★ Clayton, Powell

Powell Clayton​

Born: August 7, 1833

Birthplace: Bethel Township, Pennsylvania

Father: John Clayton 1793 – 1871

(Buried: Chester Bethel Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware)​

Mother: Ann Clark 1803 – 1883

(Buried: Chester Bethel Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware)​

Wife: Adeline McGraw 1841 – 1917

(Died in Oxted, England, Burial Place Unknown)​

Children:

Glover Clayton Unknown – 1875​

(Buried: Little Rock National Cemetery, Little Rock, Arkansas)​

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Lucy Clayton Jones 1868 – 1929​

(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

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Major Powell Clayton Jr. 1871 – 1916​

(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

Education:

Attended Partridge Military Academy​

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Studied Civil Engineering in Wilmington, Delaware​

Occupation before War:

Surveyor in Leavenworth, Kansas​

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Land Speculator in Kansas Territory​

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1860: Unsuccessful Candidate for Leavenworth City Engineer​

Civil War Career:

1861: Captain of Company E, 1st​ Kansas Infantry Regiment

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1861: Noted for Gallantry at Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri​

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1861 – 1862: Lt. Colonel of 5th​ Kansas Cavalry Regiment​

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1862 – 1864: Colonel of 5th​ Kansas Cavalry Regiment​

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1863: Cavalry Brigade Commander at Battle of Helena, Arkansas​

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1863: Accompanied Steele in Campaign against Little Rock, Arkansas​

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1863: Union Army Commander in Pine Bluff, Arkansas​

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1863: Union Army Commander at the Battle of Pine Bluff, Arkansas​

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1863: Invested in Cotton and Plantation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas​

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1864 – 1865: Brigadier General, Union Army Volunteers​

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1864 – 1865: Cavalry Division Commander of Seventh Army Corps​

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1865: Mustered out of the Union Army in August​

Occupation after War:

Plantation Owner in Pine Bluff, Arkansas​

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1867: Leader in the organization of Arkansas Republican Party

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1868 – 1871: Governor of Arkansas​

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1871 – 1877: United States Senator from Arkansas​

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1873 – 1875: Senate Chairman of Committee on Enrolled Bills​

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1875 – 1877: Senate Chairman of Committee on Civil Service​

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1877 – 1882: Attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas​

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1882: Established a home in Eureka Springs, Arkansas​

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President of Eureka Springs Improvement Company​

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President of Eureka Springs Railway​

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1897: Member of Republican Party National Committee​

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1897 – 1905: United States Ambassador to Mexico​

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1912 – 1914: Citizen of Washington, D.C.​

Died: August 25, 1914

Place of Death: Washington, D.C.

Cause of Death: Senile Pneumonia

Age at time of Death: 81 years old

Burial Place: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

 

[Pollaco]

As a "carpetbag governor" of Arkansas he faced impeachment and removal from office on charges of corruption and election fraud. He was however not removed from office and went on to win a Senate's seat.

 

[Pollaco]

His first command as brigadier was the Separate Dismounted Cavalry Brigade in the 7th Corps , Department of Arkansas.

 

[Pollaco]

As governor he appointed former Union general Robert F. Catterson to command of the state's black militia as a weapon against the Klan.

 

[Pollaco]

It was Senator Clayton's appeal to President Grant and his brother William, the US Attorney in Arkansas, that got the legendary hanging judge, Isaac Parker, transferred from Utah to Fort Smith. This brought some law and order to Arkansas. This would have been around 1876.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Weekend (August 7th) Birthday to Brig. General Powell Clayton! Salutes remembering General Clayton on his birthday weekend.

 

[Pollaco]

He didn't assume command of the 5th Kansas Cavalry until March 7, 1862. The units original Colonel, Hamilton P. Johnson was killed at Morristown, Missouri on September 17, 1861. Who commanded in those 6-7 months?

 

[USS ALASKA]

Journal Article
The Issues of the Powell Clayton Regime, 1868-1871
Orval Truman Driggs Jr.
The Arkansas Historical Quarterly
Vol. 8, No. 1, The Issues of the Powell Clayton Regime, 1868-1871 (Spring, 1949), pp. 1-75
Arkansas Historical Association

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40026385

Full article at above link on JSTOR with Google sign-in (In the upper right-hand corner of the linked page, there is a 'Log in' button. If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google sign-in and this will allow for free reading of 100 articles a month).

Cheers,
USS ALASKA