[[Union Army]]"},"rank":{"wt":"{{unbulleted list\n | [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]],USV\n | [[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brig. General]],USV\n}}"},"commands":{"wt":"[[42nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment|42nd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry]]"},"serviceyears":{"wt":"1861–1865"},"battles":{"wt":"[[American Civil War]]"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBA">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}
Ezra T. Sprague | |
---|---|
Wisconsin Circuit Judge for the 10th Circuit | |
In office April 13, 1870 –April 1871 | |
Appointed by | Thaddeus C. Pound |
Preceded by | Ganem W. Washburn |
Succeeded by | Eleazor H. Ellis |
Personal details | |
Born | Windham,Connecticut,U.S. | June 23,1833
Died | December 30,1888 55) Salt Lake City, Utah Territory | (aged
Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery,Salt Lake City |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | |
Children |
|
Alma mater | Amherst College |
Profession | Lawyer |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Volunteers Union Army |
Years of service | 1861–1865 |
Rank |
|
Commands | 42nd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Ezra Thompson Sprague (June 23, 1833 –December 30, 1888) was an American lawyer, judge, and Republican politician. He was a Wisconsin circuit court judge in 1870 and 1871. He also served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and received an honorary brevet to brigadier general. His name was often abbreviated as E. T. Sprague.
Ezra Sprague was born in Windham, Connecticut, in June 1833. He was raised and educated there and attended the West Killingly Academy in Danielson, Connecticut. [1] He then attended Amherst College, where he graduated in 1855. After graduation, he returned to West Killingly Academy as a teacher for two terms. [2]
He moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1856 and began studying law in the offices of George Baldwin Smith and Elisha W. Keyes. He was admitted to the bar in 1857, and began practicing law in partnership with Jairus H. Carpenter under the firm name Carpenter & Sprague. This partnership continued until Sprague resigned to join the Union Army. [1]
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Sprague was one of the first to volunteer for service in the Union Army. He was enrolled as a private in Company K of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment on April 17, 1861, just days after the attack on Fort Sumter. The 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment went east to Pennsylvania and Virginia, and Sprague was promoted to corporal and then sergeant. They participated in the Battle of Hoke's Run, but because these early enlistments were only established for three-month terms, the regiment expired in August 1861. [3]
Sprague, like many of the first regiment, re-enlisted for a three-year term. He was then commissioned adjutant of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, under colonel Robert C. Murphy. The 8th Wisconsin Infantry mustered into federal service in September 1861, and was assigned to the western theater. Shortly after arriving at St. Louis, they began participating in the campaign to gain control of Missouri under General John Pope. [4] Through 1862, they engaged in all the battles of northern Mississippi around Iuka and Corinth, and then joined Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. [4] In the year after Vicksburg, they participated in a series of campaigns to solidify Union control over the Mississippi River delta, including a campaign into Texas, the Meridian campaign into central Mississippi, and the Red River campaign through Louisiana. [4] During these years, as Sprague was serving as adjutant to the colonel of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry, he also worked as an assistant adjutant on the division staff. [1]
In the Summer of 1864, Sprague returned to Madison, Wisconsin, to accept promotion to colonel and appointment as commander of the 42nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. [5] He oversaw the preparation of the regiment at Camp Randall, and mustered into federal service on September 7, 1864. [6] The regiment arrived at Cairo, Illinois, on September 22, and were assigned to guard duty in southern Illinois. Sprague was detached from the regiment and assigned post commander at Cairo for the remainder of the war. The regiment mustered out on June 20, 1865. [6] He was subsequently granted an honorary brevet to brigadier general; [5] he was nominated for the brevet on January 13, 1866, the U.S. Senate confirmed the brevet on March 12, and it had an effective date of June 20, 1865. [7]
At the close of the war, Sprague moved to De Pere, Wisconsin, and resumed his legal career. [1] In 1870, an act of the legislature changed the Wisconsin circuit courts circuit boundaries, such that the incumbent circuit judge for the 10th circuit no longer resided within the 10th circuit. While the Governor was absent, in April 1870, the Lieutenant Governor Thaddeus C. Pound appointed Sprague to serve as circuit judge for the 10th circuit. [1] [8] Sprague chose not to run for a full term the following year, and was succeeded in April 1871 by Eleazor H. Ellis, who won that election.
That Fall, however, Sprague accepted the Republican nomination for Wisconsin Senate in the 2nd Senate district. The 2nd district, comprising Brown, Kewaunee, and Door counties, was at that time one of the safest Democratic seats in the State Senate. Nevertheless, Sprague ran a good race and came within 200 votes of defeating his Democratic opponent, Myron P. Lindsley. [9]
Sprague suffered from a bout of poor health after the 1871 election, and moved west to Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, hoping that his health would benefit from the mild climate. In Utah he resumed his law practice and served several concurrent roles for the federal government in the territory, including Assistant United States Attorney, bankruptcy commissioner, and clerk of the Utah Territory Supreme Court. [2]
He suffered from poor health in the late 1880s. In December 1888, he contracted a severe cold and died at his home in Salt Lake City on the night of December 30, 1888. [10] [11]
Ezra Sprague was one of three children born to William Borden Sprague and his second wife, Joanna (née Hutchins). The Spragues were part of the Sprague family from the branch descended from Ralph Sprague, who came to America with the Puritan migration in the 1620s. [12]
Ezra Sprague married Helen A. Crandall of Madison, Wisconsin, on November 20, 1860. They had at least five children together, though one daughter died in childhood. [1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, November 3, 1871 | |||||
Democratic | Myron P. Lindsley | 2,498 | 51.68% | −0.15% | |
Republican | E. T. Sprague | 2,336 | 48.32% | ||
Plurality | 162 | 3.35% | +0.30% | ||
Total votes | 4,834 | 100.0% | +23.92% | ||
Democratic hold |
Amasa Cobb was an American politician and judge. He was the 6th and 9th Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court and the 5th Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska. Earlier in his life, he was a United States Congressman from Wisconsin for 8 years and served as the 13th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He also served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
The 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a member of the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. It suffered the largest number of casualties as a percentage of its total enlistment of any Union Army unit in the war.
The 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a part of the famous Iron Brigade in the Army of the Potomac.
The 8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 8th Wisconsin's mascot was Old Abe, a bald eagle that accompanied the regiment into battle.
The 12th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. They served primarily in the western theatre, participating in battles and campaigns including the Siege of Vicksburg, the Jackson expedition, and Sherman's March to the Sea.
The 14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Four of its members received the Medal of Honor for service in the Second Battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862; among them the Color-Sergeant Denis Murphy, who, though wounded 3 times, continued bearing the colors throughout the battle.
The 16th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. For much of the war, the regiment was commanded by Cassius Fairchild, the brother of Wisconsin's 10th governor Lucius Fairchild.
The 24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 38th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Thomas Scott Allen was an American printer, teacher, newspaper publisher, and politician. He served as the 9th Secretary of State of Wisconsin and served as a Union Army officer throughout the American Civil War, earning an honorary brevet rank of brigadier general. Before the war he also served a term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Iowa County, and later in life he was publisher of the Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper.
John Wilson Sprague was an American soldier and railroad executive. He served as a general in the Union Army in the Western Theater of operations during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Decatur during the Atlanta Campaign. After the war, he was a railroad executive and later co-founded the city of Tacoma, Washington, serving as its first mayor.
John Azor Kellogg was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as a Union Army officer through the entire American Civil War, serving with the famed Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac; he received an honorary brevet to brigadier general after the war. He was a prisoner of war for several months in 1864, and later wrote an account of his escape from captivity and his war service, called Capture and Escape: A Narrative of Army and Prison Life. He later served in the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 21st Senate district from 1879 to 1881.
William A. Hawley was a career United States Army officer, who served in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. During the Civil War, he commanded the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and received an honorary brevet to the rank of brigadier general.
Frederick Solon Lovell was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 11th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, was a delegate to both Wisconsin constitutional conventions, and was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War.
Adam Gale Malloy was an Irish American immigrant and Republican politician who served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. After the war, he was given an honorary brevet to brigadier general. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Texas in 1892.
David Goodrich James was an American businessman, tinner and Civil War veteran from Richland Center, Wisconsin. He represented the 28th district of the Wisconsin State Senate for four years (1909–1913) as a Republican, and served as a Union Army volunteer during the American Civil War. His brother Norman L. James represented the same district in the Wisconsin Senate.
John Milton Read was an American journalist, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Brown, Door, and Kewaunee counties during the 1874 and 1875 sessions. In historical documents, his surname is sometimes spelled Reed.
Joseph Seaver Curtis was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for three terms, representing Green Bay and eastern Brown County during the 1869, 1871, and 1873 sessions. He was also an editor of the Green Bay Gazette, and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Cyrus Marion Butt Sr. was an American farmer, lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate during the 1869 and 1870 sessions, representing La Crosse and Vernon counties. He also served six years as district attorney and 12 years as county judge in Vernon County, and served as a Union Army officer through much of the American Civil War. In historical documents, his name is often abbreviated as C. M. Butt.