John Milton Thayer

For other people with the same name, see John Thayer (disambiguation).
John Milton Thayer

John Milton Thayer
Born (1820-01-24)January 24, 1820
Bellingham, Massachusetts
Died March 19, 1906(1906-03-19) (aged 86)
Lincoln, Nebraska
Place of burial Wyuka Cemetery, Lincoln, Nebraska
Allegiance United States of America
Union
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Rank Brevet Major General
Battles/wars

American Civil War

Other work lawyer

John Milton Thayer (January 24, 1820 – March 19, 1906) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a postbellum United States Senator from Nebraska. Thayer served as Governor of Wyoming Territory and Governor of Nebraska.

Thayer was born in Bellingham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.[1] He attended and taught in rural schools. He graduated from Brown University in 1841, and established a practice in Worcester, Massachusetts. Thayer was the editor of the Worcester Magazine and the Historical Journal. Thayer served as a lieutenant in the local militia company before deciding to move with his family to the West. He was married to Mary Torrey Allen on December 27, 1842, and they had six children.[2]

Career

Arriving in Nebraska in 1854, he quickly affiliated himself with the Republican Party and actively participated in politics, as well as owning a large farm near Omaha. He became the major general of the Territorial Militia[3] and gained a reputation as an Indian fighter in his encounters with the local Pawnee.

Thayer served as delegate to the 1860 State Constitution Convention which organized the Republican Party in the Nebraska Territory. He was elected to the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1860.[4]

Civil War

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Thayer wrote a letter to Secretary of War Simon Cameron asking that he be allowed to raise a Nebraska regiment in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. He resigned his legislative seat in June 1861 to become Colonel of the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment,[5] and spent the entire war fighting in the Western Theater. He commanded a brigade under Lew Wallace in the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Promoted to brigadier general in October 1862, he led a brigade in the XV Corps. He saw action at the battles of Chickasaw Bayou and Fort Hindman and the siege of Vicksburg.

Thayer was then assigned to the cavalry and commanded the District of the Frontier with his headquarters in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He participated in the Camden Expedition and other actions in the region, seeing considerable action at the Battle of Prairie D'Ane. He commanded the rearguard of Frederick Steele's force at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, battling Confederate troops under Sterling Price for over four hours before forcing Price to disengage. His delaying action enabled Steele to successfully extricate his army to safety.

In February 1865, Thayer was relieved of command of Fort Smith and sent to the smaller post at St. Charles, Arkansas, with a regiment of Kansas cavalry and a single artillery battery. However, with the omnibus promotions of leading generals at the close of the war, Thayer was brevetted major general of volunteers in 1865.

Postbellum career

After the Civil War, Thayer served as a member of the 1866 State Constitutional Convention. Upon the admission of Nebraska into the Union as a state, he was elected as one of its first two United States senators. He served as a member of the Senate from 1867 to 1871,[6] when he was unsuccessful in winning reelection.

President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Thayer Governor of the Territory of Wyoming in February 1875 and he took the oath of office March 1, 1875. His service ended on May 29, 1878, and he returned to Nebraska to resume his law practice.

In 1886, Thayer secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination and was elected Governor of Nebraska by popular vote. He served two full terms as Governor of Nebraska, from 1886 to 1888. He was the seventh governor of Nebraska.[7]

Thayer served part of a third term, (May 5, 1891 – February 8, 1892). He contested the results of the 1890 election, in which he lost to James E. Boyd; Boyd was initially installed as governor, but Thayer again became governor until the election was ruled in favor of Boyd. He then retired from public life to follow literary pursuits.

Death and legacy

John M. Thayer died in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was buried in Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.[8]

Thayer County, Nebraska, is named for Thayer.[9] A bust of Thayer is located on the grounds of the Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi. The bust was erected in May 1915 and was sculpted by T.A.R. Kitson.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Gen John Milton Thayer". Find A Grave. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ John Milton Thayer. The Encyclopedia of Nebraska. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Nebraska Governor John Milton Thayer". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Nebraska Governor John Milton Thayer". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Nebraska Governor John Milton Thayer". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Nebraska Governor John Milton Thayer". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Nebraska Governor John Milton Thayer". National Governors Association. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Gen John Milton Thayer". Find A Grave. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Profile for Thayer County, Nebraska, NE". ePodunk. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Brigadier General John M. Thayer". National Park Service. Retrieved October 30, 2012.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Milton Thayer.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.


United States Senate
Preceded by
None		 U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Nebraska
1867–1871
Served alongside: Thomas W. Tipton		 Succeeded by
Phineas W. Hitchcock
Political offices
Preceded by
John Allen Campbell		 Governor of Wyoming Territory
1875–1878 		Succeeded by
John Wesley Hoyt
Preceded by
James W. Dawes		 Governor of Nebraska
1887–1892 		Succeeded by
James E. Boyd
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.