Jesse Durbin Ward (February 11, 1819 – May 22, 1886) was an

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

lawyer, politician, newspaper publisher, and

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 ...

officer.

Early life and career

Ward was born in

Augusta, Kentucky Augusta is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Bracken County, Kentucky, Bracken County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is located upon the southern bank of the Ohio River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...

. His mother, Rebecca Patterson, named him in honor of the Rev. John Price Durbin (1800–1876), a noted

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher, who was a school mate of hers. Around 1823, the family moved to

Fayette County, Indiana Fayette County is one of 92 County (United States), counties in U.S. state of Indiana located in the east central portion of the state. As of 2020, the population was 23,398. Most of the county is rural; land use is farms, pasture and unincorp ...

, in the southeastern part of that state. Josiah Morrow, the historian of Warren County, wrote of Ward: :His early opportunities for education were limited, but such was his thirst for knowledge that he became an insatiable reader, and, when he was eighteen years old he had read every book he had ever seen. He has never lost his studious habits, and when at home he is most frequently found in his library . . . . He attended for two years

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

, one county east of Fayette and across the state line, then taught school in Warren County and settled there. He studied law under Judge George J. Smith (1799–1878) and

Thomas Corwin Thomas Corwin (July 29, 1794 – December 18, 1865), also known as Tom Corwin, The Wagon Boy, and Black Tom was a politician from the state of Ohio. He represented Ohio in both houses of Congress and served as the 15th governor of Ohio and the 2 ...

, a

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

attorney who later was

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

. After he was admitted to practice, he was Corwin's law partner. In 1845, Ward, a Whig, was elected Warren County's seventh Prosecuting Attorney, an office once held by Governor Corwin. He served from 1846 to 1850. From 1853 to 1854, he represented Warren County in the Fiftieth General Assembly, the first held under the new state constitution adopted in 1851. He served only one two-year term in the legislature. During that time, he sponsored legislation for the state to abandon the unprofitable Warren County Canal that connected Lebanon to the

Miami and Erie Canal The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that ran from Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati to Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, creating a water route between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845 at a co ...

at Middletown. Upon his retirement from the legislature, he opened a law office in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, but continued to live at Lebanon. Ward switched to the Democratic Party about this time and was its nominee for Congress in 1856 and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in 1858. (He lost the latter to Republican

Christopher Wolcott Christopher Parsons Wolcott (1820-1863) was a Republican politician from the state of Ohio. He was Ohio Attorney General 1856–1860 and United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1862 to 1863. Biography Wolcott was born December 17, 1820, ...

.) In 1860, he supported

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Senator

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

for president.

Civil War

When President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

called for volunteers to fight in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Ward was the first in his congressional district to enlist. He entered the army as a private, declining a commission. He rose to be a major in the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and saw action at Mill Springs,

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

Stones River The Stones River (properly spelled Stone's River) is a major stream of the eastern portion of Tennessee's Nashville Basin region and a tributary of the Cumberland River. It is named after explorer and longhunter Uriah Stone, who navigated the r ...

, Hoover's Gap, and Chickamauga. At Chickamauga, his left arm was wounded and permanently crippled.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 553. Ward was appointed colonel of the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on March 1, 1864. He resigned his commission on November 8, 1864. 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 Ward for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general, to rank from October 18, 1865, for his "gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Chickamauga," 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.

Postbellum career

After the war ended, President

named him

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Southern District of Ohio. In 1870, he was elected a senator in the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...

. At Lebanon, Ward founded'' The Lebanon Patriot'', a Democratic paper first published on January 16, 1868. Warren County being ardently Republican, the paper was to take the place of the previous Democratic paper in the county, the ''Democratic Citizen'', which was destroyed by a mob at the outbreak of the

. Ward sold the paper to Edward Warwick in the 1870s. In 1883, Ward was president of the

Ohio State Bar Association The Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) is a Bar_association#Voluntary_bar_associations, voluntary bar association for the state of Ohio. History OSBA was founded on March 6, 1880 when the Cleveland Bar Association issued a call other Ohio local ...

Death

Jesse Durbin Ward died at

Lebanon, Ohio Lebanon is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. Th ...

on May 22, 1886. He was buried at Lebanon Cemetery, Lebanon, Ohio.

Notes

References

*Dallas R. Bogan. ''Warren County's Involvement in the Civil War''. Franklin, Ohio: The Author, 1991. *Eicher, John H., and

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . *Josiah Morrow. ''The History of Warren County, Ohio''. Chicago: W.H. Beers, 1883.

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Durbin 1819 births 1886 deaths 19th-century American newspaper founders 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Methodists from Ohio County district attorneys in Ohio Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Miami University alumni Ohio lawyers Ohio state senators Ohio Whigs People from Augusta, Kentucky Politicians from Cincinnati People from Lebanon, Ohio People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union army generals United States attorneys for the Southern District of Ohio 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Journalists from Ohio Southern Methodists 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly