James Pond ( Medal of Honor ) James Burton Pond ( June 11 , 1838 – June 21 , 1903 ) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War . For his actions during the Battle of Baxter Springs , he received the Medal of Honor . Returning to civilian life , he became a highly successful lecture manager whose clients included Mark Twain , Winston Churchill , and Henry Morton Stanley . Early life . Pond was born on June 11 , 1838 in Cuba , Allegany County , New York , though his official residence was listed as Janesville , Wisconsin . The family moved , first to Illinois in 1844 , then to Wisconsin in 1847 . Pond became a strong abolitionist . He was a member of the Underground Railroad , helping escaped slaves reach freedom , and reportedly riding with John Brown for a time in the mid - 1850s . He studied printing and published " The Journal " in Markesan , Wisconsin between 1860 and 1861 . Civil War . When the American Civil War broke out , he enlisted in the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as a lieutenant . At the Battle of Baxter Springs , he fought against the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill and his Raiders . For his heroism in that action , he was award the Medal of Honor on March 30 , 1898 . By the end of the war in 1865 , he had been promoted to the rank of major . Post - war . After the war , he tried his hand at various business enterprises in the western United States . In Salt Lake City , he was asked to manage a national lecture tour for Ann Eliza Young , the 52nd wife of Brigham Young , who had become disillusioned with her husband . She eventually divorced Young and spoke out against him , the LDS Church , and polygamy . In 1874 , Pond purchased the Lyceum Theatre Lecture Bureau and embarked on a career managing speakers . In 1879 , he moved his main office to New York City . In addition to Mark Twain ' s 1884 - 85 tour , Pond managed the North American stage of the world - wide lecture tour the author undertook in 1895 - 96 to pay off his enormous debts . He also promoted Winston Churchill ' s first American tour , though the two had a falling out and Churchill referred to Pond as " a vulgar Yankee impresario . " Explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley earned $ 60 , 000 for an 1890 - 91 U . S . tour set up by Pond . Other clients included P . T . Barnum , Booker T . Washington , Frederick Douglass , Arthur Conan Doyle , Ellen Terry , and Henry Ward Beecher . Pond wrote a book entitled " Eccentricities of Genius " ( 1900 ) , in which he reminisced about his experiences with his famous clients . Pond died due primarily to an ulcer on his right foot that turned gangrenous . All seemed well after a successful amputation below the knee , but Pond took a turn for the worse and died of heart failure on June 21 , 1903 . He was survived by his wife , a son , and a daughter . He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery , The Bronx , New York . His grave can be found in section 70 , lawn plot , lot 6393 NW 1 / 4 . Personal life . Pond ' s first wife , the former Ann Frances Lynch , died in 1871 . He married Martha Glass of Jersey City in 1880 . Three of his brothers also fought for the Union in the Civil War , George , Homer , and Philip . George F . Pond was awarded the Medal of Honor as well , for a later action . After his death , his son James B . Pond Jr . took over the business . In film . He was played in the 1948 " The Adventures of Mark Twain " by Donald Crisp .