James Shields
Encyclopedia
James Shields was an American
politician
and United States Army
officer who was born in Altmore
, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history
to serve as a U.S. Senator
for three different states
. Shields was a senator from Illinois
1849 to 1855, in the 31st
, 32nd
, and 33rd congresses
, from Minnesota
from May 11, 1858 to March 4, 1859, in the 35th congress
, and from Missouri
from January 27, 1879 to March 4, 1879, in the 45th congress
.
clan, Shields was the nephew of another James Shields
, also born in Ireland, who was a Congressman
from Ohio
. The younger Shields immigrated to the United States
around 1826 and settled in Kaskaskia
, Randolph County, Illinois
where he studied and later practiced law. He served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives
, beginning to serve in 1836, and then as an Illinois Supreme Court justice and in 1839 as the state auditor. (He was elected when not yet a citizen; Illinois then required only that a legislator have been resident in the state for six months.)
Shields nearly fought a duel with Abraham Lincoln
on September 22, 1842. Lincoln had published an inflammatory letter in a Springfield
, Illinois
, newspaper, the Sagamon Journal that poked fun at Shields, the State Auditor. Lincoln's future wife and her close friend, continued writing letters about Shields without his knowledge. Taking offense to the articles, Shields demanded "satisfaction" and the incident escalated to the two parties meeting on a Missouri island called Sunflower Island, near Alton, Illinois
to participate in a duel. Lincoln took responsibility for the articles and accepted the duel. Just prior to engaging in combat, Lincoln made it a point to demonstrate his advantage by easily cutting a branch just above Shields' head, the two participants' seconds intervened and were able to convince the two men to cease hostilities, on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.
In 1846, Shields was selected as a brigadier general
of volunteers to fight in the Mexican-American War. He served under Zachary Taylor
along the Rio Grande River. He commanded the 3rd Brigade, Volunteer Division, at the battles of Vera Cruz
and Cerro Gordo
, where he was wounded. He returned to fight at the battles of Contreras
and Churubusco
, his brigade now part of the 4th Division. He was again wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec
.
Following the war, on August 14, 1848, he was nominated by President Polk
, and confirmed by the United States Senate
to serve as governor of Oregon Territory
that was created that same day. However, he declined the position and Joseph Lane
was nominated and became the first governor of the new territory. He resigned to run for the Senate from Illinois. His election was voided by the Senate on the grounds that he had not been a United States citizen for the nine years required by the United States Constitution
; having been naturalized October 21, 1840. He returned to Illinois and campaigned for re-election, and won the special election to replace himself, and was then seated.
In 1855, he was defeated for re-election, so he moved to Minnesota. He was elected as one of the two first Senators from that state, but his term was only from 1858 to 1859, and he was again not re-elected.
He was the editor of the 1854 book, A History of Illinois, from its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847
Shields then moved to California
and served as a brigadier general of volunteers from that state during the American Civil War
. He commanded the 2nd Division of the V Corps
, Army of the Potomac
(subsequently part of the Army of the Shenandoah), during the Valley Campaign
of 1862. He was wounded at the Battle of Kernstown
on March 22, 1862, but his troops inflicted the only tactical defeat of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the campaign (or the war). The day after Kernstown, he was promoted to major general
, but the promotion was withdrawn, reconsidered, and then finally rejected. His overall performance in the rest of the Valley Campaign was poor enough that he resigned his commission, and his departure was not resisted by the War Department.
In 1863 he moved to Mexico
and operated mines, and then to Wisconsin
, but in 1866 moved to Missouri, where he served as member of the Missouri State House of Representatives, and as railroad commissioner. In 1879, he was elected to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Senator Lewis V. Bogy
. He served only three months and declined to run for re-election.
Shields died in Ottumwa, Iowa
. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Carrollton, Missouri
. He represents Illinois in the National Statuary Hall
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer who was born in Altmore
Altmore
Altmore is a hamlet and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is five miles from Carrickmore and four miles from Pomeroy. Most of the community consists of farmers who make their livelihood in cattle and pig farming...
, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
to serve as a U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
for three different states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
. Shields was a senator from 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,...
1849 to 1855, in the 31st
31st United States Congress
The Thirty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1851, during the last 17 months...
, 32nd
32nd United States Congress
The Thirty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853, during the third and...
, and 33rd congresses
33rd United States Congress
The Thirty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855, during the first two years...
, from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
from May 11, 1858 to March 4, 1859, in the 35th congress
35th United States Congress
The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, during the first two years of James...
, and from 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...
from January 27, 1879 to March 4, 1879, in the 45th congress
45th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:-Leadership:-Senate:*President: William A. Wheeler *President pro tempore: Thomas W. Ferry -House of Representatives:*Speaker: Samuel J. Randall -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...
.
Early life and career
A descendant of the Ó SiadhailÓ Siadhail
-Overview:There were at least three families of this name in Gaelic Ireland.* Ó Siadhail of Ui Maine, now east County Galway.* Ó Siadhail of Uí Failghe, now County Offaly and County Laois.* Ó Siadhail of Tír Chonaill, now County Donegal....
clan, Shields was the nephew of another James Shields
James Shields (1762-1831)
James Shields was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.-Biography:A descendant of the Ó Siadhail family, Sheilds was born in Banbridge, County Down, Ireland....
, also born in Ireland, who was a Congressman
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 Ohio
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...
. The younger Shields immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
around 1826 and settled in Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia, Illinois
Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. In the 2010 census the population was 14, making it the second-smallest incorporated community in the State of Illinois in terms of population. A major French colonial town of the Illinois Country, its peak population was about...
, Randolph County, Illinois
Randolph County, Illinois
Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 33,476, which is a decrease of 1.2% from 33,893 in 2000. Its county seat is Chester....
where he studied and later practiced law. He served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
, beginning to serve in 1836, and then as an Illinois Supreme Court justice and in 1839 as the state auditor. (He was elected when not yet a citizen; Illinois then required only that a legislator have been resident in the state for six months.)
Shields nearly fought a duel with 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...
on September 22, 1842. Lincoln had published an inflammatory letter in a Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
, 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,...
, newspaper, the Sagamon Journal that poked fun at Shields, the State Auditor. Lincoln's future wife and her close friend, continued writing letters about Shields without his knowledge. Taking offense to the articles, Shields demanded "satisfaction" and the incident escalated to the two parties meeting on a Missouri island called Sunflower Island, near Alton, Illinois
Alton, Illinois
Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...
to participate in a duel. Lincoln took responsibility for the articles and accepted the duel. Just prior to engaging in combat, Lincoln made it a point to demonstrate his advantage by easily cutting a branch just above Shields' head, the two participants' seconds intervened and were able to convince the two men to cease hostilities, on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of volunteers to fight in the Mexican-American War. He served under Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
along the Rio Grande River. He commanded the 3rd Brigade, Volunteer Division, at the battles of Vera Cruz
Siege of Veracruz
The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege of the key Mexican beachhead seaport of Veracruz, during the Mexican-American War. Lasting from 9-29 March 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States military forces, and ended with the surrender and occupation...
and Cerro Gordo
Battle of Cerro Gordo
The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, in the Mexican-American War saw Winfield Scott's United States troops flank and drive Santa Anna's larger Mexican army from a strong defensive position.-Battle:...
, where he was wounded. He returned to fight at the battles of Contreras
Battle of Contreras
The Battle of Contreras, also known as the Battle of Padierna, took place during August 19–20, 1847, in the final encounters of the Mexican-American War. In the Battle of Churubusco, fighting continued the following day.-Background:...
and Churubusco
Battle of Churubusco
The Battle of Churubusco took place on August 20, 1847, in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Contreras during the Mexican-American War. After defeating the Mexican army at Churubusco, the U.S. Army was only 5 miles away from Mexico City, the capital of the nation...
, his brigade now part of the 4th Division. He was again wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec
Battle of Chapultepec
The Battle of Chapultepec, in September 1847, was a United States victory over Mexican forces holding Chapultepec Castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican-American War.-Background:On September 13, 1847, in the costly Battle of Molino del Rey, U.S...
.
Following the war, on August 14, 1848, he was nominated by President Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
, and confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
to serve as governor of Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
that was created that same day. However, he declined the position and Joseph Lane
Joseph Lane
Joseph Lane was an American general during the Mexican-American War and a United States Senator from Oregon.-Early life:...
was nominated and became the first governor of the new territory. He resigned to run for the Senate from Illinois. His election was voided by the Senate on the grounds that he had not been a United States citizen for the nine years required by the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
; having been naturalized October 21, 1840. He returned to Illinois and campaigned for re-election, and won the special election to replace himself, and was then seated.
In 1855, he was defeated for re-election, so he moved to Minnesota. He was elected as one of the two first Senators from that state, but his term was only from 1858 to 1859, and he was again not re-elected.
He was the editor of the 1854 book, A History of Illinois, from its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847
Civil War and later career
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 served as a brigadier general of volunteers from that state 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...
. He commanded the 2nd Division of the V Corps
V Corps (ACW)
The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...
, Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
(subsequently part of the Army of the Shenandoah), during the Valley Campaign
Valley Campaign
Jackson's Valley Campaign was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's famous spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War...
of 1862. He was wounded at the Battle of Kernstown
Battle of Kernstown I
The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War....
on March 22, 1862, but his troops inflicted the only tactical defeat of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the campaign (or the war). The day after Kernstown, he was promoted to major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
, but the promotion was withdrawn, reconsidered, and then finally rejected. His overall performance in the rest of the Valley Campaign was poor enough that he resigned his commission, and his departure was not resisted by the War Department.
In 1863 he moved to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and operated mines, and then to Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, but in 1866 moved to Missouri, where he served as member of the Missouri State House of Representatives, and as railroad commissioner. In 1879, he was elected to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Senator Lewis V. Bogy
Lewis V. Bogy
Lewis Vital Bogy was a United States Senator from Missouri. Born in Ste. Geneviève, he attended the public schools, was employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment, studied law in Illinois, graduated from Transylvania University Lewis Vital Bogy (April 9, 1813 September 20, 1877) was a United...
. He served only three months and declined to run for re-election.
Shields died in Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Carrollton, Missouri
Carrollton, Missouri
Carrollton is a city in Carroll County, Missouri, United States. Carrollton won the 2005 All-America City Award given out annually by the National Civic League. The population was 4,122 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County. It has several restaurants including JB's...
. He represents Illinois in the National Statuary Hall
National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals