Civil War Ulysses S. Grant’s Aide de Camp Orville E. Babcock’s Diaries & Court Documents

Description

Orville Babcock: Grant’s Controversial Confidant and His Legal Battles

• 1835: Orville Elias Babcock is born.
• 1863: Orville E. Babcock begins writing diaries, which cover this year.
• 1864: Orville E. Babcock continues writing diaries, which cover this year.
• 1866: Orville E. Babcock continues writing diaries, which cover this year.
• 1867: Orville E. Babcock continues writing diaries, which cover this year.
• 1869:Orville E. Babcock continues writing diaries, which cover this year.
• Ulysses S. Grant becomes President of the United States.
• President Grant appoints Orville E. Babcock as his private secretary (equivalent to chief of staff today).
• Orville E. Babcock is also appointed Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds for Washington D.C.
• President Grant sends Orville E. Babcock on a mission to explore the annexation of Santo Domingo (today’s Dominican Republic).
• The Senate, led by Charles Sumner, rejects the proposal for the annexation of Santo Domingo. Much of Babcock’s diary entries in this collection cover this mission.
• 1875:The Whiskey Ring scandal is exposed, involving the diversion of tax revenues through a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors.
• December 9, 1875: A grand jury in Saint Louis, Mo., indicts Orville E. Babcock as a member of the Whiskey Ring for conspiracy to defraud the Treasury of the United States.
• President Grant provides a written deposition on Babcock’s behalf.
• Orville E. Babcock is acquitted of the Whiskey Ring charges.
• 1876:Orville E. Babcock is indicted a second time, this time for involvement in the Safe Burglary Conspiracy. This scandal involves unethical building contractors in Washington, D.C., on trial for corruption, and fake Secret Service agents placing damaging evidence into the safe of the district attorney prosecuting the ring.
• Orville E. Babcock is acquitted of the Safe Burglary Conspiracy charges.
• February 1877: President Grant appoints Orville E. Babcock as Inspector of Lighthouses for the Federal Lighthouse Board’s Fifth District in Florida.
• 1884: Orville Elias Babcock dies.

Cast of Characters

• Orville Elias Babcock (1835–1884): An engineer and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He served as an aide-de-camp to General Ulysses S. Grant during the war. When Grant became president, Babcock served as his private secretary (today’s chief of staff) and Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds for Washington D.C. He was sent by President Grant to explore the annexation of Santo Domingo. Babcock was twice indicted: first in 1875 as a member of the Whiskey Ring, and again in 1876 for the Safe Burglary Conspiracy, but was acquitted in both cases. After these trials, President Grant appointed him Inspector of Lighthouses.
• Ulysses S. Grant: A general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later President of the United States. He employed Orville E. Babcock as his aide-de-camp during the war and later as his private secretary and Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. President Grant initiated the mission to annex Santo Domingo through Babcock and provided a written deposition in Babcock’s defense during the Whiskey Ring trial. He appointed Babcock to a new position in Florida after his acquittals.
• Charles Sumner: A prominent figure in the U.S. Senate who led the opposition and rejection of President Grant’s proposal to annex Santo Domingo.

Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant’s Aide de Camp Orville E. Babcock’s Diaries & Court Documents

This collection contains 1,457 pages of material.

1,070 pages of diaries written by Orville E. Babcock from 1863, 1864, 1866, 1867 and 1869 and 376 pages of court documents from United States of America v. Orville E. Babcock (1875).

Orville Elias Babcock (1835–1884) was an engineer and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was an aide-de-camp to General Ulysses S. Grant during the war. When Grant became president, Babcock served as his private secretary at the White House. Today the position would be called chief of staff. He was also Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds for Washington D.C.

In 1869, President Grant sent him on a mission to explore the possibility of annexing the island nation of Santo Domingo, known today as the Dominican Republic, , but the Senate, led by Charles Sumner, rejected the proposal. Much of Babcock’s diary entries in this collection covers his mission to Santo Domingo.

On December 9, 1875, a grand jury in Saint Louis, Mo. indicted Babcock as a member of the Whiskey Ring for conspiracy to defraud the Treasury of the United States. The Whiskey Ring scandal, exposed in 1875, involved the diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. Grant provided a written deposition on Babcock’s behalf and he was acquitted.

Babcock was indictment a second time in 1876, over the Safe Burglary Conspiracy. This scandal involved unethical building contractors in Washington, D.C., who were on trial for corruption, when fake Secret Service agents working for the contractors placed damaging evidence into the safe of the district attorney who was prosecuting the ring. Babcock was acquitted.

In February 1877, President Grant appointed Babcock Inspector of Lighthouses for the Federal Lighthouse Board’s Fifth District in Florida.