Fitz Henry Warren (January 11, 1816 – June 1878) was a politician and a Union Army general 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 ...

Early life and career

Warren was born in

Brimfield, Massachusetts Brimfield is a New England town, town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,694 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield ...

.Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 554. In August 1844, he moved to Burlington in the

Iowa Territory The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remai ...

where he was a journalist and editorial contributor for the Burlington ''Hawkeye." He was an early political activist in the Whig Party. He was reported to have been the first to propose the nomination of General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

for

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 ...

. He was a delegate to the National Whig Convention in 1848. Upon the subsequent inauguration of President Taylor in 1849, Fitz Henry Warren was appointed First Assistant Postmaster General. After the death of Taylor, Warren resigned his position in protest of President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...

's support of the

Fugitive Slave Law The fugitive slave laws were laws passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and 1850 to provide for the return of slaves who escaped from one state into another state or territory. The idea of the fugitive slave law was derived from the Fugi ...

. With the growing support of Anti-Slavery Whigs, Fitz Henry Warren was made secretary of the Whig Party National Executive Committee. Warren was chairman of the Des Moines County delegation to the convention of 1856 that organized the Republican Party and nominated

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

as the first Republican presidential candidate.

Civil War

In 1861 he was one of the chief editorial writers on the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'' and the author of the controversial "On to Richmond" articles after the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

. He returned to Iowa following First Bull Run and, as

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 ...

, helped to raise the 1st Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry. On July 18, 1862,

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 ...

appointed Warren to the grade of brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from July 16, 1862,Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 730. with a command in the army in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

under Major General Samuel R. Curtis. In 1863 General Warren was the leading candidate before the Republican State Convention for Governor of Iowa, but by a combination of the supporters of other candidates, Warren was defeated. On February 21, 1866,

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 Warren for appointment to the grade of brevet major general of volunteers, to rank from August 24, 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 April 26, 1866.Eicher, 2001, p. 715. Warren was mustered out of the volunteers on August 24, 1865.

Postwar career

In 1866 Warren was elected to the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

. After serving one session, he was appointed by President

as the United States Minister to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

where he served two years, until 1869. He served as a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1872. He died at his native Brimfield, Massachusetts, June 21, 1878 and is buried in Brimfield Cemetery

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * ''History of Iowa'', Vol. IV, 1903. * ''Iowa, Its History and Tradition'', Vol. III, 1804-1926.
iagenweb.org biography of Warren
Attribution *

External links