John W. Daniel

John W. Daniel

John Warwick Daniel (* 5. September 1842 in Lynchburg , Virginia ; †  29. June 1910 ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party , of the State of Virginia in both houses of Congress represented.

Soldier and lawyer

After attending private schools, John Daniel continued his education at Lynchburg College and Dr. Gessner Harrison's University School . After the outbreak of the Civil War , he joined the Confederate Army in 1861 , where he rose to major . He was an important officer on Major General Jubal Anderson Early's staff , including during the Gettysburg campaign . He was badly wounded and disabled during the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, which resulted in his retirement from the army. As a result, during his political career he was nicknamed "Lame Lion of Lynchburg" (lame lion of Lynchburg).

After serving in the military, Daniel studied law at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville ; In 1866 he was admitted to the bar, after which he began to practice in Lynchburg.

Political career

Despite his severe disability, Daniel also began to be politically active. From 1869 to 1872 he sat in the Virginia House of Representatives before he was a member of the State Senate from 1876 to 1881 . A candidacy for governor of Virginia failed in 1881; he was defeated by William E. Cameron of the Readjuster Party , making him the last Democratic candidate until 1969 to lose the gubernatorial election.

For this he succeeded in 1884 to be elected to the House of Representatives of the United States . There Daniel completed a legislative period before he moved within Congress to the Senate , where he began his term on March 4, 1887 as the successor to William Mahone . He was re-elected in each of the years 1891, 1897, 1904 and 1910. Before he could begin his fifth term in office, he died in his home town of Lynchburg.

During his time in the Senate, he chaired the Committee on Revision of the Laws of the United States . He has also served on numerous other committees, including the Committee on Private Land Claims . Daniel supported the American intervention in Cuba and gave numerous lengthy speeches about alleged Spanish atrocities. As a veteran advocate, he advocated the creation of a Virginia Memorial on the Gettysburg battlefield . He also remained interested in his home state's politics as a senator, and in 1901 he took part in the Virginia Constitutional Convention.

In Lynchburg, where John Daniel was buried, a large bronze statue commemorates the politician. His father's home, known as the Point of Honor , was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 ; his birthplace, the John Marshall Warwick House , followed in 1996.

Web links

• John W. Daniel in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• John W. Daniel in the database of Find a Grave (English)