Governor of Illinois
What was the position of Richard J. Oglesby from 1885 to 1889?
Richard J . Oglesby Richard James Oglesby ( July 25 , 1824April 24 , 1899 ) was an American soldier and Republican politician from Illinois . He served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War of 1846–47 , and after the war became a prospector during the California Gold Rush and was elected to the Illinois General Assembly . During the American Civil War , Oglesby volunteered for the Union Army and rose to the rank of major general , serving in the Western Theater ; he left the army when he was elected Governor of Illinois in 1864 , and would serve three non-consecutive terms in that office ( from 1865 to 1869 , for ten days in 1873 , and from 1885 to 1889 ) . He also served as a United States Senator from Illinois from 1873 to 1879 . The town of Oglesby , Illinois , is named in his honor . Early years . Oglesby was born in Floydsburg , Oldham County , Kentucky . He was orphaned and moved to live with his uncle in Decatur , Illinois , in 1832 , where he later worked as a farmhand , ropemaker , and carpenter . Mexican–American War . With the outbreak of the Mexican–American War , he enlisted as a 1st Lieutenant in Company C , 4th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment taking part in the battles of Veracruz and Cerro Gordo where his regiment almost captured Mexican President General Santa Anna , but they had to settle for his cork leg , carriage and $20,000 in gold . He might have participated in what may have been the first baseball game ever played outside the U.S. , at the end of April 1847 , a few days after the Battle of Cerro Gordo , with the wooden leg captured ( by the Fourth Illinois regiment ) from General Santa Anna . He was mustered out of the volunteer service in May 1847 . 1848–1860 . He studied at Louisville Law School in 1848 , but traveled to California for the gold rush in 1849 , where he tried his hand at gold mining . After two years of traveling in Europe , he returned to Illinois in 1851 , joined the Republican Party at its formation , ran unsuccessfully for the U.S . Congress in 1858 , and was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1860 . In 1859 Oglesby married Decatur native Anna White . They had four children ; Richard , Elizabeth , Robert , and Olive . Civil War . At the start of the Civil War , Oglesby was appointed colonel of the 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment on April 25 , 1861 , and was soon given command of the 1st Brigade , 1st Division , District of Cairo , Department of the Missouri , serving under the command of Ulysses S . Grant . He was a well liked commander known to his troops as Uncle Dick . He commanded his brigade at the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and soon after was promoted to brigadier general ( March 21 , 1862 ) . He commanded the 2nd Brigade , 2nd Division , Army of the Tennessee , during the Siege of Corinth . He was severely wounded in his chest and back at the Battle of Corinth in October 1862 . Oglesby was promoted to major general on November 29 , and after a period of recovery , commanded the Left Wing of the XVI Corps , Army of the Tennessee , in western Tennessee and northern Mississippi from April to July 1863 . He resigned his commission on May 26 , 1864 , to run for governor on the Republican ticket . He was present in the room at the Petersen House when President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15 , 1865 . Illinois politics . Oglesby was elected by a large majority and served as the Governor of Illinois between 1865 and 1869 . During his tenure as governor , he advocated improving the quality of care of the mentally ill and for other groups of disabled citizens . He signed legislation expanding the State Hospital system from one campus to three . After his term ended , he practiced law until 1872 , when he agreed to a scheme in which Oglesby ran again for governor , but turned the office over to the lieutenant governor immediately after inauguration in return for a seat in the U.S . Senate . He served as a Senator from 1873 until 1879 . In 1884 , he was reelected governor for a third time , becoming the first man in Illinois history to serve three times as governor . At the end of his third term as governor , he tried unsuccessfully to be reelected to his Senate seat . He spent his remaining years in retirement and died at his Oglehurst estate in Elkhart , Illinois . He is buried there in Elkhart Cemetery . There is a statue of Richard J . Oglesby in Lincoln Park , Chicago . His son , John G . Oglesby , was a two time Lieutenant Governor of Illinois .