Louis P. Harvey
| Louis Powell Harvey | |
|---|---|
 Louis P. Harvey | |
| 7th Governor of Wisconsin | |
|
In office January 6, 1862 – April 19, 1862 | |
| Lieutenant | Edward Salomon |
| Preceded by | Alexander W. Randall |
| Succeeded by | Edward Salomon |
| Secretary of State of Wisconsin | |
|
In office 1860–1862 | |
| Succeeded by | James Lewis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Louis Powell Harvey July 22, 1820 East Haddam, Connecticut |
| Died |
April 19, 1862 (aged 41) Savannah, Tennessee |
| Resting place |
Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin |
| Political party |
Whig Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Cordelia A. Perrine Harvey |
| Profession |
Teacher Editor Judge Politician |
Louis Powell Harvey (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1862) was an American politician and the seventh Governor of Wisconsin.
Early life
Harvey was born in East Haddam, Connecticut, and moved with his family to Ohio in 1828.[1] He attended Western Reserve College and Preparatory School. He worked as a teacher for a time, and eventually moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, then named Southport, where he founded an academy. In Southport he associated with the Whig Party and edited a Whig newspaper, the Southport American (1843–1846).
Career
In 1847, Harvey married Cordelia Perrine and they moved to Clinton in Rock County, Wisconsin, then to the nearby hamlet of Shopiere. He helped organize the Republican Party and was a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1854 to 1858, Wisconsin Secretary of State from 1860 to 1862, and finally Wisconsin's governor in 1862.
In April 1862, having served only a few months as governor, Harvey organized an expedition to bring medical supplies to Wisconsin troops, wounded in the Battle of Shiloh, who were being cared for in hospital boats on the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers. Harvey visited and cheered troops at Cairo, Illinois, Mound City, Illinois and Paducah, Kentucky.
Death
On April 19, 1862, close to Shiloh, Harvey stopped overnight near Savannah, Tennessee. Late that evening, while trying to step from a tethered boat to a moving steamboat headed back north (a common but dangerous practice), Harvey fell into the Tennessee River and drowned, despite the strenuous rescue efforts of members of his party.
His body was found 14 days later, 65 miles downstream; his remains lay in state in the Wisconsin State Capitol, and he was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, in Madison. His wife Cordelia became a leading war nurse, honored with the rank of Colonel by Abraham Lincoln.[2][3] She subsequently established veterans hospitals in Wisconsin, away from the war front, and a soldiers' orphans home.[4] He is interred at Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin.
Lieutenant Governor Edward Salomon succeeded Harvey.
References
- ↑ Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year: 1862. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1863. p. 665.
- ↑ WER: Mrs. Cordelia A. P. Harvey
- ↑ Highlights at the Wisconsin Historical Society
- ↑ Gravesite of Cordelia Harvey
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louis P. Harvey. |
- Capsule biography - Wisconsin Historical Society
- Louis Powell Harvey bio - Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry website, from Military History of Wisconsin (1866)
- Governor Louis Harvey, Wisconsin State Historical Society
- Louis P. Harvey at Find a Grave
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Jones |
Secretary of State of Wisconsin 1860–1862 |
Succeeded by James Lewis |
| Preceded by Alexander Randall |
Governor of Wisconsin 1862 |
Succeeded by Edward Salomon |
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