American politician (1831?1886)
John Franklin Miller
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In office
March 4, 1881 ? March 8, 1886
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Preceded by
| Newton Booth
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Succeeded by
| George Hearst
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In office
1861
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Succeeded by
| John Reynolds
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Born
| (
1831-11-21
)
November 21, 1831
South Bend, Indiana
, U.S.
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Died
| March 8, 1886
(1886-03-08)
(aged 54)
Washington, D.C.
, U.S.
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Resting place
| Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia
, U.S.
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Nationality
| American
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Political party
| Republican
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Relations
| John Franklin Miller
(nephew)
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Parent
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Signature
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Allegiance
| United States of America
Union
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Branch/service
| United States Army
Union Army
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Rank
| Brevet
Major General
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Battles/wars
| American Civil War
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John Franklin Miller
(November 21, 1831 – March 8, 1886) was a lawyer, businessman, and general in the
Union Army
during the
American Civil War
. He represented
California
in the
United States Senate
from 1881 until his death. He was a proponent of several bills against Chinese immigrants.
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Miller was born in
South Bend, Indiana
, to
William Miller
.
[1]
His nephew, also named
John Franklin Miller
, was later a congressman from
Washington
. Both sometimes went by John F. Miller. Miller was educated in South Bend,
Chicago
, and in
Ballston Spa, New York
, where he received a law degree in 1852 from the New York
State and National Law School
. He was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in South Bend, but moved the next year to
Napa, California
. There, he continued his career as a lawyer, as well as becoming the county treasurer. He returned to South Bend in 1855 and resumed his practice. Miller was elected to the
Indiana State Senate
in 1860.
Civil War
[
edit
]
With the
secession
of eleven
Southern states
and the outbreak of the Civil War, Miller joined the Union Army. On August 27, 1861, Governor
Oliver P. Morton
commissioned Miller as
Colonel
of the 29th Indiana Infantry. After training, the regiment was assigned to
Kirk's
Brigade in
Alexander M. McCook
's
division
in
Buell's
Army of the Ohio
and marched to
Tennessee
. Miller saw action on the second day of the
Battle of Shiloh
, as well as during the subsequent
Siege of Corinth
. Miller led his regiment through northern
Alabama
and
Tennessee
and pursued
Braxton Bragg
through
Kentucky
. Miller commanded a
brigade
under
James Negley
during the
Battle of Stones River
in late December 1862. On the second day of the battle, Miller spearheaded the Federal counterattack across
Stones River
which repulsed
John C. Breckinridge
's Confederate attack. During this charge Miller was wounded in the neck.
During the
Tullahoma Campaign
, Miller commanded a brigade under General McCook in the
XX Corps
. He was severely wounded, losing his left eye, in a minor
fight at Liberty Gap
on June 27, 1863, and was out of action for nearly a year while he recuperated. Miller was promoted to
brigadier general
April 10, 1864, retroactive to January 5. In May 1864, he was assigned to administrative duty as commander of the garrison at
Nashville, Tennessee
. He returned to the field in December, commanding a sizable force of infantry and artillery at the
Battle of Nashville
. For his services at that battle, Miller was
brevetted
as a
major general
on March 13, 1865.
Return to California
[
edit
]
Miller declined a commission as a colonel in the
Regular Army
and resigned from the Volunteers on September 29, 1865, to move back to California when President
Andrew Johnson
appointed him as collector of customs of the
Port of San Francisco
, a post he held until 1869 when he declined another term. He turned to business interests, and served for 12 years as the President of the
Alaska Commercial Company
, which controlled the fur industry in newly acquired
Pribilof Islands
.
Miller purchased the property which was part of
Rancho Yajome
in
Napa Valley
in the year 1869.
[2]
At the time Miller bought this holding, it was entirely
wilderness
area. General and Mrs. Miller purchased the property in several parcels from different grantors, including the United States via a deed signed by President U.S. Grant and the State of California by a deed signed by Governor
Newton Booth
. Deeds conveying the various parcels to the General were dated in the years 1869, 1872, 1873 and 1881.
Silverado Country Club
now occupies the property.
Miller returned to politics, from 1878–79 as a member of the second state constitutional convention. The California
state legislature
elected the
Republican
Miller as one of the state's two
Senators
in 1880. He was an outspoken proponent of several bills to limit the influx and influence of Chinese
immigrants
.
He expressed his sentiments during passage of the 1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
:
"One complete man, the product of free institutions and high civilization, is worth more to the world than hundreds of barbarians. Upon what other theory can we justify the almost complete extermination of the Indians, the original possessor of all these States? I believe that one such man as Newton, or Franklin, or Lincoln, glorifies the creator of the world and benefits mankind more than all the Chinese who have lived, struggled and died on the banks of the Hoang Ho."
?
13 Cong. Rec. 1,487 (1882).
He was chairman, Committee to Revise the Laws of the United States (Forty-seventh Congress) and served on the Committee on Foreign Relations (Forty-ninth Congress).
Senator Miller died in
Washington, D.C.
, while in office. He was initially buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, but was reinterred in the
Arlington National Cemetery
on May 5, 1913, alongside his wife Mary Wickerham (Chess) Miller, his daughter, and his son-in-law, Rear Admiral
Richardson Clover
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- This article incorporates
public domain material
from the
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Eicher, John H., and
Eicher, David J.
,
Civil War High Commands
, Stanford University Press, 2001,
ISBN
0-8047-3641-3
.
- Warner, Ezra J.,
Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders
, Louisiana State University Press, 1964,
ISBN
0-8071-0822-7
External links
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