William Sprague (politician)
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| William Sprague IV | |
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| In office May 29, 1860 – March 3, 1863 |
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| Lieutenant | J. Russell Bullock (1860 - 1861) Samuel G. Arnold (1861 - 1862) Seth Padelford (1862-1863) |
| Preceded by | Thomas G. Turner |
| Succeeded by | William C. Cozzens |
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| In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1875 |
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| Born | September 12, 1830 Cranston, Rhode Island, USA |
| Died | September 11, 1915 Paris 16th, France |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kate Chase Dora Inez Clavert |
| Profession | Politician, Manufacturer |
William Sprague IV (September 12, 1830 – September 11, 1915) was Governor of the U.S. state of Rhode Island from 1860-1863, and U.S. Senator from 1863-1875. He participated in the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War.
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[edit] Early years
Sprague was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, the youngest son of Amasa and Fanny Morgan Sprague. His uncle and namesake William Sprague was also a Governor and U.S. Senator as well as U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. William and brother Amasa's education at the Irving Institute in Tarrytown, New York, was cut short when their father was murdered on New Year's Eve in 1843. Both brothers were called to work in the family business, the A.& W. Sprague Manufacturing Company, which was then under the direction of their uncle William III. When their uncle died in 1856, William and Amasa -- along with their cousin Col. Byron Sprague, son of William III, and their mother Fanny Sprague and Aunt Harriet, widow of William III -- became partners in the company. The second incorporation of the A. & W. Sprague Company occurred on June 2, 1859 and soon was the largest calico printing textile mill in the world. They ran five weaving mills in New England. The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad -- of which William III had purchased controlling interest -- connected the five mills to the Sprague Print Works in Cranston. The woven cloth was brought to Cranston to be printed.
[edit] Politics
Like his uncle, William Sprague IV had an interest in politics and was elected Republican Party Governor of Rhode Island in 1860 and was re-elected in 1861. At twenty-nine years old, he was the youngest governor of a state at that time. He was sometimes referred to as the "boy governor," a title he may have given himself while campaigning for election.
As the Civil War approached, Sprague promised U.S. President Abraham Lincoln the support of Rhode Island. Upon Lincoln's call for volunteers in April 1861, troops left Rhode Island, and Sprague himself, believing that the war would last only 48 hours, accompanied a detachment in the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. The Confederate victory made it clear to Sprague that the war would last longer than two days. He was offered a commission as a Brigadier General of Volunteers on August 9, 1861, though he declined the appointment. On March 3, 1863, he resigned as Governor to became United States Senator. In 1862, he attended the Loyal War Governors' Conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which ultimately backed Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Union war effort.
[edit] Marriage with Kate Chase
On November 12, 1863, Sprague married Kate Chase, daughter of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, considered the belle of Washington. Sprague's wedding gift to Kate was a tiara of matched pearls and diamonds that cost more than $50,000.[1] As the bride entered the room, the marine band played "the Kate Chase March" that composer Thomas Mark Clark had written for the occasion. Although their marriage began well, quarreling became more common. William's financial and political fortunes rapidly deteriorated in 1873, with the death of his father-in-law, Salmon P. Chase[2], who had become Chief Justice of the United States, and with setbacks to the A. & W. Sprague Company following the Panic of 1873. Likewise, the Spragues' marriage also unravelled as he began to drink more and to criticize Kate's spending. Kate also allegedly had an affair with New York senator Roscoe Conkling. The couple divorced in 1882. After spending some time in Europe, Kate lived with her mentally retarded daughter Kitty outside Washington D.C. When their son Willie took his own life in 1890, she became a recluse and died in poverty in 1899.
[edit] Marriage with Dora Inez Clavert
Following his divorce, William Sprague married Dora Inez Clavert of West Virginia and regained his interest in politics to become the first Narragansett, Rhode Island Town Council President in 1900. On October 11, 1909, a fire destroyed their mansion, including Sprague's diaries and other valuable artifacts. The Spragues moved to Paris, where they opened their apartment as a convalescent hospital for the wounded of all nationalities during World War I.
In 1915, Sprague died of meningitis and old age. Following a simple funeral services in France, his body was brought back to Rhode Island draped in an American Flag, where he received full military honors when he was laid to rest in the family tomb at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island.
[edit] Sources
- William Sprague of Rhode Island from The History of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery. Aldrich, Thomas. Providence, Snow & Farham, Printers 1904.
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
[edit] Further reading
- William Sprague (politician) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Dictionary of American Biography
- Belden, Thomas Graham, and Marva Robins Belden. So Fell the Angels. Boston: Little, Brown Co., 1956.
- Knight, Benjamin. History of the Sprague Families, of Rhode Island. Santa Cruz: H. Coffin, 1881.
- Lamphier, Peg A. Kate Chase and William Sprague: Politics and Gender in a Civil War Marriage. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
- Shoemaker, Henry Wharton. The Last of the War Governors: A Biographical Appreciation of Colonel William Sprague. Altoona, PA: Altoona Publishing Co., 1916
- Sokoloff, Alice. Kate Chase for the Defense. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1971.
- William Sprague Papers Rhode Island Historical Society
[edit] External links
Find-A-Grave profile for William Sprague
| Preceded by Thomas G. Turner |
Governor of Rhode Island May 29, 1860 – March 3, 1863 |
Succeeded by William C. Cozzens |
| Preceded by Samuel G. Arnold |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Rhode Island March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1875 Served alongside: Henry B. Anthony |
Succeeded by Ambrose E. Burnside |
| Preceded by John Henderson |
Most Senior Living U.S. Senator (Sitting or Former) April 12, 1913 – September 11, 1915 |
Succeeded by George Edmunds |
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