Lucien Bonaparte Caswell (November 27, 1827 – April 26, 1919) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician.

Born in Swanton, Vermont

Swanton (town), Vermont

Swanton is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 6,203 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 61.7 square miles , of which 48.4 square miles is land and 13.3 square miles is...

, he moved with his family to frontier 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...

 in 1836 and settled along the Rock River

Rock River (Illinois)

The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin...

, just south of Lake Koshkonong

Lake Koshkonong

Lake Koshkonong is a reservoir in southern Wisconsin. It lies along the Rock River, . down-river from Fort Atkinson, primarily in southwestern Jefferson County, although small portions of the lake extend into southeastern Dane and northern Rock counties....

. Caswell attended Milton Academy

Milton Academy

Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...

 and Beloit College

Beloit College

Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...

, studying law. He moved to Fort Atkinson

Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin

Fort Atkinson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. In 1996, Money Magazine named Fort Atkinson "One of America's Hottest Little Boomtowns." The population was 11,621 at the 2000 census.- History :Fort...

, where he opened a law practice in 1851.

Caswell served in the Wisconsin State Assembly

Wisconsin State Assembly

The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

 and as a draft

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

 commissioner 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...

 period. He was with Governor Louis P. Harvey

Louis P. Harvey

Louis Powell Harvey was an American politician and the seventh Governor of Wisconsin.Harvey was born in East Haddam, Connecticut, later moving with his family to Ohio. He attended Western Reserve College and Preparatory School and worked as a teacher for a time, and eventually moved to Kenosha,...

 on his fatal trip to visit Wisconsin troops in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

.

Caswell served seven terms 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...

 as a Republican

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...

, representing Wisconsin from 1875 to 1891. As a representative, he was active in establishing the Federal appeals court system and overseeing the construction of the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

.