James Shields

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James Shields

James Shields (May 10, 1810 – June 1, 1879) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
politician

Politician

A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of politics or a person who influences the way a society is governed....
and United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
officer who was born in Altmore

Altmore

Altmore is a small hamlet in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is five miles from Carrickmore and four miles from Pomeroy, County Tyrone. Most of the community consists of farmers who make their livelihood cattle and pig farming....
, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history

History of the United States

The first known inhabitants of modern-day United States territory are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning sometime prior to 15,000 - 50,000 years ago by crossing Beringia into Alaska....
to serve as a U.S. Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
for three different states

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
. Shields was a senator from Illinois

Illinois

31st United States Congress

The Thirty-first 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....
, 32nd

32nd United States Congress

The Thirty-second 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....
, and 33rd congresses

33rd United States Congress

The Thirty-third 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....
, from Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
from May 11, 1858 to March 3, 1859, in the 35th congress

35th United States Congress

The Thirty-fifth 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....
, and from Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
from January 27, 1879 to March 3, 1879, in the 45th congress

45th United States Congress

The Forty-fifth 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....
.

lds was the nephew of another James Shields

James Shields (1762-1831)

James Shields was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.He was born in Banbridge, County Down, Ireland; he received a good common-school education; entered the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1782 and was graduated in 1786; attended medical college for two years; immigrated to the United States in July 1791 and settled in Frederick County, V...
, also born in Ireland, who was a Congressman

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
from Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
.

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Encyclopedia

James Shields (May 10, 1810 – June 1, 1879) was an American

United States

Politician

United States Army

Altmore

History of the United States

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
for three different states

U.S. state

Illinois

31st United States Congress

32nd United States Congress

33rd United States Congress

Minnesota

35th United States Congress

Missouri

45th United States Congress

Early life and career

Shields was the nephew of another James Shields

James Shields (1762-1831)

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
from Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
. The younger Shields immigrated to the United States

United States

Kaskaskia, Illinois

Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. In the 2000 census the population was 9. It was Illinois' first List of capitals in the United States, before the Capital was moved to Vandalia, Illinois in 1820....
, Randolph County, Illinois

Randolph County, Illinois

Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 33,893. Its county seat is Chester, Illinois....
where he studies and later practiced law. He served as a member of the State House of Representatives, beginning to serve in 1836, and then as a state Supreme Court justice and in 1839 as the state auditor. (He was elected when not yet a citizen; Illinois then required only that a legislator have been resident in the state for six months.)

Shields nearly fought a duel with Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
on September 22, 1842. Lincoln had published an inflammatory letter in a Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County, Illinois with a population of 116,482 . Over 200,000 residents live in the Springfield Springfield, Illinois metropolitan area, which includes Sangamon County and adjacent Menard County, Illinois....
, Illinois

Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
State Auditor—Shields. Taking offense to the article, Shields demanded "satisfaction" and the incident escalated to the two parties meeting on a Missouri island called Sunflower Island, near Alton, Illinois to participate in a duel. Just prior to engaging in combat, the two participants' seconds intervened and were able to convince the two men to cease hostilities, on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.

In 1846, Shields was selected as a brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
of volunteers to fight in the Mexican-American War. He served under Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was an Military of the United States and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States.Known as "Old Rough and Ready", Taylor had a 40-year military career in the United States Army, serving in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, and Seminole Wars before achieving fame leading U.S....
along the Rio Grande River. He commanded the 3rd Brigade, Volunteer Division, at the battles of Vera Cruz

Siege of Veracruz

The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege of the key Mexico seaport of Veracruz, Veracruz, during the Mexican-American War. Lasting from March 9 to March 29, 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States military forces, and ended with the surrender and occupation of the city....
and Cerro Gordo

Battle of Cerro Gordo

The Battle of Cerro Gordo or Sierra Gordo in the Mexican-American War saw Winfield Scott's US troops flank and drive Santa Anna's larger Mexican army from a strong defensive position....
, where he was wounded. He returned to fight at the battles of Contreras

Battle of Contreras

The Battle of Contreras, also known as the Battle of Padierna, took place during the August 19–20, 1847, in the final encounters of the Mexican-American War....
and Churubusco

Battle of Churubusco

The Battles of Churubusco took place on August 20, 1847, in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Contreras during the Mexican-American War. The defeat of the Mexican army at Churubusco left the United States Army only 5 miles away from Mexico City....
, his brigade now part of the 4th Division. He was again wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec

Battle of Chapultepec

The Battle of Chapultepec was a U.S. victory over Mexican forces holding Chapultepec Castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican-American War....
.

Following the war, on August 14, 1848, he was nominated by President Polk

James K. Polk

James Knox Polk was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. He was 49 years old at the time of his inauguration, making him the youngest President up to that time....
, and confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
to serve as governor of Oregon Territory

Oregon Territory

The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and United Kingdom , as well as to the Organized incorporated territories of the United States formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859....
that was created that same day. However, he declined the position and Joseph Lane

Joseph Lane

Joseph Lane was an United States general during the Mexican-American War and a United States Senate from Oregon....
was nominated and became the first governor of the new territory. He resigned to run for the Senate from Illinois. His election was voided by the Senate on the grounds that he had not been a United States citizen for the nine years required by the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
; having been naturalized October 21, 1840. He returned to Illinois and campaigned for re-election, and won the special election to replace himself, and was then seated.

In 1855, he was defeated for re-election, so he moved to Minnesota. He was elected as one of the two first Senators from that state, but his term was only from 1858 to 1859, and he was again not re-elected.

Civil War and later career

Shields then moved to California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
and served as a brigadier general of volunteers from that state during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. He commanded the 2nd Division of the V Corps

V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
, Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
(subsequently part of the Army of the Shenandoah

Army of the Shenandoah

Army of the Shenandoah refers to two armies in the American Civil War:* Army of the Shenandoah * Army of the Shenandoah ...
), during the Valley Campaign

Valley Campaign

The Valley Campaign was Confederate States Army Major General Stonewall Jackson brilliant spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War....
of 1862. He was wounded at the Battle of Kernstown

Battle of Kernstown I

The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County, Virginia and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Army Major General Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War....
on March 22, 1862, but his troops inflicted the only tactical defeat of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the campaign (or the war). The day after Kernstown, he was promoted to major general

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
, but the promotion was withdrawn, reconsidered, and then finally rejected. His overall performance in the rest of the Valley Campaign was poor enough that he resigned his commission, and his departure was not resisted by the War Department.

In 1863 he moved to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
and operated mines, and then to Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
, but in 1866 moved to Missouri, where he served as member of the state House of Representatives, and as railroad commissioner. In 1879, he was elected to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Senator Lewis V. Bogy

Lewis V. Bogy

Lewis Vital Bogy was a United States Senator from Missouri. Born in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, he attended the public schools, was employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment, studied law in Illinois, graduated from Transylvania University ...
. He served only three months and declined to run for re-election.

Shields died in Ottumwa, Iowa

Ottumwa, Iowa

Ottumwa is a city in Wapello County, Iowa, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wapello County....
. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Carrollton, Missouri

Carrollton, Missouri

Carrollton is a city in Carroll County, Missouri, Missouri, United States. Carrollton won the 2005 All-America City Award given out annually by the National Civic League....
. He was the editor of A History of Illinois, from its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847 (1854). He represents Illinois in the National Statuary Hall

National Statuary Hall Collection

The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history....
.

James Shields

Early life and career

Civil War and later career

See also