Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/240

BECKWITH, Amos, soldier, b. in Burlington, Vt., 4 Oct., 1825 ; d. in St. Louis, Mo.. 26 Oct., 1894. He was graduated at West Point in 1850, and served in the Seminole war. During the civil war he was chief depot-commissary in Washington, chief of commissariat of the military division of the ]Missis- sippi, on the staff of Gen. Sherman in the Atlanta campaign, and, after the war, chief commissary of the department of the gulf. He was brevetted brigadier-general in the U. S. army on 13 March, 1865, and promoted lieutenant-colonel on the gen- eral staff. 28 June, 1874. In 1888 he became full colonel, and was retired in 1889.

BECKWITH, Edward Griffin, soldier, b. in Cazenovia, N. Y., 25 June, 1818 ; d. in Clifton, N. Y., 22 June, 1881. He was graduated at West Point in 1842, served in the war with Mexico at Tampico and Vera Cruz, and was employed in Pa- cific railroad reconnoissances in 1858-'4, the rec- ords of which survey were published by congress. In the civil war he served as chief of commissariat of the 5th army corps, and of the army of Vir- ginia, and in fitting out Gen. Banks's Louisiana expedition. He was provost-marshal-general of the department of the gulf in 1868, in command of the defences of New Orleans from 25 Aug., 1863, till 12 Jan., 1864, also for a time chief com- missary of the department, was made major on 8 Feb., 1864, and received the brevet rank of briga- dier-general, U. S. army, on 18 March, 1865, for faithful and meritorious services during the war.

BECKWITH, Sir George, English soldier, b. in 1758 : d. in London, 20 March, 1828. He came to America in 1771 as ensign, and rose to the rank of major in 1781. He commanded the British forces at the taking of Elizabethtown and New Brunswick, and bore a distinguished part in other engagements. From 1787 till 1791, the period when there was no British minister to the United States, he was entrusted with an important confiden- tial mission. In 1797 he was appointed governor of Bermuda, in 1804 of St. Vincent, and in 1808 of Barbadoes. In 1809 he conquered the French possession of Martinique, and in the following year he drove the French out of Guadeloupe. In 1814 he returned to England, and in 1816 took command of the military forces in Ireland.

BECKWITH, George Cone, clergvman. b. in 1800: d. in Boston, Mass.. 12 May, 18^ He was a Congregational minister, who devoted himself to the service of the American peace society, of which he was for thirty-three years corresponding secretary. He also edited its magazine, " The Ad- vocate of Peace," and wrote the appeals issued in its name, in favor of peace congresses and the ar- bitration of international disputes.

BECKWITH, James Carroll, painter, b. in Hannibal, i\Io., 23 Sept., 1852. He is a son of N. M. Beekwith, who was U. S. commissioner-general at the international exhibition of Paris in 1867. He studied art for two years in the national academy, New York, and for five years in the atelier of Carolus Duran, and in the Paris school of arts, under Yvon. His works include "Judith," portraits, exhibited at the New York academy of design, and " The Falconer," sent to the Paris exposition of 1878. His studio is in New York.

BECKWITH, John Watrus, P. E. bishop, b. in Raleigh, N. C, 9 Feb., 1831 ; d. in Atlanta, Ga., 24 Nov., 1890. He was graduated at Trinity college, Hartford, in 1852, ordained deacon 24 May, 1854, and priest in May. 1855. He entered upon work in Wadesboro, N. C, but soon removed to Anne Arundel co., Md. In 1861 he removed to Mississi[)pi and thence to Alabama, where he became rector of Trinity church in Demopolis. At the close of the war he became rector of Trinity church, New Orleans, and while there was elected bish- op of Georgia. He received the degree of S. T. D. from Trini- ty in 1867. He was consecrat- ed bishop in St. John's church, Savannah, 2 April, 1868. It is largely due to his untir- ing labors that the Episcopal church in Geor- gia has stead- ily gained in influence and

strength. He

was a most eloquent and powerful preaciier, and in this respect had no superior in the church of which he was a member. He pub- lished several sermons and addresses.

BECKWOURTH, James P., pioneer, b. in Virginia about 1800 ; d. in 1867. He was a mulatto. About 1850 he discovered the pass through the Sierra Nevada mountains that bears his name. During his adventurous life he was at one time chief among the Crow Indians, and he figures in many books of western travel. In 1845 he was among the Americans that took part in the revo- lution against Gov. Micheltorena in California.

BEDARD, Pierre, Canadian jurist, b. in Que- bec in 1763 ; d. in 1827. He was one of the first natiA'e Canadians to be admitted to the bar. During the administration of Gov. Craig he led the opposition in the assembly, founded " Le Ca- nadien " newspaper, and suffered a term of impris- onment for assailing the executive in that jour- nal. In later life he was a district judge.

BEDEL, John, soldier, b. in the Indian Stream territorv, northern New Hampshire, 8 Julv, 1822; d. in B'ath, N. H., 26 Feb., 1875. His father was Gen. Moody Bedel. The son enlisted as a private in the Mexican war in 1847, and became captain in 1849. He was admitted to the bar in 1850, and practised in Bath until 1853, when he entered the treasury department at Washington, and remained there until the beginning of the civil war. He was then appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 3d New Hampshire volunteers, 27 June, 1862, was wounded, 10 July, 1863, and captured at Fort Wagner, 18 July, 1863. He was promoted colonel of that regiment, while a prisoner of war, 6 April, 1864, and paroled on 9 Dec. He was made a brigadier-general of U. S. volunteers, by brevet, dating from 13 March, 1865, for gallant and meri- torious services, and was mustered out of service 20 July, 1865. He represented the town of Bath in the legislature, and was several times the un- successful democratic candidate for governor.

BEDEL, Timothy, soldier, b. in Salem, N. H., about 1740; d. in H'averhill, N. II., in February, 1787. He served as a lieutenant in the French war. On 6 July, 1775, he was appointed captain of rangers, and on 13 Jan., 1776, colonel of the 1st New Hampshire regiment, joining the northern army under Schuyler. He was with Montgomery at the taking of St. John's, on the Sorel, and was