Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 06.djvu/253

 KEYES

KEYSER

of the 11th infantry, "May 14, 1861; and commis- sioned brigadier-general of U.S. volunteers. May 17, 1861. He served on the staff of Governor Morgan of New York, assisting in forwarding the state quota of volunteers to the front, April to June, 1861, and reci'uited his regiment at Boston, Mass., June and July, 1861. He was ordered to the front and commanded the 1st brigade in Tj'ler's 1st division, McDowell's armj-, at the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; was in com- mand of defences of Washington, D.C., July 22, 1861 to March 10, 1862; was assigned to McClel- lan's Army of the Potomac and placed in com- mand of the 4th corps, made up of Couch's and Casey's division, and including the brigades of Peck, Abercrombie, Devins, Naglee, "VVessells and Palmer, engaged in the action at Lee's Mills, April 5, 1862; and the siege of Yorktown. with station near New Kent court-house, April .5 to May 4, 1862. He was promoted major-general of volunteers. May 5, 1862; was engaged in the skirmish at Bottom's Bridge, May 22, 1862; in the action near Savage's Station, May 24, 1862; the battles of Seven Pines, May 31, 1862, Charles City Cross-roads, June 29, 1862, Malvern Hill, July 1-2, 1862; and the skirmish at Harrison's Landing, July 2, 1862, his corps constituting the rear guard of McClellan's army in its transfer from the Y^ork to the James river, and he was brevetted brigadier-general in the U.S. army May 31, 1862, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Fair Oaks, Va. He continued in command of his corps as part of the Army of the James, Aug. 25, 1862, to July, 1863, being en- gaged in the raid to the White House, Va., Jan. 7, 1863; in command of an expedition to West Point, Va., May 7, 1863, and in an expedition under Major-General Dix toward Richmond, June and July, 1863. He was accused by General Dix of causing the failure of the expedition, and he made repeated applications for a court-martial to defend himself against the charges made, which were all denied. He served on the board for retiring disabled officers from July 15, 1863, until May 6, 1864, when he resigned from the army and re- moved to San Francisco, Cal. He was president of the Mexican Gold Mining company, 1867-69, and vice-president of the California Vine Culture society, 1868-72. He was married to Caroline M.. daughter of Judge James B. and Eleanor (Fisher) Clarke. He is the author of: Fifty Years' Observations of Men and Events (1884), and The Rear Guard at Malvern Hill in " Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" (Vol. II., pp. 43- 45). He died at Nice, France, Oct. 15, 1895, and was buried at West Point, N.Y., in 1897.

KEYES, Winfield Scott, mining engineer, was born at Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 17, 1839; son of Maj.-Gen. Erasmus Darwin and Caroline M.

(Clarke) Keyes. He was graduated from Yale in 1860, and studied at the School of Mines, Freiberg, Saxony, 1860-63. He was superintendent of mines, joint inventor of Keyes and Arent'a automatic tap for molten metals, and an expert in many important mining suits. He was a member of the board of judges of the Centennial exposition at Philadelphia in 1876, and an hon- orary commissioner to the Paris exposition in 1878. He was married, April 25, 1878, to Flora A., daughter of Judge S. C. Hastings of California. He was elected vice-president, and in 1886 pres- ident of the board of trustees of the California State Mining bureau; was a member of the exec- utive committee of the California Miners' associ- ation, and a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. He was a delegate to repre- sent the United States at the international con- gress of mines and metallurgy at Paris in July, 1900. He is the author of: Resources of Cali- fornia (1866); Resources of Mont aiia (18(iS).

KEYSER, Charles Shearer, lawyer, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 18,-1825; son of Joseph and Susan (Shearer) Keyser; grandson of Benja- min and Ann (Nice) Keyser and of Jacob Shearer of Moreland, Pa., and a descendant of Dirck Keyser, a native of Amsterdam, Holland, who came to America and settled in Germantown, Pa., in 1688, where he died. Nov. 30, 1714. He was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, A.B., 1845, A.M., 1848; was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, July 17, 1848, and settled in practice in his native city. He enlisted as a pri- vate in the 1st troop of the Philadelphia city cavalry in 1861, was attached to the 2d U.S. cavalry under Col. George H. Thomas, and served through the first campaign in the valley of Vir- ginia. He resigned from the service, Feb. 5, 1863, and resumed liis law practice. He was master of ceremonies of the celebration held in the Centennial grounds, Philadelphia, July 5, 1875; of the congress of authors in Independence Hall, July 2, 1876, and a member of the advisory board of the president of the U.S. Centennial committee for the ceremonies of Jul}' 4, 1876. He was elected a member of the Philadeli)hia Academy of Fine Arts in 1856; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1850; the Netherlands society, 1891, and appointed a member of tiie committee for the restoration of Independence Hall, 1899. He was married, Dec. 6, 1866, to Mrs. Sophronia (MacKay) Norris. He is the author of: Lemo7i Hill (1856); Memoir of Judge Shars- toood (1867); Fairmount Park (1873); Plan for the Celebration of July 4, 1S76 (1873); Memoir of William H. English (1880); Pe7m's Treaty (1882); The Keyser Family (1889); Minden Armais (1892); 77(6 Liberty Bell (1893); and Independence Hall (1895).