Robert Garlick Hill Kean

Background

Robert Kean was born on October 24, 1828, in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of John Vaughan and Caroline Hill Kean. His father was a schoolteacher and planter of modest means.

Education

After attending Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, Rappahannock Academy, and Concord Academy, Kean attended the University of Virginia, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1852 and his Master of Arts degree the following year.

Career

Robert Garlick Hill Kean was admitted to the bar in 1853 and began practicing law in Lynchburg, Virginia.

When the war began, he entered the Confederate Army as a private in the Southern Army of the Potomac, but after the battle of First Manassas, he was made adjutant-general to George W. Randolph, his uncle by marriage. When Randolph became secretary of war, Kean was named chief of the Bureau of War, succeeding Albert Taylor Bledsoe.

He held this office for the remainder of the war, acting as office manager, executive secretary, and research assistant for the various secretaries of war. After the war, he returned to his law practice in Lynchburg. In 1881, he was a city attorney in Lynchburg, and in 1890, he was made president of the Virginia Bar Association. Kean refused to run for political office and wanted to repay all of his war debts.

He served on the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, including two terms as rector.

Achievements

• Robert Garlick Hill Kean is best remembered as the Confederate States of America Chief of the Bureau of War. Kean's wartime diary, first published in 1957 and selected as Book-of-the-Month by the Civil War Book Club in May that same year, gives a vivid portrayal of every significant character, of both the military and civilian sectors, who comprised the highest levels of the Confederate government, and to this day is considered an indispensable resource for those seeking first-hand, in-depth discussion and analysis of the Richmond government.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Inside the Confederate Government: The Diary of Robert Garlick Hill Kean
  • Thomas Jefferson as a Legislator 1887

Religion

Kean was a vestryman in the Episcopal church.

Politics

Robert was a lifelong Democrat. An extreme states' rights advocate, he urged secession and joined the Virginia Home Guard at an early date.

Connections

Robert married Jane Nicholas Randolph, the daughter of Thomas J. Randolph, in 1854. In 1874, his first wife having died, he married Adelaide Navarro Prescott. Kean had eight children by his marriages.

Father:

John Vaughan Kean

Mother:

Caroline Hill Kean

Brother:

Launcelot M. Kean

1826-1850

late wife:

Jane Nicholas Randolph Kean

1831-1868

Wife:

Adelaide Navarro Prescott Kean

1845-1922

Son:

Lancelot Minor Kean

1856-1931

Daughter:

Pattie Cary Kean Morris

1858-1939

Son:

Jefferson Randolph Kean

1860-1950

Son:

George Randolph Kean

1866-1869

Daughter:

Evelina Moore Kean Wells

1875-1960

Son:

Marshall Prescott Kean

1876-1959

Son:

Otho Vaughan Kean

1881-1940

Daughter:

Caroline Hill Kean Gallup

1887-1962

colleague:

George W. Randolph

References

• Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy
  1977