Reuben D. Mussey, Jr.

Reuben D. Mussey Jr. (often called RD Mussey) (May 30, 1833 – May 29, 1892) was a Union Army colonel during the American Civil War and a distinguished lawyer. He was an important recruiter of black men into the United States Colored Troops. Between April 1865 and November 1865, Mussey was President Andrew Johnson's private secretary. Johnson nominated Mussey for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general of volunteers, but the U.S. Senate did not confirm the appointment. Mussey was the husband of Ellen Spencer Mussey who was also his law partner and became the head of the practice upon his death. Early life Mussey was the son of the medical doctor Reuben D. Mussey and his wife Hettie Osgood. He was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on May 30, 1833. Some sources list his name as Reuben Delevan Mussey, suggesting that Jr. may not be technically correct, but since both he and his father are referred to as Reuben D. Mussey or Reuben Mussey, the Jr. is the best way to distinguish the two. After matriculating from Dummer Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, and attending Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, RD Mussey graduated from Dartmouth College in 1854. After College, he began teaching and working in the press in Boston. In 1859, he was the Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette. Civil War He campaigned for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and was a leader in the Wide Awakes and at the outbreak of the Civil War joined a militia company led by abolitionist Cassius M. Clay which organized to guard the president and the White House. When the regular army was expanded in May 1861, he began serving in the regular army of the United States as captain of the 19th U.S. Infantry Regiment.