John Benjamin Sanborn (December 5, 1826 – May 6, 1904) was a lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

who served as a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during 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 ...

. He was also a key member of the postbellum Congressional-appointed

Indian Peace Commission The Indian Peace Commission (also the Sherman, Taylor, or Great Peace Commission) was a group formed by an act of Congress on July 20, 1867 "to establish peace with certain hostile Indian tribes." It was composed of four civilians and three, la ...

, which negotiated and signed several important treaties with native American tribes.

Early life and career

John B. Sanborn was born on a farm in

Epsom, New Hampshire Epsom is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,834 at the 2020 census. History Incorporated in 1727, Epsom takes its name from Epsom in Surrey, England. Although dotted with several small mountains, the la ...

, on December 5, 1826. He was the youngest of five children of Deacon Frederick and Lucy L. (Sargent) Sanborn. He was educated at the Thetford Academy and the Pembroke Academy. He briefly attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1851–52, but left after only one quarter to join the law office of Asa Fowler in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

. He passed his bar exam in 1854 and subsequently moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in December of that year. In partnership with two other men, he established a law firm in January 1855. In March 1857, Sanborn married Catherine Hall. 1859, Sanborn was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

for a term, and then was elected to the

Minnesota State Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

in 1861. His wife died in 1860.

Civil War

In April 1861 Sanborn was appointed as the state's

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

. His duties included overseeing the organization and equipping of three

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s of volunteer

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

for the fledgling Union army. He became the

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

of the 4th Minnesota Infantry in December 1861. The regiment had been mustered into Federal service by companies at Fort Snelling between October 4 and December 23. Sanborn and his men moved to Benton Barracks in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, on April 23, 1862. Sanborn led the 1st Brigade, 7th Division of the

Army of the Mississippi Army of the Mississippi was the name given to two Union armies that operated around the Mississippi River, both with short existences, during the American Civil War. History 1862 The first army was created on February 23, 1862, with Maj. Gen ...

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Henry Wager Halleck Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...

Siege of Corinth The siege of Corinth (also known as the first Battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, from May 18 to May 30, the

Battle of Iuka A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

, September 19 and then in the

Second Battle of Corinth The second Battle of Corinth (which, in the context of the American Civil War, is usually referred to as the Battle of Corinth, to differentiate it from the siege of Corinth earlier the same year) was fought October 3–4, 1862, in Corinth, ...

, Oct 3-4 of that year. Sanborn's brigade fought in

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 ...

's Central Mississippi Campaign from November 1862 to January 1863. That was followed by Grant's

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Ri ...

, with the

Battle of Port Gibson The Battle of Port Gibson was fought near Port Gibson, Mississippi, on May 1, 1863, between Union and Confederate forces during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union Army was led by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and was v ...

on May 1, the

Battle of Raymond The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River city of Vicksburg failed. Beg ...

eleven days later, and the Battle of Jackson on May 14. Sanborn also participated in the subsequent

Battle of Champion's Hill The Battle of Champion Hill of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confe ...

, the Battle of Big Black River, and the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mis ...

from May 18 to July 4. During part of the time, he commanded a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

. Sanborn's men performed garrison duty at Vicksburg following the surrender. On August 4, 1863,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 ...

appointed Sanborn to the grade of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of volunteers to rank from that date. In October of that year the U.S. War Department named him as the commander of the District of Southwestern Missouri. He played a key role in helping defeat the forces of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

during his Missouri Raid. On February 10, 1865, President Lincoln appointed Sanborn to the grade of brevet major general of volunteers, to rank from that date, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on February 20, 1865. Sanborn was mustered out of the volunteers on April 30, 1866.Eicher, 2001, p. 468.

Postbellum career

Following the collapse of the Confederacy in the spring of 1865, Sanborn was ordered in June to report to Maj. Gen. John Pope in the

Western frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

to help subdue hostile Indians. In September he,

William Bent William Wells Bent (May 23, 1809 – May 19, 1869) was a frontier trader and rancher in the American West, with forts in Colorado. He also acted as a mediator among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding United St ...

, and famed explorer

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

were appointed as commissioners to negotiate a peace treaty with several tribes. Sanborn remarried in November 1865 to Anna Elmer Nixon. From February 1867 until 1869, Sanborn was a member of the Indian Peace Commission, an appointment confirmed by the U.S. Congress. Among his accomplishments was the negotiation of the

Medicine Lodge Treaty The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the Federal government of the United States and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by re ...

. Sanborn commanded the District of the Upper Arkansas. He mustered out of the army in 1869 and returned to Minnesota. He resumed his partnership in the law firm of Sanborn, French and Lund. In 1872, he was elected to another term as a state representative and remained heavily involved in state politics and in various veterans organizations on both a state and national level. In 1874, he was involved in the Sanborn Contract scandal. He was again a state senator from 1891 until 1893. He married a third time, to Rachel Rice. In May 1903, Sanborn was elected as the president of the Minnesota Historical Society. He died in St. Paul a year later. His son, John B. Sanborn, Jr., also served in the Minnesota legislature and as a federal judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. File:John B Sanborn.jpg, Maj. Gen. John B. Sanborn File:John B Sanborn.JPG, John B Sanborn statue, Minnesota State Capitol
by John Karl Daniels File:18-14-163-vicksburg.jpg, Bust of Sanborn by T.A.R. Kitson,

Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi (flanking the Mississippi River), also commemorates the greater ...

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press, 2001, . * Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, . * U.S. War Department
''The War of the Rebellion''
''a Compilation of the

Official Records The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

External links