McLane, Robert Milligan

This West Point graduate and Democratic loyalist served three presidents as a diplomat, holding posts at difficult times in China under Pierce and in Mexico under Buchanan. He was part of Maryland's delegation to Abraham Lincoln during that state's first troubled months of the Civil War and later served as Governor.
Life Span
to
Full name
Robert Milligan McLane
Place of Birth
Birth Date Certainty
Exact
Death Date Certainty
Exact
Gender
Male
Race
White
Sectional choice
North
Origins
Slave State
No. of Spouses
1
No. of Children
2
Family
Louis M. McLane (father), Catherine Mary Milligan (mother), Georgina Urquhart (wife)
Education
West Point (US Military Academy)
Other
Other Education
St. Mary’s College, Baltimore, MD; College Bourbon, Paris, France
Occupation
Politician
Military
Diplomat
Attorney or Judge
Businessman
Relation to Slavery
White non-slaveholder
Political Parties
Democratic
Government
Polk Administration (1845-49)
Pierce Administration (1853-57)
Buchanan Administration (1857-61)
Diplomat
US House of Representatives
Governor
State legislature
Military
US military (Pre-Civil War)

Robert Milligan McLane (Congressional Biographical Directory)

Reference
McLANE, Robert Milligan,  (son of Louis McLane), a Representative from Maryland; born in Wilmington, Del., June 23, 1815; attended private schools in Wilmington, St. Mary’s College in Baltimore, and the College Bourbon in Paris; appointed a cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point by President Jackson in 1833; was graduated in July 1837 and commissioned second lieutenant of Artillery; served with his regiment during the Seminole War in 1837 and 1838; transferred to the Corps of Topographical Engineers in 1838, and served until he resigned in 1843; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1843 and commenced practice in Baltimore, Md.; member of the State house of delegates in 1845; elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congresses (March 4, 1847-March 3, 1851); chairman, Committee on Commerce (Thirty-first Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1850; appointed commissioner to China in 1853, with the powers of a Minister Plenipotentiary, and at the same time accredited to Japan, Siam, Korea, and Cochin China; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1856 and 1876; appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Mexico March 7, 1859, and served until December 22, 1860; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1876; member of the State senate of Maryland in 1877; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1879-March 3, 1883); chairman, Committee on Pacific Railroads (Forty-sixth Congress); elected Governor of Maryland in 1883 and resigned in 1885; appointed by President Cleveland as United States Minister Plenipotentiary to France March 23, 1885, and served four years; died in Paris, France, April 16, 1898; interment in Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore, Md.
"McLane, Robert Milligan," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000537.
How to Cite This Page: "McLane, Robert Milligan," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/23086.