Napoleon Bonaparte Thistlewood (March 30, 1837 – September 15, 1915) was a veteran of 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 th ...

who served as a

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 the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

from 1908 to 1913.

Early life and career

Napoleon Thistlewood was born in

Kent County, Delaware Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851, making it the least populous county in Delaware. The county seat is Dover, the state capital of Delaware. It i ...

, near the town of Harrington. He attended the public schools in that area. In 1858 he moved to

Mason, Illinois Mason is an incorporated town in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 345 at the 2010 census, down from 396 at the 2000 census. It was named after Roswell Mason, an official of the Illinois Central Railroad. Mason is pa ...

, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. Thistlewood served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war he returned to Mason and resumed business pursuits. He later moved to

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

, where he served two terms as that city's mayor, 1879-1883 and 1897-1901.

Military and government service

Thistlewood enlisted 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 (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in 1862 and served as captain of Company C, Ninety-eighth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served in the Army of the Cumberland, in Wilder's Brigade, and with Wilson's Cavalry Corps. At the conclusion of his second mayoral term in Cairo, Thistlewood was named Department Commander of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

for Illinois (1901).

Congress

Thistlewood was elected as a Republican to the Sixtieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the 1907 death of George W. Smith. He was elected to the Sixty-first and Sixty-second Congresses and served from February 1908 to March 1913. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress. He retired and was a resident of

, until his death in that city on 15 September 1915.

Death

He died in Cairo in 1915. He was interred in Beech Grove Cemetery, Mounds, Illinois.

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-15 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thistlewood, Napoleon Bonaparte 1837 births 1915 deaths People from Cairo, Illinois Union Army officers People of Illinois in the American Civil War Mayors of places in Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American legislators People from Harrington, Delaware Grand Army of the Republic officials