Henry C. Warmoth
Encyclopedia
Henry Clay Warmoth was the 23rd Governor of Louisiana
from 1868 until his impeachment
and removal from office in December, 1872.
, to parents of Dutch
extraction.
His early education was attained in the public school system of Illinois
. He studied law, was admitted to the Missouri
bar in 1861, and then established his legal career, serving as the district attorney
of the Eighteenth Judicial District. During the Civil War
, Warmoth served as Lieutenant Colonel
of the 32nd Missouri Infantry. He was at the capture of Arkansas Post and was wounded in the Battle of Vicksburg
. But he was dishonorably discharged for spreading exaggerations of Union losses. After President Abraham Lincoln
reinstated his military status, Warmoth was commissioned judge of the Department of the Gulf Provost Court in June 1864 by General
Nathaniel Banks. In November 1865, Warmoth resigned from the military to run for Congress.
broke out by newly-freed slaves demanding the franchise. According to the account authored by Warmoth, who witnessed the riot, many blacks and Republicans were killed.
In 1868, General Winfield Scott Hancock
was removed as Military Commander of the 5th Military District (encompassing Texas
and Louisiana) and his hand-picked Governor, Joshua Baker
, resigned. This paved the way for a special election in April, 1868. Warmoth decided to run for Governor as a Republican and after being selected as the nominee over Major Francis E. Dumas, he narrowly defeated Louisiana Supreme Court Justice James G. Taliaferro, who ran as a Democrat
. Warmoth was sworn into office on July 13, 1868. Elected at twenty-six, Warmoth was one of the youngest governors in United States
history
. (Stevens T. Mason, first governor of Michigan, was the youngest state governor, elected at age 24.)
Also elected with Warmoth was Oscar Dunn
as Lieutenant Governor, who was an African-American painter. When Dunn died in office, he was succeeded by P.B.S. Pinchback, who was President of the State Senate.
In the 1868 presidential election, Democrat Horatio Seymour
carried Louisiana, but Ulysses Grant was elected President. As a result of electoral anomalies in that election, Warmoth created the State Returning Board. All election returns were reported to the State Returning Board for validity and approval.
Under Warmoth, the state’s bonded debt rose from $6 million to $25 million and at one time reached over $100 million.
Legislation was sanctioned that permitted blacks in railroad coaches, as well as in schools and in restaurants; however, a more liberal bill was vetoed by Warmoth. Also, political turmoil developed when Warmoth aggressively endorsed the Democratic ticket of John McEnery
in the 1872 election. The election results were contested, and ultimately President Grant ensured that William P. Kellogg
took office. Impeachment charges were brought against Warmoth by his Republican allies for his actions during the 1872 election. Thirty-five days before the end of his term, he was suspended from office as called for by Louisiana law at the time for impeached officials pending the outcome of a senate trial, which led to the swearing-in of P.B.S. Pinchback as the first black Governor in the United States. An impeachment
trial was not held.
. They had two sons and a daughter and resided at Magnolia Plantation in Plaquemines Parish. Warmoth helped establish a sugar refinery and led a campaign for a higher tariff to protect the sugar industry. After the tariff passed, Warmoth sold his plantation.
In 1888, Warmoth ran for and lost a race for Governor to Francis T. Nicholls
. He was appointed Collector of Customs in New Orleans by President Benjamin Harrison
in 1890 while Warmoth was living in the St. Charles Hotel.
Warmoth died in New Orleans at age 89.
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...
from 1868 until his impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
and removal from office in December, 1872.
Early life and military career
Henry Warmoth was born on May 9, 1842, in McLeansboro, IllinoisMcLeansboro, Illinois
McLeansboro is a city in Hamilton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,883 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hamilton County. Located in Southern Illinois, the town was named for Dr. William B. McLean, who donated the land for its founding...
, to parents of Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
extraction.
His early education was attained in the public school system of 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,...
. He studied law, was admitted to the Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
bar in 1861, and then established his legal career, serving as the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
of the Eighteenth Judicial District. During 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...
, Warmoth served as Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
of the 32nd Missouri Infantry. He was at the capture of Arkansas Post and was wounded in the Battle of Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...
. But he was dishonorably discharged for spreading exaggerations of Union losses. After President 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...
reinstated his military status, Warmoth was commissioned judge of the Department of the Gulf Provost Court in June 1864 by General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Nathaniel Banks. In November 1865, Warmoth resigned from the military to run for Congress.
Political career
Arriving in Union-occupied New Orleans, penniless but resourceful, Warmoth focused on the newly freed black men, easily convincing them that he was the man to represent them in government. He entered private law practice in New Orleans, ran for Congress as a Republican and was elected. After the assassination of President Lincoln, none of the southern elected Representatives were seated by the Radical Republican majority; Warmoth returned to New Orleans. The next year a riotRiot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
broke out by newly-freed slaves demanding the franchise. According to the account authored by Warmoth, who witnessed the riot, many blacks and Republicans were killed.
In 1868, General Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
was removed as Military Commander of the 5th Military District (encompassing Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Louisiana) and his hand-picked Governor, Joshua Baker
Joshua Baker
Joshua Baker was the 22nd Governor of Louisiana during Reconstruction.-Early life:Joshua was born March 23, 1799 in Mason County, Kentucky. His father was Joshua Baker and his mother was Susan Lewis. In 1803, the Baker family moved to the Mississippi Territory and by 1811 they had settled at...
, resigned. This paved the way for a special election in April, 1868. Warmoth decided to run for Governor as a Republican and after being selected as the nominee over Major Francis E. Dumas, he narrowly defeated Louisiana Supreme Court Justice James G. Taliaferro, who ran as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Warmoth was sworn into office on July 13, 1868. Elected at twenty-six, Warmoth was one of the youngest governors in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. (Stevens T. Mason, first governor of Michigan, was the youngest state governor, elected at age 24.)
Also elected with Warmoth was Oscar Dunn
Oscar Dunn
Oscar James Dunn was one of three African Americans who served as a Republican lieutenant governor of Louisiana during the era of Reconstruction....
as Lieutenant Governor, who was an African-American painter. When Dunn died in office, he was succeeded by P.B.S. Pinchback, who was President of the State Senate.
In the 1868 presidential election, Democrat Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He was the 18th Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election of 1868, but lost the election to Republican and former Union General of...
carried Louisiana, but Ulysses Grant was elected President. As a result of electoral anomalies in that election, Warmoth created the State Returning Board. All election returns were reported to the State Returning Board for validity and approval.
Under Warmoth, the state’s bonded debt rose from $6 million to $25 million and at one time reached over $100 million.
Legislation was sanctioned that permitted blacks in railroad coaches, as well as in schools and in restaurants; however, a more liberal bill was vetoed by Warmoth. Also, political turmoil developed when Warmoth aggressively endorsed the Democratic ticket of John McEnery
John McEnery (politician)
John McEnery was a Louisiana Democratic politician and lawyer who was considered by Democrats to be the winner of the highly contested 1872 election for Governor of Louisiana. After extended controversy over election results, the Republican candidate William Pitt Kellogg was certified...
in the 1872 election. The election results were contested, and ultimately President Grant ensured that William P. Kellogg
William P. Kellogg
William Pitt Kellogg was an American politician and a governor of Louisiana from 1873-1877 during Reconstruction. He was one of the most important politicians in Louisiana during and immediately after Reconstruction...
took office. Impeachment charges were brought against Warmoth by his Republican allies for his actions during the 1872 election. Thirty-five days before the end of his term, he was suspended from office as called for by Louisiana law at the time for impeached officials pending the outcome of a senate trial, which led to the swearing-in of P.B.S. Pinchback as the first black Governor in the United States. An impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
trial was not held.
After the governorship
In 1877, Warmoth married heiress Sally Durand of Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. They had two sons and a daughter and resided at Magnolia Plantation in Plaquemines Parish. Warmoth helped establish a sugar refinery and led a campaign for a higher tariff to protect the sugar industry. After the tariff passed, Warmoth sold his plantation.
In 1888, Warmoth ran for and lost a race for Governor to Francis T. Nicholls
Francis T. Nicholls
Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls was an American attorney, politician, judge, and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
. He was appointed Collector of Customs in New Orleans by President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
in 1890 while Warmoth was living in the St. Charles Hotel.
Warmoth died in New Orleans at age 89.
Henry Warmoth in Popular Culture
Henry Warmoth is the pseudonym of a New Orleans service industry writer and Quarter Rat columnistExternal links
- State of Louisiana - Biography
- Inventory of the Henry Clay Warmoth Papers, 1798-1953, in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. - Encyclopedia Louisiana
- National Governors Association
- Cemetery Memorial by La-Cemeteries