Charles Devens Jr. (April 4, 1820 – January 7, 1891) was an American lawyer, jurist and statesman. He also served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
On April 16, 1861, Devens gave an impassioned speech at Mechanics Hall in Worcester in support of Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers. To a large crowd he called upon the young men of Worcester to "rise and go with" him to the "rescue of Washington". Three days later, he was appointed major of the 3rd Massachusetts Rifle Battalion.[2]
He was appointed as colonel of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry in July 1861 and wounded at the Battle of Ball's Bluff in Virginia in October.
General Charles Devens (center) and other officers in Richmond, Virginia, April, 1865.General Charles Devens
Although still recovering, Devens was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in April 1862 and assigned command of the 1st Brigade/1st Division. He was wounded a second time at the Battle of Seven Pines and spent most of the summer recovering. His brigade was not heavily involved in the Maryland Campaign. Shortly afterwards, it was reassigned to the VI Corps. Devens commanded the 2nd Brigade/3rd Division/VI Corps during the Battle of Fredericksburg.
In January 1863, Devens was given command of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, VI Corps. After Maj. Gen Oliver O. Howard took command of the XI Corps, he appointed Devens as a division commander, and at Chancellorsville he was wounded a third time.[2] According to a report by Gen. Steward L. Woodford, who served with him, Devens remounted his horse, stayed with his men and did not go to the hospital until his men had bivouacked (set up camp).
Devens was also a key figure in the investigation into the unlawful execution of Confederate veteran Calvin Crozier by soldiers of the 33rd Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, at Newberry, South Carolina in September 1865 following an altercation. Over Devens's strong objections the officer who took responsibility for the lynching was exonerated and returned to duty.[5]
He was a judge of the Massachusetts superior court, from 1867 to 1873, and was an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1873 to 1877, and again from 1881 to 1891. From 1877 to 1881, he was Attorney General of the United States in the Cabinet of PresidentRutherford B. Hayes.[1] Devens was a close friend to President Hayes and his family, and was a favorite of Washington society during his time in office.[6]
In 1906, the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, erected an equestrian statue of Charles Devens in front of the former Worcester Court House, located on Court Hill. The statue was originally located on the front middle of the Courthouse area, it was later relocated to the front side.
Camp Devens, later Fort Devens, was established in 1917 in the Massachusetts towns of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster and Shirley, and named after the general.
