Dictionary of United States History, 1492-1895

Hamlin, Hannibal (1809-1893), was admitted to the bar in 1833. He was a member of the Maine Legislature from 1836 to 1840 and in 1847, being chosen Speaker in 1837, 1839 and 1840. He was a Democratic Representative in Congress from 1842 to 1846, was elected a U. S. Senator in 1848 and served till 1857. He changed his party affiliation on account of anti-slavery sentiments, and was chosen Governor by the Republicans in 1857. He resigned and served in the U. S. Senate from 1857 to 1861, when he was elected Vice-President of the United States on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln, and was a member of the Senate from 1869 to 1881, when he was appointed Minister to Spain and served one year.

McDowell, Irvin (1818-1885), graduated at West Point in 1838 and served, like so many other West-Pointers, in the Mexican War. In 1861 he was appointed brigadier-general, and placed in charge of the Army of the Potomac. His plans for the first battle of Bull Run were admittedly excellent, but nothing could check the demoralization of the green troops. His reputation as a general was unjustly involved in the collapse of the army, and he was never again intrusted with high command. He was a corps commander in Virginia in 1862, fought at the battles of Cedar Mountain and second Bull Run; after the war he was a commander of various military departments, was promoted major-general in 1872, and retired in 1882.

Davis, Jefferson (June 3, 1808-December 6, 1889), President of the Southern Confederacy, was born in Kentucky, and graduated at West Point in 1828. He saw some service in the Black Hawk War, but resigned from the army and became a cotton planter in Mississippi. He represented that State in Congress in 1845-46, but left Congress to take part as colonel in the Mexican War. In the storm of Monterey and the battle of Buena Vista he distinguished himself and was straightway chosen to the U. S. Senate, where he served 1847-51 and 1857-61. In 1851 he ran unsuccessfully as the States-rights candidate for Governor of Mississippi. In President Pierce's administration Mr. Davis was the Secretary of War 1853-57. He had become one of the Southern leaders, received some votes for the Democratic nomination for President in 1860, and in January, 1861, he left the U. S. Senate. He was thereupon elected provisional President of the Confederacy February 9, 1861, and was inaugurated February 18. In November of the same year he was elected President and was inaugurated February 22, 1862. From the second year of the war till the close many of his acts were severely criticised in the South itself. Many Southerners admit that President Davis' actions, especially his interference in military matters, impaired the prospects of success. An instance in point was his removal of General J. E. Johnston from command in 1864. Early in 1865 he conducted unsuccessful negotiations for peace. On the second of April the successes of Grant's army obliged President Davis to leave Richmond; he took the train for Danville, and after consultation proceeded southward and was captured by the Federals near Irwinsville, Ga., May 10, 1865. Until 1867 he was confined as a prisoner in Fort Monroe. He was in 1866 indicted for treason, released on bail the following year, and the trial was dropped. He passed the remainder of his life at Memphis and later in Mississippi, dying in New Orleans. He is the author of "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," two volumes. There are lives by Pollard and Alfriend.