Questions Of Loyalty

This may be one of the coolest things I've ever found.  Pictured above is a copy of a loyalty oath signed by Cyclone Club member Ferdinand Garesche.  Garesche was captured at Camp Jackson in May of 1861 and was forced to sign a loyalty oath at that time before he was paroled.  This particular document appears to be dated April 1, 1867 and Garesche needed to sign it in order to comply with provisions of the new Missouri constitution that had been adopted in 1865.  I also found a copy of a loyalty oath signed by Edward Farish, another member of the Cyclone Club, that was dated October of 1865.

Interestingly, there are references in the papers of the St. Louis Provost Marshall dating to May and June of 1863 with regards to the loyalty of Garesche and Farish's clubmate, Charles Kearney.  It appears that Kearney was accused of being "disloyal" in May 1863 and the next month it appears that Kearney refused to sign a loyalty oath.

The fact that Farish and Kearney were not particularly pro-Union is important information.  We already knew that, among the Cyclone Club, Basil Duke, Ed Bredell, Gratz Moses and Ferdinand Garesche either served in the Confederate army or had pro-Confederate sympathies.  We also know that Merritt Griswold, Orville Matthews, Frederick Benteen, Joseph Fullerton, John Riggin, Alexander Crossman, Griff Prather and Willie Walker either served in the Union army or had pro-Union sympathies.  This division within the club is important because we have several sources stating that it was these specific political divisions that led to the breakup of the club in 1861.

If you've been reading the parts of Duke's memoir that I've been posting, you can get a feeling for the political stresses that these gentlemen were living under.  It's almost impossible to imagine Duke and Orville Matthews, a United States naval officer, sitting together in the same room in the spring of 1861.  It's almost impossible to imagine Griswold and Bredell being friends.  But, prior to the outbreak of the war, these men were friends and clubmates.  These men enjoyed each others company and played together on the baseball field.  But, by the summer of 1861, the stress and the pressure of the war was too much and, just as the nation had torn itself apart, the Cyclone Club splintered along political lines and dissolved.

Again, this is all about context.  It's about putting these men, this club and this era of baseball history in the proper context.  I think that it's easy to think of the Civil War as an abstraction, as something remote and removed.  But it was the reality of men like Ferdinand Garesche, who claimed, after Camp Jackson, that he was not pro-secession and that he was only visiting the camp when the attack took place.  Regardless of the fact that he was most likely a conditional Unionist and never took up arms against the United States, he was forced, twice, to sign a loyalty oath and forever lived with the stigma of being disloyal.  This was the man who turned the first unassisted triple play in St. Louis baseball history.  He was a pioneer of the game in St. Louis and a member of the city's first baseball club.  But the loyalty oath at the top of this post is tangible evidence of the effect the Civil War had on his life.        

Griswold Resigns The Presidency Of The Cyclone Club

The game of base ball now so popular in this as in Eastern cities, was ushered in yesterday afternoon, by the Cyclone Base Ball Club, on their old grounds in Lafayette Park, on which occasion they had the pleasure of having united with them in the game, representatives of the Morning Star, Empire and Commercial Clubs.  As was the case last season, a jolly time was had, especially when a member in his eager endeavors to catch the ball would step into some sunken hole, (left to ornament the park,) thereby changing his movement into that of the Zouave drill, or more properly speaking, lofty tumbling of a gymnast.  But we are happy to say this is soon to be remedied, as the clubs have petitioned the Common Council for the privilege of leveling the same at their own expense, which petition has been referred to the Park commissioners, and only awaits their action, when the improvements will be immediately commenced, provided the Commissioners do not delay the matter until it is too late in the season for starting the grass on places that are to be filled.  We notice the Club is composed of the same members as last year, but a slight change has been made in the officers, caused by Mr. M.W. Griswold resigning the Presidency, which is now filled by the promotion of the Vice President, Mr. Leonard Matthews, and the election of Mr. Benteen as Vice President, Mr. M.W. Alexander, Secretary, Mr. F.L. Garesche, Treasurer, and Messrs. Wm. Matthews, J. Riggin, Jr. and E. Bredell, Jr., Trustees.  The Cyclones play every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon.

-Missouri Republican, March 7, 1861


There is some very important information in this brief article from the Republican.  The mention of Lafayette Park as the Cyclones' "old grounds" should lay to rest any debate about whether or not they were playing in the park prior to 1861.  Now that debate was mostly (or only) taking place in my own mind but I'm back to being comfortable in stating that the Cyclones played at Lafayette Park in 1859 and 1860.

More important is the reference to Griswold resigning the presidency of the club prior to March 1861.  There are a couple of secondary sources that state that Leonard Matthews was the club's first president and I always found that to be odd.  I always wondered why Griswold wouldn't have been elected president.  He basically formed the club and introduced the New York game to St. Louis.  Why wouldn't he have been president of the Cyclones?  Now, in any club and election, there is politics involved and I just figured Matthews was a more popular figure among the club members.  But this article implies that Griswold was president in 1860 and that leads me to question whether or not he was president in 1859.  That would make more sense than Matthews being president and Matthews election to the club presidency in 1861 would explain the references in the secondary sources, which date to the mid-1890s at the earliest.  Matthews was remembered as being the president because he was the last president.   

Giants On The Ball Field, Part Three

The insurance men were fond of relaxation and found it in baseball.  Wallace B. Delafield of Delafield & Snow was one of the best players in the Commercial Club, as was Edwin Fowler.  Martin Collins, an honorary member of the Empire Club was an enthusiast on ball play and offered the first prize in the shape of a championship belt, which is now in the possession of Walter S. Parr, one of the ex-presidents of the Empire Club.  A.W. Howe of the insurance firm of Howe & Capen played in the Union Club.

Among the most active players in early days was Fred W. Benteen, who joined the Union Army at the beginning of the Civil War, through which he served with such distinction that he won the shoulder straps of a Major in the regular army, gained further honors and promotion in Custer's famous cavalry fights on the frontier, and is now living at Atlanta, Ga., with the rank and pay of a retired Brevet Brigadier General, devoting much of his time to literary pursuits, being a contributor to Recreation, a New York magazine.  In his ball playing days in St. Louis he was a member of the Cyclone Club, to which also belonged the well-known Olive street druggist, Morris W. Alexander, who ranked as a first-class runner of bases and wielder of the bat, the latter quality being doubtless acquired by frequent handling of the pestle.  It was in those ball playing days of his youth that "Aleck" made a 'home run' by marrying the daughter of Mr. John Young, who was engaged in the saddlery business on Main street and a member of the Empire Club.  Mr. Young made no pretensions to being a player, but he was an acknowledged authority on the rules and in great demand as umpire, which position he sustained much more creditably and satisfactorily than many of his later day successors.  He is still living in St. Louis on Westmoreland place. 

Ferdinand L. Garesche, now connected with the Edison Electric Light Company, was originally a Cyclonist, and could make the bases as quickly as the best of sprinters.  He was what was then a rara avis, a left-hand batter, and played shortstop to the Queen's taste.  He later joined the Union Club.

The first regular field captain of the Empire Club was Jerry Fruin, late Police Commissioner.  He was a hard hitter, good manager and unsurpassed second baseman, a position which was then, as now, considered by many as the key of the field.  His firm of Fruin, Hambrick & Co. has some large contracts for paving the streets of New York City now under construction.

Robert J. Lucas was the effective left-handed twirler of the Union Club, and could fill any position with credit.

Justice Jas. J. Spaulding was one of the longest term active members of the Empire Club.  He was a fine fielder and superior second baseman, which position he filled after Jerry Fruin's retirement.

James H. Fitzgibbons, the architect and builder, pitched for the Empire Club during several seasons and proved of the greatest value to that organization.  He first began pitching while at Yale College and was one of the hardiest men ever on a ball field.  On one occasion when the success of the Empire Club was at a critical point, he persisted in pitching through four innings although his hand had been cut open and was bleeding.

-St. Louis Daily Republic, February 9, 1896

One thing that's becoming a problem with this series of posts is the tags.  Blogger gives me something like 200 key strokes to tag each post and with the number of players and clubs mentioned it's just not enough.  I'm simply unable to tag every player mentioned in each post and that will create problems when trying to find or retrieve information.  I've been thinking about putting links to some of my better posts in the sidebar and this little problem might force me to do it.  Of course, there's always the search function.  

Anyway, on to some of the things that I found interesting about the above information:

-I didn't know that Ferdinand Garesche and Robert Lucas were lefties.  While Lucas seems to fit into the pattern of the emergence of left-handed pitchers in the later part of the 1860's, I'm not sure what to think about Garesche.  I have no idea how much of a rare bird a left-handed batter was during the antebellum era.

-James Fitzgibbons (who, some may know, I've often confused with Gerald Fitzgibbon and James Fitzgerald) was a Yalie.  Somewhere (perhaps in The National Game) there's a reference to Yale coming to St. Louis to play baseball but I've never been able to run it down.  Fitzgibbons (not to be confused, remember, with Fitzgibbon or Fitzgerald) most likely played a role in bringing the Yale Club to St. Louis.    

Ferdinand Garesche's Unassisted Triple Play

The object (of the Cyclone Club) was exercise and amusement, and the game put up furnished any quantity of both. The ball being pitched, slugging was the order of the day and the fielders were on the run all the time. Very rarely did anyone attempt the dangerous feat of taking a ball on the fly, but preferred to wait for the bound, equally effective if caught in retiring the batter but allowing the those on base to run and even score on the hit, provided home plate was crossed before the ball was in hand. Owing to the fact that fly balls were so rarely taken by the fielders, as soon as a ball was struck those on bases started to run.

This, on one occasion, allowed (Ferdinand) Garesche to make a play, which now would be almost impossible, namely, to put out, unassisted, three men on one batted ball. On this occasion, knowing where the batter was in the habit of knocking the ball, he as shortstop was playing down near second base, with a man on first and second. Catching the ball on the fly he ran across second base, which had been vacated for third, and succeeded in catching and touching the runner for first who had attempted to make a second, before he could regain first.

-St. Louis Republic, April 21, 1895

The First Meeting Of The Cyclone Club

In the summer of 1859 a meeting was held in the office of the old Missouri Glass Company, on fifth street between Pine and Olive. M.W. Griswold, a clerk in the company's store, who had lately moved to St. Louis from Brooklyn, N.Y., an enthusiast on baseball, aided by the exertions of Ed Bredele, had gathered together the nucleus of a club, and after one or two preliminary meetings, the Cyclone Baseball Club was formed, the first in St. Louis, and the first west of the Alleghanies. The uniform adopted was blue flannel cap, blue flannel pants, with white stripe and white leather belt. Leonard Matthews was elected president; M.W. Griswold, field captain; Rufus Gamble, catcher; Fred Garesche, shortstop, and the positions of pitcher, basemen and fielders were filled by first one and then another of the players.

-St. Louis Republic, April 21, 1895

This article in the Republic, based on the recollections of Matthews, Garesche, and Maurice Alexander, is significant because it pushes back the beginnings of the regulation game in St. Louis into the summer of 1859. My assumption, based on Griswold stating that he was playing with the Hiawathas of Brooklyn in 1859, was that the Cyclone wasn't founded until the fall of 1859 and game play was limited until the spring of 1860. Now, however, we have a source that explicitly states that the Cyclones were active in 1859.

This is in line with Tobias' statements that the regulation game was being played in the city in 1859. However, there is an interesting problem here. There is no byline on the Republic article and we can't be certain who wrote it. But I would bet dollars to doughnuts that Tobias wrote this article. I've spent way to much time with the Tobias source and know the idiosyncrasies of his writing. The style, the punctuation, the spelling, the phrasing-it all screams Tobias to me. Also, note the date. Tobias began to publish his letters (or, more accurately, his series of epistolary articles) in The Sporting News in October of 1895, just a few months after this article appeared in the Republic. One would assume that Tobias had been doing the research and putting the series together prior to October and this article was the result of his interviews with former members of the Cyclone Club as he was putting together his longer work. If this is true then Tobias is still the only source that makes the claim of regulation games in 1859.

Still, this is a significant source that's rich in details about the club. I want to thank John Maurath from the Missouri Civil War Museum for sending me a copy.

The Character Of My Associates

Reading through Basil Duke's Civil War memoir, I came across this paragraph:

At the beginning of the Civil War I was a citizen of Missouri and resident of St. Louis, and first did service in the cause of the South, or, as our opponents termed it, gave aid to the rebellion, in that city. If I had needed other excuse for such action than the approval of my own judgment and conscience, I might have found it in the character of my associates; for no men were ever influenced by sincerer convictions or impelled by more unselfish motives. I may add with pardonable pride that many of my comrades of that period, the majority of whom were very young men, subsequently won enviable reputation in the Confederate army; but the daring courage and adventurous spirit which distinguished them as soldiers were never more conspicuously shown than in that exciting novitiate in St. Louis.

After reading that, I couldn't help but think of Ed Bredell and Ferdinand Garesche.

Ferdinand Garesche And The Democratic Machine In St. Louis

As noted previously, Alexander Garesche stated, while attempting to explain their actions at Camp Jackson in May of 1861, that he and his brother Ferdinand were not Secessionists but, rather, Democrats. After the war, it appears that Ferdinand Garesche was heavily involved in Democratic machine politics in St. Louis.

Bill Kelsoe, in A Newspaper Man's Motion-Picture of the City, notes that in 1874 Garesche was serving as the chief clerk of the St. Louis County Court. He also covered the St. Louis County Democratic Convention in September of 1874 and stated that Garesche was nominated to stand for re-election to that position as part of the Democratic ticket. In the November election of that year, Garesche won re-election.

J.A. Dacus and James Buel, in A Tour of St. Louis, wrote in 1878 that Garesche was serving as Commissioner of Supplies for the city of St. Louis and had an office at City Hall. According to documents from the mayor's office, Garesche was serving in this position as late as 1880. Based on these documents, it appears that Garesche oversaw a budget of over $280,000.

In 1877, Garesche was part of an election-fraud scandel investigated by the United States Congress. It seems that Garesche, in his capacity as county clerk, may have tampered with ballets in a congressional election and thrown the race to Lyne Metcalfe, the former mayor of Alton, Illinois and a member of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. While nothing came of the investigation, it's interesting to note that the Democratic machine in St. Louis may have been involved in election-fraud while trying to elect a Republican congressman. It's certainly odd but Kelsoe noted in his book that in 1874 the Democratic machine had thrown some contests to the Republicans in exchange for their support in other contests.

It seems likely that Garesche, as a result of the scandel, was moved from the clerk's office to city hall.

Ferdinand Garesche Writes To His Brother

Ferdinand Garesche's brother, Julius Peter Garesche, was a Colonel in the United States Army during the Civil War. He graduated from West Point in 1841 and rose to be chief of staff of the Army of the Cumberland under Gen. William Rosecrans.

It seems that most of the Garesche family in St. Louis had Secessionist sympathies and this was an embaressement to Col. J.P. Garesche. In a biography of Col. Garesche, his son Louis writes the following:

His brothers had all been reported in Washington as being Secessionists and when Ferdinand and Alexander where taken at Camp Jackson, St. Louis, by Capt. Lyons and his men it was thought to admit of no doubt. Still it was not entirely true; for Alexander had resisted every persuasion to adopt those views, though all his intimate friends held them; and Ferdinand, though Southern in sympathy, was yet no partisan. At any rate, Julius was informed that they were all rank Secessionists.

Col. Garesche wrote letters to his family hoping to learn the truth and informed them that if his brothers fought for the South, he would resign his commission rather than take up arms against his brothers. He stated that in that event he would go to Europe and remain there until the conflict was over. Alexander Garesche wrote back to his brother stating that he and Ferdinand were not Secessionists but, rather, Democrats. While they were oppossed to the war, they also abhorred Secession. He stated that Col. Garesche need not resign and could fulfill his duties because his brothers would not take up arms against the Union.

Ferdinand Garesche also wrote his brother in July of 1861:

You must not, dear Julius, grieve so much for us. Your heart is too good and too tender. War is a hard thing and entails many miseries. We are men and must expect to meet our fate in whatever shape it comes. We have chosen our side and you know us well enough to know that we will stand or fall with it. They can invent no oath that conveys allegiance to the Federal Government which I would take, because I think that feeling as I do I would perjure myself in doing so. I have given my parole not to take up arms nor to aid the South during the Civil War.

The most interesting thing to note from all of this is that Ferdinand Garesche was at Camp Jackson in May of 1861. His brother Alexander was also there, serving as Judge-Advocate with the First Regiment of the Missouri State Militia. Both were captured, imprisioned, and then paroled. Neither took up arms again during the Civil War.

The divisions that the Civil War brought about in the Cyclone Club could not be better illustrated than by the capture of Camp Jackson in May of 1861. On one side was Ferdinand Garesche, serving with the Missouri State Militia. On the other was Merritt Griswold, serving with the Home Guard.

Note: The picture at the top of the post is of Col. J.P. Garesche, who died at the Battle of Stones River in December of 1862. Interestingly, I have photos of pretty much the entire Garesche family but I haven't found one of Ferdinand Garesche.

Update: I want to thank Betty Torno, the great granddaughter of Ferdinand Garesche, for pointing out some of the things in this post that needed correction. Betty also rightly mentioned to me that "Garesche" needs an accent mark on the final "e" and I'm still trying to figure out how to make that happen.

Leonard Matthews And The Cyclones

In 1927, a transcription of Leonard Matthews autobiography was published privately under the title A Long Life In Review. In the book, Matthews, the brother of Orville Matthews, wrote the following about the Cyclone Base Ball Club:

In the early days in St. Louis my most intimate young men friends were John Riggin, Louis Hutchinson, John Stetinius and Paul Prewett, all “high rollers,” except myself. We belonged to the St. Louis Cyclone Base Ball Company in 1860. We leased what is now Lafayette Park. At that time, it was surrounded by an osage orange hedge. We spent $600 to put the grounds in shape. This company was one of the first of its kind, formed long before the game became professional. The members were all young men in business, or sedentary life, and the club was for exercise, recreation and social intercourse. I was the first President. Among its members, I remember, were Edward Bredell, who lived opposite on Lafayette Avenue; Jack and William Collier, Ferd Garesche, Alex Crosman and E. O. Matthews, the latter two cadets in the United States Navy; Edw. Farish, my brother W. H. Matthews, now of New Orleans, and others I do not recollect. One afternoon some of us, Ed. Bredell among the rest, were lying in the shade of the hedge, pitching a ball from one to the other, when someone remarked – “Boys, we will soon have another kind of ball to pitch” – and poor Ed. caught one in battle in Virginia, early in the war.

A couple of notes:

-Both Leonard Matthews and his brother William H. Matthews worked for J. Matthews & Co., an apothecary business that they owned along with their father John Matthews, Jr. and their brother John III.

-Matthews account confirms the fact that the Cyclone Club played games at Lafayette Park (an idea advocated by Bill Battle); Al Spink lists Lafayette Park as one of the places were some of the earliest baseball games were played in St. Louis.

-Members of the Cyclone Club mentioned by Matthews but not by Griswold include Leonard Matthews, Louis Hutchinson, John Stetinius, Paul Prewett, Jack Collier, William Collier, and Alex Crosman.

-Interestingly, Matthews does not mention Griswold, Ed Bredell's co-worker from Brooklyn. I'm not sure how to interpret this. Matthews also fails to mention that the Cyclones were the first baseball club in St. Louis and that they played in the first baseball game in the city. While this suggests numerous possibilities, I don't want to read too much into it.

-That quote about "we will soon have another kind of ball to pitch" sounds awfully familiar. I don't know if I've heard it before, if Matthews "borrowed" it, or if I'm just imagining things.

-The photo of Leonard Matthews that is at the top of this post was taken from Life in St. Louis: The Matthews Family Exhibit 1851-1933, the website where I also found Matthews' autobiography.

More On The Make-Up Of The Cyclone Club

In his letter to Al Spink, Merritt Griswold wrote the following:

Other members of "The Cyclone" were John Riggin, Wm. Charles and Orvill Mathews (the latter the late Commodore Mathews of the U.S. Navy), John Prather, Fred Benton, (later captain under Gen. Custer), Mr. Fullerton, (later a General, U.S.A.), Mr. Alfred Berenda and his brother, Mr. Ferd Garesche, Mr. Charles Kearney (son of Gen. Kearney), Mr. Edward Bredell, Jr., and a number of other young men of St. Louis.

Several of these men can be identified in Kennedy's 1860 St. Louis City Directory. Most interestingly, Edward Bredell, Jr. was the son of Edward Bredell, Sr., who was the president of the Missouri Glass Company. Bredell, Jr. worked for his father's company as a clerk, as did Merritt Griswold. Therefore, Bredell, Jr. and Griswold were not only members of the same baseball club but also co-workers.

According to Kennedy's Directory, John Riggin, Jr. worked for a real estate firm with his father, John Riggin, Sr. John G. Prather was employed with Daniel G. Taylor & Co., which sold wine and liquor. Ferdinand Garesche was a principle (along with John P. Norris) in the firm of Norris & Garesche who are listed as proprietors of the Western Spice Mills.

If one reads "Wm. Charles and Orvill Mathews" to mean "Wm. Charles Mathews and Orvill Mathews" then we can identify William Mathews, proprietor of Wm. Mathews & Co., as a member of the Cyclone Club. He is listed in the Directory as a commission merchant. There is no William Charles listed in the directory.

Fred Benton is Frederick William Benteen, who is listed in Kennedy's Directory as a painter. According to the Wyoming Tales and Trails website, Benteen was born in 1834, died in 1898, and retired from the United States Army as a brigadier general. It goes on to say that "At the beginning of the Civil War his family was living in St. Louis. As a result of the War, he was estranged from his father. At the beginning of the War, he announced his intention to enlist in Union forces. His father declared that he hoped his son would be killed by a Confederate bullet, preferable fired by a Benteen. Nevertheless, he enlisted. During the war he was responsible for the capture of a Confederate steamboat upon which his father was serving as an engineer. While other members of the crew were paroled, the elder Benteen remained imprisoned...His army career effectively ended upon a court martial for alleged drunkedness in which he was found guilty of three counts. Benteen, himself, felt himself a failure. " At the Battle of Little Big Horn, Benteen was in command of three companies and was wounded in the right hand.

Charles Kearny is listed in Kennedy's Directory as a clerk and according to the Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri was the son of Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny and the husband of Annie Stewart.

Orvill Mathews is, of course, Edmund Orville Matthews and Mr. Fullerton is J.S. Fullerton.

Based on this research, I have to seriously back away from the ideas that I had concerning the influence of St. Louis' military community on the development of baseball in the city. Certainly Orville Matthews was an active duty naval officer at the time he was a member of the Cyclone Club and Jeremiah Fruin was in the army when he came to St. Louis. Benteen and Fullerton, however, did not join the army until the Civil War and there is no evidence, so far, of Kearny serving in the military.

Update: Griswold, in his letter to Spink, also mentioned a "Mr. Whitney" who worked for "Boatman's Savings Bank" and was the one who suggested the name "Cyclone" for the club. "Mr. Whitney" was Robert S. Whitney who worked as a teller at what was then called Boatman's Savings Institution.