Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/125

 HARRISON

HARRISON

of the convention He was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Col. William and Elizabeth (Church- ill) Bassett. He died at '"Berkeley," Charles City county, Va., in April, 1T91.

HARRISON, Benjamin, twenty third Presi- dent of the United States, was born at North Bend, Ohio, Aug. 20, 1833 ; son of John Scott and Elizabeth (Irwin) Harrison ; grandson of William Henry and Anna (Symmes) Harrison ; and great- grandson of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence. His father was a representative from Ohio in the 33d and 34th

congresses and conducted a farm of 400 acres on the Ohio river, near the mouth of the Big Miami, where Benjamin was accustomed to farm work. He attended school in a log schoolhouse and in 1848-49 at Farmers college, College Hill, near Cincinnati, Ohio, and was graduated at Miami university, Ohio, A.B. 1852 and A.M., 1855. He was admitted to the bar in 1854 and practised law in Indianapolis. 1854-89. He was reporter of the supreme court of Indiana, 1860-62, and again, 1864-68. He entered the vohmteer army July 14, 1862, when he was commissioned 2d lieutenant of Company A, 70th Indiana volun- teers. He was promoted captain, July 22 and colonel, Aug. 7, 1862; was in command of his regiment to Aug. 20, 1863; of the 2d brigade, 3d division reserve corps, to Sept. 20, 1863 ; again of his regiment to Jan. 9, 1864; of the 1st brigade, 1st division, 11th army corps, to April 18. 1864; of his regiment to June 29, 1864; of the 1st bri- gade, 3d division, 20th army corps, to Sept. 23, 1864; on special recruiting service in Indiana and in command of the 1st brigade, provisional division, army of the Cumberland, to Jan. 16, 1865; and in command of the 1st brigade, 3d division, 20th army corps, to June 8, 1865. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, Jan. 33, 1865, " for ability and manifest energy and gallantry in command of brigade." He commanded the 70th Indiana volunteers at the battles of Russellville, Ky., Sept. 30, 1862; Resaca, Ga., May 13-16, 1864; Cassville, Ga., May 24, 1864; New Hope Church and Dallas, Ga., May 25-28, 1864; and at Kenesaw Mountain, June 27- 28, 1864. He commanded the 1st brigade, 3d

division, 20th army corps at the battles of Ken- esaw Movmtain, June 29 to July 3, 1864, Peach Tree Creek, July 20, 1864; and at the siege of Atlanta, July 21 to Sept. 2, 1864; the 1st brigade, Cruffs provisional division, Steedman's provisional detachment at the battle of Nash- ville, Tenn., Dec. 15-16, 1864, and the 1st brigade, 3d division, 20th corps at the surrender of General Johnston at Durham Station, N.C., April 26, 1865. He was the unsuccessful Re- publican candidate for governor of Indiana in 1876; was by the appointment of President Hayes a member of the Mississippi River commis.sion, 1879-80 ; was chairman of the state delegates to the Republican national convention of 1880, and when his name was presented as a candidate for President he insisted that it be withdrawn. He canvassed the state for Garfield and declined a cabinet appointment from the incoming Presi- dent. In 1881 he was elected U.S. senator for a full term, as successor to J. E. McDonald, and was chairman of the committee on territories. In 1888 he received the nomination of President of the United States from the Republican na- tional convention at Chicago, 111. He was nomi- nated on the eighth ballot by a vote of 544, and at the general election in November he received 5,440,216 of the popular votes to 5,538,233 for Grover Cleveland, and at the meeting of the electoral college in 1839 he was elected President of the United States, receiving 233 electoral votes to 168 for Cleveland. He was inaugurated, March 4, 1889, and James G. Blaine of Maine was made secretary of state; William Windom of Minnesota secretary of the treasury; Redfield Proctor of Vermont secretary of war; John W. Noble of Missouri secretary of the interior; Ben- jamin F. Tracy of New York secretary of the navy ; Jeremiah M. Rusk of Wisconsin secretary of agriculture; John Wanamaker of Pennsyl- vania postmaster-general, and William H. H. Miller of Indiana attorney-general. The changes in his cabinet occurred in the state department in 1892 when on June 4, Secretary Blaine resigned and was succeeded by John W. Foster of Indiana ; in the treasurj^ department in 1891 when upon the death of Secretary Windom, Januai-y 29, he was succeeded by Charles Foster of Ohio ; and in the war department in 1891 when on the resigna- tion of Secretary Proctor, December 5, he was succeeded by Stephen B. Elkins of West Vir- ginia. During his trip through the southern states to California and return in 1890 he accom- plished a journey of 10.000 miles from April 15 to May 15, and made one hundred forty non-political and patriotic addresses, which were published and elicited praise from American and European statesmen. President Harrison arranged for an arbitration of the differences between the United