Edward W. Stanly (January 10, 1810 – July 12, 1872) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a North Carolina politician and orator who represented the southeastern portion of the state in the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

for five terms. In 1857, Stanly ran for Governor of California, but lost to

John B. Weller John B. Weller (February 22, 1812August 17, 1875) was the fifth governor of California from January 8, 1858 to January 9, 1860 who earlier had served as a congressman from Ohio and a U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico. Lif ...

. Politicians of the mid-nineteenth century remarked that Stanly bore a strong physical resemblance to

William H. Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...

, though this resemblance lessened over time.

Biography

Stanly was born in New Bern, North Carolina, on January 10, 1810. He was a son of U.S. Representative John Stanly of New Bern and a cousin of U.S. Senator

George Edmund Badger George Edmund Badger (April 17, 1795May 11, 1866) was a slave owner and Whig U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina. Early life Badger was born on April 17, 1795, in New Bern, North Carolina. He attended Yale College (where he was a ...

. Stanly attended New Bern Academy and graduated from the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy, Norwich University in 1829. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1832. He settled in Beaufort County and began to practice law. Four years later, he successfully ran for a seat in the

on the Whig ticket. He served in the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh congresses from March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1843. Stanly earned his reputation as North Carolina's greatest orator of his generation during his first term in Congress. Throughout his service in Congress, Stanly was a leader of the Southerners who emphasized the Union over states' rights. He won the nickname the 'Conqueror' during his re-election campaign of 1839. After an unsuccessful bid for re-election in 1843 due to unfavorable redistricting, Stanly returned to North Carolina, where he served as a member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1844 to 1846 and again in 1848. He was speaker of the State House from 1844 to 1846, and his impartial presiding was hailed by Commoners of both parties as returning dignity to the chamber in the place of the former political rancor. Stanly served briefly as attorney general of North Carolina in 1847-1848. In 1849, Stanly was again elected to the U.S. House, serving two terms from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1853. He declined to run for a sixth term in the elections of 1853 and instead moved to California and practiced law in San Francisco. He was the Republican Party’s unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1857. He served as a general 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 ...

, and he was also a slaveowner.

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 Stanly military governor of eastern North Carolina with the rank of brigadier general on May 26, 1862. Stanly resigned this office less than a year later on March 2, 1863, in a dispute with President Lincoln over the Emancipation Proclamation. He returned to California and resumed his law practice. He died in San Francisco on July 12, 1872. He is buried in the Stanly family plot at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Personal life

On May 11, 1859, in San Francisco, Stanly married Cornelia Baldwin, the sister of Joseph G. Baldwin, a Virginia-born attorney who served on the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...

. She died April 13, 1903, in San Francisco. Stanly's sister married General

Walker Keith Armistead Walker Keith Armistead (March 25, 1783 – October 13, 1845) was a military officer who served as Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Armistead was born in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, and served as an o ...

. His brother, Fabius Stanly, was a Unionist and rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. Stanly's nephew Brigadier General

Lewis Armistead Lewis Addison Armistead (February 18, 1817 – July 5, 1863) was a career United States Army officer who became a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. On July 3, 1863, as part of Pickett's Charge during ...

, fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Armistead led the Confederate Army at Pickett’s Charge during the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. Stanly and Armistead were born in the same house in New Bern, North Carolina. The home stands today.

Sources consulted

NCpedia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanly, Edward 1810 births 1872 deaths Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina People of North Carolina in the American Civil War California Republicans Norwich University alumni Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina North Carolina Attorneys General Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians American slave owners Union Army generals

Biography

Personal life

Sources consulted

Further reading

References

External links