11 minute read
Livermore’s Elihu Benjamin Washburne
by James Nalley
From destitute to diplomat
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In early 1861, as Abraham Lincoln traveled to Washington, D.C. to begin his presidential term, his supporters feared an assassination attempt. In response, a Maine-born politician (as well as a trusted friend of the president) immediately consulted Winfield Scott (the commander of the U.S. Army), who not only increased security in the city, but also in the surrounding region. When Lincoln safely arrived (incognito) on February 23, his friend was there to greet him. The same man eventually played a prominent role in Ulysses S. Grant’s life and the Republican Party. Moreover, he helped draft the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which was in response to the issue regarding former slaves after the U.S. Civil War. He even advocated that large plantations be divided up to provide compensatory property for freed slaves, which was considered highly radical at the time.
Elihu Benjamin Washburne was born on September 23, 1816, in Livermore, when Maine was part of Massachusetts. The third oldest of 11 children, Washburne was also the grandson of Israel Washburne, a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and a descendant of John Washburne, the Secretary of the Plymouth Colony in the early 17th century. As for Washburne’s father, he settled in Maine in 1806 and established a shipbuilding trade on the Kennebec River in 1808. Based on the family’s Puritan
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heritage, his father was a strict disciplinarian who adhered to the Bible and put his children to work in the fields, with no time for leisure.
In 1829, Washburne’s family faced difficult financial times and his father was forced to sell his business. The family then became destitute, only relying on farming for food. Meanwhile, according to the book Dictionary of American Biography, Elihu Benjamin Washburne (1936) by Ethan Ellis, “Washburne and several of his brothers had to fend for themselves. In this case, 14-year-old Washburne “added the letter ‘e’ to his name, as was the original ancestral spelling, and left home in search of an education and career.”
After attending various public schools, Washburne worked for the Christian Intelligencer in Gardiner, Maine (1833-1834), and the Kennebec Journal in Augusta (1835-1836). He then attended Maine Wesleyan Seminary, studied law with Judge John Otis, and completed his legal studies with one year at Harvard Law School (18391840). After passing the bar exam, Washburne moved to Galena, Illinois, where he entered a law partnership with Charles Hempstead.
In 1844, Washburne became actively involved in politics as a Whig. He even served as a delegate for the Whig National Convention in the same year. Four years later, he ran for Congress, but was unsuccessful. However, in 1852, Washburne was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was subsequently re-elected eight times (1853-1869). In 1854, Washburne became a political ally (and close friend) to Abraham Lincoln, after which he supported Lincoln’s unsuccessful candidacy for the U.S. Senate. After the Whig Party dissolved approximately a year later, the Republican Party was founded as the major anti-slavery party. Washburne immediately joined the party and supported its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, in 1856. In 1858, Washburne again supported Lincoln’s unsuccessful candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Naturally, when Lincoln ran for president in 1860, Washburne enthusiastically supported his successful campaign.
Washburne’s support also had a significant effect on another man and fellow resident of Galena: Ulysses S. Grant. According to the book Grant Takes Command (1969) by Bruce Catton, “Washburne was one of only a few men in Washington, D.C. who had known Grant.” Until that time, Grant was simply a West Point graduate who had served in the Mexican-American War. After the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War, Grant recruited a company of volunteers in Galena and shared with Washburne his hope that his West Point education and military experience would lead to a field command. As stated by Catton, “Washburne then discussed the matter with Governor (cont. on page 30)
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(cont. from page 29) Richard Yates, who quickly offered Grant a militia commission as mustering officer.” In June 1861, through Washburne’s continued sponsorship, Grant was commissioned a colonel and appointed to command the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. In September of that year, Washburne sponsored Grant’s promotion to brigadier general as well as his subsequent promotions to major and lieutenant general, respectively. Eventually, he assumed command of the entire Union Army during the U.S. Civil War.
Meanwhile, during the first months of the war, rumors spread that a “horde of pirates” under General John C. Fremont’s Western War Department was defrauding the army and federal government by awarding his California associates with lucrative army contracts. According to the book Responses of the Presidents to the Charges of Misconduct (1974) by Stephen Oates, “Washburne’s investigation revealed that Fremont had favored sellers who were given exorbitant contracts for railroad cars, horses, mules, tents, and equipment that were inferior in quality.” In October 1861, Lincoln relieved Fremont of command based on corruption charges and insubordination.
During the war, Washburne continued to provide unwavering support for both Lincoln and Grant. He even became a leader of the Radical Republicans, who unequivocally opposed slavery and believed in racial equality. He also served on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, which drafted the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
When Grant was elected as the 18th President of the United States in 1869, he naturally appointed Washburne to succeed William Seward as Secretary of State, with the understanding that he would briefly serve in the position and then become the Minister to France. Interestingly, Washburne became ill after his appointment and resigned after just 11 days. To date, his term remains the shortest of any Secretary of State in history.
However, as the Minister to France, Washburne played a major diplomatic and humanitarian role during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). In this case, the United States agreed to be the protecting power for the North German Confederation and several German states. Washburne even arranged for railroad transportation to evacuate 30,000 German civilians living in France at the time. Although he was advised to evacuate the American Legation in France, he chose to remain in Paris, making him the only diplomat in the French capital during the Siege of Paris. As stated in the article Elihu Benjamin Washburne (1921) by Francis Reynolds, “Washburne’s tireless ef-
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forts set a precedent for the role of protecting power in future wars.” For such efforts, he received special honors from German Emperor Wilhelm I and German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck as well as French Minister Leon Gambetta and French President Adolphe Thiers.
After the end of Grant’s term in 1877, Washburne left France and returned to Galena, Illinois. In 1880, when Grant decided to run for an unprecedented third term, Washburne again agreed to support him. However, Washburne’s supporters (despite his resistance) made him a contender for president at the 1880 Republican National Convention. According to the book Campaign of ‘84 (1884) by Benjamin La Fevre, “With 379 votes required to win the nomination, he consistently received support from 30 to 40 delegates. Meanwhile, Grant had been the early frontrunner, with 300 to 315 votes. After recognizing that all the
Washburne, a political ally, welcomed president-elect Abraham Lincoln upon his 1861 arrival in Washington D.C.
contenders lacked the necessary votes, they searched for another ‘dark horse.’ As a result, 16 Washburne delegates from Wisconsin cast their votes for James Garfield without warning. This action started a groundswell of support for Garfield, and he was eventually
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In 1884, Washburne moved to Chicago, where he served as President of the Chicago Historical Society for three years. In 1887, he published a memoir about his time as a diplomat titled, Recollections of a Minister to France. In October of that year, following a twoweek illness, Washburne died at his son’s home in Chicago at the age of 71. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Galena. Aside from his political efforts for the Republican Party in particular, and the country as a whole, Washburne was certainly a prime example of how one man’s loyalty changed the lives of two prominent figures in U.S. history.
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