Alvin P. Hovey

Infobox Politician
name =Alvin P. Hovey


caption = Alvin P. Hovey as a brigadier general.
birth_date= September 6, 1821
birth_place= Mount Vernon, Indiana
death_date= November 23, 1891
death_place= Indianapolis, Indiana
party = Republican
office1 =United States House of Representatives
term_start1 =March 4, 1887
term_end1 =January 17, 1889
office2 =Governor of Indiana
order2 =21st
term_start2 =January 14, 1889
term_end2 =November 23, 1891
predecessor2 =Isaac P. Gray
successor2 =Ira Joy Chase
office = Indiana Supreme Court
order = 14th Member of the
term_start = May 8, 1854
term_end = January 1. 1855
predecessor = Addison Roache
successor = Samuel Gookins
allegiance=United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=1844–1846 1860–1865
rank=major general
commands=12th Division, XIII Corps
unit=
battles=Mexican-American War American Civil War

Alvin Peterson Hovey (September 6, 1821 –November 23, 1891) was a Union general during the American Civil War and a governor of Indiana.

Biography

Hovey was born in Mount Vernon, Indiana on September 6, 1821 to Abiel and Francis Hovey. His father died when he was fifteen. After receiving an education in the public schools, he held a variety of jobs including bricklayer, school teacher, and lawyer. He was schooled in law by Judge John Pitcher, he was admitted to the bar in 1843.

He became famous in Indiana for ousting William Maclure as the administrator of New Harmony, Indiana and taking the position himself. He managed the estate for several years and represented it as a delegate to the 1851 constitutional convention. [Dunn, 481]

He was elevated to serve on the Indiana Supreme Court on May 8, 1854, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice Roach. He served on the court for less than a year. He received a commission in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War, but saw no action. After the war, he filled a vacant position as an Indiana state Supreme Court justice in 1854. He later served as a U.S. District Attorney starting in 1856. [ [http://www.wvec.k12.in.us/canaltrek/hovey.html IN.edu] ]

Military career

He was appointed Colonel of the 24th Indiana Volunteer Regiment and fought in the Battle of Shiloh under General Lew Wallace. In April 1862, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and assumed command of the District of East Arkansas. He commanded the 12th Division, XIII Corps during the Vicksburg Campaign. Hovey took a prominent part in the Battle of Champion Hill and won the praise of General Ulysses S. Grant for his services there. He led the division through the Siege of Vicksburg. He commanded the ten thousand man 1st Division, XXIII Corps during the first part of the Atlanta Campaign until the division was discontinued in August 1864. He had recruited many of the members himself and only accepted unmarried men, making the division come to be known as "Hovey's Babies". [Dunn, p. 482]

He was appointed by Secretary Stanton to command the District of Indiana in 1864. At the wishes of Governor Oliver P. Morton, Hovey raised 10,000 new recruits to serve in the Union Army. He received a brevet promotion to major general in 1864 and resigned from the army the following year.

Political career

After the end of the Civil War, he was sent as a U.S. Minister to Peru serving there from 1865 until 1870. After serving in Peru for five years, he returned to his hometown of Mount Vernon and practiced law. He turned down a nomination for governor, but won election as Congressman in 1886.

In 1888, he accepted a second nomination for governor and won the election. During his administration the secret ballot was adopted for elections, the board of education gained more authority over curriculum and the State Board of Tax Commissioners was established.

Hovey was considered an eccentric man and claimed to his closest friends that he believed he was the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was known to always go off from people and into solitary contemplation on the anniversary of Bonaparte's death. [Dunn, 482]

Hovey died in office on November 23, 1891, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery near Mount Vernon.

References

ee also

*List of American Civil War generals
*List of Governors of Indiana

References

References

*cite book|title=Indiana and Indianans|author=Dunn, Jacob Piatt|year=1919|publisher=American Historical Society

External links

* [http://civilwarindiana.com/biographies/hovey_alvin_peterson.html Civil War Indiana biography of Hovey]
* [http://www.msdmv.k12.in.us/farmersville/msdmv/alvin_peterson_hovey.htm Biography of Hovey]
*congbio|H000833 Retrieved on 2008-02-12
* [http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/ihb/govportraits/hovey.html Indiana Historical Bureau: Biography and portrait]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CE1DD133AE533A25756C2A9679D94609ED7CF NY Times Obituary]

###@@@KEY@@@###USRepSuccession box
state = Indiana
district = 1
before = John J. Kleiner
after = Francis B. Posey
years = March 4, 1887–January 17, 1889succession box
before=Isaac P. Gray
title=Governor of Indiana
years=January 14, 1888–November 23, 1891
after=Ira Joy Chasesuccession box
title = United States Minister to Peru
before = Christopher Robinson
after = Thomas Settle
years = May 22, 1866–September 22, 1870

Persondata
NAME= Hovey, Alvin P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Union Army general
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=