William A. Buckingham
41st Governor of Connecticut
In office May 5, 1858 – May 2, 1866
Lieutenant	Julius Catlin Benjamin Douglas Roger Averill
Preceded by	Alexander H. Holley
Succeeded by	Joseph R. Hawley
United States Senator fromConnecticut
In office March 4, 1869 – February 5, 1875
Preceded by	James Dixon
Succeeded by	William W. Eaton
Personal details
Born	May 28, 1804 Lebanon, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	February 5, 1875(1875-02-05) (aged 70) Norwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Resting place	Yantic Cemetery,Norwich
Political party	Republican National Union (1864-1866)
Spouse	Eliza Ripley Buckingham
Children	2
Profession	Manufacturer, politician

William Alfred Buckingham (May 28, 1804 – February 5, 1875) was an American politician who served as thegovernor of Connecticut during theCivil War and later as aUnited States senator.

Born inLebanon, Connecticut, the son of Samuel Buckingham (1770–1850) and Joanna (Matson) Buckingham (1777–1846), Buckingham attended the common schools andBacon Academy inColchester, Connecticut, but never attended college. He was married on September 30, 1830, to Eliza Ripley,^[1] daughter of Dwight and Eliza (Coit) Ripley of Norwich. The couple had two children. William Ripley Buckingham was born October 27, 1836, and died in early childhood on December 12, 1838. Eliza Coit Buckingham was born December 7, 1838, and married William A. Aiken on August 28, 1862.^[2]

Buckingham entered into a career in the mercantile industry, and in 1848 helped to organize the Hayward Rubber Company, a business that developed into a successful enterprise.^[3]

Buckingham served as the mayor ofNorwich, Connecticut, from 1849 to 1850, and again from 1856 to 1857. He also served as Norwich's town treasurer and a member of the city council.

Winning the 1858 Republican gubernatorial nomination, Buckingham waselected in 1858 and served as the41stgovernor of Connecticut. He was reelected to the governorship each of the next seven years, in1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864 and1865, serving from May 5, 1858, until May 2, 1866. During his tenure, he dealt successfully with the effects of an economic panic that occurred in the state and with the outbreak of the Civil war. Buckingham arranged for troops, with 54 companies enlisting instead of 10. Before the General Assembly appropriated $2 million for military expenses, Buckingham had begun borrowing money in his own name to finance Connecticut's war efforts.^[4]

The outbreak of the Civil War was the major reason for Buckingham's long tenure as Connecticut's governor. A strong supporter ofAbraham Lincoln, he hosted Lincoln when Lincoln campaigned in Connecticut, and a personal friendship formed between them. When the President called on the Northern governors to assist him in prosecuting the war, Buckingham worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day. The state's major correspondent with the Federal government, he read and answered letters from troops in the field and visited troops at war as well as at home. Concerned for the welfare ofConnecticut troops, he oversaw much of the procurement of men and materials for the war, and he is quoted as saying to an official in Washington: "Don't let any Connecticut man suffer for want of anything that can be done for him. If it costs money, draw on me for it." It is estimated that Connecticut sent 54,882 soldiers to fight in the Civil War.(3) In 1862, the United States Congress passed an act allowing for the enlistment of colored soldiers, and in November 1863, Buckingham persuaded the Connecticut General Assembly to authorize a state regiment of black soldiers, the first of which was to be the Twenty-Ninth. Buckingham is known as a "War Governor" for his work.^[5]

Buckingham declined renomination in 1866, and after leaving office, was elected to the U.S. Senate on March 4, 1869, and served until his death on February 5, 1875.^[6] While in the Senate, Buckingham served as chairman of theU.S. Senate Committee on Engrossed Bills, theU.S. Senate Committee on Investigation and Retrenchment, and theU.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.^[7]

Buckingham died inNorwich on February 5, 1875. He is interred at Yantic Cemetery,Norwich, Connecticut.

The shipUSSGovernor Buckingham (1863) is named after him. Buckingham was a benefactor of Yale College and served as president of the Board of Trustees of Norwich Free Academy and as president of the Connecticut State Temperance Union. His house in Norwich is owned by the city and is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. A street and school are named in his honor in Norwich, and a statue of him is inside the State Capitol Building in Hartford.^[8]

Buckingham's house in Norwich is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1790–1899)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWilliam Alfred Buckingham.

• United States Congress."William A. Buckingham (id: B001021)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The Political Graveyard
• National Governors Association
• Govtrack US Congress
• Profile, Connecticut State Library
• Buckingham, Samuel G. The Life of William A. Buckingham. Springfield: W.F. Adams Co., 1894
• U.S. Congress. Memorial Addresses. 43rd Cong., 2nd sess. from 1874 to 1875. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1875.

• 1804 births
• 1875 deaths
• People from Lebanon, Connecticut
• American people of English descent
• Republican Party United States senators from Connecticut
• Republican Party governors of Connecticut
• Union (American Civil War) state governors
• Mayors of Norwich, Connecticut
• Connecticut city council members
• 19th-century Connecticut politicians
• People of Connecticut in the American Civil War
• Bacon Academy alumni
• 19th-century mayors of places in Connecticut
• 19th-century United States senators

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