Union Army general
William Vandever
(March 31, 1817 – July 23, 1893) was a
United States representative
from
Iowa
and later from
California
, and a general in the
Union Army
during the
American Civil War
.
Biography
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Early life
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Vandever was born in
Baltimore, Maryland
, where he attended the common schools and pursued an academic course. He moved to
Illinois
in 1839 and to Iowa in 1851. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1852 and commenced practice in
Dubuque, Iowa
. He was of Dutch descent.
[1]
Congress
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In 1858 he was elected as a
Republican
to represent
Iowa's 2nd congressional district
in the
Thirty-sixth Congress
, and was re-elected in 1860 to represent it in the
Thirty-seventh Congress
. He was a member of the
peace conference of 1861
held in
Washington, D.C.
, in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war.
Civil War
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In 1861, Vandever was mustered into the
Union Army
as
colonel
of the
9th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment
. He commanded the 2nd Brigade in
Eugene A. Carr
's 4th Division at the
battle of Pea Ridge
. He was promoted to
brigadier general
of Volunteers on November 29, 1862, and sent to command a brigade in the
XIII Corps
of the
Army of the Tennessee
. He returned to the
Trans-Mississippi Theater
to command the 2nd Division in the
Army of the Frontier
at the
Battle of Chalk Bluff
. He reverted to brigade command under
Francis J. Herron
during the
siege of Vicksburg
. He returned to Iowa as a recruiting officer in January 1864. He joined up with
William T. Sherman's
army in command of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division,
XVI Corps
and fought at the battles of
Kennesaw Mountain
,
Atlanta
and
Ezra Church
. He commanded the Post of
Marietta
during the fall of 1864 then rejoined Sherman's army in command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division,
XIV Corps
and fought at the
battle of Bentonville
. He was
brevetted
to
major general
in 1865.
Congressional vacancy
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Although his official congressional biography states that Vandever only served in Congress until September 24, 1861 (early in his second term), he never resigned his seat. Iowa's only other congressional seat (in the
First District
) was vacant from August 4 to October 8, 1861, because Representative
Samuel Curtis
had resigned his seat after receiving command of the
2nd Iowa Infantry
, so for a time Iowa was effectively unrepresented in the U.S. House. In May 1862, Democratic Congressman
George H. Browne
of Rhode Island raised a challenge to the constitutionality of Vandever holding a military commission and commanding a regiment while remaining a member of Congress, but consideration by the House on that issue was deferred until December 1862.
[2]
On March 4, 1863, the day after Vandever's second House term ended, his appointment as a brigadier general was confirmed by the Senate.
[3]
Later life
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He resumed the practice of law in Dubuque and was appointed United States Indian inspector by President
Ulysses S. Grant
in 1873, and served until 1877. Vandever moved to
San Buenaventura, California
in 1884. He was elected as a
Republican
to represent
California's 6th congressional district
in the House in the
Fiftieth
and
Fifty-first Congresses
(March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891). At the time, the Sixth District included more than half of the area of the state, extending from
San Diego County
to
Mono County
. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890.
Death
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He died in
Ventura, California
, in 1893 and was buried in Ventura Cemetery.
Electoral history
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See also
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References
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