Joseph Carter Abbott Joseph Carter Abbott ( July 15 , 1825October 8 , 1881 ) was a Union Army colonel during the American Civil War who was awarded the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers and a Republican United States Senator from the state of North Carolina between 1868 and 1871 . During his career in private life he was a lawyer , newspaper editor and businessman . He also served as collector of the port of Wilmington , inspector of posts along the eastern line of the southern coast during the Rutherford B . Hayes Administration , and special agent of the United States Treasury Department . Early life . Abbott was born in Concord , New Hampshire , and graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover , Massachusetts , in 1846 , having studied there and under private auspices . He studied law at Concord , and was admitted to the bar in 1852 . From 1852 to 1857 , Abbott was the owner and editor of the " Daily American " newspaper , in Manchester , New Hampshire . His success with it led to his being given the position of editor of the " Boston Atlas and Bee , " which he held from 1859 through 1861 . He served as adjutant general for New Hampshire from 1855 – 61 , reorganizing the state militia during that time . He was also a member of the commission to adjust the boundary between New Hampshire and Canada . He early joined the Know Nothing Party , and during all these years was a frequent contributor to the magazines , being particularly interested in historical matters . Civil War . In December 1861 , Abbott became the lieutenant colonel of the 7th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment and participated in the battles of Port Royal Sound , St . John ' s Bluff , Fort Pulaski and Fort Wagner . In November 1863 , he became colonel of the regiment and led it at the Battle of Olustee and during the subsequent Bermuda Hundred Campaign in Virginia . During the siege of Petersburg , he commanded the 2nd Brigade , 1st Division , X Corps at Chaffin ' s Farm and the subsequent actions along the Darbytown and New Market Roads . The Army of the James was then reorganized and his command became the 2nd Brigade , 2nd Division , XXIV Corps which was attached to the Fort Fisher Expeditionary Corps under Brig . Gen . Alfred H . Terry and participated in the second battle of Fort Fisher and the capture of Wilmington . Although Abbott was not appointed as a full , substantive rank general , on January 25 , 1865 , President Abraham Lincoln nominated Abbott for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers , to rank from January 15 , 1865 for gallant services in the capture of Fort Fisher and the U . S . Senate confirmed the award on February 14 , 1865 . During the final stages of the war , he was stationed in Wilmington , North Carolina . Postbellum . Following the war , Abbott remained in North Carolina . He was active in state politics , serving as a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1868 . During this time , his political strength came primarily through the black population . He believed in their capacity and assisted in organization and politically counseling them in ways which brought him blunt warnings from the white population . He was elected to the United States Senate that same year , representing North Carolina in that body for the first time since July 1861 , when the state ' s two senators were expelled following the North Carolina ' s secession from the Union . He served as a Senator from July 11 , 1868 to March 4 , 1871 . He also served as a member of the Republican National Committee from North Carolina from 1870 through 1872 . During this period , he was also found to be in the pay of a " ring " whose major interests seemed substantially similar to Abbott ' s own political positions . During his tenure in the Senate , he spoke in orthodox terms on matters of suffrage , and was helpful in handling the details of army administration . He devoted a good deal of time to improve the harbor of Wilmington , and hoped that the railroads of the Carolinas would be consolidated and made part of a southern transcontinental system . However , for all his efforts , his single greatest achievement was the imposition of a duty on peanuts . He was not nominated for a second term to the Senate . Upon leaving the Senate , he conducted a lumber manufacturing business and served as editor of the " Wilmington Post . " He also received federal offices from both Presidents Rutherford Hayes and Ulysses S . Grant , including serving as collector of the port of Wilmington , inspector of posts along the eastern line of the southern coast during the Rutherford B . Hayes Administration , and special agent of the United States Treasury Department . From August , 1869 , he served as editor of the " Wilmington Post " , a Republican organ of good quality for the era . However , he never again achieved any real status as a party leader . He established the town of Abbottsburg , North Carolina . He was originally buried in the National Cemetery in Wilmington , North Carolina . He was reinterred in 1887 at Valley Cemetery in Manchester , New Hampshire . Despite three marriages , he died childless . His political legacy is not much better . According to the " Dictionary of American Biography " , " The historians of the state even now mention him only to condemn him . "