Lincoln's Rail-Splitter: Governor Richard J. Oglesby

Abstract

Writing a biography of an individual who lived in a time dominated by a greater personality presents a difficult task for historians. The temptation is strong to use the more famous personality as a reference point for evaluating the significance of the lesser-known individual. Succumbing to the temptation, however, often restricts the historical insights that could otherwise have been gained. Mark A. Plummer's biography of Richard J. Oglesby, an Illinois politician whose career spanned the nineteenth century, is a case in point. The historical colossus of Abraham Lincoln casts such a giant shadow in Illinois that the temptation to judge Oglesby's significance by the degree of his interactions with Lincoln is difficult to resist. Plummer struggles valiantly to avoid this temptation. Unfortunately, he is not always successful, which detracts from this otherwise solid biography. Plummer is best when describing Oglesby's fascinating career, a career that reflected many of the currents of nineteenth-century America. Born in Kentucky, Oglesby migrated to Illinois in 1836. Casting about for employment before eventually settling upon law, Oglesby quickly joined the army at the outbreak of the Mexican War. In 1849, he joined the trek to the California goldfields, earning, losing, and earning again a small fortune. He returned to Illinois and speculated in land purchases. By the early 1850s, Oglesby was a successful lawyer, merchant, and speculator. A minor Whig politician, Oglesby made an easy transition into the Republican party, running for Congress in 1858 and for the Illinois senate in 1860. He was sent as a delegate to the Virginia Peace Convention in 1861 before accepting command of a regiment of Illinois volunteers. Oglesby led troops at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Corinth, where he was seriously wounded. Additionally, he helped rally the Union war effort in Illinois, recruited African American troops, and presided over courtmartial trials. Elected governor of Illinois in 1864, Oglesby supported the Radical Republicans and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Leaving office after one term, Oglesby decided to run again for governor in 1872 against the Liberal Republicans. Elected, he resigned to accept a seat in the U.S. Senate, where he waved the “bloody shirt,” supported President Ulysses S. Grant, and voted for inflated currency. Defeated in his Senate reelection bid in 1879, Oglesby left politics until he was elected governor for a third term in 1884, a time marked by widespread labor strikes and the Haymarket riot of 1886. He unsuccessfully attempted another run for the U.S. Senate in 1890 and ended his political career campaigning for William McKinley in 1896.