Green Berry Raum (December 3, 1829 – December 18, 1909) was a lawyer, author, and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Illinois, as well as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He served in the Western Theater, seeing action in several major battles while leading first an infantry regiment and then a brigade. He also presided over the

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for seven years and was a prolific author of historical non-fiction books concerning politics and general Illinois history.

Early life and career

Born in Golconda, Illinois, Raum attended the common schools. He later studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1853 and practiced in Golconda 1853–1856. He moved to Kansas in 1856 and practiced his profession for two years. He then returned to Illinois and settled in Harrisburg.

Civil War service

Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Raum enlisted in September 1861 in the Union Army as the

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the 56th Illinois Infantry, and rose to its

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in 1862. He and his regiment served under Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans during the 1862 Siege of Corinth, Mississippi. There, he ordered and led the charge that broke the

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left and captured an

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. In 1863, he was part of the army of

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

that invested and forced the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi. He led the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XVII Corps during the Chattanooga Campaign, and was wounded at the

Battle of Missionary Ridge The Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, Union forces in the Military Division of ...

in November 1863. During the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, Raum's brigade held the line of communication from Dalton to Acworth and from

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to Rome. He was brevetted as a brigadier general of volunteers on September 19, 1864. In October of that year, he reinforced

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, and held it against General

John B. Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

. Raum was promoted to the full rank brigadier general on February 15, 1865, and served through the end of the hostilities. He led the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division,

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during the Carolinas Campaign in early 1865.

Postbellum career

Raum resigned his commission on May 6, 1865, and returned home to Illinois. In 1866 he obtained a charter for the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad Company, aided in securing its construction, and became its first president. He was elected as a Republican to the

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(March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1868 to the Forty-first Congress. He then served as United States Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 1876 to 1883. He was acting chairman of the 1880

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in Chicago, Illinois. As United States Commissioner of Pensions from 1889 to 1893, he was responsible for overseeing the acceptance or rejection of pension applications for thousands of Civil War veterans. He engaged in the practice of law in Chicago until his death there on December 18, 1909. He and his wife Maria Field (1831–1915) are buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.Burial Detail: Raum, Green B (Section 2, Grave 1230)
– ANC Explorer

Books and publications written by Raum

* ''The Existing Conflict between Republican Government and Southern Oligarchy''. 1884. Reprint, New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969. * "Finance and Labor and the Great Danger of the Hour": Speech Delivered by Hon. Green B. Raum, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, at Peoria, Illinois, October 12, 1878. Washington, D.C.: National Republican Publishing Co., 1878. * ''History of Illinois Republicanism''. Chicago: Rollins Publishing Company, 1900. * "National Development". Speech of Hon. Green B. Raum, Delivered in the House of Representatives, July 13, 1868. Washington: Chronicle Print, 1868. * ''Twenty Years of Republican Rule''. Washington, D.C.: National Republican print., 1882.

Notes

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-10 * Barlow, William, “U.S. Commissioner of Pensions Green B. Raum of Illinois.” ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' 60 (Autumn 1967): pp. 297–312. * Thompson, Josephine, and Scerial Thompson, ''Fighter: Military, Political—Green Berry Raum. In Idols of Egypt'', edited by Will Griffith, Carbondale, Illinois: Egypt Book House, 1947. pp. 181–201.

External links

*
Green Berry Raum
at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website * at www.generalsandbrevets.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-10 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raum, Green Berry 1829 births 1909 deaths Commissioners of Internal Revenue Union Army generals Illinois lawyers Kansas lawyers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People of Illinois in the American Civil War People from Golconda, Illinois People from Harrisburg, Illinois 19th-century American railroad executives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American politicians