Rufus King ( general ) Rufus King ( January 26 or July 26 , 1814 – October 13 , 1876 ) was a newspaper editor , educator , U . S . diplomat , and a Union brigadier general in the American Civil War . Early life . King was born in New York City , New York , the grandson of Rufus King , delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention . After graduation from Columbia College , where his father , Charles King , served as president , King enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point . King graduated near the top of his class , and was appointed to the engineer corps in 1833 . He resigned his commission in 1836 . After a short time with the New York and Erie Railroad , King served as the associate editor for two newspapers , the " Albany Evening Journal " and the " Albany Advertiser " ( 1841 – 45 ) . At this point , he left New York and moved to the Wisconsin Territory , accomplishing a mixture of politics ( member of the 1848 Wisconsin constitutional convention ) , journalism ( part owner of the " Milwaukee Sentinel and Gazette " ) , and education ( superintendent of schools in Milwaukee and a regent of the University of Wisconsin – Madison ) . King also organized and played in the first three ball $ 2 $ 3 games played in the state of Wisconsin . The matches were played at the old State Fairgrounds ( what is now the Marquette University campus ) during the winter of 1859 . Civil War . King was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as Minister to the Papal States in 1861 . On his way to Rome when the Civil War broke out , he took a leave of absence to join the Army . He was appointed a brigadier general of the Wisconsin militia on April 15 , 1861 , and of U . S . volunteers on May 17 , and was given authorization to raise a Wisconsin regiment . King helped organize what came to be known as the famous Iron Brigade , which he commanded briefly . However , before the Iron Brigade saw combat , King was promoted to command of a division ( which included the Brigade ) in the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac . The Division ' s first action was in the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862 , but King had suffered a fit of epilepsy and could not command it . He was replaced by Abner Doubleday . In December 1862 , King served on the court - martial of Maj . Gen . Fitz John Porter for disobedience and cowardice for his actions at Second Bull Run - which King himself had missed . His epileptic seizures became more frequent , and King was unable to return to active duty . Finally , in October 1863 , King resigned his commission , and took up his ministerial post . Postbellum career . Returning to New York from Rome in 1867 , King served for two years as deputy comptroller of customs for the Port of New York , but then retired from public life on account of failing health until he died in 1876 . He is buried in Grace Churchyard , Jamaica , New York . King was the father of Rufus King , Jr . , of the U . S . Horse Artillery Brigade in the Civil War , and General Charles King of the Philippine - American War . Heritage . Rufus King High School in Milwaukee is named for him . The school ' s teams are known as the Generals .