Gen. Jonathan Titcomb Sprague

1810 - 1878  (68 years)

• Name	Jonathan Titcomb Sprague  [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Prefix	Gen.
  Born	3 Jul 1810	Newburyport, Essex Co., MA, USA   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Gender	Male
  Also Known As	John Titcomb Sprague  [1]
  Military	The Seminole War   [4, 6, 7]
  	U. S. Army
  	The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, werethree conflicts in Florida between various groups of NativeAmericans, collectively known as Seminoles, and the UnitedStates. The First Seminole War was from 1817 to 1818, theSecond Seminole War from 1835 to 1842, and the ThirdSeminole War from 1855 to 1858. The Second Seminole War,often referred to as "The Seminole War", lasted longer thanany other war involving the United States between theAmerican Revolution and the Vietnam War. From findagrave.com Regular Army. Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps.Served in the war against Seminole Indians, 1836-1846.Major,1st U.S.Infantry; Lieutenant Colonel, 11thU.S.Infantry, Colonel, 7th U.S.Infantry, Colonel, Chief ofStaff to Major General John Pope, New York State AdjutantGeneral, 1863-1864, Brevet Brigadier General, USA, March13, 1865, confirmed by Senate, March 3,1869. Was MilitaryGovernor of Florida and head of the Freedman's Bureau,1866-1868. Retired as Colonel in 1870.
  Died	6 Sep 1878	New York, New York Co., NY, USA   [1, 4, 8]
  	New York Times, September 7, 1878, page 5 SPRAGUE--In this City, Sept. 6, Col., JOHN T. SPRAGUE,United States Army, aged 68 years. Funeral services at St. George's Church, Stuyvesant-square,Saturday, 7th, at 3 P.M.
  Buried	8 Sep 1878	Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, Albany Co., NY, USA   [1, 4, 7, 9]
  Notes	"The Ralph Sprague Genealogy", by E. G. Sprague, page 172. Jonathan T. Sprague had several children. From Steve Sprague, correspondent. Jonathan Titcomb Sprague was the negotiating intermediarythat got Confederate General Kirby Smith to surrender atthe end of the Civil War. "Who's Who In American History", page 499. SPRAGUE, John Titcomb, army officer; b. Newburyport, Mass.,July 3, 1810.  Apptd 2d lt. Marine Corps, 1834, servedin war against Seminole Indians, 1838-39; brevetted capt.,1839; served in Tex., commanded Dept. of Fla., 1846,brevetted maj. while serving in Tex., 1848; promoted maj.1st U.S. Inf., 1861; stationed in Tex., arrested andparoled, 1861; commd brig. gen. N.Y. State Militia,1862-65, served as mustering and disbursing agt., adj. genof state, 1862-65; brevetted col. 7th U.S. Inf., 1865,served as mil. gov. Fla., 1865-66; retired from U.S. Army,1870. Author: Origin, Progress and Conclusion of theFlorida War, circa 1845. Died N.Y.C., Sept 6, 1878; buriedN.Y.C. "Who Was Who In Florida", by Henry S. Marks, page 233.      Sprague, John Titcomb (July 3,1810 - Sept. 6, 1878)He was an active participant in the Second Seminole War; hepublished in 1848 "The Origin, Progress and Conclusion ofthe Florida War."  This was considered to be thestandard work on the war for over a century. I wanted to let you know that after close to 5 years ofeffort we finally got Carl T. Sprague listed in theHandbook of Texas Online.  It is an excellent site forinformation about the Lone Star State.  Also, there is another Sprague listed, John TitcombSprague.  http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsp30.html SPRAGUE, JOHN TITCOMB (1810-1878). John T. Sprague,soldier, was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on July 3,1810. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the MarineCorps on October 17, 1834, and in the fall of 1836 hedirected the removal of a final band of Creek Indians fromTallassee, Alabama, to the trans-Mississippi lands allottedto them. The next year Sprague resigned his commission as amarine and became a second lieutenant in the Fifth UnitedStates Infantry, where he served from July 3, 1837, to July7, 1838, at which time he transferred to the EighthInfantry. He was promoted to first lieutenant on May 1,1839, and was sent to Florida as an aide to brevet Maj.Gen. Alexander Macomb, who had been charged with bringingthe interminable Second Seminole War to an end. When Col.William Jenkins Worthqv brought his EighthInfantry to Florida in 1840, Sprague, as regimentaladjutant not only became Worth's aide, but eventuallymarried his oldest daughter, Mary. Sprague was brevettedcaptain on March 15, 1842, for meritorious conduct in theSeminole campaign and was promoted to that rank onSeptember 21, 1846. During the Mexican WarqvSprague remained in Florida in charge of Indian Affairs andserved as commanding officer at Fort Brook. He wasbrevetted to the rank of major on May 30, 1848, formeritorious conduct in the Florida War. During Sprague'slong tour in Florida, he became sympathetic to theSeminoles. His book on the Second Seminole War, publishedin 1848, was the only full-scale history of that seven-yearconflict for more than a century and is still anindispensable source. Sprague arrived in Texas with elements of the EighthInfantry in January 1849, in charge of subsistence. InJanuary 1850 he asked for field duty and was giventemporary command of Fort Inge on the Leona River. There hewas to assume command of a government wagon train that wasto follow the road to El Paso that had been laid out by Lt.Col. Joseph E. Johnstonqv the year before.Sprague, with E Company, Eighth Infantry, left Fort Inge onJuly 1, 1850, and joined the train that had already reachedLas Moras Spring. Sprague took command of the train, whichconsisted of 340 wagons, 4,000 animals of all kinds, 450citizens, and 175 soldiers. Because of its large size andowing to the scarcity of water and grass along the route,Sprague divided the train into two component groups, led byNathaniel C. Lewis and Benjamin F. Coons.qqvAlthough Indians were continuously sighted, the train wasnot attacked but did suffer from the heat and want of waterbefore arriving at El Paso on September 16. On May 18,1852, Sprague was detached from E Company at Fort McKavett,Texas, and was sent East on general recruiting service. InJune 1855 he was sent back to the Southwest, where heserved in both Texas and New Mexico Territory. In NewMexico he saw service against the Navajo, Apache, andComanche Indians between the Rio Grande and the SacramentoMountains. Before leaving New Mexico in August 1858 hereceived a "vote of thanks" from the TerritorialLegislature in a joint resolution for his services and wascommended to the President of the United States forpromotion. Between 1858 and 1861 Sprague took a three-year leave ofabsence from the army, during which time he promoted asilver mining venture in southeastern New Mexico. InJanuary 1861 Sprague was again ordered to Texas. He arrivedin New Orleans about March 6 and was subsequently pursuedto Texas for openly expressing Union sentiments anddenouncing the Secession Conventionqv thensitting in that city. Upon his arrival in San Antonio, hewas prevented from rejoining his regiment at Fort Bliss andwas arrested by a Committee of Public Safety. On April 23,1861, Sprague was paroled by Confederate authorities andleft Texas for New York. In June he presented a paperentitled "The Treachery in Texas" to the New YorkHistorical Society. His monograph was the first detailedaccount of events leading to the federal exodus and was ascathing denunciation of the Confederate's treatment ofUnited States officers and soldiers serving in Texas duringthe take-over. Sprague was placed on active duty in Albany, New York, asUnited States mustering and disbursing officer andsuperintendent of the General Recruiting Service. Althoughhe was elected by the citizens of Albany to command the113th Regiment of New York Volunteers and appointed colonelby Governor Morgan, the appointment was disapproved by theSecretary of War. This disappointment was mitigatedsomewhat when Sprague was selected to be adjutant generalfor the state of New York, a position he held from August1861 to January 1865. Following the Civil WarqvSprague returned to Florida, the site of his glory days asa young officer. There he commanded the Seventh InfantryRegiment until April 1869. He retired on December 15, 1870,and died in New York City on September 6, 1878. BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. L. Crimmins, "W. G. Freeman's Report onthe Eighth Military Department," Southwestern HistoricalQuarterly 51-54 (July 1947-October 1950). Francis B.Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of theUnited States Army (2 vols., Washington: GPO, 1903;rpt., Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965). Rex W.Strickland, Six Who Came to El Paso: Pioneers of the1840's (El Paso: Texas Western College Press, 1963).Dan L. Thrapp, Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography (3vols., Glendale, California: Clark, 1988). Ronnie C. Tyler,The Big Bend (Washington: National Park Service,1975). From Ralph Sprague, correspondent, note of April 18, 2010 One of the papers they hold is a copy of the paper JohnTitcomb Sprague (CSDB ID 95396 ) did on the 1842 Seminolewar in Florida. Its full title is The origin, progress, andconclusions of the Florida war; : to which is appended arecord of officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians,and privates of the U. S. army, navy, and marine corps, whowere killed in battle or died of disease. As also the namesof officers who were distinguished by brevets, and thenames of others recommended. Together with the orders forcollecting the remains of the dead in Florida, and theceremony of interment at St. Augustine, East Florida, onthe fourteenth day of August, 1842 ===== On a lighter note; in 2004 a French author named Rodolphepublished a science fiction work for adolescents called"Sprague". The publisher is Editions Mango in Paris. Here'sa little summary of it by a French book seller. Sprague par Rodolphe Loin dans le temps et dans l'espace, sur une planèteétrangère. Un jour, la mer s'est retirée, laissant à sec le port deSprague. Un roman picaresque et poétique, beau comme un rêved'aventures. (interpretation: Far away in time and space on a foreignplanet. One day the sea retreated leaving the port ofSprague dry. An adventurous and poetic novel, beautifullike the adventurous dreams.) The book jacket is reminiscent of the style of "dessins"done for other French works for adolescents, like Tintinand Asterix et Obleix. I have no idea why the author chose the title. He seems alittle weird; a bibliophile in his 50's who loves rock androll and science fiction. I suspect he is a big Sprague deCamp fan. From New York Times, September 7, 1878, page 5 OBITUARY COL. JOHN T. SPRAGUE Col John T. Sprague, a retired officer of the United StatesArmy, died in this City yesterday, aged 68 years.  Hewas a  native of Massachusetts, and entered activeservice, as Second Lieutenant in the Fifth Regiment,Infantry, on July 3, 1837.  He served one year in thatcommand, and was tranferred to the Eighth Regiment,Infantry, on July 7, 1838.  On May 1, 1839, he waspromoted First Lieutenant, and was brevetted Captain formeritorious serice on March 5, 1842.  He received acommission as Captain Sept. 21, 1846, and was brevettedMajor on May 30, 1848.  When the war broke out in 1861he was commissioned Major, and was assigned to the FirstRegiment, Infantry.  Two years later, on March 13,1863, he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, and wastransferred to the Eleventh Regiment, Infantry.  OnJune 12, 1865, he received his final commission, by beingpromoted Colonel.  He was placed in command of theSeventh Infantry, and retained that position until hisretirement on Dec. 15, 1870.  His funeral will takeplace in St. George's Church, Stuyvesant-square, thisafternoon, at 3 o'clock. ===== From Cecil R. Sprague, III, correspondent, note of 21February 2020 General Sprague was apparently the namesake of the SpragueLight Calvary featured in a Recruiting poster recently forsale by Swann Galleries. The poster is color-printedillustrated broadsied, 41 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches; worn andwrinkled with moderate loss along folds, laid down onlinnen. Probably the most eye-catching recruitment poster we havehandled, more than 3 feet in height, with a dramatic woodengraving of Union cavalry charging into the Confederateartillery and bold letterin in blue and red.  TheSprague Light Artillery began recruiting in the Plattsburghregion of northern New York in January 1863 under ColonelSpencer Olmstead; they were soon merged into the 16th NewYork Cavalry before taking the field.  The posteradvertises "Largest Bounties Paid! Relief Tickets forFamilies.  Splendid Horses and Equipments; HandsomeUniforms" and a warm cozy training barracks inPlattsubrgh.  Recruits are urged to "take the bountyand don't wait to be drafted," and an appeal to partiotismis made: "The Union must and shall be preserved." A part of the 16th Cavlary would fight at Gettysburg, and adetachment under Lieutenant Edward P. Hoherty found andkilled the assissin John Wilkes Booth in 1865. [4, 6]
  Person ID	I95396	Sprague Project
  Last Modified	24 Feb 2020

  
  

  Father	Dr. Lawrence Sprague,   b. 3 May 1781, Dedham, Norfolk Co., MA, USA ,   d. 7 Aug 1853  (Age 72 years)
  Mother	Sarah Titcomb,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	Aft 13 Sep 1804  [3]
  	Marriage Bann, 13 SEP 1804
  Family ID	F11611	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family / Spouse	Mary Worth,   b. 1822, West Point, Orange Co., NY, USA ,   d. 6 Nov 1876, Saint Augustine, St. Johns Co., FL, USA  (Age 54 years)
  Married	15 Jun 1843	St. Johns Co., FL, USA   [10]
  Children	+ 1. Mary Worth Sprague,   b. 1847, FL, USA ,   d. 26 Dec 1926, San Antonio, Bexar Co., TX, USA  (Age 79 years)   2. Margaret Worth Sprague,   b. 1848, FL, USA ,   d. 3 Nov 1883, Washington, District of Columbia Co., District of Columbia, USA  (Age 35 years)   3. William Jenkins Worth Sprague,   d. 21 May 1855 + 4. Sarah Worth Sprague,   b. 1854, Albany, Albany Co., NY, USA ,   d. 8 Mar 1936, VA, USA  (Age 82 years) + 5. Dr. John T. Sprague,   b. Abt 1864, Albany, Albany Co., NY, USA ,   d. 18 Jan 1950, Washington, District of Columbia Co., District of Columbia, USA  (Age ~ 86 years)
  Last Modified	2 Feb 2013
  Family ID	F35408	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 3 Jul 1810 - Newburyport, Essex Co., MA, USA Died - 6 Sep 1878 - New York, New York Co., NY, USA Buried - 8 Sep 1878 - Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, Albany Co., NY, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S752] Publication: Who's Who In American History, (Marquis-Who's Who Incorporated-A non-profit foundation.). [S76] Book: Sprague, Ralph, Genealogy, Sprague, E. G., (Montpelier, VT:The Capital City Press, 1913), page 173. [S76] Book: Sprague, Ralph, Genealogy, Sprague, E. G., (Montpelier, VT:The Capital City Press, 1913), page 119. [S198] Correspondent: Miller, Suzi, note of August 6, 2010. [S76] Book: Sprague, Ralph, Genealogy, Sprague, E. G., (Montpelier, VT:The Capital City Press, 1913), page 119 & 172. [S20] Correspondent: Sprague, Ralph D., note of April 18, 2010. [S3058] Correspondent: Hess, Peter, note of October 27, 2012. [S3202] Correspondent: Sprague, Steven E. [S3058] Correspondent: Hess, Peter, note of November 18, 2012. [S49] Internet: Ancestry.com.