lUHXEY.
BIRNEY.
a brigade in the La Fourclie c'ainpaip:n, and pro-
rtH'ile<l on the first lied river campaign under
(Jenenil Btmks. and was present at the siege and
surrender of Port Hudson on July 8, 186J3. He
vohinteereii to lead the " forlorn liojx)" organized
to assault that stronghold. Colonel Birge was
promoted brigadier-general on Oct. 0, 18(53. In
1864 lie commanded a brigiule under General
Rinks in the second Ked river cjimpaign, and
after .serving actively in several engagements
wius place<l in command of Baton Rouge, La. In
August. 18W, lie was ordered north with the 2d
division of the I9th corps, and commanded the
division under General Sheridan in the Shenan-
doah Valley. Va., and served in the engagements
that foUoweil, and in tiie early part of 1865 was
sent to command the fortifications at Savannah,
Ga. On Feb. 25, 1865, he was brevetted major-
general, a promotion recommended by General
Sheridan for gallant action at Cedar Creek. He
resigned his commission Oct. 18, 1865. and upon
his return to Connecticut he received the thanks
of the state legislature. He died June 1, 1888.
BIRNEY, David Bell, soldier, was born at Huntsville. Ala., May 29, 1825, son of James Gill- espie Birney. abolition leader. He studied law in Cincinnati, Oliio, where his father was publishing a newsp;iper, and removed with him to Bay City, Mich., where he engaged in business. At the out- breiik of the civil war he was practising law in PliiUidelphia, but abandoned liis profession to join the army, He recruited largely at his own expen.se the 23d Pennsylvania volunteer regiment, of which he was made lieutenant-colonel, and afterwards colonel, being promoted from this rank in succes-sive steps to that of brigadier-general and major-general of volunteers. He served gallantly at Yorktown, Williamsburg. Manassas, Fredericks- burg, and Chancellorsville. and upon the death of General Barry he succeeded him as commander of the division. His commission as major-general was received May 23, 1863, and at the battle of Gettys- burg he commanded the 3d corps after General Sickles was wounded, and on July 23, 1864, was made commander of the 10th corps. He returned home with greatly impaired health, and died Oct. 18, 1HR4.
BIRNEY, James, diplomatist, was born at iMnville, Ky., in 1817, eldest son of James G. Birney, abolitioni.st. He was educated at Centre college, Ky., and at Miami university, Ohio, where he was graduated in 1836. From 1837 to 18.'W he was professor of the Greek and Latin languages at Miami university. He .studied law at New Haven, Conn., and subsequently entere<l upon the practice of that profession at Cincinnati. Ohio. While at New Haven, he mar- rie<l Miss Moulton, step-daughter of Nathaniel Bacon of that city. In 1857 Mr. Birney removed
with his family to Lower Saginaw (now Bay City)
Mich., and interested liimself in the development
of the place. He was a prominent Republican,
and in 1858 was elected to the state senate. In
1860 he was elected lieutenant-governor of the
state and before the expiration of liis term of
office was appointed by the governor one of the
circuit judges. This position he held for four
yejirs. After leaving the bench he resumed the
practice of law. In 1871, Mr. Birney established
the Bay City Chronicle as a weekly newspaper,
and in 1873 it was issued as a daily. In Decem-
ber, 1875, President Grant appointed him min-
ister resident at the Hague, which i)ost he lield
during two administrations. Mr. Birney's eldest
son, James Gillespie, died from wounds received
at Gettysburg, after serving through the war
with gallantry. James Birney died in May, 1888.
BIRNEY, James Gillespie, abolitioni.st, was
born at Danville, Ky., Feb. 4, 1792. His father,
an Irish Protestant, emigrated from Ulster when
.sixteen years old, and became a manufacturer,
farmer, and banker. After a careful preliminary
education at Transylvania university, the son
entered Princeton col-
lege, where he was
graduated with honor
in 1810. He studied Y'^i^
law, was admitted to "^"
the bar in 1813, and
began the practice of
his profession in his
native town. In 1816
he was elected to the
state legislature and
became prominent by
his opposition to and
defeat of a proposed
measure to demand of
the states of Ohio and
Indiana the return of fugitive slaves escaping
to these states. He favored gradual emancipa-
tion as the wisest solution of the slavery problem,
and the efforts of his whole life were given to this
object. He engaged in cotton planting near
Huntsville, Ala., from 1818 to 1823, when he re-
sumed the practice of law at Huntsville, and was
appointed solicitor of the northern circuit. As
a memljer of the legislature of Alabama he was
instrumental in causing the incorporation in the
constitution framed in 1819, of a clause empower-
ing the general a.s.sembly to free slaves by pur-
chase, forbidding the bringing of slaves into the
state for sale, and securing to slaves more humane
treatment. In 1826 he was elected solicitor-
general of Alabama, and in 1828 was presidential
elector on the Whig (Adams) ticket. He was
deputed by the trustees of the state university to
select a i)resident and faculty for the university.
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