Alexander Pope Field (November 30, 1800 – August 19, 1876) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st

Attorney General of Louisiana The office of attorney general of Louisiana () has existed since the colonial period. Under Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the attorney general is elected statewide for a four-year term and is the chief legal officer of t ...

, the 6th

Illinois Secretary of State The secretary of state of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 Secretary of State (U.S. state government), secretaries of state in the United States. The Illinois secretary of ...

, and the 4th

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

. His party affiliation shifted during his career.

Early life and education

Born on November 30, 1800, in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. He moved to

Jonesboro, Illinois Jonesboro () is a city in Union County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,821 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,853 in 2000. It is the county seat of Union County. The city is known for being tied to its close neighbor Anna, tog ...

, studied law, and was admitted to the Illinois bar. His uncle was judge

Nathaniel Pope Nathaniel Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the State of Illinois. He served as the Secretary of the Illinois Territory, then as a Non-voting members of the United States House of ...

Career

From 1822 until 1828, Field served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and supported

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

. He later became a Whig. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

including in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

of 1832 and was brigade inspector. From 1829 until 1840, he served as Illinois Secretary of State. Field moved to

and served as the territory's secretary from 1841 to 1843. He then moved to

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, in 1845. In 1849, Field moved to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. In 1864 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Field was elected to U.S. Congress in the second district of Louisiana, however he was not allowed to take his seat. Field assaulted Hon.

William D. Kelley William Darrah Kelley (April 12, 1814 – January 9, 1890) was an American politician from Philadelphia who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district from 1861 to 1890. ...

from Pennsylvania with a

penknife Penknife, or pen knife, is a small folding knife. Today ''penknife'' is also the common British English term for both a pocketknife, which can have single or multiple blades, and for multi-tools, with additional tools incorporated into the desi ...

Maximilian F. Bonzano Maximilian Ferdinand Bonzano (March 22, 1821May 23, 1894), was a German-born American government official, politician, and physician in Louisiana. He chaired the committee on emancipation in Louisiana during the American Civil War. Bonzano was ele ...

was also elected to the

38th United States Congress The 38th 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. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1863, ...

the same year in 1864 for the first district of Louisiana, and Bonzano was also not allowed to take his seat after the assault. Field was elected Louisiana Attorney General serving from 1873 until his death.
Dictionary of Louisiana Biography
'. Louisiana Historical Society.

Notes

People from Union County, Illinois Politicians from St. Louis American people of the Black Hawk War Politicians from New Orleans Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Secretaries of state of Illinois Secretaries of state of Wisconsin Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Louisiana attorneys general Illinois Democrats Illinois Whigs 1800 births 1876 deaths Lawyers from New Orleans 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Wisconsin-politician-stub