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Robert C. Schenck

Union Army general (1809–1890)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ3434877
Source-derived summary

Robert Cumming Schenck (October 4, 1809 – March 23, 1890) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, and American diplomatic representative to Brazil and the United Kingdom. He was at both the First and Second Battle of Bull Run and took part in Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862, and the Battle of Cross Keys. He served two separate multi-term stints in the U.S. House of Representatives.

His eldest brother, James Findlay Schenck, was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. From 1871 to 1876, Schenck served as US Minister to Britain under Ulysses S. Grant.

Early life and career

Schenck was born on October 4, 1809, in Franklin, Ohio, to William Cortenus Schenck (1773–1821) and Elizabeth Rogers (1776–1853). William Schenck was descended from a prominent Dutch family and was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey. William Schenck was a land speculator and an important early settler of Ohio who had also been in the War of 1812 and, like his son, rose to the rank of general. He died when Robert was only twelve and the boy was put under the guardianship of General James Findlay.

In 1824, Robert Schenck entered Miami University as a sophomore and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in 1827, but remained in Oxford, Ohio, employing his time in reading, and as tutor of French and Latin, until 1830, when he received the degree of Master of Arts.

Editorial summary

“Robert C. Schenck” enters the record as union Army general (1809–1890). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Robert, Schenck and Union can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1809, 1890, 1862, 1871—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1809-10-04. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Robert, Schenck and Union.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Robert C. Schenck” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Robert, Schenck and Union provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3434877. VIAF identifies the subject as 31580637. The Library of Congress control number is no95034649. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1809, 1890, 1862 and 1871.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Robert C. Schenck” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.