Colonel James F. Rusling Papers
This collection consists of 62 documents showing James Rusling's career as Inspector of the Quarter Master Department. Many of these papers concern allegations of fraud in Chattanooga and efforts to reduce supplies and personnel after the Civil War had ended. A few letters concern Rusling's orders and promotions; the rest deal with receipts, personnel, and inventories.
Dates
- 1862 May 22, 1865 May 12-1866 May 26
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
1.8 Linear Feet (1 oversize folder)
Abstract
This collection consists of 62 documents showing James Rusling's career as Inspector of the Quarter Master Department. Many of these papers concern allegations of fraud in Chattanooga and efforts to reduce supplies and personnel after the Civil War had ended. A few letters concern Rusling's orders and promotions; the rest deal with receipts, personnel, and inventories.
Biographical/Historical Note
James Fowler Rusling was born on April 14, 1834 in Warren County, New Jersey. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1854 and was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1859. He enlisted in the Army in April 1861 and was made a First Lieutenant and Quarter Master for the 5th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. Rusling resigned that commission in June 1862 in order to become a Captain in the Union Army Volunteer Quarter Master Corps under Joseph B. Carr. In May 1863, he became a Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Quarter Master under Major General Daniel E. Sickles. By April 1865, he had become a full Colonel and Inspector of the Quarter Master Department. After Rusling's inspection tour of the South (November 1865 to July 1866), he was promoted by brevet to Brigadier General. He mustered out on September 17, 1867 and resumed his law career in Trenton, New Jersey.
Rusling married Emily Elizabeth Wood (1847-1927) on June 30, 1870, and they had two children, James Wood (1874-1947) and Emily Wells (Rusling) Bates (1884-1982). In 1874, Rusling published a book about a trip he took after the war called The Great West and Pacific Coast. He also published Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days (1899), which includes much of his personal correspondence, and European Days and Ways (1902). Rusling died on April 1, 1918 in Trenton, New Jersey and is buried in Riverview Cemetery.
Arrangement
This collection consists of a single folder.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository