[Three very interesting articles on widely differing historical subjects.]
General James Shields, Hero of the Mexican and the Civil Wars; U. S. Senator from Three States.
In the Statuary Hall of the National Capitol, Washington, may be seen statues of the distinguished men of the different states of the Union, placed there under authority of a resolution or act of Congress, which provided that each state could place there two figures of its choice.
The State of Illinois, by an act of the General Assembly, determined that the statue of General James Shields should be one of those selected to represent Illinois. An appropriation was accordingly made for the statue of the soldier statesman, and it now stands in the “Hall of Fame” at the Capitol, where it was formally installed with befitting and notable public ceremonies.
Certainly, by this act the State of Illinois gave to the nation and to the world unequivocal testimony of the respect and esteem in which the soldier statesman is held by the people of the state where he first won recognition, and which he served in so many and so various public capacities with fidelity and renown.
A most interesting and unique figure in the history of Illinois is that presented by the career and character of James Shields. Member of the state legislature in early days, he became subsequently auditor, judge of the Supreme Court, general in command of a brigade of Illinois volunteers in the war with Mexico, and finally United States senator. These various offices and distinctions came to him from Illinois; and these, it might reasonably be supposed, would have sufficed to crown and complete the public career of a man so favored by political fortune. But this was not the end.
Failing of re-election to the United States Senate at the expiration of his term, because of changed political conditions, Shields removed to Minnesota, then a territory, and on its subsequent admission as a state he was elected one of the senators, the other being Henry M. Rice. Having drawn lots for the respective terms, Shields drew the short term, which terminated in 1860, and, having again failed of re-election from the same cause that defeated him in Illinois—the growing ascendency of the Republican party—he once more removed to another and more distant state, California, where he was settled at the outbreak of the Civil War. His sympathies and his military experience led him to offer his services to President Lincoln, who promptly commissioned Shields as brigadier general, and he was assigned to service in General Banks’ corps, then operating in West Virginia.
While in detached command he won the celebrated victory over the hitherto invincible Stonewall Jackson. Shortly after this he was nominated by the President as major general, but the Senate refused to confirm the nomination, being influenced partly, no doubt, by political considerations—Democrats were not at the time in great favor—and partly, also, no doubt, from misrepresentations regarding General Shields’ conduct in relation to a defeat suffered by a portion of his command at Port Republic. This defeat, as was demonstrated later, was due to the disregard of Shields’ orders; at all events, the hostile action of the Senate caused his withdrawal from the army. He resigned his commission and returned to California.
Shortly again his restless spirit stirred him to another change, and this time he sought a home in Missouri, acquiring a farm near Carrollton in that state. Here in 1877 political fortune once more opened to him the doors of the United States Senate. He was elected to fill an unexpired term, so that he now had the unique distinction of having been chosen to represent three different states of the Union—at, of course, different periods of time. This fact, unexampled, I believe, in his history of the Senate, excited wondering comment at the time, and may justify an inquiry into the circumstances and character of the man who was able to win for himself this remarkable degree of public favor from so many different states.