Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Thomas Leiper KANE
Philadelphia born resident, Thomas Leiper Kane, son of U.S. District Judge John K. Kane and brother to famed Arctic explorer (Elisha Kent Kane, see previous blog for details), would play a major role in 'Mormon' & Federal affairs.
'Thomas Leiper Kane' taken from the Gratz Collection, Case 5, Box 5, at HSP
Having attended previously a gathering of 'Mormons' in Philadelphia in May of 1846 {Joseph Smith, the founder and martyr of Mormonism had established a congregation in the city as early as 1839} Kane became a solid advocate for Latter-Day Saint rights and a staunch defender of their faith within governmental circles.
Kane would go on to serve as as an attorney, counselor and clerk for the District Court of the U.S., in Philadelphia in 1857, but not until he had first given a sympathetic account in behalf of the Latter-Day Saints sect, entitled, The Mormons: A Discourse delivered before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: March 26, 1850,' published in Philadelphia that same year.
In March of 1850, there was a heated dialogue occuring within the 'halls of Congress' and elsewhere in the country, over the establishment of Utah Territory. Thomas L. Kane continually defended Brigham Young & the 'Mormon' sect, both in print & as an orator during this time of debate.
During the winter of 1857-58, when much of the American public was convinced the 'Mormons' and Brigham Young were in 'armed rebellion' against Pres. James Buchanan & the government of the United States, Kane traveled some 3,000 miles from the East to Salt Lake City, Utah, in an attempt to halt any actual bloodshed that might possibly occur between the 'Mormons' & Federal forces, which at the time were under the command of Albert Sidney Johnston (from my native Mason County, Kentucky), who would later serve in the Civil War, and die during the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.
Kane would be successful as a mediator during what would later become known as, 'Buchanan's Blunder,' since there were in reality, NO casualties in the so-called, 'Utah-Mormon War,' other than two Kentuckians, who shot & stabbed one another with bowie-knives, in Kentucky, over which individual would lead their county's company of volunteers to 'put down the Mormon rebellion that never was.' (see my article reference below)
Thomas Leiper Kane and his family, though not 'Mormon,' would continue to visit & carry out friendly relations with Brigham Young & the Mormons long after 'Buchanan's Blunder.' Kane County, Utah is named after this Philadelphia native, and the 'Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel,' located in the Borough of Kane, McKean County, Pennsylvania, is maintained as a visitor's center, by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints today.
Thomas Leiper Kane after the 'Mormon' conflict, would go on to serve in the American Civil War, as Colonel of the 'Bucktails,' or 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, during which he would be wounded, captured, but later rose to the rank of Brigadier-General in the 'Army of the Potomac,' and would also fight at Gettysburg on 'Culp's Hill,' achieving the rank of 'Brevet Major-General.'
Kane was a staunch supporter of Brigham Young and a loyal friend of the Latter-Day Saints until his death in 1883. He is buried at the former Presbyterian chapel in McKean County, Pennsylvania, where the 'Mormon' church erected a statue in his honor, in 1972.
Kane, Thomas L., brigadier-general, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 27, 1822. He was educated in Paris, France, and on his return to America studied law, was admitted to the bar, and was a clerk in the United States district court until the passage of the fugitive slave law, when he resigned. He visited the Mormon settlement near Commerce, Ill., in 1847, and during the migration to Utah so won the confidence of the Mormon leaders that, when the territory was declared in a state of rebellion in 1858, he went there at his own expense with letters from President Buchanan and arranged an amicable settlement that was afterwards concluded by the peace commissioners. He founded and laid out the town of
Kane, in the northwestern part of Pennsylvania, where he raised, in 1861, a regiment called the "Bucktails," which became famous for valor and endurance. He led the advance at Dranesburg, where he was wounded, and at Harrisonburg was sent to rescue a regiment that had fallen into an ambushade, and was again wounded and taken prisoner. He was paroled, and, on being exchanged was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, Sept. 1, 1862. Although absent on sick leave at the time the battle of Gettysburg opened, he hastened to Washington for orders and carried to Gen. Meade the information that the Confederates were in possession of the national cipher code.
He joined his brigade on the morning of the second day of the battle and held an important position on the extreme right. He was discharged, Nov. 7, 1863, being disabled by wounds and exposure, and on March 13, 1865, was brevetted major-general of volunteers for his services at Gettysburg. He died in
Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 26, 1883.
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