of a policy that he regarded as national rather than sectional was really an instance of high moral courage. It was, however, a concession that did violence to his sentiments of humanity, and the pain and uneasiness it occasioned is visible in some of his latest utterances.

On President Taylor's death, 9 July, 1850, Mr. Webster became President Fillmore's secretary of state. An earnest attempt was made on the part of his friends to secure his nomination for the presidency in 1852; but on the first ballot in the convention he received only 29 votes, while there were 131 for Gen. Scott and 133 for Mr. Fillmore. The efforts of Mr. Webster's adherents succeeded only in giving the nomination to Scott. The result was a grave disappointment to Mr. Webster. He refused to support the nomination, and took no part in the campaign. His health was now rapidly failing. He left Washington, 8 Sept., for the last time, and returned to Marshfield, which he never left again, except on 20 Sept. for a brief call upon his physician in Boston. By his own request there were no public ceremonies at his funeral, which took place very quietly, 29 Sept., at Marshfield. The steel engraving of Webster is from a portrait made about 1840, the vignette from a painting by James B. Longacre, executed in 1833. The other illustrations represent the Bunker Hill monument, his residence and grave at Marshfield, and the imposing statue by Thomas Ball, erected in the Central park, New York. See Webster's &ldquo;Works,&rdquo; with biographical sketch by Edward Everett (6 vols., Boston, 1851); &ldquo;Webster's Private Correspondence,&rdquo; edited by Fletcher Webster (2 vols.. Boston, 1856); George Ticknor Curtis's &ldquo;Life of Webster&rdquo; (2 vols.. New York, 1870); Edwin P. Whipple's &ldquo;Great Speeches of Webster&rdquo; (Boston, 1879); and Henry Cabot Lodge's &ldquo;Webster,&rdquo; in &ldquo;American Statesmen Series&rdquo; (Boston, 1883). &mdash; Daniel's son, Fletcher, lawyer, b. in Portsmouth, N. H., 23 July, 1813; d. near Bull Run, Va., 30 Aug., 1862, was graduated at Harvard in 1833, studied law with his father, and was admitted to the bar. He was private secretary to his father during part of the latter's service as secretary of state, secretary of legation in China under Caleb Cushing in 1843, a member of the Massachusetts legislature in 1847, and from 1850 till 1861 surveyor of the port of Boston. He became colonel of the 12th Massachusetts regiment, 26 June, 1861, served in Virginia and Maryland, and was killed at the second battle of Bull Run. Besides editing his father's private correspondence, Col. Webster published an &ldquo;Oration before the Authorities of the City of Boston, July 4, 1846.&rdquo;

WEBSTER, Harrison Edwin, educator, b. in Angelica, N. Y., 8. Sept., 1842. He served in the U. S. army during the civil war, and was graduated at Union in 1868. From 1869 till 1873 he was tutor in natural history and physical geog- raphy, and then until 1883 held the chair of natu- ral history at Union. He then accepted the pro- fessorship of geology and natural history at the University of Rochester, where he remained until 1888, when he was elected president of Union. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on him by the University of Rochester in 1888, and he is a mem- ber of scientific societies. Prof. Webster has writ- ten several pamphlets on natural history subjects, especially on marine forms.

WEBSTER, Horace, educator, b. in Hartford. Vt., 21 Sept., 1794 : d. in Geneva, N. Y., 12 July, 1871. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1818, and was assistant professor of mathematics there till 1825. when he resigned his commission in the army. He was then professor of mathematics and. natural philosophy in Geneva (now Plobart) college till 1848, when he became principal of the Free academy in New York city. Here he held the chair of moral and intellectual philosophy from 1851, and in 1852 that of political philosophy was added. In 1866 the name of the academy was changed by law to "The College of the city of New York," and he continued at its head till 1869, after which he was emeritus profes- sor till his death. He was eminently successful in his administration of the affairs of the college, and the impression he made on the students was last- ing. From his precept and his example they learned thoroughness, devotion to duty, and regard for the best ideals of life. Columbia gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1849, and the University of Pennsylvania that of M. D. in 1850.

WEBSTER, James, British soldier, b. about 1743 : d. in North Carolina in March, 1781. His father, Dr. Alexander Webster, was an eminent divine of Edinburgh. The son entered the army, became major of the 33d foot in February, 1771, and fought with credit in the American Revolu- tion, becoming a lieutenant-colonel. He was active in the operations in New Jersey in 1777, at Ver- planck's point in 1778, and in Cornwallis's cam- paign in the south. He commanded the British right wing at the battle of Guilford, N. C, 14 March, 1781, and there received a wound that re- sulted in his death.

WEBSTER, John Adams, naval officer, b. in Harford county, Md., 19 Sept., 1785; d. there, 4 July, 1876. He entered the merchant marine, but at the beginning of the war of 1812 became 3d lieutenant on the privateer " Rossie," under Com. Joshua Barney. Afterward he received a sailing-master's warrant in the navy, and was placed by Barney in command of a barge, of which he had charge till on the advance of the British on Washington he was transferred to shore duty. He commanded a detachment of sailors under Barney at Bladensburg, serving his guns till the powder was exhausted, and had charge of Battery Babcock, near Baltimore, during the attack on that place. This battery of six guns was old and dilapidated, the guns were corroded, the carriages rusty, and the trucks immovable, the earthworks were defective, and the place was overgrown with briers, but in forty-eight hours Webster had it ready for action. On the night of 13 Sept., Webster discovered the British landing-party, and opened fire on it, and his battery, together with Fort Covington, repelled the enemy after a brisk engagement, saving Baltimore. For this service he was specially mentioned in Com. John Rodgers's report to the secretary of the navy, and presented with swords by the citizens of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. On 22 Nov., 1819, he was commissioned captain in the revenue service, and during the Mexican war he commanded a fleet of eight cutters to co-operate in the campaign on Rio Grande river and before Vera Cruz. In 1865 he retired from active duty, and at his death he was the senior officer in the service. — His son, John Adams, b. in the homestead, Mount Adams. Harford co., Md.. 26 June, 1823 ; d. in Ogdensburg, N. Y., 6 April, 1875, entered the revenue service in 1842, was promoted captain in 1860, and saved his vessel, the "Dobbin," from capture by the Confederates at Savannah and Hampton Roads. At the latter place she was the only U. S. vessel that escaped, While on the New England coast he received a