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Charles E. Belknap | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's5th district | |
| In office November 3, 1891 – March 3, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | Melbourne H. Ford |
| Succeeded by | George F. Richardson |
| In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | Melbourne H. Ford |
| Succeeded by | Melbourne H. Ford |
| Mayor of Grand Rapids | |
| In office 1884–1885 | |
| Preceded by | Crawford Angell |
| Succeeded by | John L. Curtis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1846-10-17)October 17, 1846 Massena, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 16, 1929(1929-01-16) (aged 82) Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | .svg) |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | 21st Michigan Infantry Regiment |
Charles Eugene Belknap (October 17, 1846 – January 16, 1929) was an Americanpolitician who served as aU.S. representative from theU.S. state ofMichigan.
Belknap was born inMassena, New York and attended the common schools there. He moved with his family toGrand Rapids, Michigan in 1855.
During theAmerican Civil War, he enlisted as aprivate on August 12, 1862, in Company H of theTwenty-first Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He was rapidly promoted through several ranks, including:
He served in theArmy of the Cumberland during theAtlanta Campaign, and with GeneralSherman's March to the Sea and through theCarolinas Campaign. He was mustered out of service on June 8, 1865, and was breveted to the rank of major. At the battles ofStones River and Chickamauga he received seven wounds, none of them very serious. He later joined the Michigan Commandery of theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
After the war, from the fall of 1865 to 1871, Belknap lived on afarm inSparta, Michigan, before returning to Grand Rapids, where he organized theBelknap Wagon and Sleigh Company, a very successful business that manufacturedwagons andsleighs.
Beginning in 1872, Belknap served in the city's volunteer fire service for many years, as both foreman of Company No. 3 and as Assistant Chief. He was instrumental in the transition from a volunteer to a paid fire service. He was a member of the Grand Rapidsboard of education 1878–1885, served on theboard of aldermen from the Seventh Ward 1880–1882, and wasmayor in 1884.[1] In 1885, he was appointed by GovernorRussell A. Alger as a Trustee of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb inFlint, Michigan for a term ending in 1891.
Belknap defeatedMelbourne H. Ford in 1888 to be elected as aRepublican fromMichigan's 5th congressional district to theUnited States House of Representatives for theFifty-first Congress. He served from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1891. He was not a candidate for re-nomination to theFifty-second Congress in 1890, but was subsequently elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Ford on April 20, 1891. Belknap served from November 3, 1891, to March 3, 1893. He unsuccessfully contested the election ofGeorge F. Richardson to theFifty-third Congress. He performed staff duty atFort Oglethorpe during theSpanish–American War.
He died in Grand Rapids and is interred in the Greenwood Cemetery there.
Belknap, Charles Eugene.Bentonville: what a bummer knows about it. Prepared by Companion Brevet Major Charles E. Belknap ... read at the stated meeting of January 4, 1893. [Washington: N.p., 1893].
—-.History of the Michigan organizations at Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, 1863.Lansing, Michigan: R. Smith printing co., 1897.
—-.The legend of the trailing arbutus. Grand Rapids: The Dean-Hicks press, 1924.
—-.The yesterdays of Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids: The Dean-Hicks company, 1922.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Crawford Angell | Mayor ofGrand Rapids, Michigan 1884 | Succeeded by John L. Curtis |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | United States Representative for the 5th Congressional District of Michigan 1889 – 1891 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Representative for the 5th Congressional District of Michigan November 3, 1891 – 1893 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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