John Watts de Peyster John Watts de Peyster , Sr . ( March 9 , 1821 – May 4 , 1907 ) was an author on the art of war , philanthropist , and early Adjutant General of the New York National Guard . He served in the New York State Militia during the Mexican – American War and American Civil War . He was one of the first military critics and noted for his histories of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars , and also published works of drama , poetry , military history , military biography and military criticism . Early life and background . De Peyster was born in New York City , the son of a wealthy old Dutchess County family , and a first cousin of Maj . Gen . Philip Kearny . great great grandfather was Abraham de Peyster , an early Mayor of New York City , whose brother was Johannes de Peyster , also Mayor . His grandfather was a nephew of Arent DePeyster . His father was Frederic de Peyster , a wealthy New York City lawyer , investor and philanthropist . He studied law at Columbia University , although he did not graduate on account of his poor health . He had become an invalid at a young age due to a heart affliction he developed during service as a volunteer fireman . De Peyster was heavily involved as a volunteer firefighter with the No . 5 Hose Carriage during his collegiate years , including a major fire in 1836 , leading to his health problems . Despite these physical difficulties , he was described by some as feisty , and even dictatorial . He later received the degree of Master of Arts from Columbia College , LL . D . from Nebraska College , and Ph . D . by Franklin & Marshall College . He was one of the organizers of the New York City Police Department and Fire Department . Reforms he advocated through publications which were eventually implemented nationwide included a paid Fire Department , and Steam Fire Engines , and New York City was the first in the nation to adopt such measures . He spent his entire career in the New York State Militia , being promoted to brigadier general in 1851 . He served as state Judge Advocate General and eventually Adjutant General , before resigning over a conflict with Governor Myron Clark in 1855 . He traveled through Europe extensively as a military observer , and implemented many reforms that modernized the militia for the upcoming conflict . American Civil War . Already a brigadier general of the state militia at the onset of the Civil War , he met with what he perceived ( and declared ) to be prejudiced resistance from Abraham Lincoln when he attempted to raise regiments for the Union Army . In 1861 , de Peyster traveled to Washington , D . C . , to solicit a commission as a brigadier general of the Regular Army and offered to raise two regiments of artillery , which he felt best suited his expertise and physical condition . He was met with little interest after New York had already filled its national recruitment quota of 75 , 000 men . Each of his three sons served in the conflict in the Union Army . The eldest , John Watts de Peyster , Jr . , performed duty as an aide - de - camp and artillery commander with the Army of the Potomac and mustered out as a brevet brigadier general ; Frederic de Peyster III , was a Colonel and surgeon ; while the youngest , Johnston de Peyster , was a second lieutenant in charge of a battery of artillery credited with hoisting the first Union flag over the Confederate capitol of Richmond , Virginia , after its fall . The career militia officer had always suffered from poor health , and turned down a commission as a colonel of cavalry offered to him by New York Senator Ira Harris in June 1863 on behalf of Generals Joseph Hooker and Alfred Pleasonton , who may have had an eye towards de Peyster ' s social connections . Other notable figures with limited field experience who were promoted to brigadier general by Pleasonton at that time were Elon J . Farnsworth , son of a Congressman , Wesley Merritt , and George Armstrong Custer . His treatise " New American Tactics " was a series of articles published in " The Army and Navy Journal " that advocated making the skirmish line the new line of battle , which was considered revolutionary at the time . These contributions were translated and copied into foreign military journals , including Correard ' s renowned " " . Such tactics were put into practice by generals including John Buford and were later adopted world wide . He was appointed a brevet major general in 1866 by a special act of the state legislature . His elevation to major general was the first such honor bestowed by the State of New York , or any other State in the Union . He was a close friend of Maj . Gen . Daniel Sickles , commander of the Union III Corps . General de Peyster wrote biographies of III Corps Generals Andrew A . Humphreys and Gershom Mott during the war , and wrote highly of Buford ' s celebrated usage of light cavalry . After the Civil War , de Peyster was elected as a 3rd Class Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States in recognition of his efforts to support the Union during the war . Postwar career . General de Peyster was known as the largest developer in the village of Tivoli , New York , where he resided at his family home . In 1892 he replaced a wooden Methodist church with a brick structure that stands today . He also refurbished an old school into an industrial school for girls . An authority on fire fighting , in 1895 de Peyster erected a huge state - of - the - art brick building for the local department . A portrait of him resides there in present day , and it was used as a firehouse until 1986 . The high Victorian structure also contained a courtroom , a jail and a large meeting room for the local government . The General eventually had a conflict with the village Mayor ( his own son , Johnston de Peyster ) , and de Peyster barred him from entering the building . The village government was forced to move to another building and remained there until the Firehouse was restored in 1994 , returning the local government to de Peyster ' s building . His writing strongly advocated Dan Sickles and his role at the Battle of Gettysburg . Some of his works including detailing Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker ' s influences on the Army of the Potomac leading up to the battle , both positive and negative . He also issued a damning portrayal of the performance of the Union XI Corps at the Battle of Chancellorsville . His writing also spoke of the brilliant accomplishments of Maj . Gen . George H . Thomas and led to his modern consideration as one of the finest commanders of the war . In the " New York Times " and scholarly journals , he correctly predicted the Franco - Austrian War in 1866 and the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 . He made significant contributions to historical journal publications under the pseudonym " Anchor " which extolled the services of Sickles and Buford , and in separate publications praised the men of the New York City Fire Department . De Peyster wrote extensive military histories about the Battle of Saratoga and in 1887 donated a memorial called the Boot Monument , which commemorates Benedict Arnold ' s heroic wounding at the battle ( although Arnold is not mentioned by name and the memorial only depicts his boot ) . In 1905 , De Peyster purchased first baronial mansion of Sir William Johnson , known since 1755 as Fort Johnson , and donated it to the Montgomery County Historical Society , of Amsterdam , New York . In 1901 , he donated several thousand books and maps to the Smithsonian Institution , along with a Moorish Yataghan he collected on his travels in 1851 . De Peyster ' s biographer devotes six chapters to his benefactions , but does not mention his ethnological collections . Another philanthropic contribution included building the first library at Franklin & Marshall College , and donating one of the largest and most distinct rare book collections about European military history , the 1 , 890 volume " Watts de Peyster : Napoleon Buonaparte " . He collected many of the monographs while traveling in Europe conducting research for his own biography of Napoleon , entitled " Napoleone di Buonaparte " ( 1896 ) . The monument to Abraham de Peyster , a founder of New Amsterdam , sculpted by George Edwin Bissell , was commissioned by General de Peyster in Bowling Green , the old town square of New York City . John Watts de Peyster was also a Vice President of the American Numismatic Society , and the namesake of Post # 71 of the New York G . A . R . in Tivoli , New York . De Peyster died in 1907 of natural causes at a family residence in Manhattan . He willed his Tivoli manor " Rose Hill " to a local Children ' s Home . He was the author of " Life of Field Marshal Torstenson " ( 1855 ) , " The Dutch at the North Pole " ( 1857 ) , " Caurausius , the Dutch Augustus " ( 1858 ) , " Life of Baron Cohorn " ( 1860 ) , " The Decisive Conflicts of the Late Civil War , or Slaveholder ' s Rebellion " ( 1867 ) , " Personal and Military History of General Philip Kearny " ( 1869 ) , " The Life and Misfortunes and the Military Career of Brig . - Gen . Sir John Johnson " ( 1882 ) , and " Gypsies : Some Curious Investigations , Collected , Translated , Or Reprinted from Various Sources " ( 1887 ) , and contributor to numerous other books , biographies , publications , and articles .