Life span: 09/19/1822 to 10/31/1898TabsLife SummaryFull name: Joseph Rodman WestPlace of Birth: New Orleans, LABurial Place: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VABirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: NorthOrigins: Slave StateEducation: University of PennsylvaniaOccupation: PoliticianMilitaryJournalistPolitical Parties: RepublicanGovernment: US SenateMilitary: Union Army Note Cards Joseph Rodman West (Congressional Biographical Directory) ReferenceWEST, Joseph Rodman, a Senator from Louisiana; born in New Orleans, La., September 19, 1822; moved with his parents to Philadelphia in 1824; educated in private schools; attended the University of Pennsylvania 1836-1837; moved to New Orleans in 1841; captain attached to Maryland and District of Columbia Volunteers in the Mexican War 1847-1848; moved to California in 1849 and engaged in newspaper work in San Francisco; proprietor of the San Francisco Price Current; during the Civil War entered the Union Army as lieutenant of the First Regiment, California Volunteer Infantry, in 1861; promoted to the rank of colonel and brigadier general, and was brevetted major general in 1866; returned to New Orleans, La.; deputy United States marshal; auditor for customs 1867-1871; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1877; was not a candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee on Railroads (Forty-fourth Congress); member of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia 1882-1885; retired from public life in 1885; died in Washington, D.C., October 31, 1898; interment in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. "West, Joseph Rodman," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000303. Events Major TopicsMexican War Documents Images Joseph Rodman West, in uniform, circa 1865 Joseph Rodman West, in uniform, circa 1865, detail Joseph Rodman West, circa 1875 Joseph Rodman West, circa 1875, detail Bibliography
Joseph Rodman West (Congressional Biographical Directory) ReferenceWEST, Joseph Rodman, a Senator from Louisiana; born in New Orleans, La., September 19, 1822; moved with his parents to Philadelphia in 1824; educated in private schools; attended the University of Pennsylvania 1836-1837; moved to New Orleans in 1841; captain attached to Maryland and District of Columbia Volunteers in the Mexican War 1847-1848; moved to California in 1849 and engaged in newspaper work in San Francisco; proprietor of the San Francisco Price Current; during the Civil War entered the Union Army as lieutenant of the First Regiment, California Volunteer Infantry, in 1861; promoted to the rank of colonel and brigadier general, and was brevetted major general in 1866; returned to New Orleans, La.; deputy United States marshal; auditor for customs 1867-1871; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1877; was not a candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee on Railroads (Forty-fourth Congress); member of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia 1882-1885; retired from public life in 1885; died in Washington, D.C., October 31, 1898; interment in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. "West, Joseph Rodman," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000303.
