Edward W. Stanly was a North Carolina politician and orator who represented the southeastern portion of the State in the U.S. House for five terms. In 1857, Stanly ran for Governor of California

Governor of California

The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

 but lost to John B. Weller

John B. Weller

John B. Weller was the fifth Governor of California from January 8, 1858 to January 9, 1860 and a Congressman from Ohio, U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico.-Life:...

. Politicians of the mid-nineteenth century remarked that Stanly bore a strong physical resemblance to William H. Seward

William H. Seward

William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...

, though this resemblance lessened over time.

Biography

Stanly was born in New Bern, North Carolina

New Bern, North Carolina

New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...

, on January 10, 1810. He was a son of U.S. Rep. John Stanly

John Stanly

John Stanly was a Federalist U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1801 and 1803 and again between 1809 and 1811. He was the father of Edward Stanly....

 of New Bern and a cousin of U.S. Senator George E. Badger. Stanly attended New Bern Academy and graduated from the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy, Norwich University

Norwich University

Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...

 in 1829. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1832. He settled in Beaufort County

Beaufort County

Beaufort County may refer to:In Australia* Beaufort County, Western Australiain the United States:* Beaufort County, North Carolina* Beaufort County, South Carolina...

 and began to practice law.

Four years later, he successfully ran for a seat in the United States 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...

 on the Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 ticket. He served in Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh congresses from March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1843. Stanly earned his reputation as North Carolina's greatest orator of his generation during his first term in Congress. Throughout his service in Congress, Stanly was a leader of the Southerners who emphasized the Union over states' rights. He won the nickname the 'Conqueror' during his re-election campaign of 1839.

After an unsuccessful bid for re-election in 1843 due to unfavorable redistricting, Stanly returned to North Carolina, where he served as a member of the House of Commons from 1844 to 1846 and again in 1848. He was speaker of the State House from 1844 to 1846, and his impartial presiding was hailed by Commoners of both parties as returning dignity to the chamber in the place of the former political rancor. Stanly served briefly as attorney general

Attorney General

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

 of North Carolina in 1847.

In 1849, Stanly was again elected to the U.S. House, serving two terms from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1853. He declined to run for a sixth term in the elections of 1853 and instead moved to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and practiced law in San Francisco. He was the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

’s unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1857.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham 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...

 appointed Stanly military governor of eastern North Carolina with the rank of brigadier general on May 26, 1862. Stanly resigned this office less than a year later on March 2, 1863, in a dispute with President Lincoln over the Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...

.

He returned to California and resumed his law practice. He died in San Francisco on July 12, 1872. He is buried in the Stanly family plot at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Stanly had a very colorful nephew who fought on the Confederate side during the Civil War, Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead

Lewis Addison Armistead

Lewis Addison Armistead was a Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War, who was wounded, captured, and died after Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life:...

. Armistead led the Boys in Grey at Pickett’s Charge during 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...

. Stanly and Armistead were born in the same house in New Bern, North Carolina. The home stands today, a pilgrimage stop for both the Blue and the Grey.