- John Thayer (Nebraska senator)
John Milton Thayer (
January 24 ,1820 ndashMarch 19 ,1906 ) was a general in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War and apostbellum United States Senator fromNebraska , as well as thegovernor of bothWyoming Territory and Nebraska.Early life and career
John M. Thayer was born in Bellingham,
Norfolk County, Massachusetts . He attended and then taught in rural schools, and later studied law atBrown University and established a practice inWorcester, Massachusetts . He served as alieutenant in the localmilitia company before deciding to move with his family to the West.Arriving in Nebraska in 1854, he quickly affiliated himself with the Republican Party and thereafter actively participated in politics, as well as owning a large farm near Omaha. He became the major general of the territory militia and gained a reputation as an Indian fighter in his encounters with the local
Pawnee .Thayer served as delegate to the Convention which organized the Republican Party in the
Nebraska Territory and was elected to the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1860-61.Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Thayer wrote a letter to Secretary of War
Simon Cameron asking that he be allowed to raise a Nebraska regiment in response to PresidentAbraham Lincoln 's call for volunteers. He resigned his legislative seat in June 1861 to becomeColonel of the 1st Nebraska Infantry, and spent the entire war fighting in the Western Theater. He commanded abrigade in the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Promoted to brigadier general in October 1862, he led the First Division of the XV Corps during theSiege of Vicksburg in the summer of 1863.Thayer then was assigned to the
cavalry and commanded the District of the Frontier with his headquarters inFort Smith, Arkansas . He participated in theCamden Expedition and other actions in the region, seeing considerable action at theBattle of Fort Hindman , as well as theBattle of Jenkins Ferry . He commanded the rearguard ofFrederick Steele 's force at theBattle of Prairie D'Ane , battling Confederate troops underSterling Price for over four hours before forcing Price to disengage. His delaying action enabled Steele to successfully extricate his army to safety.In February 1865, Thayer was relieved of command of Fort Smith and sent to the smaller post at
St. Charles, Arkansas , with a regiment ofKansas cavalry and a single artillery battery. However, with the omnibus promotions of leading generals at the close of the war, Thayer was brevetted major general of volunteers in 1865.Postbellum career
After the Civil War, Thayer was a member of the State constitutional convention in 1866. Upon the admission of Nebraska into the Union as a state, he was elected as one of its first two United States senators. he served in the Senate until 1871, when he was unsuccessful in winning reelection. President
Ulysses S. Grant appointed Thayer Governor of the Territory of Wyoming in February 1875 and he took the oath of officeMarch 1 ,1875 . His service ended onMay 29 ,1878 , and he returned to Nebraska to resumed his law practice.Thayer served two full terms as
Governor of Nebraska (1887ndash 1891) and part of a third term, (May 5 ,1891 ndashFebruary 8 ,1892 ). He contested the results of the 1890 election, in which he lost toJames E. Boyd ; Boyd was initially installed as Governor, but Thayer again became Governor until the election was ruled in favor of Boyd. He then retired from public life to follow literary pursuits.John M. Thayer died in
Lincoln, Nebraska , and was buried inWyuka Cemetery .Thayer County, Nebraska , is named for him. A bust of Thayer is on the grounds of theVicksburg National Military Park inMississippi .References
* "American National Biography"
* "Dictionary of American Biography"
* Curtis, Earl G. "John Milton Thayer" "Nebraska History" 29 (March/June 1948): 134-50.
* Warner, Ezra J., "Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders". Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.External links
*CongBio|T000148 Retrieved on
2008-02-12
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~neresour/OLLibrary/pbal/pages/balc0030.htm John Milton Thayer atRootsWeb.com
* [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/public/state_governors/thayer.pdf Governor Thayer's papers] at theNebraska State Historical Society Persondata
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