- Rufus R. Dawes
:"Rufus Dawes is also the name of the protagonist in the Australian novel
For the Term of his Natural Life ."Rufus Robinson Dawes (
July 4 ,1838 –August 2 ,1899 ) was a military officer in theUnited States Army during theAmerican Civil War . He was noted for his service in the famedIron Brigade , particularly during theBattle of Gettysburg . He was a post-war businessman,Congressman , andauthor , and the father of four nationally known sons, one of whom served asVice President of the United States .Civil War
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Dawes organized a volunteer unit from Mauston in June and was soon elected
captain . Company K was mustered into the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which served for the first months of the war on guard duty inWashington D.C. . In June 1862, Dawes was promoted to major. He served with hisregiment at the Battle of Groveton and at Antietam and Fredericksburg In March 1863, Dawes received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served in the Chancellorsville Campaign.During the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg on
July 1 ,1863 , Dawes led acounterattack onJoseph R. Davis 's Confederatebrigade ofMississippi ans, many of which were sheltered in an unfinished railroad cut west of town. He forced the surrender of over 200 enemy soldiers. He later served that year in theMine Run Campaign . During a furlough, Dawes returned to Ohio and married Mary Beman Gates (1842-1921), aNew England er, onJanuary 18 ,1864 . Returning to theArmy of the Potomac , he served at theBattle of the Wilderness and theSiege of Petersburg . In July 1864, Dawes was offered the full rank ofcolonel , but declined the promotion. He mustered out of the army onAugust 10 ,1864 , following the fights at Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor.Post-bellum career
Dawes returned home to Marietta and entered the lumber business. On
March 13 ,1865 , he was awarded the rank of brevet Brigadier General. In August of that year, his sonCharles Gates Dawes was born, a future Vice President. In July 1867,Rufus C. Dawes was born at the family home. He would become a well respected businessman and lawyer, being awardedChicago 's Most Distinguished Citizen Award" in 1934. A third son,Beman Gates Dawes , would later serve as a Congressman from Ohio, andHenry May Dawes would be a powerful banker who would serve as Comptroller of the Currency for the United States underWarren G. Harding andCalvin Coolidge . Rufus and Mary Dawes also had two daughters. In 1869, the Dawes built an impressivemansion in theItalianate style.Dawes also served on the Board of Trustees of Marietta College from 1871 until his death, 28 years later. He was also a
Trustee for Ohio’s Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. Dawes was elected to theU.S. House of Representatives in 1881 as a representative from the 15th Congressional District. A Republican, he served for one term before losing his bid for re-election because he voted against theChinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (Sortland 1958: 4). In 1890, he published a well-received account of his Civil War career, "Service with the 6th Wisconsin Volunteers." His reputation as an orator and his influential voice for the establishment of diplomatic relations withPersia prompted PresidentWilliam McKinley to offer Dawes the position of Minister to Persia in 1897, a post he declined due to failing health.Dawes died two years later in Marietta and was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Dawes was elected to Marietta College's Hall of Honor in 2003.
References
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000149 Congressional Biography]
* Sortland, R. A. (1958). "Charles G. Dawes: Businessman in Politics." Unpublished manuscript, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
* University of Southern Mississippi, McCain Library and Archives - Dawes letter collection
* Herdegen, Lance J., "Those Damned Black Hats!" The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign", Savas Beatie LLC, October 2008. http://www.savasbeatie.comPersondata
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SHORT DESCRIPTION= Union Army general
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