Amos J. Cummings

Amos J. Cummings

Amos Jay Cummings (born May 15, 1841 in Conklin , New York , † May 2, 1902 in Baltimore , Maryland ) was an American officer , editor and politician . He represented New York State in the US House of Representatives between 1887 and 1889, then between 1889 and 1894 and finally between 1895 and 1902 .

Career

Before the Civil War

Amos Jay Cummings was born and raised in Conklin approximately five years before the outbreak of the Mexican-American War . During this time he attended community schools and then began an apprenticeship as a printer at the age of 12 . He took part in the invasion of Nicaragua in October 1858 under the leadership of William Walker .

During the Civil War

Cummings enlisted in the Union Army on September 1, 1862 during the Civil War . On September 18, 1862, he came as a private in the Company E of the 26th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry ( Army of the Potomac ). He was then promoted to Sergeant Major on March 6, 1863 . In May 1863 he took part with his unit in the Battle of Chancellorsville . The following quote has come down to us from this period:

"Rendered great assistance in the heat of the action in rescuing a part of the field batteries from an extremely dangerous and exposed position."

As a result of his extraordinary achievements, which he in this battle on May 4 at the Salem Church in Fredericksburg ( Virginia pointed out), he was the most Mar. 27, 1894 Medal of Valor ( Civil War Medal of Honor awarded) subsequently. It was retired on June 27, 1863.

After the Civil War

He then worked as an editor at the New York Tribune under Horace Greeley , then at the New York Sun and finally at the New York Express . Over time, he gained an excellent reputation.

Politically, he belonged to the Democratic Party . In the congressional elections of 1886 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the sixth electoral district of New York , where he succeeded Nicholas Muller on March 4, 1887 . Since it to submit a bid again two years later abandoned, he retired from the after March 3, 1889 Congress of. However, he was elected to the US House of Representatives in the ninth electoral district of New York on November 5, 1889, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Samuel S. Cox . After a successful re-election, he ran in 1892 in the eleventh constituency of New York for a seat in Congress. As the winner, he succeeded John De Witt Warner on March 4, 1893 , but announced his resignation on November 21, 1894. As a Congressman, he chaired the Committee on Naval Affairs ( 53rd Congress ). He was elected to the US House of Representatives in the tenth electoral district of New York on November 5, 1895 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Andrew J. Campbell . Cummings was re-elected three times in a row. He died in Baltimore on May 2, 1902, during his last term, and was then buried in Clinton Cemetery in Irvington, New Jersey.

Web links

• Amos J. Cummings in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Amos J. Cummings in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexander K. McClure: "Famous American Statesmen & Orators" , VI, FF Lovell Publishing Company, p. 106.
2. ^ "Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (AL)" , Medal of Honor citations, United States Army Center of Military History, June 6, 2007