John Albion Andrew
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John Albion Andrew (May 31, 1818 – October 30, 1867) was a U.S. political figure. He served as the Governor of Massachusetts between 1861 and 1866 during the tumultuous American Civil War. He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first U.S. Army units comprised of black men—including the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry.
[edit] Early life and career
John A. Andrew was born in Windham, Maine. His father, Jonathan Andrew, was a small trader and his mother, Nancy Green Pierce, was a teacher at Fryeburg Academy. John Albion was the eldest son. His mother died in 1832.
Andrew entered Bowdoin College in 1833. Although he was studious and popular with other students, he did not shine academically and was ranked near the lowest in his class. After his graduation, he moved to Boston to study law under Henry H. Fuller, with whom he became close friends.
Andrew married Eliza Jane Hersey of Hingham on Christmas evening, 1848. They had four children: John Forrester, born Nov. 26, 1850; Elizabeth Loring, born July 29, 1852; Edith, born April 5, 1854; Henry Hersey, born April 28, 1858.
After his admission to the bar, Andrew joined the Whig party and began to support the anti-slavery movement. He was elected to as a Representative in the General Court in 1858. In 1860, he was elected governor of Massachusetts by a huge margin.
[edit] Governor of Massachusetts
Andrew took office on January 2, 1861, on the eve of the Civil War, and he immediately began to ready the Massachusetts militia for duty. He also asked the governors of Maine and New Hampshire to prepare for war. Among his early actions were to accept recruits from other states to serve in Massachusetts regiments, including 500 men from California who he encouraged to join the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry in 1862 and early 1863.
Andrew's strong feelings about emancipation are clearly expressed in the following quote from an 1862 speech:
"I know not what record of sin awaits me in the other world, but this I know, that I was never mean enough to despise any man because he was black."
Andrew was receptive to the concept of using black men as uniformed soldiers in the Union army. Working closely with the Federal government and with Frederick Douglass, he authorized the formation of two regiments of black infantry, the 54th and 55th Massachusetts, comprised of blacks from the state, as well as Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and other states.
He left the office of governor in 1865 and again took up the practice of law.
He died in 1867 of apoplexy after having tea at his home in Boston. He is buried in the Hingham (Old Ship) Cemetery in Hingham, Massachusetts.
[edit] References
- Project Gutenberg's The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 3
- Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography
| Preceded by: Nathaniel P. Banks | Governor of Massachusetts January 3, 1861 – January 4, 1866 | Succeeded by: Alexander H. Bullock |
