Allen Ralph Bushnell (July 18, 1833March 29, 1909) was an

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attorney, politician, and Democratic

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from the

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. He also served as a

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officer in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

with the famous

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

Early life

Born in

Hartford, Ohio Hartford (also called Croton) is a village in the township of the same name in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 397 at the 2010 census. History Hartford was laid out in 1824, and named after Hartford, Connecticut, the nat ...

, Bushnell attended the public schools of Hartford, and attended Oberlin and Hiram colleges in Ohio and studied law. He moved to

Grant County, Wisconsin Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,938. Its county seat is Lancaster. The county is named after the Grant River, in turn named after a fur trader who lived in the area ...

, in 1854 and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in the office of attorney Stephen O. Paine, in Platteville. He taught school to help with his expenses, and, in December 1857, he was admitted to the Wisconsin Bar at

Lancaster, Wisconsin Lancaster is a city in and the county seat of Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,907 at the 2020 census. History Lancaster originated as a planned community to serve as the county seat for Grant County. Anticipating th ...

. He established his own legal practice in Platteville, which he maintained for the next four years. In 1860, he was elected

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Grant County, taking office in January 1861. However, he served only a few months in the position; after the outbreak of the

, Bushnell resigned his office to

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

for service with the

Civil War service

He responded to President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's call for

75,000 volunteers On April 15, 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for a 75,000-man militia to serve for three months following the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter. Some southern states refused to send tro ...

, and was enrolled as a

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in a company of militia known as the Platteville Guards, which afterward became Company C of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. At the time the regiment mustered into service, Bushnell was commissioned as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

of the company. Upon arriving in the eastern theater of the war, the 7th Wisconsin Infantry was organized into a brigade under General Rufus King with the 2nd Wisconsin, 6th Wisconsin, and 19th Indiana regiments. Their brigade soon became famous in the war as the

of the

. He rose to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company C, fighting at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

and the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

, and received an honorable discharge in 1863 due to medical disability. After his discharge, he returned to Ohio, where he was under the care of his father for the next year.

Political career

He returned to Wisconsin in 1864 to resume the practice of law, but relocated from Platteville to Lancaster. Shortly after returning to Wisconsin, his successor as Grant County district attorney,

Joseph Trotter Mills Joseph Trotter Mills (December 18, 1812November 22, 1897) was an American attorney, jurist, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served four one-year terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was Wisconsin circuit court judge for th ...

, resigned after being elected to the

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 10 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and criminal cas ...

judgeship. Governor

James T. Lewis James Taylor Lewis (October 30, 1819August 5, 1904) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 9th Governor of Wisconsin (1864–1866). Prior to his election as governor, he was the 7th Secretary of State of Wisconsin (1862&n ...

appointed Bushnell to fill out the remainder of Mills' term as district attorney, expiring in January 1865. He resumed his interest in politics with the

Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a right-wing political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Paul Farrow. The state party is divided into 72 county parties f ...

, and, in 1871, he was elected to the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

for Grant County's 2nd Assembly district, defeating James Wilson Seaton. He served on the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary and the Joint Committee on Charitable and Penal Institutions. After Lancaster was incorporated as a city in 1878, Bushnell was elected as its first mayor. Despite his history in the Republican party, in 1876 he endorsed and campaigned for Democrat Samuel J. Tilden for President, due to his exasperation over the spending of the post-war years, and his contempt for the Republican political machine. He subsequently became attached to the Democratic Party. When Democrat

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

became President in 1885, Bushnell was appointed

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the

Western District of Wisconsin The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (in case citations, W.D. Wis.) is a federal court in the Seventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...

, and ultimately served until a successor was appointed by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

, in 1890. Later that year, he was the Democratic nominee for

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Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district covers most of the Driftless Area in southwestern and western Wisconsin. The district includes the cities of Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Stevens Point, as well as many Wisconsin-based exurbs of the Minne ...

, and unseated Republican

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

in the

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of 1890. He moved his residence to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, in 1891, before being sworn in to the 52nd United States Congress in March. He became a proponent of silver-backed currency. His most lasting contribution was likely his support for a proposed constitutional amendment for the direct election of U.S. senators—the measure passed the House of Representatives, but failed in the Senate. The concept would take another 20 years to be ratified as the

Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and2 of the Constitution, under wh ...

. The 1891 congressional redistricting significantly affected Bushnell, putting him in the same district as fellow incumbent Democrat

Charles Barwig Charles Barwig (March 19, 1837February 15, 1912) was a German American immigrant, businessman, and Democratic politician. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing the east-central part of Wisconsin. B ...

. The party chose to renominate Barwig instead of Bushnell in the 1892 election, and Bushnell left office in March 1893.

Later years

He resumed the practice of law in Madison, and worked as counsel and treasurer for the Wisconsin Life Insurance Company. He stood for office one final time, running for

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

in 1906, but was defeated by attorney William H. Timlin in a four-way race. He contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

while attending his sister's funeral in Platteville, and died at his home in Madison on March 29, 1909. He was interred at Hillside Cemetery, in Lancaster.

Personal life and family

Allen Bushnell was the son of Dr. George W. Bushnell and his wife Sarah (' Bates). He was first married to Laura F. Burr and had three children with her before her death in 1873, though only one daughter survived infancy. He subsequently married a cousin of Laura Burr, Mary P. Sherman, in 1875. With Mary Sherman, he had at least three more children, though only one son, Alfred, survived childhood.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1871)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1871

U.S. House of Representatives (1890)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1890

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1906)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 3, 1906

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell, Allen Ralph 1833 births 1909 deaths Hiram College alumni Oberlin College alumni Mayors of places in Wisconsin Union Army officers People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War People from Platteville, Wisconsin People from Licking County, Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians United States Attorneys for the Western District of Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly