Lovell Rousseau | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rousseau, 1860–1870 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's5th district | |
| In office December 3, 1866 – March 3, 1867 | |
| Preceded by | Incumbent |
| Succeeded by | Asa Grover |
| In office March 4, 1865 – July 21, 1866 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Mallory |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| Member of theKentucky Senate from the15th district | |
| In office November 1860 – June 1861 | |
| Preceded by | John G. Lyons |
| Succeeded by | James Speed Charles T. Worthington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lovell Harrison Rousseau (1818-08-04)August 4, 1818 nearStanford, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | January 7, 1869(1869-01-07) (aged 50) New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Whig Unconditional Union |
| Spouse | Maria Dozier |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army (Union Army) |
| Years of service | 1846–1847 1861–1865 1867–1869 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands | 5th Kentucky Infantry Regiment Department of Louisiana |
| Battles/wars | Mexican-American War • Battle of Buena Vista American Civil War • Battle of Perryville • Battle of Stones River • Tullahoma Campaign • Third Battle of Murfreesboro |
Lovell Harrison Rousseau (August 4, 1818 – January 7, 1869) was ageneral in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War, as well as a lawyer and politician inKentucky andIndiana.
Rousseau was a member of theWhig Party early in his political career and later became a member of theUnconditional Union Party. He was a member of the Indiana State Senate from 1847 to 1849 and was a member of the Kentucky State Senate from 1860 to 1861. During the Civil War, Rousseau served in the Union Army as a colonel, a brigadier general, and a major general. He served in the Thirty-ninth Congress, resigned, and was re-elected to Congress. Rousseau was censured by the House of Representatives in 1866 for assaulting Rep.Josiah B. Grinnell on the House floor.
Rousseau was made a brigadier general in the U.S. Army in 1867 and given the brevet rank of major general. Thereafter, he served in Alaska and Louisiana.[1]
Born nearStanford, Kentucky, on August 4, 1818, Rousseau attended the common schools as a child. His father, David Rousseau, brought his family across the Appalachians from Virginia, but he had a difficult time regaining economic equilibrium (despite extensive holdings in undeveloped land andslaves). Lovell's elder brother had already left home, so when their father died ofcholera attempting to move the family to a new home in 1833, it fell to Lovell and his younger brothers to dig their father's roadside grave. At age fifteen, he had become his family's primary breadwinner. Soon afterwards, he was forced to sell his family's slaves in an effort to cover the family's debts.
Eager to earn a wage, he began working on a road-building crew, traveling around theMidwest. Determined to rise, he studied grammar, mathematics, and French, and returned to Kentucky where heread law inLouisville, Kentucky, for several months. In 1841, hepassed the Indiana bar examination and beganpracticing law with his brother, Richard Hillaire Rousseau, as juniorpartners in a firm led by James I. Dozier, inBloomfield, Indiana.[2] Both brothers married Dozier's daughters. Richard married Mary E. Dozier in 1839, while Lovell married Maria A. Dozier in 1843. (Mary Dozier Rousseau died young, and Richard remarried.)[3]
Lovell successfully ran for theIndiana House of Representatives as a Whig candidate in 1844, and in 1846 he was commissioned as acaptain in theMexican–American War and charged with raising acompany of volunteers. He led them at theBattle of Buena Vista, where he helped rally the Indiana troops at a key point in the battle.
When he returned from the war, he gained a seat in theIndiana Senate and continued to run a successful law practice.
After relocating to Louisville, Kentucky, he served in theKentucky Senate from 1860 to 1861.
As theCivil War was becoming more and more likely, Rousseau decided in favor of maintaining state government inKentucky and helped keep it from seceding from theUnion. He resigned from his seat in the senate in June 1861 and applied for a commission to raise volunteers. Against the opposition of many prominent figures in Kentucky, he succeeded in raising two regiments composed entirely of Kentuckians atCamp Joe Holt, across theOhio River from Louisville inJeffersonville, Indiana. They were known as theLouisville Legion. With the help of a battalion of theLouisville Home Guard, the regiments saved Louisville from being captured byConfederate troops. He was appointedcolonel of the5th Kentucky Infantry Regiment in September 1861 and was later promoted tobrigadier general ofVolunteers attached to the army ofGeneralOrmsby M. Mitchel.
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Later, Rousseau was once again promoted tomajor general of Volunteers. He served valiantly at the Battles ofShiloh,Stones River, during the Battle of Hoover's GapTullahoma Campaign and movements aroundChattanooga, Tennessee. Although from November 1863 until his resignation in November 1865, Rousseau had command ofNashville, Tennessee, he had also, on Sherman's orders, carried out a very successful raid on theMontgomery and West Point Railroad in July 1864.[4]
Rousseau was elected as anUnconditional Unionist to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1864, serving from 1865 to 1867. As a former military officer, he served on theCommittee on Military Affairs. In June 1866, relations between Rousseau andIowa RepresentativeJosiah B. Grinnell became tense. The two had a series of debates over a bill intended to give more power to theFreedman's Bureau. Rousseau opposed the bill, having seen and heard about rebellious and illegal actions by Bureau agents, whereas Grinnell, a former active abolitionist and helper to runaway slaves, strongly supported it. The debates eventually turned into mudslinging; Grinnell questioned Rousseau's military record and insulted his performance in battle, and made disparaging comments about Kentucky.
On June 14, 1866, Rousseau approached Grinnell in the eastportico of the Capitol after a session of Congress. He told Grinnell that he had been waiting for an apology from him for the insults he made about him before the House. Grinnell pretended not to know what Rousseau was talking about, enraging Rousseau, who struck him repeatedly with the iron handle of hisrattan cane until it broke. He struck him chiefly in the face but a few blows hit Grinnell's hand and shoulder. Grinnell walked away with only bruises and did not have to absent himself from Congress. However, a committee was organized to investigate the incident, composed ofNathaniel P. Banks,Henry J. Raymond,Rufus P. Spalding,M. Russell Thayer, andJohn Hogan.
Rousseau wascensured by the House on July 17, 1866, for his assault on Grinnell. He resigned from Congress on July 21, 1866, but later won a special election to fill the vacancy caused by his resignation and continued to serve in Congress until 1867.[5]
Rousseau's daughter, Mary E. Rousseau, marriedLouis Douglas Watkins, USV, inJefferson County, Kentucky, on August 4, 1864.[1]
After leaving theHouse of Representatives, Rousseau was appointedbrigadier general in theU.S. Army with thebrevet rank ofmajor general, and was assigned to duty inAlaska on March 27, 1867. General Rousseau played a key role in thetransfer of Alaska from theRussian Empire to theUnited States on October 18, 1867, today celebrated asAlaska Day. On July 28, 1868, he was placed in command of the Department ofLouisiana. He died in this capacity inNew Orleans, Louisiana, on January 7, 1869. He was interred inCave Hill National Cemetery inLouisville, Kentucky; in 1892, his wife had his body removed from Cave Hill and re-interred atArlington National Cemetery inArlington, Virginia. His monument at Cave Hill remains.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's 5th congressional district 1865–1866 | Succeeded by Himself |
| Preceded by Himself | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's 5th congressional district 1866–1867 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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