Clinton Fisk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clinton Bowen Fisk (1828-12-08)December 8, 1828 York,New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 9, 1890(1890-07-09) (aged 61) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Prohibition |
| Spouse | Jeannette C. Crippen |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
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| Education | Hillsdale College |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch/service | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General BrevetMajor General |
| Unit | 33rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry Army of the Tennessee |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Clinton Bowen Fisk (December 8, 1828 - July 9, 1890) was a senior officer duringReconstruction in theBureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands and served as theProhibition Party's presidential candidate during the1888 presidential election.Fisk University was named in his honor after he endowed it with $30,000.[1] In addition, he helped establish the first free public schools in theSouthern United States for white and African-American children.
Clinton Bowen Fisk was born on December 8, 1828, inYork,Livingston County, New York, to Benjamin Bigford Fisk and Lydia Aldrich Powell.[1] As part of the 19th-century westward migration, his family soon moved toColdwater, Michigan.[2] He studied in the preliminary course at Albion Seminary before becoming one of the five students tomatriculate on the opening day ofMichigan Central College in 1844.[3] Fisk later became a merchant, miller, and banker in Coldwater, but suffered financial disaster in thePanic of 1857. In 1859 he moved toSt. Louis, Missouri, where he started working in the insurance business.
After the start of the Civil War, Fisk joined the Union Army in 1861 as a private and was appointed colonel of the33rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry of theUnion Army on September 5, 1862. He was later commissioned asbrigadier general in charge of a brigade on November 24, 1862, and also served on Major GeneralGeorge Armstrong Custer's staff.[4] He served most of theAmerican Civil War in Missouri and Arkansas, commanding first the District of Southeast Missouri and later the Department of North Missouri to opposing raids into Missouri byConfederate cavalry andguerrillas. In 1865 he was promoted to brevet major general.[5]
After the Civil War, Fisk was appointed assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau for Kentucky and Tennessee under the command ofOliver Otis Howard.[6] He worked through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands and theAmerican Missionary Association to establish the first free schools in the American South for both black and white children. He made the abandoned barracks inNashville, Tennessee, available to theAmerican Missionary Association for the creation of the Fisk School, and endowed it with a total of $30,000.[1][6]
After authorizing legislation expired for the Freedmen's Bureau, Fisk returned to his native New York, where he returned to banking. In 1874 PresidentUlysses S. Grant appointed him to theBoard of Indian Commissioners.[6]
He was a zealous leader of the prohibition movement. In1886 he ran for governor of New Jersey with the Prohibition nomination. During the1888 presidential election he served the Prohibition Party's presidential nominee after being given the nomination by acclamation on June 6, 1888.[7] He was accused of being a possiblespoiler candidate that would preventBenjamin Harrison from winning likeJohn St. John had been accused of in 1884. Harrison won the election although without winning the national popular vote.[8] "General," said one Republican to Fisk, "if I should vote for this [prohibition] bill it would lay me in my political grave." "Vote for it and die, then," Fisk responded, "and I will write on your tombstone, 'Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord'"[9]
Fisk died in New York City on July 9, 1890, frominfluenza and was buried in Coldwater, Michigan.[10] Prohibition Park, a planned community onStaten Island,New York, named one of its major streets Clinton B. Fisk Avenue in his honor. The name remains, although the community changed its name toWesterleigh. In 2001 he was the first to be inducted into the newHillsdale County, Michigan Veterans' Hall of Fame, for his distinguished service in the American Civil War. (Hall of Fame inductee 001, Civil War inductee 001.)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert Stockton Green | 109,939 | 47.44% | −2.49% | |
| Republican | Benjamin Franklin Howey | 101,919 | 43.98% | −2.67% | |
| Prohibition | Clinton B. Fisk | 19,808 | 8.55% | +6.55% | |
| N/A | Other | 73 | 0.03% | +0.03% | |
| Total votes | 231,739 | 100.00% | |||
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prohibition nominee forPresident of the United States 1888 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
