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.