Hamilton Rowan Gamble

Hamilton Rowan Gamble

Hamilton Rowan Gamble (born November 29, 1798 in Winchester , Virginia , † January 31, 1864 ) was an American lawyer and politician and from 1861 to 1864 the 16th governor of the state of Missouri .

Early years and political advancement

Hamilton Gamble attended Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. After studying law and admission to the bar, he began a legal career in Missouri. There he was, among other things, District Attorney in Howard County .

In 1824, Gamble was appointed Secretary of State in the Missouri government by Governor Frederick Bates . He held this office between 1824 and 1826. In 1846 he sat for one term in the Missouri House of Representatives . From 1846 he was also a judge on the Supreme Court of Missouri . Between 1851 and 1854 he chaired this body. In 1855 Gamble resigned from his judge's office for health reasons, and in 1858 he moved to Pennsylvania for some time .

Missouri governor

Before the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 between the North and the South , the state of Missouri tried to take a neutral stance in the conflict and not support any of the warring parties. An assembly of delegates spoke out against joining the state to the confederation . As the fighting broke out, unrest broke out in Missouri because both sides had many supporters there. The governor at the time, Claiborne Fox Jackson, tended to join the Confederation. He mobilized the National Guard and asked the Southern Army for help. This led to a conflict with the local commander of the Union forces, General Nathaniel Lyon . This captured the capital Jefferson City in mid-June 1861 and forced Governor Jackson into exile. A hastily called meeting deposed Jackson on July 27th and appointed Hamilton Gamble provisional governor.

Gamble remained loyal to the Union and, after the Union Army had conquered most of the country, was able to rule almost the entire state. Nevertheless, he was critical of the federal government's policies. He enforced the recall of General John C. Frémont from President Abraham Lincoln , who had issued a declaration of slave emancipation. Hamilton Gamble never lived to see the end of the civil war. He died in office on January 31, 1864. He had three children with his wife, Caroline Coalter.

Web links

• Hamilton Rowan Gamble in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Hamilton Gamble in the National Governors Association (English)