the National, starring Fox as Phineas Fletcher; his brother Charles as Gumption Cute; brother-in-law George C. Howard as Augustine St. Clair; sister Caroline as Eva St. Clair; William J. Le Moyne as Deacon Perry; and Greene C. Germon as Uncle Tom. Inspired by the French Commedia dell'arte artists, the Ravel Brothers, to undertake the British musical genre of pantomime, he created a distinct place for that kind of entertainment in New York City, first at the National Theatre and later at the New Bowery Theatre, of which he was for a time both lessee and manager in partnership with James R. Lingard. Fox continued to surrounded himself with an increasingly competent group of comedians and acrobats that included his brother Charles, who had become popular as an actor and a pantomime Clown performer. Though often overlooked by the theater critics of the day, Fox’s popularity in vaudeville houses at the time can be compared to that of Edwin Booth’s playing Hamlet, a role that Fox played in a much lighter vein. Civil War When the American Civil War broke out Fox enlisted as a lieutenant in the Eighth New York Infantry. He rose to the rank of major and saw action at the First Battle of Bull Run before mustering out in August 1861. Later years When Fox returned from the war he resumed playing pantomime roles to Lower East Side audiences. Fire forced him out of the New Bowery Theatre, one of many that would curse the building over the years. Poor business had caused a schism with Lingard that would later spill over into the court dockets. In 1866 Fox became stage manager at the Olympic Theatre on the East side of Broadway near Houston Street. There he played Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and, starting in 1868, his signature role as Clown in a pantomime version that he co-wrote of Humpty Dumpty, the first American pantomime to be performed in two acts, which some feel has never been equaled since. Over the last decade of his life, Fox would encounter artistic success coupled with financial setbacks. As a manager he often ignored the bottom line when planning a new show and as a result several of his productions that were popular with the public saw little return. This problem was compounded by competition from younger artists who were performing in ever more spectacular productions each year