William Preston (October 16, 1816 – September 21, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician, and ambassador. He also was a brigadier general in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

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 th ...

Biography

Preston, the grandson of Col. William Preston—the namesake of Prestonville, Kentucky—was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Francis Preston Francis Preston (August 2, 1765 – May 26, 1835) was an American lawyer and politician from Abingdon, Virginia. He was the son of Col. William Preston of Virginia, served in both houses of the state legislature, and represented Virginia in th ...

was his uncle. His sister Henrietta married

Albert S. Johnston Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) served as a General officer, general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year mili ...

in 1829. He pursued preparatory studies and graduated from St. Joseph's College in Kentucky. He attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1835 and graduated from the law department of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1838. After graduation from Harvard, Preston was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Louisville in 1839. He served as

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the 4th Kentucky Volunteers in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

from 1847 to 1848. After the war, he was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1849 and a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

in 1850. Subsequently, he served in the State senate 1851–1853. He was elected as a Whig to the

Thirty-second Congress The 32nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1851, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Humphrey Marshall Humphrey Marshall may refer to: *Humphry Marshall (1722–1801), botanist *Humphrey Marshall (general) (1812–1872), Confederate general in the American Civil War *Humphrey Marshall (politician) Humphrey Marshall (1760 – July 3, 1841) wa ...

and reelected to the

Thirty-third Congress The 33rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853, ...

and served from December 6, 1852, to March 3, 1855. He stood again for another term in 1854 but was unsuccessful. President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

appointed Preston as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain in 1858. He resigned as ambassador in 1861 at the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Although his home state of Kentucky did not secede from the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, Preston would serve the South. In November 1861, the provisional government for Kentucky appointed he, Henry C. Burnett and William E. Simms as commissioners to treat with the Confederates States government for the admission of Kentucky into the Confederacy.The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington, 1880-1901), Series 1, v. 1, pp. 743-47. Shortly thereafter, Preston was made a colonel and became volunteer aide-de-camp to his brother-in-law,

Albert Sidney Johnston Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) served as a general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year military career, figh ...

, who then had his

Army of Central Kentucky The Army of Central Kentucky was a military organization within Department No. 2 (the Western Department of the Confederate States of America). Originally called the Army Corps of Central Kentucky, it was created in the fall of 1861 as a subsect ...

quartered at Bowling Green. Preston subsequently attained the rank of brigadier general in 1862. He was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the Confederacy to Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico in 1864. After the war, he again served as a member of the Kentucky State House of Representatives in 1868 and 1869. William Preston died in Louisville and was interred in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.

References

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. .
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

Guide to Wickliffe-Preston family papers, 1770-1887
housed at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, William Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Ambassadors of the United States to Spain Confederate States of America diplomats 19th-century American diplomats Yale University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Confederate States Army brigadier generals People of Kentucky in the American Civil War Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky 1816 births 1887 deaths American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century American politicians Preston family of Virginia

Biography

See also

References

External links