Albert Rust
Encyclopedia
Albert Rust was a member of the United States House of Representatives
from Arkansas
, and a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress
. He is also known for being a Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army
during the American Civil War
.
; his exact birth date is not known. In 1837, he moved from Virginia to Arkansas, settling in Union County, Arkansas. After arriving he bought land and a store near the river. He was admitted to the bar in 1836 and, by 1838, was contracted by the U.S. government to survey land in the new state. In 1839, the county seat was moved present day Champagnolle after 1839. As Rust owned the only building suitable, it was decided that his storehouse would be used for the courthouse. He then started studying law and was admitted to the bar. In 1842, Rust won a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives
, one of four that he would serve.
Rust ran in a special election for an open congressional seat in 1846. He won fourteen counties, yet got only third place. In 1852 he was elected Speaker Pro-Tempore of the Arkansas House of Representatives
a very powerful position. Then two years later Rust was nominated by the Democrats for United States Congress
. He won the general election and went to Washington, D.C.
.
In 1856, Rust became the center of attention in his efforts to make a compromise over the election of a new speaker. The single candidate who was shown as the most possible favored was Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts. Banks was well known for his opposition to the further extension of slave territory. According the Rust family history, while writing for the New York Tribune
, newspaperman Horace Greeley
quickly “characterized Rust’s resolution as an attempt to make it appear that the contest over the speakership was one of personal rivalries among the candidates and not of principles, and its true purpose to ride the opposition of the powerful candidate, Banks. After the adjournment of Congress on the day The Tribune reached Washington, Rust accosted Greeley on the Capitol grounds and felled him with his cane.” A few days later, Rust struck Greeley again on the streets of Washington.
Rust began to show little interest in many things other than military matters. He was not renominated and his seat was taken by Edward A. Warren
. After working to gain his political future back Rust once again one a seat in the House of Representatives
in 1858. Rust continued his interest in military affairs in his second term.
A supporter of Stephen A. Douglas in the 1860 Presidential election and strong advocate for Union, Rust shifted his position after Lincoln’s call for troops. In May 1861 Arkansas
seceded from the Union, and Rust was named a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress
. When elections for the Confederate Congress were held later in 1861, Rust resigned from his post.
in the organization of the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment, and was appointed colonel
of that unit. The 3rd Arkansas would become Arkansas's most celebrated Civil War regiment and the only Arkansas regiment to be permanently assigned to General Robert E. Lee
's Army of Northern Virginia
. In the fall of 1861, Rust and the 3rd Arkansas took part in the Battle of Cheat Mountain
under Lee. During the winter of that year he and the regiment were under the command of General Stonewall Jackson. They would go on to serve in almost every major battle fought in the east, including the Battle of Gettysburg
, most occurring after Rust was transferred from the regiment.
Rust was raised to the rank of brigadier general on March 4, 1862, and was transferred back to Arkansas, where he was assigned to General Earl Van Dorn
's Army of the West. Rust led Confederate troops at the Battle of Hill's Plantation in July 1862. After the Battle of Pea Ridge
, most Confederate forces were removed from Arkansas and transferred east of the Mississippi River
. Rust fought at the Battle of Shiloh
and the Battle of Corinth
. In April 1863, Rust was once again transferred back to Arkansas and placed under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price
. He later served under General Thomas C. Hindman
in Arkansas and General John Pemberton
and Richard Taylor
in Louisiana
.
Rust eventually lost his command based upon questions regarding his loyalty to the Confederate cause. Giving up active military service, he moved to Austin, Texas to be with his family, who had abandoned their home in Arkansas, during the Federal occupation of the place. According to a biographical sketch of Gen. Rust, near the end of the war he became quite outspoken and bold critic of the Confederate government, regularly expressing Unionist sentiments.
across the Arkansas River
from Little Rock
. He returned to Washington as a member of the US House of Representatives and was even a Republican candidate for the US Senate in 1869 before he withdrew himself from candidacy. On 3 April 1870, Rust died near Little Rock, Arkansas of an inflammation of the brain, while his wife and children were away visiting family in Virginia. His burial place is the subject of some dispute. Contemporary accounts state that he was buried at the historic Mount Holly Cemetery
in Little Rock, but other accounts indicate that he was buried in an unmarked grave next to the Confederate monument in Oakland Cemetery. His Congressional biography states that he is buried in "Old Methodist Cemetery." A memorial marker to General Rust is located in the Confederate section of the Little Rock National Cemetery
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress
Provisional Confederate Congress
The Provisional Confederate Congress, for a time the legislative branch of the Confederate States of America, was the body which drafted the Confederate Constitution, elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy, and designed the first Confederate flag...
. He is also known for being a Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early life and political career
Albert Rust was born in 1818 in Fauquier County, VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
; his exact birth date is not known. In 1837, he moved from Virginia to Arkansas, settling in Union County, Arkansas. After arriving he bought land and a store near the river. He was admitted to the bar in 1836 and, by 1838, was contracted by the U.S. government to survey land in the new state. In 1839, the county seat was moved present day Champagnolle after 1839. As Rust owned the only building suitable, it was decided that his storehouse would be used for the courthouse. He then started studying law and was admitted to the bar. In 1842, Rust won a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
, one of four that he would serve.
Rust ran in a special election for an open congressional seat in 1846. He won fourteen counties, yet got only third place. In 1852 he was elected Speaker Pro-Tempore of the Arkansas House of Representatives
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
a very powerful position. Then two years later Rust was nominated by the Democrats for United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. He won the general election and went to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
In 1856, Rust became the center of attention in his efforts to make a compromise over the election of a new speaker. The single candidate who was shown as the most possible favored was Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts. Banks was well known for his opposition to the further extension of slave territory. According the Rust family history, while writing for the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
, newspaperman Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
quickly “characterized Rust’s resolution as an attempt to make it appear that the contest over the speakership was one of personal rivalries among the candidates and not of principles, and its true purpose to ride the opposition of the powerful candidate, Banks. After the adjournment of Congress on the day The Tribune reached Washington, Rust accosted Greeley on the Capitol grounds and felled him with his cane.” A few days later, Rust struck Greeley again on the streets of Washington.
Rust began to show little interest in many things other than military matters. He was not renominated and his seat was taken by Edward A. Warren
Edward A. Warren
Edward Allen Warren was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas.Born near Eutaw, Alabama, Warren completed preparatory studies.He studied law....
. After working to gain his political future back Rust once again one a seat in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 1858. Rust continued his interest in military affairs in his second term.
A supporter of Stephen A. Douglas in the 1860 Presidential election and strong advocate for Union, Rust shifted his position after Lincoln’s call for troops. In May 1861 Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
seceded from the Union, and Rust was named a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress
Provisional Confederate Congress
The Provisional Confederate Congress, for a time the legislative branch of the Confederate States of America, was the body which drafted the Confederate Constitution, elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy, and designed the first Confederate flag...
. When elections for the Confederate Congress were held later in 1861, Rust resigned from his post.
Civil War service
Returning to Arkansas, Rust assisted Van H. ManningVan H. Manning
Vannoy Hartrog Manning was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi and an officer in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
in the organization of the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment, and was appointed colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of that unit. The 3rd Arkansas would become Arkansas's most celebrated Civil War regiment and the only Arkansas regiment to be permanently assigned to General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
. In the fall of 1861, Rust and the 3rd Arkansas took part in the Battle of Cheat Mountain
Battle of Cheat Mountain
The Battle of Cheat Mountain, also known as the Battle of Cheat Summit Fort, took place from September 12 to 15, 1861, in Pocahontas County and Randolph County, Virginia as part of the Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of the Civil War in which Robert...
under Lee. During the winter of that year he and the regiment were under the command of General Stonewall Jackson. They would go on to serve in almost every major battle fought in the east, including the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, most occurring after Rust was transferred from the regiment.
Rust was raised to the rank of brigadier general on March 4, 1862, and was transferred back to Arkansas, where he was assigned to General Earl Van Dorn
Earl Van Dorn
Earl Van Dorn was a career United States Army officer, fighting with distinction during the Mexican-American War and against several tribes of Native Americans...
's Army of the West. Rust led Confederate troops at the Battle of Hill's Plantation in July 1862. After the Battle of Pea Ridge
Battle of Pea Ridge
The Battle of Pea Ridge was a land battle of the American Civil War, fought on March 6–8, 1862, at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Garfield. In the battle, Union forces led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis defeated Confederate troops under Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn. The outcome of the...
, most Confederate forces were removed from Arkansas and transferred east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Rust fought at the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
and the Battle of Corinth
Battle of Corinth
The Battle of Corinth may refer to a Roman battle, or to one of two American Civil War Battles:* The Battle of Corinth * The Siege of Corinth, Mississippi , also known as the First Battle of Corinth, during the American Civil War* The Second Battle of Corinth...
. In April 1863, Rust was once again transferred back to Arkansas and placed under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price
Sterling Price
Sterling Price was a lawyer, planter, and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, who served as the 11th Governor of the state from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a United States Army brigadier general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general in the American Civil...
. He later served under General Thomas C. Hindman
Thomas C. Hindman
Thomas Carmichael Hindman, Jr. was a lawyer, United States Representative from the 1st Congressional District of Arkansas, and a Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
in Arkansas and General John Pemberton
John Pemberton
John Stith Pemberton was a Confederate veteran and an American druggist, and is best known for being the inventor of Coca-Cola.-Early life:...
and Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor (general)
Richard Taylor was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was the son of United States President Zachary Taylor and First Lady Margaret Taylor.-Early life:...
in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Rust eventually lost his command based upon questions regarding his loyalty to the Confederate cause. Giving up active military service, he moved to Austin, Texas to be with his family, who had abandoned their home in Arkansas, during the Federal occupation of the place. According to a biographical sketch of Gen. Rust, near the end of the war he became quite outspoken and bold critic of the Confederate government, regularly expressing Unionist sentiments.
After the war
After the war Rust moved from his home in El Dorado, ArkansasEl Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado , a multi-cultural arts center: South Arkansas Arts Center , an award-winning renovated downtown, and numerous sporting, shopping, and dining opportunities. El Dorado is the population, cultural, and business center of the 7,300 mi² regional area...
across the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
from Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
. He returned to Washington as a member of the US House of Representatives and was even a Republican candidate for the US Senate in 1869 before he withdrew himself from candidacy. On 3 April 1870, Rust died near Little Rock, Arkansas of an inflammation of the brain, while his wife and children were away visiting family in Virginia. His burial place is the subject of some dispute. Contemporary accounts state that he was buried at the historic Mount Holly Cemetery
Mount Holly Cemetery
Mount Holly Cemetery is the original cemetery in the Quapaw Quarter area of downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, and is the resting place for numerous Arkansans of note...
in Little Rock, but other accounts indicate that he was buried in an unmarked grave next to the Confederate monument in Oakland Cemetery. His Congressional biography states that he is buried in "Old Methodist Cemetery." A memorial marker to General Rust is located in the Confederate section of the Little Rock National Cemetery
External links
- Evans, Clement Anselm; "Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History" (1899)
- Eicher, David J.; "The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War (2001)"
- McPheeters, William M., Pitcock, Cynthia Dehaven, Gurley, Bill J.; "I Acted From Principle: The Civil War Diary Of Dr. William M. Mcpheeters, Confederate Surgeon In The Trans-Mississippi" (2005)
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas (Albert Rust)
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress