Joseph Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, and then served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, becoming a general. President James K. Polk appointed Lane as the first

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

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

. When Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859, Lane was elected one of Oregon's first two U.S. Senators. In the

1860 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 1860. The Republican Party ticket of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin emerged victorious in a four-way race. With an electoral majority composed only of Northern states ...

, Lane was nominated for

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of the pro-slavery Southern wing of the Democratic Party, as John C. Breckinridge's running mate. Lane's pro-slavery views and sympathy for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

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 ...

effectively ended his political career in Oregon. One of his sons was later elected U.S. Representative, and a grandson U.S. Senator, making Lane the patriarch of one of the state's most prominent political families.

Early life

Joseph Lane was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on December 14, 1801, to a family of English extraction with roots in

colonial Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

.''Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon: Containing Biographical Sketches of Many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present.''
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co., 1904; pp. 620–621. His father, John Lane, was a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The Lane family moved to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

from North Carolina when Joseph was a young child. Lane left home at the age of 15, and was married four years later. He moved to

, in 1820. Lane and his wife, Polly Hart Lane, had 10 children.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History.'' Portland, OR: Binfords and Mort, 1956. p. 142. Lane was largely self-educated, learning about the world from books he read at night. During the daytime, he worked and saved his money, investing it shortly in the purchase of a flatboat, with which he transported freight up and down the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. Financial success followed. Lane was an eloquent public speaker, a talent that helped him to win election to the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

in 1822 at the age of just 21. He served in that body from 1822 to 1823, from 1830 to 1833, and from 1838 to 1839.Helmer, Normandy S
"Historic Photograph Collections: Joseph Lane photographs, 1850s-1903: Biographical Sketch"
University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, OR, 2005. He then moved to the

Indiana State Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-yea ...

, where he served from 1839 to 1840, and from 1844 to 1846. Widely esteemed by his peers, Lane was likewise elected as a captain of his local

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

while still a young man.

Mexican-American War

The

broke out in 1846. Lane resigned his State Senate seat, and enlisted in a company of Indiana volunteers. His company was assigned to the 2nd Indiana Volunteer Regiment, and Lane was elected

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 ...

in June 1846. He was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers less than a week later. Lane and the Indiana troops were then deployed to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

where he fought with distinction, suffering two minor gunshot wounds, and was brevetted to major general in 1847. He commanded the Indiana Brigade at the Battle of Buena Vista, where he served under General and future President

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 ...

. Lane also led the relief force which lifted the Siege of Puebla, defeating

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

at the Battle of Huamantla. Governor Lane and Marshal Meek enroute to Oregon

Oregon territory and statehood

As soon as Lane returned from Mexico, President Polk appointed him governor of

. Lane received his commission on August 18, 1848. Lane arrived in Oregon on March 3, 1849, following a hazardous winter trip on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

. Upon reaching Oregon City, Lane's first official act was to initiate the first census of the territory's residents, which showed a total of 8,785 American citizens and 298 citizens of other countries. While Governor, Lane also served as the first Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Also among Lane's early duties was the apprehension of five Cayuse Indians accused in the Whitman Massacre. The accused were brought back to Oregon City for trial, where they were convicted and hanged. Lane resigned as territorial governor on June 18, 1850, in favor of a new appointee. On June 2, 1851, Lane was elected Oregon Territory's Delegate in Congress as a Democrat. In May 1853, he was acting Territorial Governor for three days to assist in the removal of the unpopular John P. Gaines from office. Lane then ran for re-election as Delegate, winning election on June 6, 1853. Lane won two more terms of office as Delegate in the June elections of 1855 and 1857. He was subsequently elected as one of Oregon's first two

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

s when Oregon became a state in 1859.

Military operations against Native Americans

In 1853, after he was re-elected as Delegate, but before he left for Washington, D.C., Lane was appointed as brigadier general commanding a force of volunteers raised to suppress recent Native American violence. Lane led the force to southern Oregon to stop Native American attacks against settlers and miners there. Lane was again wounded in a skirmish at Table Rock, in Sams Valley, not far from today's cities of Medford and Central Point. Lane was also an active participant in the so-called Rogue River Wars of 1855–1856, being wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Evans Creek.

Vice-presidential nomination and political decline

In 1860, the Democratic Party split on the issue of slavery. Pro-slavery Democrats from the South left the national convention and nominated their own candidates: John C. Breckinridge for president, and Lane for vice president. This " Southern Democrat" ticket was defeated. With his defeat for vice president and the beginning of the

, Lane's political career ended. His pro-slavery views had been controversial in Oregon; his pro-secessionist views were wholly unacceptable. Lane became notorious for an exchange with

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 ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

on his last day in the Senate. Johnson had spoken in favor of the Union and denounced secession. A referendum on secession in Tennessee failed shortly thereafter, generally credited to Johnson's speech. On March 2, Lane accused Johnson of having "sold his birthright" as a Southerner. Johnson responded by suggesting that Lane was a hypocrite for so accusing Johnson when Lane so staunchly supported a movement of active treason against the United States.

Later years

Lane had taken a land claim of located just north of Roseburg, Oregon, in 1851. He later purchased a ranch located about east of that town, which he owned for a number of years before selling to a son. Lane also constructed a home overlooking the South Umpqua River; after his Senate term, he retired there in 1861. Although openly sympathetic to the Confederate cause, he remained home on his ranch; he did not participate in the war, nor did he make a return to politics after that date. He has been accused of keeping a personal slave as late as 1878, an assumption based on the race of the African-Indian orphan, named Peter Waldo, he raised from the age of two to seventeen. Lane was baptized as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

in 1867,Lansing, Ronald B. ''Nimrod: Courts, Claims, and Killing on the Oregon Frontier.'' Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press, 2005, p. 266. and his family was reared in the same faith, but he renounced that faith shortly before his death.

Death and legacy

Lane died at his home on April 19, 1881. His body was interred in the Roseburg Memorial Gardens. General Lane's daughter's home in Roseburg, where he spent much of his time, is now a museum maintained by the Douglas County Historical Society. Known as the Creed Floed House, the Floed–Lane House, or simply the Joseph Lane House, it is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The Floed-Lane House was never his dwelling place. Lane County, Oregon, is named for Lane. Joseph Lane Middle School in Roseburg is named for him, as is Joseph Lane Middle School in Portland. Lane's son Lafayette Lane served as U.S. Representative from 1875 to 1877; another son, John Lane, fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy. Lane's grandson Harry Lane was a mayor of

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, ...

, and then U.S. Senator from 1913 until his death in 1917.

References

Works cited

''Speech of Hon. Joseph Lane, of Oregon, on the Suppression of Indian Hostilities in Oregon: Delivered in the House of Representatives, April 2, 1856.''
Washington, DC: Congressional Globe Office, 1856.

External links

*

at First Hand History, includes primary documents.
Guide to the Joseph Lane Papers at the University of Oregon
The Joseph Lane papers include diaries, correspondence, legal documents, newspaper clippings, and a draft of Nina Lane Faubion's biography of Lane

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Joseph 1801 births 1881 deaths 1860 United States vice-presidential candidates American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American proslavery activists Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Oregon Territory Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Democratic Party United States senators from Oregon Governors of Oregon Territory Democratic Party Indiana state senators Kentucky Democrats Lane family (Oregon) Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives Military personnel from Oregon Oregon Democrats Oregon pioneers People from Buncombe County, North Carolina American people of the Mexican–American War Politicians from Roseburg, Oregon Rogue River Wars United States Army generals 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly