McClernand, John Alexander

Life Span
to
Full name
John Alexander McClernand
Place of Birth
Birth Date Certainty
Exact
Death Date Certainty
Exact
Gender
Male
Race
White
Sectional choice
North
Origins
Slave State
Occupation
Politician
Military
Attorney or Judge
Political Parties
Democratic
Government
US House of Representatives
State legislature
Military
Union Army

John Alexander McClernand (Congressional Biographical Directory)

Reference
McCLERNAND, John Alexander, a Representative from Illinois; born in Breckinridge County, Ky., on May 30, 1812; moved with his parents to Shawneetown, Ill., in 1813; attended the village schools; engaged in agricultural pursuits; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1832; served in the Black Hawk War; engaged as a trader on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in 1833 and 1834; established the Shawneetown Democrat in 1835 and in the same year commenced the practice of law; member of the State house of representatives in 1836, 1840, 1842, and 1843; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1851); chairman, Committee on Public Lands (Twenty-ninth Congress), Committee on Foreign Affairs (Thirty-first Congress); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1850; moved to Jacksonville, Ill., in 1851 and to Springfield in 1856; elected to the Thirty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Thomas L. Harris; reelected to the Thirty-seventh Congress and served from November 8, 1859, until October 28, 1861, when he resigned to accept a commission as brigadier general of Volunteers for service in the Civil War; returned to Illinois to raise troops for the Union Army; was promoted to major general in 1862; elected circuit judge of the Sangamon District of Illinois in 1870 and served until 1873; resumed the practice of law; presided over the Democratic National Convention in 1876; appointed by President Cleveland as a member of the Utah Commission; died in Springfield, Ill., September 20, 1900; interment in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
"McClernand, John Alexander," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000337.
Date Event
Illinois Democrats of the Sixth District nominate John A. McClernand for Congress
Brigadier General Grant sails from Cairo, Illinois to attack Confederate positions along the Mississippi
In Mississippi County, Missouri, Brigadier General Grant and his men overrun a Confederate camp at Belmont
- On the Tennessee River, Union forces deploy for an assault on Forts Henry and Donelson
- In Tennessee, Union forces surround Fort Donelson and begin probing attacks
In Tennessee, Union troops reinforce the siege of Fort Donelson, while gunboats attack from the river
In Tennessee, Confederate troops attempt a full-scale break out from the siege of Fort Donelson
In Tennessee, General Grant forces Fort Donelson's "unconditional and immediate" surrender
Massed Confederate forces attack the Union's Army of the Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing
At Pittsburg Landing, Union reinforcements turn the tide on the second day of the Battle of Shiloh
- Battle of Arkansas Post
The Army of the Tennessee secures its beachhead across the Mississippi at the Battle of Port Gibson
In Mississippi, the Army of the Tennessee wins a pivotal battle at Champion Hill and moves on to Vicksburg
At the Big Black River Bridge, Union troops sweep aside a blocking force covering the Confederate retreat to Vicksburg
On the Mississippi, the Union's Army of the Tennessee completely surrounds Vicksburg
The Union's Army of the Tennessee attempts the storming of Vicksburg but is beaten back
Second Union attempt to take Vicksburg by infantry assault ends in bloody failure with 500 dead
After twice failing to storm the city, Union General Grant orders a siege at Vicksburg, Mississippi
- In Mississippi, the Siege of Vicksburg continues
General Ulysses S. Grant fires his troublesome and ambitious subordinate, James A. McClernand
Outside Springfield, Illinois, thousands watch the races at the National Horse Fair
Chicago Style Entry Link
Kiper, Richard L. Major General John Alexander McClernand: Politician in Uniform. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1999. view record
How to Cite This Page: "McClernand, John Alexander," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/6205.