MARCY, RANDOLPH B., b. Mass., about 1811; graduated at West Point in 1832, and was appointed lieut. 2d infantry in 1837; served in the war with Mexico, and was promoted to a captaincy; upon the conclusion of that war, was successively engaged in explorations in tbe B,ed river country, in operations against the Seminoles, and In the Utah expedition of 1857-58; was appointed paymaster, with the rank of major. in 1859, and inspector-gen., with the rank of col , in 1861; was chief of staff to gen. McClellan. (his son-in-law) in West Virginia, on the peninsula, and in Maryland; and was made' brig.gen. of volunteers Sept. 23, 1861. He has published Exploration of the Red River;. Tie Prairie 7ravelet; and Personal Recollections. His residence is on Orange moun tain, N. J.
MARCY,WILLIAm LEARNED, 1786-1857; I). Southbridge, Mass. In 1808, after grad uating from Brown university, he taught school for a short time, but soon entered upon the practice of law at Troy, N. Y. At the opening of the war of 1812 he entered the volunteer service as a lieut., and Oct. 22, 1812, led the attack upon St. Regis, a Canadian post, stormed the block-house, and captured the first flag and prisoners taken on land in the war. .A.t the close of the war he returned to Troy, where he was for some titne editor of the Budget, an auti-federalist daily paper. After filling several minor offices, he was made an associate-justice of the New York supreme court in 1829; in 1831 he was elected senator of the United States by the democratic party, but resigned the office upon being chosen governor of New York in 1832 This position he held for three terms, but in 1838 was defeated by- William H. Seward. He was appointed a commis-•
sioner on Mexican claims in the same year, and served in that capacity until 1842. In 1845 he became the secretary of war in Polk's cabinet. His ability in this position was severely tested by the Mexican war, and it was generally acknowled,ged that in the con duct of that conflict he displayed much energy and diplomatic adroitness. The last and most important public station in which he served was that of secretary of state in Pierce's administration, 1853-57. Among the foreign complications or treaties which demanded his action in this capacity were the Oregon question, the acquisition of Ari zona and settling of the Mexican boundary, the Canadian reciprocity treaty, com modore Perry's negotiations with Japan, the British fishery dispute, and the Ostend conference. In nearly all of these and other questions Marcy successfully defended the interests of his country; and in all he displayed the qualities of a trained statesman and accomplished diplomat. The most notable of his diplomatic correspondence was the series of lettem in the case of Martin Koszta, a Hungarian, who, after declaring in New York his intention of becoming an American citizen, was detained by the Austrian power at Smyrna, and released by capt. Ingraham (q.v.) of the U. S. navy. Mr. Marcy's death occurred but a few months after the expiration of his term of office, at Ballston Spa, N. Y.