Samuel W. Backus served in the California legislature and during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

he served in the US Army. From January 9, 1880 – July 1, 1882 he served as

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the

California National Guard The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...

. Backus was born in 1844 in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

, and moved to California in 1852, where he was educated at the public schools of Sacramento. He served in the Civil War, joining the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal 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 surrender of the Confede ...

in 1862. He was made a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

at 19, and served with distinction until the close of the War. He served in the Modoc wars of 1865–1866, and for a time commanded at Fort Bidwell. Retiring from the Army he entered the civil service, first in the Internal Revenue Department, and afterward in the Custom House, in 1867 he gave up the public service for private business, and became a commission merchant, and for ten years did an extensive trade. In 1878, he was elected to the State Legislature from the same district with the late Hon.

John F. Swift John Franklin Swift (February 28, 1829 – March 10, 1891) was an American politician and author. Swift was a Republican member of the California State Assembly. He represented the 8th district (County of San Francisco) in 1863 and 1873-75. In ...

. He was appointed

Adjutant-General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

by Governor George C. Perkins in 1880, and was a most efficient officer, reorganizing the State militia thoroughly. He was San Francisco's Postmaster, under President's Arthur's administration ('82-86), and made such an enviable record as an administrator of public affairs that President Harrison re-appointed him in 1890. In 1889 he purchased the San Francisco ''

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

'', an illustrated weekly magazine of news and satire. He also served as U.S. Immigration Commissioner in San Francisco, appointed by President Taft in 1911 and reappointed by Governor

Hiram Johnson Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century. He was elected in 191 ...

in 1913, serving until 1915.

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* 1844 births Union Army officers Members of the California State Legislature 19th-century American politicians Year of death missing Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York {{california-politician-stub