Rufus King (general)

Rufus King
Rufus King
Born	January 26, 1814 (1814-01-26) New York City, New York
Died	October 13, 1876 (1876-10-14) (aged 62) New York City, New York
Place of burial	Grace Episcopal Churchyard, Jamaica, New York
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1833 - 1836, 1861 - 1863
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	Iron Brigade
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Rufus King (January 26, 1814–October 13, 1876) was a newspaper editor, public servant, U.S. diplomat, and a Union brigadier general in the American Civil War.

King was born in New York City, New York, to Charles King, president of Columbia College, and Eliza Gracie. He was the grandson of Rufus King, delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. After graduation from Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, King enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1829 and graduated the fourth in his class. He was commissioned into the United States Corps of Engineers in 1833 but resigned in 1836 to become the New York and Erie Railroad civil engineer.

After three years with the railroad, King decided to change his career path and became a newspaper editor. He worked at the Albany Daily Advertiser and the Albany Evening Journal, which were published by Thurlow Weed, a leading figure in the New York's Whig Party. In 1839, King was appointed adjutant general of the New York State Militia by Governor William H. Seward, a political ally of Weed, and held this post until 1843.

In 1836, King married Ellen Eliot, who died two years into marriage; they had no children. After five years, King married her sister Susan Eliot, and they had two children. His son Rufus King Jr. became a Union Army officer of the U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade and was awarded the Medal of Honor; his other son, Charles King became a Brigadier General of Volunteers during the Spanish–American War and a writer of Western novels.

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