Jacob Hale Sypher (June 22, 1837 – May 9, 1905) was an attorney and politician, elected as a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

representing

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He served four terms as a Republican, after having served in the Union Army 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 education

Jacob Hale Sypher was born near

Millerstown, Pennsylvania Millerstown is a borough in northern Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States, located (via road) northwest of Harrisburg and southwest of Selinsgrove. The population was 688 at the 2020 Census. The borough is part of the Harrisburg&ndas ...

and attended local schools. He graduated from

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in Alfred, New York, United States. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the statutory New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The In ...

in New York state in 1859.

Civil War

Sypher enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War as a private in Battery A, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Militia (a three-month unit). After his battery's term expired, he was commissioned 1st lieutenant in Battery B, 1st Ohio Light Artillery. In 1864, he was commissioned 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 ...

to lead the

14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored) The 11th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment, previously designated the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment (Colored), was an African American artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Servi ...

(later re-designated as the 11th United States Colored Heavy Artillery) of the

United States Colored Troops United States Colored Troops (USCT) were Union Army regiments during the American Civil War that primarily comprised African Americans, with soldiers from other ethnic groups also serving in USCT units. Established in response to a demand fo ...

. Sypher never exercised operational command of the unit, as he was assigned to court-martial duty throughout the regiment's service. Afterwards he was

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

Brigadier General for his services throughout the war.

Law and Politics

After the war, Sypher moved to northern Louisiana where he bought a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

. This was not to his liking so he moved to

New Orleans 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 ...

and studied law. After a short period of time, he was admitted to the Bar of the state of Louisiana. He was first elected as a Republican to Congress in 1866 from

Louisiana's 1st congressional district Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district comprises land from the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain south to the Mississippi River delta. It covers most of New Orleans' sub ...

. He may have lost the 1868 election, but there were so many irregularities that Congress threw it out and a second election was held. Sypher won the second round. He was re-elected twice more, serving in Congress from July 18, 1868 until March 3, 1875. In 1872, Sypher at first seemed to win the election, being certified the winner and sworn in to Congress. But his opponent

Effingham Lawrence Effingham Lawrence (March 2, 1820 – December 9, 1878) was an American politician known for serving for the shortest term in congressional history, serving—along with George A. Sheridan—for just one day in the U.S. House of Representat ...

, a Democrat, contested the election. After a lengthy investigation, the House decided that the reported returns were wrong (due to two competing sets of returns) and, on the final day of Congress, Sypher was removed from office. It was the first time that a Democrat had been elected to Congress from Louisiana since before the Civil War. During the campaign, the

White League The White League, also known as the White Man's League, was a white supremacist paramilitary terrorist organization started in the Southern United States in 1874 to intimidate freedmen (emancipated Black former slaves) into not voting and prevent ...

, a

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

group affiliated with the Democratic Party, had been active in intimidating blacks to suppress black voting in the state. This was the beginning of the end of the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

in Louisiana. At the next election, there was even more violence, black voting was suppressed, and the Democrats regained control of the state legislature.Rable (1984), 'But There Was No Peace', p. 132 In 1877, federal troops were withdrawn from the state. Sypher left Louisiana, moving to

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, to practice law. He died in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in 1905.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sypher, Jacob Hale 1837 births 1905 deaths Alfred University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Union army colonels Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives