John Alexander McClernand

John Alexander McClernand (born May 30, 1812 in Breckinridge County , Kentucky , † September 20, 1900 in Springfield , Illinois ) was an American officer and politician . Between 1843 and 1861 he represented the state of Illinois twice in the US House of Representatives ; then he rose to major general in the army of the Union during the civil war .

Career

In 1813 John McClernand came to Shawneetown , Illinois with his parents , where he later attended public schools. After that he worked in agriculture for some time. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1832, he began to work in this profession from 1835. In 1833 and 1834 he traded on the Mississippi and Ohio . In 1835 he founded the Shawneetown Democrat newspaper . At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1836, 1840, 1842, and 1843 .

John Alexander McClernand (right) with Allan Pinkerton (left) and President Lincoln shortly after the Battle of Antietam .

In the congressional election of 1842 , McClernand was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the second constituency of Illinois , where he succeeded Zadok Casey on March 4, 1843 . After three re-elections, he was able to complete four legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1851 . During this time the Mexican-American War fell . After that, the work of Congress was also shaped by the discussions about slavery . From 1845 to 1847 he was chairman of the committee for the administration of the public land. Between 1849 and 1851 he headed the Foreign Affairs Committee. In 1850 he renounced another candidacy.

In 1851 McClernand moved to Jacksonville . Since 1856 he lived in the state capital Springfield. Between 1859 and 1861 he represented the sixth district of his state in Congress as the successor to Charles D. Hodges . This time was determined by the events in the immediate run-up to the civil war. He resigned his mandate on October 28, 1861 to take part in the war as an officer, and subsequently made it to major general. In January 1863, he commanded the Army of the Mississippi during the Battle of Arkansas Post . In June 1863 he was relieved of his command by General Ulysses S. Grant when he published a war report on the Battle of Champion Hill in an Illinois newspaper, contrary to a corresponding prohibition . President Abraham Lincoln reassigned McClernand in 1864. This was also done for political reasons, as McClernand was one of the War Democrats who supported Lincoln's war policy .

Between 1870 and 1873 McClernand was a judge in Sangamon County . After that he practiced as a lawyer again. In June 1876, he served as President of the Democratic National Convention in St. Louis . He later became a member of the Utah Commission . He died in Springfield on September 20, 1900.

Web links

Commons : John Alexander McClernand - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ John Keegan : The American Civil War . Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-499-62831-3 , p. 284 (English: The American Civil War. A Military History . Translated by Hainer Kober).

personal data
SURNAME	McClernand, John Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American officer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH	May 30, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH	Breckinridge County , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH	20th September 1900
Place of death	Springfield , Illinois

[1] John Keegan : The American Civil War . Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-499-62831-3 , p. 284 (English: The American Civil War. A Military History . Translated by Hainer Kober).