Anthony Lausett Knapp (June 14, 1828 – May 24, 1881) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois, brother of Robert McCarty Knapp. Born in Middletown, New York, Knapp moved with his parents to Illinois in 1839 and settled in the city of Jerseyville. He completed preparatory studies and then studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Jerseyville. He served as member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

1859-1861. Knapp was elected as a Democrat to the

Thirty-seventh Congress The 37th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John A. McClernand. He was reelected to the

Thirty-eighth Congress The 38th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1863, ...

and served from December 12, 1861, to March 3, 1865. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1864. He moved to Chicago in 1865 and to

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, in 1867 and continued the practice of law. He died in

, May 24, 1881. He was interred in Springfield Cemetery. He was reinterred in Oak Grove Cemetery in Jerseyville.

Early life

Born in June 14, 1828 in Orange County, New York, Knapp moved with his family to Greene County, Illinois with his parents at age eleven in 1839. The family remained there for five years before moving to Jerseyville, where the father, Augustus, became a top physician. In 1847, at age nineteen, Knapp had served as a private secretary to Governor Augustus French, a Democrat. In June 1849, at age twenty, Knapp along with his uncle Charles wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, in support of Lincoln's efforts to secure himself a political job as the Commissioner of the General Land Office in Washington. Lincoln had written to Knapp's father two days earlier asking for support. Knapp wrote to Lincoln that he, "accept the assurance of our best wishes for your success, and believe we remain very respectfully yours." The job ultimately went to Chicago attorney, Justin Butterfield.

Politics

As a member of the House, Knapp routinely voted against Lincoln and his administration's policies. He was often aligned with the Copperhead congressman from Ohio, Clement Vallandigham. One modern writer states, "compared to is predecessor McClernand, Knapp sounded too concerned with opposing President Lincoln and less committed to the war effort."Allardice,"'Illinois is Rotten with Traitors!' The Republican Defeat in the 1862 State Election" ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'', 100.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Anthony Lausett 1828 births 1881 deaths Politicians from Springfield, Illinois People from Jerseyville, Illinois Democratic Party Illinois state senators Illinois lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American politicians People from Middletown, Orange County, New York 19th-century American lawyers