George M. Robeson
George Maxwell Robeson (March 16, 1829 – September 27, 1897) was an American politician and lawyer from New Jersey. A brigadier general in the New Jersey Militia during the American Civil War, he served as Secretary of the Navy, appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant, from 1869 to 1877. A member of the Republican Party, he also served two terms as a U.S. Representative for New Jersey from 1879 to 1883.
George Robeson
September 27, 1897 (aged 68)
Trenton, New Jersey
Robeson, a native of New Jersey, graduated from Princeton University at the young age of 18. Robeson studied law and passed the bar in 1850. Practicing law, Robeson diligently worked his way through the legal profession and in 1858 he was appointed a public prosecutor for Camden County. During the American Civil War Robeson associated with the Republican Party and was a member of the New Jersey Sanitary Commission. Appointed Brigadier General by Governor Charles S. Olden, Robeson worked to recruit enlistments to fight for the Union. After the war in 1867, Robeson was appointed New Jersey Attorney General by Gov. Marcus L. Ward. Robeson, as Attorney General, gained national attention after successfully prosecuting Bridget Durgan for the brutal murder of Mrs. Coriell.
Supported by New Jersey Senator A.G. Cattell, Robeson was appointed Secretary of Navy by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1869 after Sec. Adolph E. Borie had resigned office. His tenure lasted about seven and a half years, second in length only, to that of Gideon Welles during the 19th century. He was known to be a hot-tempered, industrious administrator and through his departmental leadership was able to contain the established Naval officer hierarchy. Having limited Congressional funding, he supported and developed the early stages of submarine and torpedo technology for the purpose of keeping U.S. harbors safe from foreign attack, and secured $50,000 in Congressional funding for the 1871 Polaris expedition led by Charles Francis Hall. The U.S. Navy, however, was not able to keep pace with the modernization of industrial European navies.
Robeson headed the investigation about the controversial death of Hall after the return of the shipwrecked Polaris crew in 1873. Robeson supported President Grant and the Radical Republican Reconstruction laws that supported the citizenship and voting rights of African American freedmen. Under Robeson, the U.S. Navy constructed the United States' first two propelled torpedo warships. In 1874, Robeson responded to the naval threat imposed by Spain during the Virginius Affair; having implemented U.S. Naval resurgence, however, Congress refused to pay for the completion of the five new ships. Robeson served briefly as both Secretary of Navy and as ad interim Secretary of War after Secretary of War William W. Belknap abruptly resigned in 1876. Robeson was the subject of two Congressional investigations in 1876 and 1878 on profiting and bribery charges from shipbuilding contracts but was exonerated for lack of material evidence.
Elected in 1878, Representative for New Jersey, Robeson served as minority leader of the Republican Party. Robeson's grandfather was George C. Maxwell and he was the nephew of John Patterson Bryan Maxwell, both having represented New Jersey in the House of Representatives. Defeated from office by Democrat Thomas M. Ferrell in a bitter highly contested 1882 election campaign, Robeson was left $60,000 in debt and forced to sell his Washington D.C. property. As a result of his financial troubles, his wife and family abandoned him while traveling abroad. Robeson moved to Trenton, resumed his law practice, and lived a modest lifestyle until his death in 1897. Although Robeson showed decisive action during the Virginius Affair while Secretary of the Navy, his reputation was marred by allegations of corruption during his tenure.
Early life[edit]
George M. Robeson was born on March 16, 1829, in Oxford Furnace, New Jersey, near Belvidere in Warren County.[1][2] Robeson's family was of Scottish origin and he was a descendant of Andrew Robeson, the surveyor-general of New Jersey in 1668.[3] His father was Philadelphia Judge William Penn Robeson and his mother was the daughter of U.S. Congressman George C. Maxwell, who served in the 12th U.S. Congress from 1811 to 1813 representing Hunterdon, New Jersey.[1] His brother William P. Robeson Jr. was a brevetted Brigadier general in the Union Army.[4] Robeson was the nephew of U.S. Congressman John Patterson Bryan Maxwell.[5]
Robeson gained a scholarly reputation by having graduated from Princeton University at the young age of 18 in 1847.[1] Upon graduation, he studied law in Newark in Chief Justice Hornblower's law office.[1][6] He graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1850.[1] He was admitted as a legal counselor in 1854.[1] He initially set up his law practice in Newark, but then moved his practice to Jersey City.[1] In 1858, he was appointed public prosecutor for Camden County.[2]
Civil War[edit]
During the Civil War, Robeson was appointed a brigadier general in the New Jersey Militia by the Governor of New Jersey.[2] Robeson did not serve in active duty during the war.[7]
Farewell speech (1877)[edit]
On March 14, 1877, two days after his term of office ended, Robeson gave a farewell speech to his former subordinate chiefs and clerks at the Naval Department at his luxurious K Street house in Washington D.C. He thanked them for showing up and said that he was leaving office with relief and regret. He said that workers in his Naval Department had served faithfully and that he himself had faithfully and steadily advanced the Naval Department. Robeson admitted he had made mistakes during his long tenure as Secretary of the Navy. He said he had the courage not to deny the rights of any man due to his class.[49]
Sued by John Cambell[edit]
In 1885, Robeson was sued for $297 by John Cambell, a liveryman, who had aided Robeson during his 1882 First Congressional District election campaign.[57] Cambell had organized horses, the Sixth Regiment Band, and security for Robeson in support of the Republican ticket. Robeson at the time was Treasurer of the Camden County Republican Executive Committee, and Cambell claimed that Robeson did not pay him for his services.[57] Robeson stated that he had paid $75 to the leader of the band and that he paid $258 to 11 constables who were hired for security. Robeson said he did not believe that the hire of security and the band was necessary. Robeson also stated he had paid Cambell a check for $500 in addition to $300 for "political purposes". Robeson admitted he owed Cambell $42 for the hire of carriages. The jury returned a verdict that agreed with Robeson and Cambell was awarded $42 plus three years' interest. Justice Park on the Camden County Circuit Court presided over Robeson's lawsuit trial.[57]
In 1891, Robeson became interested in running for U.S. Congressman for the fourth time. However, the Trenton district was content with the Democratic ticket, and nothing became of Robeson's inquiry into public office.[55]
Historical reputation[edit]
In 2001, historian Jean Edward Smith said: "[At] Navy, George Robeson, a New Jersey lawyer, had replaced Adop[l]h Borie. Both were successful businessmen whose company Grant enjoyed, and both were content to leave naval matters in the hands of the admirals. Robeson later came under fire for contract improprieties, but congressional investigators found no evidence of illicit payments to the secretary."[58]
In 2016, historian Ronald C. White said Robeson "was a handsome, jovial man but was portrayed on the Washington social circuit as a "first-rate judge of wine, a second-rate trout fisherman, and a third-rate New Jersey lawyer." Most people added Robeson was a fourth-rate secretary of the navy."[59]
In 2017, historian Ron Chernow said Robeson was a "roly-poly Princeton graduate with muttonchop whiskers and a sociable bent, who had been a brigadier general in the war. He would prove a capable if often slipshod administrator, shadowed by suspicions of corruption."[60]
Historically, Robeson is often mentioned by biographers of Ulysses S. Grant.
Marriage and family[edit]
On January 23, 1872, Robeson married Mary Isabella (Ogston) Aulick, a widow with a son, Richmond Aulick.[61] Robeson and Mary had a daughter named Ethel Maxwell Robeson, who married William Sterling, the son of British Maj. John Barton Sterling, on November 22, 1910, in Christ Church, Mayfair, England.[61][62] Mary's son, Richmond, graduated from Princeton University in 1889.[61]
The embittered 1882 Congressional election loss caused contention in Robeson's family. His wife went abroad and the campaign left Robeson destitute. In New Jersey, Robeson was called derisively "Poor Roby". James L. Hayes selected a small house near the State House in Trenton where Robeson lived and practiced law.[55]