Henry Wilson Henry Wilson ( 16 February 181222 November 1875 ) was the 18th Vice President of the United States ( 1873 – 1875 ) and a Senator from Massachusetts ( 1855 – 1873 ) . Before and during the American Civil War , he was a leading Republican , and a strong opponent of slavery . He devoted his energies to the destruction of the " Slave Power " - the faction of slave owners and their political allies which anti - slavery Americans saw as dominating the country . He was considered a " Radical Republican " . After the Civil War , he supported the Radical program for Reconstruction . in 1872 , he was elected Vice President as running mate with President Ulysses S . Grant , and served from 4 March 1873 until his death on 22 November 1875 . Early life . Wilson was born Jeremiah Jones Colbath in Farmington , New Hampshire . In 1833 he had his name legally changed by the legislature to Henry Wilson . Henry Wilson moved to Natick , Massachusetts in 1833 and became a shoemaker . He attended several local academies , and also taught school in Natick , where he later engaged in the manufacture of shoes . He was a member of the state legislature between 1841 and 1852 , and was owner and editor of the " Boston Republican " from 1848 to 1851 . U . S . Congress . In 1852 , Wilson was an unsuccessful candidate for US Representative . He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1853 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1853 . In 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate by a coalition of Free - Soilers , " Americans " ( Know - Nothings ) , and Democrats to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward Everett . He was reelected as a Republican in 1859 , 1865 and 1871 , and served from 31 January 1855 to 4 March 1873 , when he resigned to become Vice President . He was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia and the Committee on Military Affairs . In that capacity , Wilson passed on over 15 , 000 nominations that Lincoln submitted during the course of the War , and worked closely with him on legislation affecting the Army and Navy . In 1861 he raised and briefly commanded the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry from 27 September to 29 October . After the war he became an early member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States . A controversy that swirled around Wilson ' s name since 1861 was that he ( while Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs ) may have revealed plans for the invasion of Virginia culminating in the First Battle of Bull Run to southern spy ( and Washington society figure ) Rose O ' Neal Greenhow . Wilson ( although married ) had seen a great deal of Mrs . Greenhow , and while with her may have told her about the plans followed by Major General Irvin McDowell , which may have been part of the intelligence Mrs . Greenhow got to Confederate forces under Major General Pierre Beauregard . If so this information may have led to the Northern rout in that battle . However , in his most recent biography , an alternative ( a Northern clerk named Horace White ) was suggested as the real leak . Wilson was an abolitionist . In the United States Senate , he advocated for equal pay for African - American soldiers . A Vermont newspaper portrayed Wilson ' s position : Vice President . Wilson was elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with President Ulysses S . Grant to replace the controversial Schuyler Colfax and served from 4 March 1873 until his death . His election was marred by the report that he was involved in the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal . Wilson was one of several major Republican ( and Democratic ) Representatives and Senators who were offered bribes ( and possibly took them ) of shares in Crédit Mobilier . Wilson was cleared by the Senate inquiry , but his reputation was stained . Wilson was erroneously identified as the namesake of the Wilson desk during President Richard Nixon ' s administration . Questions about the desk ' s history arose after it was mentioned in Nixon ' s " Silent majority " speech . Declining health and death . Wilson suffered a serious stroke in 1873 . Although partly paralyzed , he fought to actively perform his duties as presiding officer over the United States Senate . He suffered what was believed to be a minor attack on 10 November 1875 , and was taken to the Vice President ' s Room to recover . Over the next several days , his health appeared to improve and his friends thought he was nearly recovered . However , on 22 November at 7 : 20 am , Wilson died from a second stroke while working in the United States Capitol Building . He was interred in Old Dell Park Cemetery , Natick , Massachusetts . Books . Among Wilson ' s published works are : " History of the Anti - Slavery Measures of the Thirty - seventh and Thirty - eighth Congresses , 1861 - 64 " ( 1864 ) ; " History of the Reconstruction Measures of the Thirty - ninth and Fortieth Congresses , 1865 - 68 " ( 1868 ) ; and an exceedingly valuable , although partisan , publication , " History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America " , ( three volumes , 1872 – 77 ) .