Watson C . Squire Watson Carvosso Squire ( May 18 , 1838June 7 , 1926 ) was an American Civil War veteran , twelfth governor of Washington Territory , and United States Senator from the state of Washington . Biography . Born in Cape Vincent , New York , Squire attended the public schools , Falley Seminary ( in Fulton , New York ) and Fairfield Seminary ( Herkimer County , New York ) . He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1859 and was principal of the Moravia Institute . Career . During the Civil War , Squire enlisted in Company F , Nineteenth Regiment , New York Volunteer Infantry , in 1861 ; he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant , and was muster ed out the same year . He graduated from Cleveland Law School in 1862 and was admitted to the bar the same year , commencing practice in Cleveland , Ohio . He rejoined the Union Army , soon thereafter , when the Union called for more men . Upon raising and organizing the 7th Independent Company of the Ohio Sharpshooters , Squire was commissioned a captain in 1862 . He served with the Seventh Ohio Sharpshooters until 1865 . During the Civil War , Squire participated in the battles of Nashville , Chickamauga , Resaca , and Missionary Ridge . During the latter campaign , " Squire served as judge advocate of the general courts martial . Later Squire was made judge advocate of the district of Tennessee , " with headquarters in Nashville . " He served on the staff of Major General Rousseau as judge advocate and also under Major General Thomas during the siege and battle of Nashville . " In 1865 , he was discharged with the rank of captain and was subsequently Brevet ted major , lieutenant colonel , and colonel . From 1865 to 1879 , Squire was employed with the Remington Arms Company as secretary , treasurer , and manager and purchased large holdings in the Territory of Washington in 1876 . He married Ida Remington on December 23 , 1868 , and they had four children , Philo Remington , Shirley Herbert , Adine , and Marjorie . Squire moved to Seattle in 1879 , and was Governor of the Territory of Washington from 1884 to 1887 . As governor , Squire confronted the difficult challenge of maintaining law and order during the anti - Chinese riots in Seattle and Tacoma . These riots began in 1885 and peaked on February 8 , 1886 . At that time , Squire declared martial law and begin a system of military rule until order was restored . " Soon after President Cleveland issued a proclamation calling for the restoration of order , and when that was ignored , Federal troops were ordered into Seattle . " Squire withdrew martial law on February 22 , 1886 , but by then most of the Chinese residents already had been expelled from the Territory , put on a ship , and sent to San Francisco . Subsequently , at the request of the U . S . State Department , Governor Squire investigated the losses of property by the Chinese residents of Tacoma , Seattle , and the surrounding area . Upon the admission of Washington as a State into the Union in 1889 , Squire was elected as a Republican to the U . S . Senate ; he was reelected in 1891 , and served from November 20 , 1889 to March 4 , 1897 . He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1897 . While in the Senate , he was chairman of the Committee on Coast Defenses ( Fifty - second and Fifty - fourth Congresses ) and a member of the Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard ( Fifty - second Congress ) . He retired from the practice of law and devoted his time to management of his properties in Seattle ; he was organizer and president of the Union Trust Co . and the Squire Investment Co . Death . Squire died in Seattle , aged 88 , and is interred at Evergreen - Washelli Memorial Park , Washelli Cemetery , Seattle .