★ Gresham, Walter Q.

Walter Quinton Gresham​

Born: March 17, 1832

Birthplace: Lanesville, Indiana

Father: Colonel William Gresham 1802 – 1834

(Buried: Lanesville Protestant Cemetery, Lanesville, Indiana)​

Mother: Sarah Davis 1807 – 1906

(Buried: Lanesville Protestant Cemetery, Lanesville, Indiana)​

Wife: Matilda McGrain 1839 – 1930

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

Children:

William Otto Gresham 1859 – 1946​

(Buried: Lanesville Protestant Cemetery, Lanesville, Indiana)​

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Kate Gresham Andrews 1861 – 1905​

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

Occupation before War:

1854 – 1860: Attorney in Corydon, Indiana​

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1860 – 1861: Indiana State Representative​

Civil War Career:

1861: Lt. Colonel of 38th​ Indiana Volunteers Infantry Regiment​

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1861 – 1863: Colonel of 53rd​ Indiana Volunteers Infantry Regiment​

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1862: Served in the Tennessee Campaign​

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1862: Served in the Siege of Corinth, Mississippi​

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1863: Brigade Commander during the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi​

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1863 – 1865: Brigadier General, Union Army Volunteers, Infantry​

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1864: Served in the Atlanta Campaign​

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1864: Wounded in the knee just before the Battle of Atlanta​

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1865: Brevetted Major General for his service in the War​

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1866: Mustered out of Service in April​

Occupation after War:

1866 – 1893: Suffered from effects of his knee wound

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1866 – 1867: Attorney in New Albany, Indiana​

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1867 – 1869: Agent of handling of Indiana State finances​

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1869 – 1883: Judge of United States District Court of Indiana​

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1883 – 1884: United States Postmaster General​

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1884: United States Secretary of Treasury Department​

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1884 – 1891: Judge United States Circuit Court for Seventh Circuit​

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1884: Candidate for Republican Party Presidential Nomination​

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1888: Candidate for Republican Party Presidential Nomination​

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1891 – 1893: Judge of United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit​

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1892: Advocate for the reelection of Former President Cleveland​

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1893 – 1895: United States Secretary of State Department​

Died: May 28, 1895

Place of Death: Arlington Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Cause of Death: Acute pleurisy, acute pneumonia of the right lung

Age at time of Death: 63 years old

Burial Place: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday Brig. General Walter Q. Gresham! Salutes remembering General Gresham on his birthday.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Gilded Age Cato: The Life of Walter Q. Gresham by Charles W. Calhoun

Review by Richard L. Hanson
As a collector of biographies of Civil War Generals, I picked up the biography of Walter Gresham to fill a gap in my collection. Civil War Buffs will be disappointed. The war is over by page 40. Gresham was rewarded with a General's rank after the war ended. He probably could have had it before, but he was reluctant to engage in the politics of self-promotion that was so prevalent in that conflict. This continues to be a constant refrain in his life. He quarreled in Indiana politics with both Governor Morton and future President Benjamin Harrison, allowing both of them to outshine him because he wasn't as quick as they were to seize opportunities or organize support. He had some Presidential support in the election that finally nominated Garfield, but his diffidence and poor campaign organization doomed that to failure as well. Falling out with his party, he eventually became the Democratic President Cleveland's Secretary of State and had to deal with some touchy issues, including the Dole-led coup in Hawaii that overthrew the queen, and US relations in Samoa. An opponent of Manifest Destiny, he was out-of-step with the popular sentiment of his time. He took a lot of newspaper abuse. Despite the abuse, he worked long hours addressing aspects of his cabinet post that could have been probably delegated to others, and eventually worked himself into ill health that led to his death. This is a bare outline of a life that turned out to be far more interesting than I expected it to be. The book is well researched with good footnotes.

Gilded Age Cato: The Life of Walter Q. Gresham: Calhoun, Charles W.: 9780813116150: Amazon.com: Books

Gilded Age Cato: The Life of Walter Q. Gresham [Calhoun, Charles W.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Gilded Age Cato: The Life of Walter Q. Gresham

www.amazon.com

Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895 by Matilda Gresham

Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895: Gresham, Matilda: 9780530367668: Amazon.com: Books

Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895 [Gresham, Matilda] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895

www.amazon.com

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[ErnieMac]

Gresham in his role as Secretary of State was one primary opponents in the Cleveland administration of the annexation of Hawaii. Cleveland would not permit the annexation during his final term; that would wait until William McKinley's presidency.

Walter Q. Gresham, America's Anti-Imperialist Secretary of State | The Libertarian Institute

President-elect Joe Biden will soon finish selecting the men and women who will staff his incoming administration. The first announcements comprise the core of his foreign policy team, including the nomination of his longtime confidant Antony Blinken to be the next Secretary of State. Blinken...

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