Col. Daniel D. Tompkins, Nephew of Vice President, Brevetted at Battle of Felasco
COLONEL DANIEL D.
TOMPKINS (November
30, 1798 – February 26, 1863) graduated from West Point in 1820 in the
Ordinance Corps, as third lieutenant. He
was nephew of Daniel D. Tompkins, one-time Governor of New York and Vice
President of the United States. In 1825,
he was made First Lieutenant and Commissary of Subsistence. In 1835, he was
promoted to captain and, while serving in Florida, was brevetted major for
gallant and meritorious conduct, particularly in the Battle of Felasco, a
battle of the Second Seminole War, fought by Florida’s Seminole Indians to
prevent their removal to the Arkansas Territory in accordance with the Indian
Removal Act of 1830.
Tompkins
was transferred to the Quartermaster’s Department in 1838 and was promoted to
the position of major in 1842. He transacted business for the Quartermaster’s
Department during the Mexican War, where he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel
for meritorious conduct. During the
Civil War, he served as Colonel of the Quartermaster’s
Department in New York from 1861 to 1863 when he died of dropsy.
In this one-page
7 ¾ x 9 ½ ALS Tompkins writes to Mrs. M. Drane of Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia,
June 14, 1845. [It was at Fort Mifflin that a garrison of 400 American men held
the British Navy at bay in 1777, providing Washington and his troops time to
arrive safely at Valley Forge, where they shaped a strong and confident army.]
Tompkins writes,
“Pardon me for the neglect the other day in writing you – in not replying to
the letter…to me the day before. The
articles you speak of were sent down by Mrs. Peirce as a small memento from her
dear departed daughter to yourself and sister (Mrs. Caldwell) …Mary was asked
by her grand ma to write…but like many other promises made she failed to comply
with this. As with my dear friends, knowing her in life is a sufficient pledge
to me that we will now know her in death.
Still, allow me to add my wishes to grand ma’s – that you should have in
your possession a token of friends for the departed.
“Very truly
& sincerely
“Your friend”
“D.D. Tomkins”
Toning, folds
and tipped to another sheet. Side tear
on the additional sheet reinforced with archival tape. Else excellent.
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