John Alexander McClernand

Brought to Shawneetown, Illinois, as an infant, John A. McClernand made a name in law, politics, and government, serving Southern Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1843 to 1851 and the Springfield area from 1859 to 1861. McClernand formed a relationship with political opponent Abraham Lincoln; their wives, Sarah and Mary, also became friends. Republican President Lincoln appointed Democrat McClernand to important commands during the Civil War, where he served with Ulysses S. Grant. Conflict with fellow officers helped to end his military career.  McClernand returned to live in Springfield where he served as circuit court judge for three years.

1812-1835:

John Alexander McClernand was born in Breckenridge County, Kentucky on May 30, 1812. He did not spend much of his life in Kentucky as he was moved to Illinois in 1813. After moving to Shawneetown, his father died, and his mother had to raise McClernand herself. She wanted to ensure that he was ready for the world and made sure he received a good education. It was at this point that McClernand’s life would begin to take shape. As he grew and continued to attain an education, he chose to study law and soon became a member of the Illinois Democratic Party.

Aside from his political affiliations, McClernand lived a similar life to Abraham Lincoln, who would go on to be one of his main political rivals. They both self-taught themselves law, moved to Illinois from their birthplace in Kentucky, and they were both involved in the Black Hawk War. Perhaps these are some of the reasons why they maintained a good relationship over the years. The two likely met through Illinois politics or through their shared work as lawyers. In Illinois politics, McClernand was a staunch Democrat and became a political opponent of Abraham Lincoln as he would go on to be Republican. 

1835-1861:

Early on in his political career, McClernand developed the newspaper known as the Shawnee Democrat in 1835. He quickly grew politically and became a member of the Illinois House of Representatives just one year later in 1836. He continued as a member of the Illinois House for three more terms in 1840, 1842, and 1843. This was just in Illinois politics, and soon after his terms in the House, he would move into the Federal level and continue his career there.

Shortly after finishing his term as a Representative in 1843, he was elected to the Twenty-Eighth Federal Congress as a Democrat in March of that year. This was his first step into the world of Federal politics, but it would not be his last. McClernand was soon re-elected for three additional congressional terms, serving from 1843 to 1851. During that time, he worked in a number of roles in Congress. For example, He went on to serve as the chairman for the Committee on Public Lands and served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Needless to say, McClernand was quite involved politically in the country's affairs.

After serving on the Thirty-First Congress in 1851, he returned to Illinois, moving from Shawneetown to Jacksonville, and then later to Springfield in 1856. While McClernand may have thought his time as a member of Congress was behind him, he quickly found out that was not the case. Shortly after moving to Springfield, he was asked to fill a vacancy in the Thirty-Sixth Congress and was subsequently re-elected for the Thirty-Seventh Congress where he served until 1861. With such a long career in politics, he was well aware of the issues facing the nation which led to the beginning of the Civil War. While he was a democrat, he chose to support the Union and advocated for their goals.

1861-1865:

In 1861, McClernand resigned from his position in Congress to fight for the Union as. Brigadier General. He was appointed by President Lincoln in May of that year in an attempt to appeal to the Democrats of Illinois, and the nation. McClernand would often work alongside General Ulysses S. Grant, but their working relationship proved to be troublesome as the war progressed.

During the war, McClernand and Grant grew to dislike each other and disagreed with one another's tactics over the first two years of the war. It was not until the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863 that the feud between them grew to its near breaking point. During the campaign, McClernand requested Grant to provide him with reinforcements before a Confederate counterattack. Grant needed to be persuaded by General William Sherman to provide the necessary troops to support McClernand, which he reluctantly did. This led to a large loss of soldiers for the Union as the Confederate Army decimated their ranks, and McClernand was to blame. However, he published a congratulatory letter in the nation's newspapers that stated how important his men were to the campaign, which went against War Department regulations. This led to McClernand's removal from his duty as Brigadier General.

While this led to his removal from the war, it would not be long until he returned to the Union Army. In 1864, he was brought back to serve in a much less commanding position where he spent most of his time around Mississippi and the Rio Grande tending to army fortifications there. He did not stay in the war much longer after this appointing as he believed his efforts would be better needed on the home front. While his role essentially ended by this point, his role in public life and politics did not. 

1865-1900:

After the war had ended in 1865, McClernand retreated into his former work as both a lawyer and politician. Before this, he assisted in Lincoln’s funeral procession back to Springfield. McClernand rode on the Lincoln funeral train with Illinois Governor Richard Yates and led the Second Division during his final funeral in Springfield, and even provided a eulogy for the late President. After this event, he returned to politics and went on to serve as a District Judge for Illinois for three years and would later go on to preside over the Democratic National Convention in 1876. McClernand passed away in 1900 having lived a full life serving the country as a politician and in the Civil War. He is interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Sources Used: 

- “General John A. McClernand: General Grant’s Work Nemesis,” National Park Service, last updated January 14, 2021, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/general-john-a-mcclernand-general-grant-s-work-nemesis.htm.

- “John A. McClernand,” American Battlefield Trust, accessed June 28, 2023, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-mcclernand.

- “MCCLERNAND, John Alexander,” United States House of Representatives, accessed June 28, 2023, https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/M/McCLERNAND,-John-Alexander-(M000337)/.

- Richard L. Kiper, Major General John Alexander McClernand: Politician in Uniform, (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1999).

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