Andrew Gregg Curtin

The American politician Andrew Gregg Curtin (1815-1894) was the influential governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War and one of Abraham Lincoln's most powerful supporters.

Andrew Gregg Curtin's father was an Irish immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in 1793 and became one of the first manufacturers of iron in that state. Curtin was born on April 23, 1815, at Bellefonte in Center County. Following an excellent tutorial education, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1839. He promptly formed a partnership with John Blanchard, later a member of Congress. From the beginning, Curtin was a success. Magnetic, honest, and popular, he possessed a congenial manner, ready wit, and extraordinary power of speech.

Curtin entered Pennsylvania politics at the age of 25. As a Whig, he campaigned actively on behalf of the presidential candidacies of William Henry Harrison, Henry Clay, Zachary Taylor, and Winfield Scott. In 1854 he declined the nomination for governor and threw his support to the successful candidacy of James Pollock, who repaid Curtin with the high post of secretary of the commonwealth. Curtin's most notable achievement in that position was in fostering the cause of public education.

In 1860 Curtin was instrumental in securing the Republican presidential nomination for Abraham Lincoln. He himself agreed to run for governor against strong Democratic opposition. He won the election by a wide margin, and his victory was instrumental in swinging Pennsylvania to Lincoln in the national election a month later.

An ardent unionist, Curtin had an untarnished record as Pennsylvania's Civil War governor. He aroused such early and enthusiastic support for the North that five companies of Pennsylvania troops were the first soldiers to arrive in Washington for the capital's defense. When the state raised double its initial quota of 14,000 volunteers, Curtin organized the extra force into the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. Throughout the war Curtin was "ceaseless in his devotion to the wants and needs" of Pennsylvania soldiers. He ensured that his regiments had the most up-to-date arms and equipment; he went to unparalleled lengths to care for the wounded; and he fathered a law providing for the education of war orphans in the state. These and similar endeavors earned him the sobriquet "Soldier's Friend."

Following a second term as governor, Curtin in 1869 accepted the ambassadorship to Russia. He returned to America in 1872 and supported the presidential candidacy of Horace Greeley, an action which alienated leading Republicans. Curtin then joined the Democratic party. Defeated in an 1878 bid for Congress, he ran again in 1880 and won the first of three consecutive terms in the national legislature. Thereafter he retired to his mountain home, where he died Oct. 7, 1894.

Further Reading

Curtin's messages and proclamations as governor of Pennsylvania were published by the state. No adequate biography of him exists. William H. Egle edited a series of laudatory sketches Andrew Gregg Curtin: His Life and Services (1895). For an analysis of Curtin's Civil War career see William B. Hesseltine, Lincoln and the War Governors (1948).

Andrew Gregg Curtin
15th Governor of Pennsylvania
In office January 15, 1861 – January 15, 1867
Preceded by	William F. Packer
Succeeded by	John W. Geary
Born	April 22 1817(1817--) Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 07 1894 (aged 77) Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Whig, Republican, Democrat,
Profession	Politician, Lawyer
Religion	Presbyterian

Andrew Gregg Curtin (April 22, 1817 – October 7, 1894) was a U.S. lawyer and politician who served as Governor of Pennsylvania during the American Civil War.

Curtin was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He attended Dickinson College and the Dickinson School of Law and was employed as a lawyer. His first public office was as Secretary of the Commonwealth. In 1855, Governor James Pollock appointed him as Superintendent of Public Schools. He switched political allegiance from the Whigs to the new Republican political party in 1860, with his successful run for governor. He served in that office from 1861 until 1867.

During the Civil War, Curtin organized the Pennsylvania reserves into combat units, and oversaw the construction of the first Union military camp for training militia. It opened as Camp Curtin on April 18, 1861. Curtin was very active during the Gettysburg Campaign, working with Major General Darius N. Couch and Major Granville O. Haller to delay Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and prevent it from crossing the Susquehanna River. Major General George G. Meade, a Pennsylvania officer whom Curtin had recommended for brigadier general and command of one of the Pennsylvania reserve brigades in 1861, defeated Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg.

In his first term, Governor Curtin suffered a severe breakdown from the stresses of war. Secretary of State Eli Slifer handled governmental affairs during the increasingly frequent periods when Curtin was incapacitated. President Lincoln offered the governor a diplomatic position abroad, but he chose to run for reelection in 1863.

To coordinate Union war efforts, Curtin convened the Loyal War Governors' Conference on September 24 and September 25, 1862, in Altoona. This event was one of his most significant contributions to the Union war effort. He formed the Pennsylvania State Agency in Washington, and another branch in Nashville, Tennessee, to provide support for wounded soldiers on the battlefield and returned home. He also founded the state-funded Orphan's School to aid and educate children of military men who had died for the Union cause.

Soon after ending his second term, Curtin switched to the Democratic political party, and was appointed Minister to Russia by President Ulysses S. Grant. He later served as a Democratic Congressman from 1881 until 1887 in the United States House of Representatives. He died at his birthplace of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and is buried there in Union Cemetery. Four identical statues of Andrew Gregg Curtin—one in Bellefonte, one on the Pennsylvania State Monument at Gettysburg, one in the rotunda of the State Capitol Building, and one at the site of Camp Curtin–honor his service and life.

Curtin's family was prominent in Pennsylvania politics and in the Civil War. He was the grandson of Andrew Gregg, also a prominent Pennsylvania politician. He was the uncle of John I. Gregg and cousin of David McMurtrie Gregg, both Union generals in the Civil War.

In World War II the United States liberty ship SS Andrew G. Curtin was named in his honor. The University Park campus of Penn State University has both a residence hall and a campus road named for Curtin.

References

• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Bucknell University's Biography of Andrew Gregg Curtin
• Andrew Gregg Curtin at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Curtin statue on the Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg

Preceded by William Fisher Packer	Governor of Pennsylvania 1861–1867	Succeeded by John White Geary
Preceded by Cassius M. Clay	United States Ambassador to Russia 1869 – 1872	Succeeded by James L. Orr
Preceded by Seth H. Yocum	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district 1881-1887	Succeeded by John Patton

Governors of Pennsylvania

Mifflin • McKean • Snyder • Findlay • Hiester • Shulze • Wolf • Ritner • Porter • Shunk • Johnston • Bigler • Pollock • Packer • Curtin • Geary • Hartranft • Hoyt • Pattison • Beaver • Pattison • Hastings • Stone • Pennypacker • Stuart • Tener • Brumbaugh • Sproul • Pinchot • Fisher • Pinchot • Earle • James • Martin • Bell • Duff • Fine • Leader • Lawrence • Scranton • Shafer • Shapp • Thornburgh • Casey • Ridge • Schweiker • Rendell

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