James Henry Lane (Union general)

For the Confederate general with the same name, see James Henry Lane (Confederate general).

James Henry Lane


United States Senator from Kansas
In office April 4, 1861 – July 11, 1866
Preceded by	(none)
Succeeded by	Edmund G. Ross
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district
In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855
Preceded by	Samuel W. Parker
Succeeded by	William Cumback
11th Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
In office December 5, 1849 – January 10, 1853
Governor	Joseph A. Wright
Preceded by	Paris C. Dunning
Succeeded by	Ashbel P. Willard
Personal details
Born	(1814-06-22)June 22, 1814 Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Died	July 11, 1866(1866-07-11) (aged 52) Leavenworth, Kansas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary E. Lane
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1846 – 1848, 1861 – 1862
Rank	Brigadier General
Battles/wars	Mexican-American War American Civil War

James Henry Lane also known as Jim Lane (June 22, 1814 – July 11, 1866) was a partisan during the Bleeding Kansas period that immediately preceded the American Civil War. During the war, Lane served as a United States Senator and as a general who fought for the Union. Although reelected as a Senator in 1865, Lane committed suicide the following year.

Biography

The son of Amos Lane, Lane was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana,^[1] where he practiced law when he was admitted to the bar in 1840. During the Mexican-American War, he successively commanded the 3rd and 5th Indiana Regiments. He was a U.S. congressman from Indiana (1853–1855) where he voted for the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

He moved to the Kansas Territory in 1855. He immediately became involved in the abolitionist movement in Kansas, and was often called the leader of the Jayhawkers, a leading Free Soil militant group. After the Free Soilers succeeded in getting Kansas admitted to the Union in 1861 as a free state, Lane was elected as one of the new state's first U.S. Senators, and reelected in 1865. During that time he presided over the Topeka convention.

Civil War

During the American Civil War, in addition to his Senate service, Lane raised a brigade of "Jayhawkers" known as the "Kansas Brigade", or "Lane's Brigade", composed of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Kansas Volunteers. He led this mixed force into action against pro-Southern General Sterling Price of Missouri in the Battle of Dry Wood Creek as Price began an offensive early in the War to retake Missouri for the pro-Confederate state government that had been deposed by pro-Union forces around St. Louis. Lane lost the battle but stayed behind and attacked pro-South pockets in Missouri behind Price. His raids culminated in the Sacking of Osceola, in which Lane's forces killed at least nine men, then pillaged, looted, and then burned the town; these events inspired the novel Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter, which was the basis for the 1976 Clint Eastwood movie The Outlaw Josey Wales. Lane was severely criticized for his actions in Osceola, most severely by General Henry Halleck, then Commander of the Department of Missouri. Of their actions, he would state: "The course pursued by those under Lane and Jennison has turned against us many thousands who were formerly Union men. A few more such raids will make this State unanimous against us." Thus, Lane's Brigade was ended.^[2]

On December 18, 1861 Lane was appointed brigadier general of volunteers. On March 21, 1862, his commission was canceled in culmination of an argument over whether a sitting U.S. Senator could concurrently hold the rank of General.^[3] However on April 11, 1862, he was reinstated as brigadier general of volunteers with the confirmation of the U.S. Senate. During 1862–1863, he served as recruiting commissioner for the State of Kansas.

On October 27–29, 1862, U.S. Senator Jim Lane recruited the 1st Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry (Colored) who debuted at the Skirmish at Island Mound. They are the first African-American troops to fight in the war, a year before the 54th Massachusetts. In their first action, 30 of their members defeated 130 mounted Confederate guerrillas.^[4]

Lane was the target of the event that became the Lawrence Massacre (or Quantrill's Raid) on August 21, 1863. Confederate guerrillas could be heard shouting, "Remember Osceola!" Though Lane was in residence in Lawrence at the time, he was able to escape the attack by racing through a nearby ravine.

In 1864 when Sterling Price invaded Missouri, Lane served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Samuel R. Curtis, commander of the Army of the Border. Lane was with the victorious Union forces at the battle of Westport.

Death and legacy

Lane had survived many hardships in his life, including fighting in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. But on July 1, 1866 he shot himself^[5] in the head as he jumped from his carriage in Leavenworth, Kansas. He was allegedly deranged, depressed, had been charged with abandoning his fellow Radical Republicans and had been accused of financial irregularities. He died ten days later near Leavenworth, Kansas, a result of the self-inflicted gunshot. Edmund G. Ross was appointed to succeed him in the Senate.

The following places were named in honor of the late senator:

In popular culture

Jim Lane appears as a character in Wildwood Boys (William Morrow, New York; 2000), a biographical novel of Bloody Bill Anderson by James Carlos Blake.
Jim Lane is a main character in the new book, "The 116" by James P. Muehlberger.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Henry Lane.

↑ "James Henry Lane". NNB. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
↑ James H. Lane - Grim Leader in the Free-State Fight
↑ Eicher p.338
↑ Border War Timeline, 1861 - 1865: The Civil War
↑ "OBITUARY.; James H. Lane, United States Senator from Kansas.". The New York Times. July 4, 1866. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Government Printing Office. p. 180.

External links

United States Congress. "James Henry Lane (id: L000061)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-19
"James Henry Lane". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
James H. Lane at Territorial Kansas Online
James H. Lane at PBS: New Perspectives on The West
James H. Lane at NNDB
James H. Lane at Mr. Lincoln's White House
Senator Jim at Bull Run

Political offices
Preceded by Paris C. Dunning	Lieutenant Governor of Indiana 1849 – 1853	Succeeded by Ashbel P. Willard
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Samuel W. Parker	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th congressional district March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	Succeeded by William Cumback
United States Senate
Preceded by (none)	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Kansas March 4, 1861 – July 11, 1866 Served alongside: Samuel C. Pomeroy	Succeeded by Edmund G. Ross

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana

1st district	Prince Call Boon Blake Boon Proffit Owen Embree Albertson Lockhart Miller Lockhart Niblack Law Niblack Fuller Heilman Kleiner Hovey Posey Parrett Taylor Hemenway Foster Boehne Sr. Lieb Denton Luhring W. Wilson Rowbottom Boehne Jr. Schulte Madden Benjamin Hall Visclosky

2nd district	Jennings Carr Ewing J. W. Davis Ewing J. W. Davis Thompson Henley Dunham English Cravens Kerr Wolfe Williams Humphreys Cobb O'Neall Bretz Hardy Miers Chaney Cullop Bland Greenwood Durgan Halleck Landgrebe Fithian Sharp McIntosh Pence Chocola Donnelly Walorski

3rd district	Test O. Smith Test Carty Carr Graham Carr J. L. White T. Smith Robinson Dunham Dunn Hughes Dunn Harrington R. Hill Hunter Holman Kerr Carr Bicknell Stockslager Howard Brown Tracewell Zenor Cox Dunbar Gardner Dunbar Crowe Pettengill Grant Crook Crumpacker Nimtz Brademas Hiler Roemer Souder Stutzman Banks (elect)

4th district	Lane Dunn T. Smith Cravens C. Smith Julian Parker Lane Cumback Foley Holman Farquhar Holman Julian Je. Wilson New Sexton New Holman Watson Holman Griffith Dixon Benham Canfield Farley Gillie Kruse Adair Roush Quayle Coats Long Souder Buyer Rokita

5th district	McCarty Rariden Kennedy Brown Wick Brown Hendricks Parker Holloway Kilgore Julian Coburn Holman Browne Matson Cooper Overstreet Faris Holliday Moss Sanders N. Johnson Gillen Griswold Harness Walsh Beamer Roush Roudebush Hillis Jontz Buyer Burton Brooks

6th district	Kinnard Herod Wick Wallace J. W. Davis Dunn Gorman Hendricks Barbour Gregg Porter Dumont Coburn Voorhees Hunter Robinson Myers Browne H. Johnson Watson Barnard Gray Comstock Elliott Larrabee Jenckes N. Johnson Harden Wampler Roudebush Bray Evans Burton Pence Messer

7th district	Hannegan A. White Howard Lane Wright McGaughey Thompson McGaughey J. G. Davis Scott J. G. Davis Voorhees Washburn Orth Manson Cason Landers Hanna Matyr Peelle English Bynum Henry Overstreet Korbly Moores Updike Ludlow Greenwood Landis Noland Bray Myers Pease Kerns J. Carson A. Carson

8th district	Pettit McDonald Mace Ja. Wilson A. White Orth Tyner Hunter Hostetler Peirce Lamb Johnston Brookshire Faris Henry Cromer Adair Vestal Boehne Jr. La Follette Mitchell Denton Merrill Denton Zion Hayes Cornwell Deckard McCloskey Hostettler Ellsworth Bucshon

9th district	Sample Cathcart Fitch Eddy Shanks Cason M. White Orth Doxey Ward Cheadle Waugh Hanly Landis Morrison Purnell Crowe E. Wilson Hogan E. Wilson Hamilton B. Hill Sodrel B. Hill Young Hollingsworth (elect)

10th district	Kennedy Rockhill Harlan Brenton Chamberlain Case Mitchell Edgerton Defrees Williams Sayler Haymond Calkins Motte T. Wood Owen Patton Hammond Hatch Crumpacker Peterson W. Wood Gray Springer Harvey Harmon Harvey Roudebush Dennis Sharp Jacobs Jr. J. Carson

11th district	Harlan Pettit Shanks McDowell Stilwell Shanks Packard Evans Cowgill Steele Martin Steele Landis Rauch Kraus Cook Hall Griswold Larrabee Ludlow Jacobs Sr. Brownson Barr Bruce Jacobs Jr. Hudnut Jacobs Jr.

12th district	Hamilton Colerick Lowry J. B. White McClellan McNagny Leighty Robinson Gilbert Gilhams Cline Fairfield Hogg Ludlow

13th district	Baker Calkins Shively Ford Shively Conn Royse Brick Barnhart Hickey Pettengill

At-large	Hendricks Jennings Packard / Orth / Williams

Territory	Parke Thomas Jennings

United States Senators from Kansas

Class 2	Lane Ross Caldwell Crozier Harvey Plumb Perkins Martin Baker Burton Benson Curtis Thompson Capper Schoeppel Pearson Kassebaum Roberts

Class 3	Pomeroy Ingalls Peffer Harris Long Bristow Curtis Allen McGill Reed Darby Carlson Dole Frahm Brownback Moran

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 62866096 LCCN: n81057278 ISNI: 0000 0000 6162 5881 GND: 13849956X SUDOC: 131550179 US Congress: L000061

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