Durbin Ward
Encyclopedia
John Durbin Ward was an Ohio
lawyer, politician, newspaper publisher, and American Civil War
officer.
. His mother, Rebecca Patterson, named him in honor of the Rev. John Price Durbin http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/d/ed_durbinJP.html (1800–1876), a noted Methodist preacher, who was a school mate of hers.
Around 1823, the family moved to Fayette County, Indiana
, in the southeastern part of that state. Josiah Morrow, the historian of Warren County
, wrote of Ward:
He attended for two years Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio
, one county east of Fayette and across the state line, then taught school in Warren County
and settled there. He studied law under Judge George J. Smith
(1799–1878) and Thomas Corwin
, a Lebanon
attorney who later was Governor of Ohio. After he was admitted to practice, he was Corwin's law partner.
In 1845, Ward, a Whig, was elected Warren County's seventh Prosecuting Attorney, an office once held by Governor Corwin. He served from 1846 to 1850. From 1853 to 1854, he represented Warren County in the Fiftieth General Assembly
, the first held under the new state constitution adopted in 1851. He served only one two-year term in the legislature. During that time, he sponsored legislation for the state to abandon the unprofitable Warren County Canal
that connected Lebanon to the Miami and Erie Canal
at Middletown
.
Upon his retirement from the legislature, he opened a law office in Cincinnati, Ohio
, but continued to live at Lebanon. Ward switched to the Democratic Party about this time and was its nominee for Congress in 1856 and Attorney General
in 1858. (He lost the latter to Republican Christopher Wolcott
.) In 1860, he supported Illinois
Senator Stephen A. Douglas
for President.
called for volunteers to fight in the Civil War
, Ward was the first in his congressional district to enlist. He entered the army as a private, declining a commission. He rose to be a major in the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and saw action at Mill Springs
, Corinth, Stone River, Hoover's Gap
, and Chickamauga
. At Chickamauga
, his left arm was wounded and permanently crippled. In November 1865, he was brevet
ted a brigadier general for his "gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Chickamauga."
named him United States Attorney
for the Southern District of Ohio
. In 1870, he was elected a senator in the General Assembly.
At Lebanon, Ward founded The Lebanon Patriot, a Democratic paper first published on January 16, 1868. Warren County being ardently Republican, the paper was to take the place of the previous Democratic paper in the county, the Democratic Citizen, which was destroyed by a mob at the outbreak of the Civil War
. Ward sold the paper to Edward Warwick in the 1870s.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
lawyer, politician, newspaper publisher, and 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...
officer.
Early life and career
Ward was born in Augusta, KentuckyAugusta, Kentucky
Augusta is a city in Bracken County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2005 census, the city population was 2,004. When Bracken County was organized in 1796, Augusta was the county seat...
. His mother, Rebecca Patterson, named him in honor of the Rev. John Price Durbin http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/d/ed_durbinJP.html (1800–1876), a noted Methodist preacher, who was a school mate of hers.
Around 1823, the family moved to Fayette County, Indiana
Fayette County, Indiana
-2010 Census Data:As of the census of 2010, there were 24,277 people and 9,719 households residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile . There were 10,898 housing units at an average density of 51 per square mile...
, in the southeastern part of that state. Josiah Morrow, the historian of Warren County
Warren County, Ohio
Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...
, wrote of Ward:
- His early opportunities for education were limited, but such was his thirst for knowledge that he became an insatiable reader, and, when he was eighteen years old he had read every book he had ever seen. He has never lost his studious habits, and when at home he is most frequently found in his library . . . .
He attended for two years Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
in Oxford, Ohio
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,943 at the 2000 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. Oxford...
, one county east of Fayette and across the state line, then taught school in Warren County
Warren County, Ohio
Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...
and settled there. He studied law under Judge George J. Smith
George J. Smith
George Joseph Smith was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Kingston, New York, Smith attended the public schools.He engaged in banking and the manufacturing business in New York City and Kingston....
(1799–1878) and Thomas Corwin
Thomas Corwin
Thomas Corwin , also known as Tom Corwin and The Wagon Boy, was a politician from the state of Ohio who served as a prosecuting attorney, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate, and as the 15th Governor of Ohio 20th...
, a Lebanon
Lebanon, Ohio
The population at the 2010 census was 20,033. As of the census of 2000, there were 16,962 people residing in the city. The population density was 1,440.6 people per square mile . There were 6,218 housing units at an average density of 528.1 per square mile...
attorney who later was Governor of Ohio. After he was admitted to practice, he was Corwin's law partner.
In 1845, Ward, a Whig, was elected Warren County's seventh Prosecuting Attorney, an office once held by Governor Corwin. He served from 1846 to 1850. From 1853 to 1854, he represented Warren County in the Fiftieth General Assembly
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...
, the first held under the new state constitution adopted in 1851. He served only one two-year term in the legislature. During that time, he sponsored legislation for the state to abandon the unprofitable Warren County Canal
Warren County Canal
The Warren County Canal was a branch of the Miami and Erie Canal in southwestern Ohio about in length that connected the Warren County seat of Lebanon to the main canal at Middletown in the mid-19th century. Lebanon was at the crossroads of two major roads, the highway from Cincinnati to Columbus...
that connected Lebanon to the Miami and Erie Canal
Miami and Erie Canal
The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that connected the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lake Erie in Toledo, Ohio. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845. It consisted of 19 aqueducts, three guard locks, and 103 canal locks. Each lock measured by and they...
at Middletown
Middletown, Ohio
Middletown is an All-America City located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became a city in 1886...
.
Upon his retirement from the legislature, he opened a law office in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, but continued to live at Lebanon. Ward switched to the Democratic Party about this time and was its nominee for Congress in 1856 and Attorney General
Ohio Attorney General
The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Mike DeWine.-History:...
in 1858. (He lost the latter to Republican Christopher Wolcott
Christopher Wolcott
Christopher Parsons Wolcott was a Republican politician from the state of Ohio. He was Ohio Attorney General 1856-1860 and First Assistant Secretary of War 1862-1863....
.) In 1860, he supported Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
Senator Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
for President.
Civil War
When President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
called for volunteers to fight in the 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...
, Ward was the first in his congressional district to enlist. He entered the army as a private, declining a commission. He rose to be a major in the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and saw action at Mill Springs
Battle of Mill Springs
The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It...
, Corinth, Stone River, Hoover's Gap
Battle of Hoover's Gap
The Battle of Hoover's Gap was the principal battle fought in the Tullahoma Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:...
, and Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
. At Chickamauga
Chickamauga
Chickamauga may refer to:* Chickamauga Indian* Chickamauga Wars , battles between Cherokee and Anglo-American pioneer settlers; also related to the American Revolutionary War* Chickamauga, Georgia...
, his left arm was wounded and permanently crippled. In November 1865, he was brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
ted a brigadier general for his "gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Chickamauga."
Postbellum career
After the war ended, President Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
named him United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Southern District of Ohio
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties. Appeals from the court are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at Cincinnati The...
. In 1870, he was elected a senator in the General Assembly.
At Lebanon, Ward founded The Lebanon Patriot, a Democratic paper first published on January 16, 1868. Warren County being ardently Republican, the paper was to take the place of the previous Democratic paper in the county, the Democratic Citizen, which was destroyed by a mob at the outbreak of the 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...
. Ward sold the paper to Edward Warwick in the 1870s.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals