Justus McKinstry

Justus McKinstry was born in Hudson, Columbia County, New York, on July 6, 1814. His parents were David McKinstry (born 1778) and Nancy (née Backus) McKinstry. They were married in 1805. David McKinstry prospered in Detroit and became influential in the community. With help from his father, Justus McKinstry entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York on July 1, 1832. Fearing that he would fail the math exam at the end of the term and be expelled, McKinstry resigned from the academy in a December 1832 letter and ultimately left on January 31, 1833. He hoped that he might be reinstated and through his father's influence he was readmitted to the next Academy class. McKinstry re-entered the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1833. McKinstry failed a math exam in 1835 but was given an extra year at the academy and graduated 40th in a class of 45 on July 1, 1838. On July 1, 1838, the day McKinstry graduated from the US Military Academy, he married his second cousin, Susan McKinstry, with whom he would have three sons, Charles, James and Carlisle (Cy). McKinstry was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 2nd Infantry Regiment (United States) on July 1, 1838. In quick succession in 1838, he was stationed at Sackett's Harbor, New York and Fort Gratiot, Michigan. in which he served until 1841. For 21 months, except for a few days, McKinstry commanded Company B of the 2d Infantry Regiment, in addition to his quartermaster duties, while the company commander was on recruiting duty. McKinstry was appointed a first lieutenant in the 2nd Infantry Regiment on April 18, 1841. He then served at Fort Niagara, New York, 1842–1844, on recruiting duty, 1845–1846 and at Fort Columbus (later Fort Jay), New York, 1846 before beginning service in the Mexican–American War later that year. == Mexican–American War ==

On March 3, 1847, McKinstry received the rank of captain, and served as a staff officer and assistant quartermaster. Although he was a quartermaster, McKinstry was awarded a brevet appointment as a major in the Regular Army (United States) for gallant and meritorious conduct after taking command of a company of volunteers at the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco, to rank from August 20, 1847. == Assignments: 1849–1861 ==

McKinstry resumed his career as a captain on January 12, 1848, vacating his position as a captain in the 2nd Infantry Regiment and serving as a quartermaster with the commissioners running the boundary line on the United States-Mexico border in 1848–1849 and in California, 1850–1855. In 1849, George (1810–1882) bought Rancho Arroyo Chico, a Mexican land grant in present-day Butte County, California, from William Dickey, who had been granted the land in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena. Also in 1849, McKinstry sold a one-half interest in the land to John Bidwell and in 1850 sold the other half-interest to Justus McKinstry. In 1851, Justus McKinstry sold this half-interest to John Bidwell. In May 1858, McKinstry developed a skin condition at Fort Brooke and was on leave awaiting orders from September 1858 until January 1860. McKinstry was stationed at St. Louis, Missouri as chief quartermaster of the Department of the West on January 10, 1860. == American Civil War ==

On July 3, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Major General John C. Fremont to command the Department of the West, headquartered at St. Louis. Already chief quartermaster when Fremont took command of the department, McKinstry was appointed a major and assistant quartermaster in the U.S. Army on August 3, 1861, and continued his assignment in the Department of the West. McKinstry's actions in restricting movements into and out of the city, instituting a 9:00 p.m. curfew and censoring the press made him, and Fremont, unpopular with many of the city's residents. Historian Bruce Catton cites McKinstry as performing a great service to the Union cause by introducing Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant to Fremont. Fremont had considered appointing Brigadier General John Pope to the important post at Cairo, Illinois but after his meeting with Grant, Fremont decided to appoint Grant instead. McKinstry was an old West Point and regular army friend of Grant and assured Fremont that rumors of Grant's drinking habits were exaggerated and he would be stable if given a responsible command. Fremont had kept Grant waiting for hours after having summoned him to his headquarters in St. Louis. When McKinstry passed by and asked Grant about his wait, Grant told him the circumstances. McKinstry immediately got Fremont's attention and told him that he had observed Grant's gallantry in Mexico and that he was a reliable man for the job. In response to growing pressure from influential persons such as Missouri Congressman Frank Blair, who was interested in obtaining more contracts for his friends but was unsuccessful in obtaining them from McKinstry, Fremont obtained McKinstry's removal as quartermaster from Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs but kept him as provost marshal and then assigned him to a division command from September 2, 1861, to November 7, 1861, McKinstry was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers on September 2, 1861, but the appointment expired without confirmation by the United States Senate on July 17, 1862. Fremont assigned McKinstry to command Division 5 of the Department of the West between September 24, 1861, and October 24, 1861, as Fremont's army of five divisions, about 30,000 men, moved out toward Springfield, Missouri in an effort to capture the strategically located town from Confederate Missouri State Guard forces under Major General Sterling Price. Zagonyi's small Union force briefly occupied the town but withdrew because they had lost many of their horses during the fight and the Confederates would have outnumbered them if they had counter-attacked. On October 27, 1861, Union troops returned to occupy the town in force. During his time under suspension and arrest, McKinstry wrote Vindication of Brig. Gen. J. McKinstry, Formerly Quarter-Master, Western Department. Based on an examination of this document, the court-martial record and other circumstances, historian G. E. Rule is more sympathetic to McKinstry's actions and circumstances than many other historians. Allan Nevins also cites Frank Blair's interference with Fremont and efforts to get McKinstry to give contracts to Blair's shady friends, without placing blame on McKinstry for supply problems. Warner noted that McKinstry was one of only three Union Army generals to be cashiered during the American Civil War. Warner and Longacre state that McKinstry's sentence was the only one of its kind given to a general officer during the war. == Later life and death ==

After his dismissal from the Union Army, McKinstry was a speculator, stock broker in New York City, 1864–1867 and land agent in Rolla, Missouri, 1867–1870. After that, Driscoll states that McKinstry survived on "dreams, schemes and sinecures from St. Louis associates." Some time between 1863 and 1865, Susan McKinstry and the McKinstrys' three sons moved from St. Louis to Ypsilanti, Michigan. The McKinstrys were never reunited, although there is some evidence they occasionally were in touch. Justus McKinstry died on December 11, 1897, at St. Louis, Missouri. He is buried at Highland Cemetery, Ypsilanti, Michigan. == See also ==