Jeremiah McLain Rusk (June 17, 1830 – November 21, 1893) was an American Republican politician. He was the second United States secretary of agriculture (1889–1893) and the 15th governor of Wisconsin (1882–1889), and served three terms in the United States House of Representatives (1871–1877), representing northwest Wisconsin. He also served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War, served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1862), and was the last Bank Comptroller of Wisconsin (1866–1870) before the office was abolished.
Jeremiah Rusk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd United States Secretary of Agriculture | |
| In office March 6, 1889 – March 6, 1893 | |
| President | Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Norman Coleman |
| Succeeded by | Julius Morton |
| 15th Governor of Wisconsin | |
| In office January 2, 1882 – January 7, 1889 | |
| Lieutenant | Sam Fifield George Ryland |
| Preceded by | William E. Smith |
| Succeeded by | William D. Hoard |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 7th district | |
| In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Herman L. Humphrey |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 6th district | |
| In office March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873 | |
| Preceded by | Cadwallader C. Washburn |
| Succeeded by | Philetus Sawyer |
| 6th Bank Comptroller of Wisconsin | |
| In office January 1, 1866 – January 3, 1870 | |
| Governor | Lucius Fairchild |
| Preceded by | William Ramsey |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Bad Ax 2nd district | |
| In office January 6, 1862 – January 5, 1863 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Harris Johnson (Bad Ax–Crawford) |
| Succeeded by | Daniel B. Priest (Vernon 2nd) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jeremiah McLain Rusk June 17, 1830 Malta, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 1893 (aged 63) Viroqua, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Resting place | Viroqua Cemetery, Viroqua, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
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| Children |
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| Relatives | Allen Rusk (brother) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Volunteers Union Army |
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel Brevet Brig. General |
| Unit | 25th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Biography
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Rusk was born in Malta, Ohio,[1] the younger brother of Allen Rusk.[2] He was a member of the Republican Party. He began as a planter, then turned to innkeeping and finally to banking before the American Civil War.
Rusk started his service with the Union Army during Civil War as major of the 25th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment on August 14, 1862.[3] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on September 16, 1863.[3] He took command of the regiment on July 22, 1864, when Colonel Milton Montgomery was wounded and captured at Decatur, Georgia during the Battle of Atlanta.[3][4] He continued in command after Montgomery was exchanged because Montgomery was given command of the brigade to which the 25th Wisconsin Infantry was assigned.[3][4] Rusk was wounded at Salkehatchie River, Georgia on January 20, 1865.[3] Rusk was mustered out of the volunteers on June 7, 1865.[3] He received an appointment as brevet colonel to rank from March 13, 1865.[3] On February 24, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Rusk for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on April 10, 1866.[5]
After the Civil War, he became a congressman in the United States House of Representatives.[6] He was elected to the Forty-second United States Congress as the representative of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district serving from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1873. For the Forty-third Congress he redistricted and was elected as representative of Wisconsin's newly created 7th District. He was reelected to the Forty-fourth Congress as well serving from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1877. While in congress, he was chairman of Committee on Invalid Pensions (Forty-third congress). After his terms in congress he ran as a Republican for Governor of Wisconsin, an election he won.[6] His most noted act during his governorship was when he sent the National Guard into Milwaukee to keep the peace during the May Day Labor Strikes of 1886. The strikers had shut down every business in the city except the North Chicago Rolling Mills in Bay View. The guardsmen's orders were that, if the strikers were to enter the Mills, they should shoot to kill. But when the captain received the order it had a different meaning: he ordered his men to pick out a man and shoot to kill when the order was given. This led to the Bay View Tragedy, in which a number of workers were killed; Governor Rusk took most of the blame.
In 1889, after the end of his third term as governor, he accepted the new cabinet position of secretary of agriculture in the Benjamin Harrison administration.[6] He lived, died and was buried in Viroqua, Wisconsin.[7] Rusk County, Wisconsin was named after Rusk. It was originally Gates County but changed its name in 1905.
Personal life and legacy
editJeremiah McLain Rusk was the youngest of seven children born to Daniel Rusk and his wife Jane (née Faulkner). Rusk's elder brother Allen Rusk also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly and in the Union Army during the Civil War.[8]
Jeremiah McLain Rusk married twice. His first wife was Mary Martin, who he married in 1849. They had two children together before her death in 1856. Later that year, Rusk married Elizabeth Marie "Berthe" Johnson, with whom he had four more children, though one died young. His second wife survived him.
His eldest son was Lycurgus James Rusk, was a lawyer and worked as private secretary to his father; he also went on to serve in the Wisconsin State Assembly and was a prominent member of the Wisconsin bar.[9]
The house he bought and lived in while Governor of Wisconsin, now known as the Old Executive Mansion, was used by the state as the official residence of the Governor for several decades and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[10]
See also
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References
edit- ^ "Rusk, Jeremiah McLain (1830–1893)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
- ^ "Lively Times of Another Era Gone, Liberty Basks in Quiet". The La Crosse Tribune. May 14, 1967. p. 20. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 465.
- ^ a b Eicher, 2001, pp. 393–394.
- ^ Eicher, 2001, p. 756.
- ^ a b c Spetter, Allan. "Jeremiah M. Rusk (1889–1893): Secretary of Agriculture". American President: An Online Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2010. Archived December 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Rusk, Gov. Jeremiah M. (1830–1893)". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ "Fatality Among Aged People". Vernon County Censor. March 16, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved December 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Son of Ex-Governor Rusk Dies, Aged 77". The Capital Times. November 2, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved December 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Old Governor's Mansion 1855–56". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
External links
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- United States Congress. "Jeremiah M. Rusk (id: R000517)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-12
- "Jeremiah M. Rusk". Find a Grave. Retrieved February 12, 2008.