Jerome Anthony Watrous (September 6, 1840June 5, 1922) was an American journalist, historian, and soldier. He served with the

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

throughout 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 later served one term 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 ...

Early life

Born in Conklin, New York, Watrous moved with his parents to Wisconsin in 1844. He returned to New York from 1850 until 1857. At that time he moved back to Wisconsin and settled in Calumet County, where he taught school for two years.

Journalism career

Watrous attended Lawrence College (now

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

) for one semester, and briefly worked on the editorial staff of the '' Menasha Conservator'' and the '' Appleton Crescent'', a forerunner of the '' Appleton Post-Crescent''. The outbreak of the civil war interrupted his journalism career between 1861 and 1865. Returning to Wisconsin in 1865, Watrous worked as the editor of the '' Black River Falls Jackson County Banner'' for several years, before moving to edit the '' Fond du Lac Commonwealth'' in 1869. In 1877, Watrous edited the '' Milwaukee Sunday Telegraph''. Surviving envelopes mailed from the Milwaukee Telegraph, now in philatelic hands, indicate "J.A." and "R.B" Watrous as its editors in 1897 and 1898.

Military career

When the

began, Watrous enlisted in Company E of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. During the war, he rose to become a sergeant, and briefly attained the rank of adjutant general of the

. He was taken prisoner on March 31, 1865. He mustered out in 1865 with the brevet rank of captain. Thirty-three years later, Watrous was commissioned as a major in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

with the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

in 1898. He served for a while as paymaster of the Department of Columbia headquartered in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, before being sent to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in 1900. He was made chief paymaster of the Department of the Southern Philippines in 1901, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1904. Shortly thereafter, Watrous retired from the military and returned to Wisconsin.

Political career

Politically, Watrous was a Republican. He served in the

in 1867, as a state pension agent from 1887 to 1889, and the Milwaukee customs collector from 1890 to 1892.

Historian and author

Returning to Wisconsin after the Spanish–American War, Watrous devoted time to writing works on history and the military. He lived in

Whitewater, Wisconsin Whitewater is a city located in Walworth and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. As of t ...

. * ''Watrous' Stories: A Collection of Brief Talks on Interesting Topics''. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Telegraph Pub. Co., 1898. * ''They Have Made Good: E. B. Wolcott Post No. 1, Grand Army of the Republic, Milwaukee Wisconsin, in Civil Life''. Milwaukee: The Post, 1905. * ''Richard Epps, and Other Stories''. Milwaukee: Evening Wisconsin Co., 1906. . *
Memoirs of Milwaukee County: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Milwaukee County
'. Madison, Wis.: Western Historical Association, 1909. . * "General R. E. Lee and his uniform: a northern soldier's tribute and his protest against protesters". Milwaukee, pamphlet. Originally published in the ''

Chicago Record Herald The ''Chicago Record-Herald'' was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the '' Chicago Morning Herald,'' the '' Chicago Times Herald'' and the ''Chicago Record''. H. H. Kohlsaat, owner of the ...

'' January 7, 1910. *
Charles Frederick A. Zimmerman
in ''Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters]'' vol. 15, pt. 2, pp. 931-33. * ''Civil War Regiments from Wisconsin''. Federal Publishing Company, 1908. . Reprinted by Gulf Breeze, Florida: EBooksOnDisk.com, 2003. ,

References

* "Watrous, Jerome Anthony" ''Dictionary of Wisconsin History'' http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2662 * ''Memoirs of Milwaukee County: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Milwaukee County''. Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical Association, 1909. . Reprinted by La Crosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 2000. , , ,

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watrous, Jerome Anthony People from Whitewater, Wisconsin People from Broome County, New York People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Writers from Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1840 births 1922 deaths People from Calumet County, Wisconsin Journalists from Wisconsin 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature