William h fishback biography

William Meade Fishback was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, on November 5, , to Frederick Martin Fishback and Sophia Ann Yates.

William h fishback biography wikipedia Retrieved August 17, Career [ edit ]. After this he returned to Sebastian county and located at Fort Smith, where he now resides. Private User.

Frederick died in November , leaving behind ten children under the age of

Fishback received his early education in Culpeper County before enrolling at the University of Virginia in He remained for three years, studying ancient and modern languages, moral philosophy, chemistry, and mathematics. He joined the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, and in April he delivered an oration commemorating Thomas Jefferson’s birthday.

After leaving UVA in , Fishback taught school and read law in Richmond.

In , he moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he performed some legal work for future President Abraham Lincoln. Impressed with the work, Lincoln offered Fishback additional business and assured him he felt “confident you could make a living” in Springfield, Poor health, however, prompted Fishback to move to Arkansas in He settled near Fort Smith, a town of about 1, people on the state’s western edge.

Fishback was a staunch Unionist during the secession crisis.

He hoped to forge an alliance between northern and southern conservatives against the rising “spirit of fanaticism” in each section. When South Carolina seceded, he argued that Congress should “vote every dollar and every man in the United States, if necessary, to force South Carolina to do her duty [to the Union]!” In , he served as a Unionist delegate to the Arkansas Secession Convention.

William h fishback biography death Born 5 Nov in Culpeper County, Virginia. Connections Add photo. He moved to the frontier region of Sebastian County, Arkansas in and began practicing in Greenwood shortly thereafter. View the Record.

Arkansas seceded on May 6, That September, Fishback fled one hundred miles north to Missouri and swore an oath of allegiance to the Union. He returned in , following the Union army as it advanced into Arkansas. In November, he was appointed colonel and began organizing the 4th Arkansas Mounted Infantry, a one-year Union regiment.

The following month, it reorganized as the three-year 4th Arkansas Cavalry (United States Volunteers). By May , Fishback had recruited roughly men, many of them former Confederate soldiers. Although he raised the regiment, he never led it into battle, instead carrying out various political duties in an attempt to restore Arkansas to the Union.

William h fishback biography wife In December , he represented year-old David Owen Dodd, who was convicted of spying. William M. Profile last modified 10 Sep Created 7 Sep Main Photo Add photo.

In January , Fishback and his allies began drafting a new state constitution, which abolished slavery and repudiated secession. He began publishing a newspaper, The Unconditional Union, to urge voters to ratify the constitution. Fishback defended emancipation, arguing that slavery had hindered Arkansas’s economic development and left its white citizens mired in poverty.

He condemned Confederate soldiers for loving “their Cotton or the [Negroe] more than they love their country.”

With Union soldiers monitoring the polls, the required number of Arkansas voters approved the constitution in March In May, the new Unionist legislature chose Fishback and Elisha Baxter as the state’s United States senators, and Fishback resigned as colonel of the 4th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment.

Radical Republicans in Congress, however, denied their credentials and refused to seat them, insisting that Lincoln’s ten percent plan for Reconstruction was too lenient.

William h fishback biography Kmiieinlier 'KlNlilniuk. On September 5, , Fishback was elected Governor of Arkansas. Democratic nominee for Governor of Arkansas Fishback Collection:.

Fishback returned to Arkansas, and after the war he became increasingly critical of Radical Reconstruction. In September , he condemned Radicals’ plans to disenfranchise former Confederates while giving former slaves the right to vote, deeming it “too preposterous to be discussed.” Fishback argued that former slaves were “incapable of taking care of [themselves].” Disillusioned with the Republican Party, Fishback served as a Democratic delegate to the state’s constitutional convention and served in the state legislature from to He ran for governor as a Democrat in , easily defeating his Republican and Populist challengers and carrying all but seven of the state’s seventy-five counties.

Although he hoped to improve Arkansas’s infrastructure and educational system, the economic depression of the s hindered his legislative agenda. He lost his bid for reelection in , but remained politically active, campaigning for Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan in

Fishback married Adelaide Miller on April 4, The couple lived in Arkansas and had five children: Louis Frederick, born around ; Bertha Ward, born around ; William Meade, born around ; Herbert Yates, born around ; and Mary Adelaide, born around Fishback suffered a stroke in early , and died on February 9, at the age of seventy-one.

Images: William Meade Fishback (courtesy Arkansas State Archives).

Essays:

Finding UVA's Unionists (Part 1): William Meade Fishback

Documents:

Fishback Calls for Moderation After John Brown's Raid

William Fishback to Abraham Lincoln, January 31,

William Fishback's Unconditional Unionist, February 19,

William M.

Fishback Discusses Arkansas's Spring Election Results

William Fishback Recounts His Wartime Experiences

William M. Fishback to Abraham Lincoln, January 26,

William M. Fishback to Abraham Lincoln, March 19,

William Fishback Denounces Radical Reconstruction