Louis Powell Harvey (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1862) was an American politician and the

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

Governor of Wisconsin. He was the first Wisconsin Governor to die in office.

Early life

Harvey was born in

East Haddam, Connecticut East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census. History Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk, the Mohegan and the N ...

, and moved with his family to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in 1828. He attended Western Reserve College and Preparatory School. He worked as a teacher for a time, and eventually moved to

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

, then named Southport, where he founded an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

. In Southport he associated with the Whig Party and edited a Whig newspaper, the ''Southport American'' (1843–1846). Lewis entered into correspondence with a local society called the "Boannergians," in the Summer of 1841 at Western Reserve College in Hudson, Ohio and it became a chapter of Beta Theta Pi on August 9, 1841.

Career

In 1847, Harvey married Cordelia Perrine and they moved to Clinton in

Rock County, Wisconsin Rock County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 163,687. Its county seat is Janesville. Rock County comprises the Janesville- Beloit, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the M ...

, then to the nearby hamlet of Shopiere. He helped organize the Republican Party and was a Republican member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

from 1854 to 1858, Wisconsin Secretary of State from 1860 to 1862, and finally Wisconsin's governor in 1862. In April 1862, having served only a few months as governor, Harvey organized an expedition to bring medical supplies to Wisconsin troops, wounded in the Battle of Shiloh, who were being cared for in hospital boats on the

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 ...

and

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

s. Harvey visited and cheered troops at Cairo, Illinois,

Mound City, Illinois Mound City is a city and the county seat of Pulaski County, Illinois, United States. It is located along the Ohio River just north of its confluence with the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 588. History Mound Ci ...

, and

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

Death

On April 19, 1862, close to Shiloh, Harvey stopped overnight near Savannah,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Late that evening, while trying to step from a tethered boat to a moving steamboat headed back north (a common but dangerous practice), Harvey fell into the Tennessee River and drowned, despite the strenuous rescue efforts of members of his party. His body was found 14 days later, 65 miles downstream near Britt's Landing; his remains lay in state in the

Wisconsin State Capitol The Wisconsin State Capitol, located in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed in 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wi ...

, and he was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. His wife Cordelia became a leading war

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

, honored with the rank of colonel by

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 ...

. She subsequently established veterans hospitals in Wisconsin, away from the war front, and a soldiers' orphans home.Gravesite of Cordelia Harvey
/ref> She is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin. Lieutenant Governor

Edward Salomon Edward Salomon (August 11, 1828April 21, 1909) was a Jewish American politician and the 8th Governor of Wisconsin, having ascended to office from the Lieutenant Governorship after the accidental drowning of his predecessor, Louis P. Harvey. ...

succeeded Harvey.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1861

References

External links

Capsule biography
–

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

Louis Powell Harvey bio
– Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry website, from ''Military History of Wisconsin'' (1866)
Governor Louis Harvey, Wisconsin State Historical Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Louis P. 1820 births 1862 deaths Governors of Wisconsin People from East Haddam, Connecticut Politicians from Kenosha, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War American educators 19th-century American newspaper editors Editors of Wisconsin newspapers Wisconsin state senators Accidental deaths in Tennessee Deaths by drowning in the United States Secretaries of State of Wisconsin Wisconsin Republicans Union (American Civil War) state governors Wisconsin Whigs 19th-century American politicians Republican Party governors of Wisconsin American male journalists 19th-century American male writers United States politicians killed during the Civil War People from Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin Western Reserve Academy alumni