Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 03.djvu/281

 DIX

DIX

dent Buchanan appointed him postmaster of New York in place of Isaac V. Fowler, defaulter, in 1860. He declined the portfolio of war and accepted that of the treasury, Jan. 9, 1861, suc- ceeding Philip F. Thomas of Maryland, whom the President had appointed on the resignation of Howell Cobb, and he served till the close of the Democratic administration. It was while at the head of the treasury department that he sent his historic message to Lieutenant Caldwell at New Orleans, La., to arrest the commander of the revenue cutter, adding to the message: "If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." He was president of the Union defence committee of New York city from* its formation in 1861 and on April 24, 1861, lie presided over the great meeting in Union Square, New York, which determined the attitude of that municipality and of the entire north in reference to supporting the new admin- istration. He organized and sent to the field seventeen regiments of state militia and was appointed bj- Governor Morgan one of the fcur major-generals to command the state troops. He was commissioned major-general, U.S. volun- teers, by Pi-esident Lincoln in June, 1861, and General Scott ordered him to the command of the department of Arlington and Alexandria, Va., but political favoritism succeeded in trans- ferring him, July 20, 1861, to the less important post of the department of Maryland, which, after the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, became the base of operations on the Potomac and the key to the military situation. General Dix's energy and military judgment stamped out ^secession sentiment in Baltimore and all of Maryland. In May, 1862, he was transferred to the command of Fort Monroe, Va. He declined the nomination for governor of New York, offered him by the Federal Union central committee, Oct. 20, 1862. He was in command of the 7th army corps of 10,000 men, in the movement up the York river to the White House, in June, 1863, where he succeeded in cutting off Lee's line of commu- nication with the Confederate capitol and in destroying bridges, capturing Confederate ti'oops, including Gen. W. H. F. Lee, and obtaining con- trol of the whole country between the Pamunkey and the Rappahannock rivers. At this juncture, when the city of Richmond was almost within his grasp, General Dix was ordered to fall back and send all his available troops to the defence of "Washington and the Pennsylvania borders, then threatened by the combined Confederate forces. This order from General Halleck was dated July 3, 1863, and was promptly complied with. At the same time a draft was ordered in New York and the draft riots, made possible by the with- drawal of the state miUtia to prevent the inva-

sion of the northern states by the Confederate army, had taken place. General Dix was ordered to supersede Gen. J. E. Wool as commander of the department of the east, and his energetic action prevented further disturbance and re- stored business confidence in the metroiDolis. He continued in command till the close of tlie war, when he accepted the presidency of the Union Pacific railroad company. In 1866 he was ap- pointed by President Johnson U.S. naval officer at New York and the same year U.S. minister to France to relieve John Hay, charge d'affaires at that court. He returned to America on the accession of President Grant in 1869. In 1872 he was elected by the Republican party governor of the state of New York. He was defeated of re- election in 1874, largely through political intrigue in the party. He was married. May 29, 1826, to Catherine, niece and adopted daughter of John Jordan Morgan of New York, and two of their seven children survived him, one of these being the Rev. Morgan Dix, rector of Trinity church. His civil offices include: vestryman of Trinity church, comptroller of Trinity corporation, dep- uty of the general convention of the Protestant Episcopal church, an original trustee of the Astor library by appointment of John Jacob Astor, president of the Mississippi & Missouri railway company (1853), first president of the Union Pacific railroad company (1863-68), and president of the Erie railway company (1872). He received the honorarj^ degree of LL.D. from Union in 1873, and was honorary chancellor of the college in 1874. His published Avorks include: Sesources of the City of Kevj York (1827) ; Decisions of the Superintendents of Common Schools (1837); A Winter in Madeira and a Summer in Spain and Florence (1850, 5th ed., 1853) ; /Si^eec/ies and Occa- sional Addresses (2 vols., 1864) ; Dies Irct>, transla- tion (1863, rev. ed., 1875) ; and Stabat Mater, translation (1868). His memoir written by his son, the Rev. Morgan Dix, was published in 1883. He died in New York city, April 21, 1879. DIX, Morgan, clergj-man, was born in New Y''ork city, Nov. 1, 1827 ; son of John Adams and Catharine (Morgan) Dix. On the father's side the family is of English stock and on his mother's, of Welsh. He attended the schools of Albany^ ' N.Y., but did not prepare for college until his return from a tour of Italy, Madeira and Spain in 1844. He was graduated at Columbia college in 1848 and studied law, but deciding to enter the ministry he was graduated at the General theological seminary in 1852. He was ordained a deacon in 1852 and admitted to the priesthood in 1854. He served as assistant to the Rev. Joseph Wilmer at St. Mark's, Philadelphia, 1853-54. visited Europe in 1854-55 for study and travel, and returning to New York became assistant