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| The 1872 campaign poster for Ulysses S Grant and Henry Wilson |
In
1852, Wilson was an unsuccessful candidate for US Representative. He
was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1853 and
also ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Massachusetts in 1853.
However, in 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate to fill
the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward Everett. He was
reelected as a Republican in 1859, 1865 and 1871, and served as a
Senator from January 31, 1855 to March 4, 1873, when he resigned to
become our Vice President under President Ulysses S. Grant.
As
a Senator, Wilson was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs
and the Militia and the Committee on Military Affairs. In that
capacity, Wilson passed on over 15,000 nominations that Lincoln
submitted during the course of the War, and worked closely with him
on legislation affecting the Army and Navy. During the Civil war, he
raised and briefly commanded the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry. After the war he became an early member of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
A
controversy that swirled around Wilson's name since 1861 was that he
(while Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs) may have
revealed plans for the invasion of Virginia culminating in the First
Battle of Bull Run to southern spy (and Washington society figure)
Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Wilson (although married) had seen a great deal
of Mrs. Greenhow, and while with her may have told her about the
plans followed by Major General Irvin McDowell, which may have been
part of the intelligence Mrs. Greenhow got to Confederate forces
under Major
General Pierre Beauregard. If so this information may have led to the
Northern rout in that battle. However, in his most recent biography,
an alternative (a Northern clerk named Horace White) was suggested as
the real leak.
An
abolitionist and fierce supporter of equal rights in the United
States Senate, Henry Wilson advocated for equal pay for
African-American soldiers. In a speech in the U. S. Senate, he said
that our treatment of black soldiers was almost as bad as that of
the rebels soldiers.
Wilson
suffered a serious stroke in 1873. Although partly paralyzed, he
fought to actively perform his duties as presiding officer over the
United States Senate. He suffered what was believed to be a minor
attack on November 10, 1875, and was taken to the Vice President's
Room to recover. Over the next several days, his health appeared to
improve and his friends thought he was nearly recovered. However, on
November 22 at 7:20 am, Wilson died from a second stroke while
working in the United States Capitol Building. He was interred in Old
Dell Park Cemetery in Natick, Massachusetts.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons
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