Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/250

224 the United States in 1844. lie is said to have published more religious volumes than any other author of the present century, his works numbering nearly 200. lie wrote lives of Whitefield and Robert Hall; "The Baptist Pulpit of the United States" (New York, 1850); "The Clergy of America" (1855); a "History of Religious Denominations in the United States" (Indianapolis, Ind., 1856); "Sketches from Life"; and "Poetical Sketches of Biblical Subjects." His last book was "Hymns and their Authors" (Philadelphia, 1859).

BELDEN, Josiah, pioneer, b. in Connecticut in 1815. He went with one of the earliest overland emigrant parties, that of 1841. He was the first mayor of San Jose in 1850, was noted as merchant and politician, and took part in the raising of the American flag at the time of Com. Jones's attempted seizure of California in 1843.

BELEHETZI, or BELEJETZI (bel-e-het -tee), king of Quiche, killed by order of Alvarado in 1524, after the Spaniards had conquered from the Indians that part of Central America. Belehetzi was implicated in a great conspiracy against Alvarado, whom the Indians had called to Utatlan, under false promises of peace and friendship, really intending a massacre of the invaders.

BELGRANO, Manuel, South American patriot, b. in Buenos Ayres in 1770; d. 2'6 June, 1820. His parents had emigrated from Italy, and were wealthy. After completing his education in the university of Salamanca, Spain, young Belgrano was appointed to office in his native city. There he joined the revolutionists, and was a member of their provisional committee, elected 25 May, 1810. He was given the command of an army in 1811, and was defeated by Spanish troops at Cerro Porteiio, near Paraguari, in Paraguay. The revolutionary authorities raised him to the rank of general in 1812, and he again undertook an unsuccessful expedition to annex Paraguay to Buenos Ayres ; but on 4 Sept. of the same year he gained a victory over the royalists commanded by Gen. Tristan at Tucuman, and on 13 Feb., 1813, he again defeated that general at Salta. But Gen. Pezuela attacked and routed the revolutionary troops under Belgrano, at Villapucio, 1 Oct., 1813, and again at Ayoma in the same year. Belgrano was superseded by Gen. San Martin.

BELKNAP, George Eugene, naval officer, b. in Newport, N. H., 22 Jan., 1832. He was appointed midshipman from New Hampshire, 7 Oct., 1847; became passed midshipman, 10 June, 1853, master in 1855; was commissioned lieutenant, 16 Sept., 1855; lieutenant-commander, 15 July, 1862; and commander, 25 July, 1866. As lieutenant he commanded a launch at the capture of the Barrier forts at the mouth of the Canton river, China, in November, 1856, and assisted in undermining and blowing up the four forts. He commanded the boats of the "St. Louis" at the reenforcement of Fort Pickens in April, 1861, and was commanding officer of the iron-clad "New Ironsides" in her various engagements with the fortifications in Charleston harbor from 1862 till 1864. He was highly praised by Admirals Dupont and Dahlgren for ability in making the attacks and managing his vessel under fire. In 1864 he commanded the gun-boat "Seneca" of the North Atlantic blockading squadron, and afterward the iron-clad "Canonicus" in the two actions with Howlett House battery in December, 1864, and in the attacks on Fort Fisher in that and the following month. After the capture of the fort he went to Charleston, and was present at the evacuation. He commanded the same vessel in Admiral Godon's expedition to Havana in search of the confederate iron-clad "Stonewall." His name was associated with those of Commanders Parrott and Calhoun and Lieut. Weaver in a commendatory letter of Admiral Porter declaring that these officers had given a world-wide reputation to the monitors by their efficient handling of the new type of vessel. In 1867-'8 Commander Belknap commanded the flag-ship " Hartford " of the Asiatic squadron; in 1869 he was on navigation duty at the Boston navy-yard; in 1874 he was engaged in command of the steamer "Tuscarora" in taking deep-sea soundings in the North Pacific ocean, with the object of finding a route for a submarine cable between the United States and Japan. He was made commodore, 2 March, 1885, and appointed superintendent of the naval observatory.

BELKNAP, Jeremy, clergyman, b. in Boston, Mass., 4 June, 1744; d." there. 20 June, 1798. He was graduated at Harvard in 1762, and, after teaching school and studying theology, was ordained 18 Feb., 1767, pastor of the Congregational church in Dover, N. H. On 4 April, 1787, he took charge of the Federal street church, Boston, where he remained until his death. From his fifteenth year he kept notes of his reading, and also a diary, in a series of curious interleaved almanacs. Soon after going to Dover he began his " History of New Hampshire" (1st vol., Philadelphia, 1784; 2d and 3d vols., Boston, 1791-2), which takes high rank for accuracy, thoughtfulness, and agreeable style, though the part relating to the natural history of the state is worth little, owing to the author's deficient knowledge. The pi'ogress of the work was somewhat delayed by the revolution, during which Mr. Belknap was an ardent patriot. The work did not pay expenses, and the author was granted the sum of £50 in its aid by the legislature of New Hampshire. In 1792 he was given the degree of S. T. D. by Harvard, and made an overseer of the college. On 23 Oct. of that year he delivered before the Massachusetts historical society, which he had founded two years before, a tercentennial discourse on the discovery of America. He published a life of Watts (1793); two volumes of "American Biographies" (1794, 1798); and a collection of psalms and hymns (1795), of which several were written by himself. In 1796 he published "The Foresters, an American Tale," a humorous apologue, which had originally appeared in the "Columbian. Magazine," and was intended to portray the history of the country, with special reference to the formation of the constitution. He was also the author of many miscellaneous pieces, among them several essays on the African slave-trade, to which he was strongly opposed. A life of Dr. Belknap, with selected letters, was publislied by his granddaughter (New York, 1847).

BELKNAP, William Goldsmith, soldier, b. in Newburgh, N. Y., 7 Sept., 1794: d. near Fort Washita, Tex., 10 Nov., 1851. He was a lieutenant in the war of 1812; was wounded in the sortie from Fort Erie on 17 Sept., 1814; became captain, 1 Feb., 1822; brevet major, 1 Feb., 1832; major, 31 Jan., 1842 ; and was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, 15 March, 1842, for his services in the Florida war. In 1828 Capt. Belknap established Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. For gallantry in Gen. Taylor's Rio Grande campaign he received the brevet of colonel. He acted as inspector-general at the capture of Monterey, became lieutenant-colonel 26 Sept., 1847, and was brevetted brigadier-general for services at Buena Vista, 23 Feb., 1847. He was commandant at Fort Gibson from December, 1848, till May, 1851.—His son, William