Civil War Service
When the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in April of 1861, King was more than willing to leave his career as a lawyer behind. The prospect of honoring his northern roots, as a true patriot would, seemed all too alluring. Though the King family had their son’s best interests at heart, and urged him not to enlist in the Union army until more time had passed in the war.[1] King sought reconciliation with his former mentor, Stanton, who had become the Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln’s administration, a position he held throughout most of the Civil War.[2] In August of 1862, King’s wish of imposing his will on the battlefield was fulfilled when he received an appointment to become Captain-Quartermaster under Major-General Silas Casey.[3] He was then moved to the Department Headquarters under Generals Samuel Peter Heintzelman and Christopher Columbus Augur before being reassigned to Gustavus Adolphus De Russy’s battalion as Chief-Quartermaster.[4] As De Russy’s battalion only covered and defended the areas of the Potomac River and Alexandria, Virginia, King sought more active duty in the field and requested Stanton to reassign him once more.[5] Stanton agreed to his request, and King was assigned to the Army of the Shenandoah under Generals Phillip Henry Sheridan and Wesley Merritt in February of 1865.[6]
After some months of valuable service on the battlefield, King was appointed to become the Chief-Quartermaster, commanding the 1st Cavalry Division of the Army of the Shenandoah, a position in which he was “greatly rejoiced…to seek glory & pleasure in a new field.”[7] King’s most notable act of service was in the Battle of Five Forks, just days before the conclusion of the Civil War, where he stated that “several were killed & wounded near me.”[8] As a result of his actions on that day, King achieved the very glory he sought and received the Congressional Medal of Honor for “distinguished bravery near Dinwiddie Court House, Virginia, March 29, 1865.”[9] King had shown true patriotism and was honorably discharged from the Army of the Shenandoah in October of 1865 with brevets of major as a lieutenant colonel and as a colonel.[10] Many soldiers share a similar sentiment regarding the challenges of assimilating to civilian life after military service. Though King was different, he did not seek to merely assimilate with society. Instead, he immediately resumed the career in law that he had left behind to serve the Union.
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