William Vandever (March 31, 1817 – July 23, 1893) was a United States representative from Iowa and later from California, and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Biography

Early life

Vandever was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, where he attended the common schools and pursued an academic course. He moved to Illinois in 1839 and to Iowa in 1851. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1852 and commenced practice in Dubuque, Iowa. He was of Dutch descent. In 1858 he was elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district in the Thirty-sixth Congress, and was re-elected in 1860 to represent it in the

Thirty-seventh Congress The 37th 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, 1861, ...

. He was a member of the peace conference of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war.

Civil War

In 1861, Vandever was mustered into the Union Army as colonel of the 9th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He commanded the 2nd Brigade in

Eugene A. Carr Eugene Asa Niel Carr (March 20, 1830 – December 2, 1910) was a soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Ear ...

's 4th Division at the battle of Pea Ridge. He was promoted to brigadier general of Volunteers on November 29, 1862 and sent to command a brigade in the XIII Corps of the Army of the Tennessee. He returned to the Trans-Mississippi Theater to command the 2nd Division in the Army of the Frontier at the

Battle of Chalk Bluff The Battle of Chalk Bluff (May 1 – 2, 1863), also known as the Skirmish at Chalk Bluff, was a military engagement of the American Civil War. The battle was fought near Chalk Bluff, northwest of St. Francis (present-day Clay County, Arkansa ...

. He reverted to brigade command under

Francis J. Herron Francis Jay Herron (February 17, 1837 – January 8, 1902) was an American soldier who was a Union general during the American Civil War. Biography Francis J. Herron attended the Western University of Pennsylvania, but left at the age of six ...

during the siege of Vicksburg. He returned to Iowa as a recruiting officer in January 1864. He joined up with William T. Sherman's army in command of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XVI Corps and fought at the battles of Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta and Ezra Church. He commanded the Post of

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during the fall of 1864 then rejoined Sherman's army in command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, XIV Corps and fought at the battle of Bentonville. He was brevetted to major general in 1865. Although his official congressional biography states that Vandever only served in Congress until September 24, 1861 (early in his second term), he never resigned his seat. Iowa's only other congressional seat (in the

First District First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

) was vacant from August 4 to October 8, 1861 because Representative Samuel Curtis had resigned his seat after receiving command of the

2nd Iowa Infantry The 2nd Iowa Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Muster In The 2nd Iowa Infantry was organized at Keokuk, Iowa, and mustered into Federal service on May 28, 1861. At Keokuk, the ...

, so for a time Iowa was effectively unrepresented in the U.S. House. In May 1862, Democratic Congressman

George H. Browne George Huntington Browne (January 6, 1818 – September 26, 1885) was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. Born in Glocester, Rhode Island, Browne attended the public schools and was graduated from Brown University in 1840. He studied law. H ...

of Rhode Island raised a challenge to the constitutionality of Vandever holding a military commission and commanding a regiment while remaining a member of Congress, but consideration by the House on that issue was deferred until December 1862. On March 4, 1863, the day after Vandever's second House term ended, his appointment as a brigadier general was confirmed by the Senate.The New Generals
" New York Times, 1863-04-05 at p. 5.

Later life

He resumed the practice of law in Dubuque and was appointed United States Indian inspector by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1873, and served until 1877. Vandever moved to

San Buenaventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

in 1884. He was elected as a Republican to represent California's 6th congressional district in the House in the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891). At the time, the Sixth District included more than half of the area of the state, extending from San Diego County to Mono County. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890. He died in Ventura, California, in 1893 and was buried in Ventura Cemetery. File:William Vandever - Brady-Handy.jpg, William Vandever by Mathew Brady File:21-32-142-vandever.jpg, Bust of Vandever by George Brewster at Vicksburg National Military Park

References

Retrieved on 2008-11-04 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandever, William Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Union Army generals 1817 births 1893 deaths Burials in Ventura County, California American people of Dutch descent People of Iowa in the American Civil War Politicians from Baltimore Politicians from Dubuque, Iowa People from Ventura, California Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California 19th-century American politicians Military personnel from California

Biography

Early life

Civil War

Later life

See also

References