Henry Van-Ness Boynton
Henry Van-Ness Boynton—soldier and author—was born in West Stockbridge, Mass., 22d July, 1835. He removed with his father, a distinguished minister, to Ohio, when quite young and graduated at the Woodward High School, Cincinnati, in June, 1855. Wishing to become a civil engineer he entered the Kentucky Military School, and received through its training and instruction all that could have been given him at West Point. When the late civil war broke out he volunteered, and was elected and commissioned Major of the Thirty-fifth Ohio Infantry, 27th July, 1861. He was promoted Lieut.-Colonel 19th July, 1863, and commanded the regiment during the Tennessee campaigns, and was brevetted Brigadier for gallant conduct at the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. At the last-named fight he fell, badly wounded, as he led his regiment up that famous height. General Boyton was regarded by his men, brother and superior officers, as the bravest of the brave. To this courage he added a soldierly turn of mind that would have made him invaluable in an independent command where such quality is called for. As it is, his fine mind and vast stores of information make him a great critic on war matters, his comments on W. T. Sherman’s “Memoirs” created a wide excitement and interest in war circles. Of like sort is his valuable contribution to history in his famous papers on the Chickamauga campaign and battle.
On leaving the army at the end of the war, General Boynton entered journalism, and almost immediately became the Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette. His keen, incisive efforts in that line gave his journal a national reputation. He was soon put at the head of the Washington Bureau, in which a syndicate of several leading papers was formed, and to-day he is regarded as at the front in his profession; one of the most noted, loved, feared and respected of journalists. General Boynton’s great quality in the army was his high courage, that was animated by the purest and deepest patriotism.
His distinguishing characteristic as a journalist is his sterling integrity, inspired by a sense justice, that can be appealed to at all times. He is feared by knaves of all sorts, for his singularly incisive style, backed by his courage, makes him terrible in his assaults on wrong. He has driven some of the worst lobbyists from Washington, and is feared as no other man ever was by the entire lobby. General Boynton’s latest achievement was the selection and dedication of the Chickamauga battlefield as a public park. He was greatly assisted in this by General Henry M. Cist, of Cincinnati; but General Cist, with the frankness of a true soldier, gives General Boynton full credit for this great work. The post-office nearest the battlefield has been called Boynton, and ere long a bronze bust will mark the place where he so gallantly fought, in token of the affectionate feelings and admiration of his brother soldiers.
From Historical Collections of Ohio: By Henry Howe; Pub. 1888