Alpheus S. Williams

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Alpheus S. Williams

Alpheus Starkey Williams (born September 20, 1810 in Saybrook , Middlesex County , Connecticut , †  December 21, 1878 in Washington, DC ) was an American officer and major general of the Union Army during the Civil War . After the war he became a politician and represented the state of Michigan in the US House of Representatives from 1875 to 1878 .

Career

Alpheus Williams attended Yale College until 1831 . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1837, he began to work in Detroit in his new profession. From 1840 to 1844 he also worked as a probate judge. During this time he also published the Detroit Daily Advertiser newspaper. During the Mexican-American War , Williams was a lieutenant colonel in a Michigan infantry unit . Between 1849 and 1853 he served as a postman in Detroit. During the civil war he reached the rank of Brevet -Generalmajors. He was temporarily commander of the 12th Army Corps. Williams took part in several battles ( Fredericksburg , Chancellorsville , Gettysburg ) and was wounded in the process. He was part of General William T. Sherman's troops who marched through Georgia , South Carolina, and North Carolina during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864 .

Politically, Williams was a member of the Democratic Party . In 1866 he ran unsuccessfully for the office of governor of Michigan: With 41.4 percent of the vote, he was defeated by the Republican incumbent Henry H. Crapo . He then represented the United States as Ambassador to El Salvador from 1866 to 1869 .

In the congressional election of 1874 , Williams was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the first constituency of Michigan , where he succeeded Moses W. Field on March 4, 1875 . After being re-elected, he could remain in Congress until his death on December 21, 1878 . There he was chairman of the District of Columbia Administration Committee.

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personal data
SURNAME Williams, Alpheus S.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williams, Alpheus Starkey (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 20, 1810
PLACE OF BIRTH Saybrook , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1878
Place of death Washington, DC