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Theodore Runyon answered President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to serve for ninety days to put down the rebellion. He was appointed brigadier general commanding the 1st Brigade of the New Jersey Militia and lead the brigade to Washington, D.C. where it constructed a large fortification in Alexandria, VA at the south end of the Long Bridge. His troops named the fortification 'Fort Runyon.' Runyon commanded the 4th Division (reserve) of McDowell's army during the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run, covering the retreat of the army and manning the defenses of the capital. At the end of his ninety days of service, Runyon returned to New Jersey where he commanded the state militia while continuing his political career...elected mayor of Newark, N.J.; appointed Chancellor of New Jersey; appointed minister to Germany and then appointed by President Grover Cleveland to be our first ever ambassador to Germany where he died in 1896.

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