Henry Bell Van Rensselaer

"Henry van Rensselaer" redirects here. For other uses, see Henry van Rensselaer (disambiguation).

Henry Bell Van Rensselaer
Born	(1810-05-14)May 14, 1810 Albany, New York
Died	Cincinnati, Ohio
Place of burial	Grace Episcopal Churchyard, Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	Union Army
Years of service	1831–1832, 1861–1864
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (May 14, 1810 – March 23, 1864) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a politician who served in the United States Congress as a Representative from the state of New York.

Biography

Henry Van Rensselaer was born at the manor house in Albany, New York. He was the son of Stephen Van Rensselaer III, who was also a Representative and founder of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Henry graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1831. He was appointed a brevet Second Lieutenant of the Fifth Regiment, United States Infantry on July 1, 1831, and resigned January 27, 1832. He then engaged in agricultural pursuits near Ogdensburg, New York, and served as a military aide to Governor William H. Seward from 1839 to 1840.

Van Rensselaer was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh United States Congress, and served from March 4, 1841 to March 3, 1843. He was subsequently president of several mining companies. Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War he reentered the military service with the rank of colonel in the Union Army, and was appointed chief of staff to General Winfield Scott. He served as an inspector general of several corps and departments from March 1862 until his death. He was a director of the Northern Railroad (later the Rutland Railroad), but resigned to help found the Ogdensburg, Clayton and Rome Railroad.

Van Rensselaer died in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was interred in the Grace Episcopal Churchyard, in Jamaica, Queens in New York City.

Van Rensselaer's wife was Elizabeth Ray King, a granddaughter of Rufus King. The couple were the great-grandparents of Floyd Crosby (father of David Crosby) and Jane Wyatt.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals

References

• Henry Bell Van Rensselaer at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-11-21

• Service Profile

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John Fine	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 14th congressional district 1841–1843	Succeeded by Charles Rogers