Greene Washington Caldwell (April 13, 1806 – July 10, 1864) was a Congressional Representative from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. He was born in

Belmont, North Carolina Belmont is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about west of uptown Charlotte and east of Gastonia. The population was 10,076 at the 2010 census. Once known as Garibaldi Station, it was named for th ...

in 1806.

Education and Career

In 1831, Greene Washington Caldwell graduated from the Medical Department of University of Pennsylvania. The following year, he served for several months as an assistant surgeon in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

before deciding to leave the medical field to study law. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar and practiced in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, North Carolina. Caldwell began his career representing North Carolinians in 1836 when he was elected to the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

. Caldwell stayed in this deleted position until 1841 when he was elected to the 27th U.S. Congress as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Caldwell remained a representative until 1843, serving a single term. He was not a candidate for renomination. The following year in 1844, Caldwell was appointed as

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

. Caldwell's government service was interrupted by the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

where he served as a commissioned captain of the Third Dragoons on April 9, 1847. He was mustered out the following year on July 20, 1848. Caldwell returned to political life and was elected to the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

in 1849. Two of his lieutenants, Davidson and Harrison, were also elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. Caldwell was unsuccessful in a bid for Congress in 1851 and resumed his medical practice in Charlotte.

Death

Caldwell died in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, on July 10, 1864, and was buried in Old Settlers' Cemetery in Charlotte.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Greene 1806 births 1864 deaths Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives American military personnel of the Mexican–American War People from Belmont, North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina