Halbert E. Paine | |
|---|---|
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1871 | |
| Preceded by | James S. Brown |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Mitchell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1826-02-04)February 4, 1826 Chardon, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 14, 1905(1905-04-14) (aged 79) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Relatives | Eleazar A. Paine (cousin) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch/service | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank | |
| Commands | 4th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Halbert Eleazer Paine (February 4, 1826 – April 14, 1905) was anAmericanlawyer andRepublican politician. He served as aUnion Army general during theAmerican Civil War, and after the war was elected to three terms in theUnited States House of Representatives representingWisconsin's 1st congressional district.[1]
Paine was born inChardon, Ohio. Through his father's family, he was a first cousin ofEleazar A. Paine, who would also serve as a general in the Union Army in the Civil War. After attending the common schools, Paine graduated fromWestern Reserve College in 1845. He moved toMississippi for a year to teach school but returned toCleveland to read the law. In 1848 he passed the bar exam and established a practice. He married and started a family.
In 1857, Paine took his family toMilwaukee, Wisconsin, where he continued his legal career. Beginning 1859, his law partner wasCarl Schurz, though, with Paine's encouragement, Schurz took more of an interest in politics and public speaking than law.[2]
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Paine entered the Union army as thecolonel of the4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. On April 9, 1863,PresidentAbraham Lincoln appointed Painebrigadier general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1863.[3] The President had nominated Paine for the promotion on March 12, 1863, and the U.S. Senate had confirmed the appointment on March 13, 1863.[3]
Paine led widespread actions in the Lower Mississippi, which took him into Louisiana. These included involvement in the Vicksburg campaign, the capture of New Orleans, theBattle of Baton Rouge, and the Bayou Teche offensive. He also coordinated anti-guerrilla operations in southern Louisiana and Mississippi. In late-September 1862, Paine assumed command of theCamp Parapet, a fortification about ten miles north of New Orleans under overall command of Brigadier GeneralThomas W. Sherman, who was in command of New Orleans defenses.[4]
With the Third Division of theArmy of the Gulf, he took part in an assault on Priest Gap during the siege andBattle of Port Hudson in Louisiana. He suffered a wound that required amputation of his leg. After his recovery, Paine commanded troops in the defense ofWashington, D.C., duringJubal A. Early's raid in 1864. He resigned from the army on May 15, 1865, and returned to Wisconsin.[3]
On December 11, 1866,PresidentAndrew Johnson nominated Paine for appointment to thebrevet grade ofmajor general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865. The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 6, 1867.[5]
Paine, aRepublican, was elected to the39th,40th and41st Congress fromWisconsin's 1st congressional district, serving from March 4, 1865, till March 3, 1871. He was a delegate to the1866 National Union Convention in Philadelphia, which was attempting to encourage support for President Andrew Johnson in advance of the mid-term elections. Some attendees hoped to found a new political party, but this did not take place.
In 1869, Paine championed the passage of a bill that provided for taking meteorological observations in the interior of the continent. He served as chairman of the Committee on Militia (Fortieth Congress), and the Committee on Elections (Forty-first Congress). After the expiration of his third term in Congress, he retired from politics and chose not to accept renomination.
After serving in Congress, Paine practiced law in Washington, D.C., for several years, having established residency there. In 1879, he was appointed by PresidentRutherford B. Hayes as the United States Commissioner of Patents, serving in that post for two years. While there, he promoted adoption by Federal agencies of useful innovations, such astypewriters.[4]
In later years, Paine published two accounts of contested elections in which he had represented a candidate:Contested Election, Territory of Utah:George R. Maxwell V.George Q. Cannon (1888),[6] andContested Election, United States Senate:William H. Clagett v.Frederick T. Dubois, based on his argument before the Committee on Privileges and Elections. These were related to his work in Washington, DC.
In addition, he wrote a memoir of his Civil War years, reflecting on the complexities of its issues as a man of the North. EntitledA Wisconsin Yankee in Confederate Bayou Country: The Civil War Reminiscences of a Union General, the memoir was published for the first time in 2009, in an annotated edition edited by historian Samuel C. Hyde, Jr.[4] It is described as "less celebration of the grand cause and greater analysis of the motives for his actions—and their inherent contradictions."[4]
Paine died April 14, 1905, in Washington, D.C. He was buried inArlington National Cemetery.[7]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 1st congressional district March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1871 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
