Charles Henry Van Wyck
Van Wyckc. 1860
United States Senator fromNebraska
In office March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1887
Preceded by	Algernon Paddock
Succeeded by	Algernon Paddock
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York
In office February 7, 1870 – March 3, 1871
Preceded by	George Woodward Greene
Succeeded by	Charles St. John
Constituency	11th district
In office March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869
Preceded by	Charles H. Winfield
Succeeded by	George Woodward Greene
Constituency	11th district
In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863
Preceded by	Ambrose S. Murray
Succeeded by	William Radford
Constituency	10th district
Member of theNebraska Senate
In office 1877 1879 1881
Personal details
Born	(1824-05-10)May 10, 1824 Poughkeepsie,New York, U.S.
Died	October 24, 1895(1895-10-24) (aged 71) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Party	Republican,Populist

Charles Henry Van Wyck (May 10, 1824 – October 24, 1895) was a representative fromNew York, a senator fromNebraska, and aUnion Armybrigadier general in theAmerican Civil War.

Van Wyck was born inPoughkeepsie, New York. He was a distant cousin ofRobert Anderson Van Wyck andAugustus Van Wyck; their common ancestors were Theodorus Van Wyck (1668-1753) and his wife Margretia Brinckerhoff Van Wyck.^[1] He completed preparatory studies and graduated fromRutgers College,New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1843. Van Wyck studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1847 and commenced the practice of law. He then moved toBloomingburg, New York, where he became thedistrict attorney ofSullivan County, New York (1850-1856).^[2]

Van Wyck was elected to theU.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from New York to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863). He served as chairman, Committee on Mileage (Thirty-sixth Congress) and on the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (Thirty-seventh Congress). While in Congress, Van Wyck was a prominent member of an investigation into fraud at the New York Custom House and played a crucial role in the passage of the Fraud Claims Act. In his minority report to the investigation committee he famously wrote: “Worse than traitors in arms are the men, pretending loyalty to the flag, who feast andfatten on the misfortunes of the nation, while patriot blood is crimsoning the plains of the south, and the bodies of their countrymen are mouldering in dust.”

Van Wyck delivered a harsh anti-slavery speech on the House floor on March 7, 1860, which denounced theSouthern states for the "crime against the laws of God and nature."^[3] The speech was widely reported. On February 22, 1861, Van Wyck was assaulted near theUnited States Capitol by three men in anassassination attempt, an attack which was reported as related to the prior year's speech.^[4] Van Wyck fought off the attack, surviving only because a notebook and copy of theCongressional Globe which he had kept in the breast pocket of his coat had blocked the blade of aBowie knife.^[4] The three men fled and were never identified. This was also the same night as an alleged attempt was made to assassinate president-electAbraham Lincoln inBaltimore,Maryland.^[4]

During theAmerican Civil War Van Wyck entered theUnion Army ascolonel and commanding officer of the56th New York Infantry Regiment. Part of theArmy of the Potomac during thePeninsula Campaign; Van Wyck was wounded in the knee at theBattle of Fair Oaks. Much of the war was then spent as brigade and district commander inSouth Carolina; taking part in theSiege of Charleston Harbor and theBattle of Honey Hill. In 1865 he wasbrevettedbrigadier general for his services during the war.^[5] He eventually received the substantial promotion to brigadier general before he was mustered out in 1866.^[6]

Van Wyck was elected to the Fortieth Congress (March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869); successfully contested the election ofGeorge Woodward Greene to the Forty-first Congress and served from February 17, 1870 to March 3, 1871.

He moved to Nebraska in 1874, where he settled on a farm inOtoe County, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Van Wyck was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1875. He was elected to theState senate 1877, 1879, 1881. That year, he was elected as a Republican to theUnited States Senate from Nebraska and served from March 4, 1881 to March 3, 1887. He served as chairman, Committee on the Mississippi River and Its Tributaries (Forty-seventh Congress) and on the Committee on the Improvement of the Mississippi River and Tributaries (Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses). Van Wyck was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. In 1892, he was an unsuccessfulPopulist candidate forGovernor of Nebraska. Van Wyck then retired from political life and active business pursuits. He died inWashington, D.C., and was interred beside his wife, Kate Brodhead,^[7] in Milford Cemetery,Milford, Pennsylvania.

On September 21, 1869, he married Kate Ross Brodhead (1842-1901), descendant of an early New York family. Her sister, Marcia Ross Brodhead, was married to CongressmanDaniel Van Auken of New Jersey. Her first cousin, Henrietta Laura Brodhead, married Civil War US Army Colonel Samuel Fowler, son of CongressmanSamuel Fowler. They became the parents of CongressmanSamuel Fowler (III). Additionally, she was a cousin of CongressmenJohn Curtis Brodhead of New York andJohn Brodhead of New Hampshire.

They had four daughters:

1. Lillie Van Wyck (1870-1875)
2. Marie Louise Van Wyck (1873-1881)
3. Meta Van Wyck (1880-1881)
4. Happy Theodora Van Wyck (1883-1919)

• Baltimore Plot
• List of American Civil War generals (Union)

• Dictionary of American Biography; Harmar, Marie V. and James L. Sellers. "Charles Henry Van Wyck: Soldier-Statesman of New York and Nebraska."
• Nebraska Historical Magazine 12 (April–June 1929): 80-129, 12 (July–September 1929): 190-246, 12 (October–December 1929): 322-73.

• United States Congress."Charles Van Wyck (id: V000067)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCharles Van Wyck.

• Charles Van Wyck papers at theNebraska State Historical Society

 This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• 1824 births
• 1895 deaths
• Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York
• Van Wyck family
• American politicians of Dutch descent
• Republican Party United States representatives from New York (state)
• Republican Party United States senators from Nebraska
• Nebraska Populists
• Republican Party Nebraska state senators
• Sullivan County district attorneys
• Rutgers University alumni
• People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
• Union army generals
• 19th-century New York (state) politicians
• 19th-century United States representatives
• 19th-century United States senators
• 19th-century members of the Nebraska Legislature

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