Charles Loper Harris (August 24, 1834October 11, 1910) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and pioneer of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. He served one term each in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

and the

Nebraska Senate The Nebraska Senate was the upper house of the Nebraska Legislature during the days when Nebraska was a territory from 1854 to 1867 (when it was called the Nebraska Territorial Council) and then again when Nebraska was a state from 1867 until ...

. He served as a Union Army officer through 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 ...

and earned an honorary brevet to the rank of brigadier general. 23-23-035-harris-cropped

Biography

Charles Loper Harris was born on August 24, 1834, in

Bridgeton, New Jersey Bridgeton is a City (New Jersey), city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, Cumberland County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Cumberland County Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. Harris later moved again, this time to

Cedar County, Nebraska Cedar County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 8,380. The county seat is Hartington. The county was formed in 1857, and was named for the Cedar tree groves in the area. In the ...

. On October 11, 1910, Harris died at his home in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was married with two children.

Military career

Harris was an alumnus, although not a graduate, of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. He was a member of the class of 1857, but he left after his first year when found deficient in mathematics. Instead of a career in the military, he chose to study law. After the breakout of the

, he joined the Union Army and was assigned to the

1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The original 1st Regiment Wisconsin was raised at Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 16, 1861, and mustered into Federa ...

. Soon after, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and given command of the 11th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Harris and the regiment later took part in the

Battle of Cotton Plant The Battle of Cotton Plant also known as Action at Hill's Plantation or Action at Cache River or Action at Round Hill (July 7, 1862) was fought during the American Civil War in Woodruff County, Arkansas. Frustrated in its attempt to march to Lit ...

, where he sustained a severe wound and afterwards had to take a medical leave. After his return, Harris was given command of brigade operations in and around

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. In 1863, he and the 11th were attached to XIX Corps under the command of future Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Nathaniel P. Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker, Banks became prominent in local ...

. Harris then took part in the

Battle of Port Gibson The Battle of Port Gibson (May 1, 1863) was fought between a Union Army commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant and a reinforced Confederate States Army division led by Major General John S. Bowen. Though the outnumbered Confederate soldiers f ...

and the Red River Campaign. The 11th was re-assigned to XVI Corps in 1864. Harris was mustered out of the volunteers on September 4, 1865. On January 13, 1866,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

nominated Harris for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.

Political career

Harris was hired by the

sergeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-a ...

for the 1868 session of the Legislature. He subsequently was elected to the Assembly from

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066. Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. ...

, in 1869. He was a member of the

Nebraska State Senate The Nebraska Senate was the upper house of the Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State ...

in 1883.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Charles People from Bridgeton, New Jersey Military personnel from Madison, Wisconsin People from Cedar County, Nebraska People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Road incident deaths in Nebraska Union army colonels Nebraska state senators United States Military Academy alumni 1834 births 1910 deaths Military personnel from Cumberland County, New Jersey 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature