Adelbert Ames

Adelbert Ames was a prominent Union Army officer, Reconstruction-era politician, and the last surviving American Civil War general officer of either side. A recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the First Battle of Bull Run, he later served as a U.S. Senator and twice as the Governor of Mississippi during the turbulent post-war period. His career was defined by his staunch Radical Republican principles and his controversial efforts to enforce Reconstruction Acts and protect the rights of freedmen in the Southern United States.

Early life and education

Adelbert Ames was born in Rockland, Maine, to a sea captain. He secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating fifth in the class of 1861, which included future generals like George Armstrong Custer. His education at the prestigious academy coincided with the escalating secession crisis, and he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army's 5th U.S. Artillery just as the American Civil War began.

Military career

Ames's combat service began immediately, and he was severely wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run while bravely directing his artillery battery, an act for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. He recovered and served with distinction in the Army of the Potomac, fighting in major campaigns including the Peninsula Campaign, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers, he commanded a division in the XI Corps at the Battle of Gettysburg and later led a division in the Army of the James during the Siege of Petersburg. He ended the war as a brevet major general in the Regular Army.

Political career

Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Ames was assigned to the Military Division of the Mississippi and appointed by President Andrew Johnson as the provisional Governor of Mississippi in 1868. Elected to the United States Senate as a Radical Republican, he advocated for the Fourteenth Amendment and clashed with President Ulysses S. Grant over the pace of Reconstruction. Resigning from the Senate, he was elected Governor of Mississippi in 1873, where his administration, supported by the state's legislature and Black militias like the Mississippi Rifles, faced violent opposition from paramilitary groups such as the White League. The Colfax and Coushatta massacres, along with the rise of the Mississippi Plan, culminated in his forced resignation after the disputed election of 1876 and the subsequent Compromise of 1877.

Later life and legacy

After leaving Mississippi, Ames returned to the North, living in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he married Blanche Butler, daughter of General Benjamin Butler. He served a term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and became a successful businessman and manufacturer. He outlived all other Civil War generals, dying at age 97 in Orlando, Florida. His legacy is complex, viewed by some as a champion of racial equality during Reconstruction and by others as a symbol of carpetbagger rule. His son, Butler Ames, served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and his grandson, George Plimpton, was a famous writer.

Category:1835 births Category:1933 deaths Category:People from Rockland, Maine Category:Union Army generals Category:Governors of Mississippi Category:United States senators from Mississippi Category:Recipients of the Medal of Honor