Jump to content

Orris S. Ferry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Orris Sanford Ferry
United States Senator
fromConnecticut
In office
March 4, 1867 – November 21, 1875
Preceded byLafayette S. Foster
Succeeded byJames E. English
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromConnecticut's4thdistrict
In office
March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861
Preceded byWilliam D. Bishop
Succeeded byGeorge C. Woodruff
Member of theConnecticut Senate
from the12thdistrict
In office
1855–1857
Preceded byWilliam T. Minor
Succeeded byJames H. Hoyt
Personal details
BornAugust 15, 1823
Bethel,Connecticut
DiedNovember 21, 1875(1875-11-21)(aged 52)
Norwalk,Connecticut
Resting placeUnion Cemetery
Norwalk, Connecticut
Political partyRepublican,Liberal Republican
SpouseCharlotte Bissell
Alma materYale College
ProfessionPolitician,Lawyer,Judge
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Union Army
RankBrigadier General
Bvt.Major General
Unit5th Connecticut Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Orris Sanford Ferry(August 15, 1823 – November 21, 1875) was aRepublicanAmericanlawyer and politician fromConnecticutwho served in theUnited States House of Representativesand theUnited States Senate.He was also abrigadier generalin theUnion Armyduring theAmerican Civil War.

Early life

[edit]

Ferry was born on August 15, 1823, inBethel, Connecticut.[1]He attended theHopkins School,and worked at his father's shoe factory as a boy.[2]It was here that he realized his love of books. At age 17, Ferry enteredYale,where he served as one of the editors of theYale Literary Magazine[3]and was a member ofSkull and Bones.[4]: 70 He graduated in 1844. Ferry first settled inFairfield, Connecticut,where he studied law underThomas B. Osborne.He then settled inNorwalk, Connecticut,and served in the office ofThomas B. Butler.Ferry married Charlotte Bissell, the daughter ofGovernor Clark Bissell.He was admitted to the bar in 1846.[2]The following year, he was commissioned alieutenant colonelin the12th Regiment of Connecticut Militia.[3]During his time in the militia, Ferry did not fight in any battle or war.[3]

Early political career

[edit]

Ferry served as aprobate judgesoon after being admitted to the bar.[2]At age 32, he was elected to a term in theConnecticut Senaterepresenting the12th District.He then served as theState's AttorneyforFairfield Countyfrom 1856 to 1859.[1]Ferry was a member of theToleration Party,but in 1856 became aRepublican.After joining the party, he campaigned forJohn C. Frémont.In 1857, Ferry was nominated to serve in theUnited States House of Representatives,but lost the election.[1][2]In 1859, he was again nominated, and this time he won.[2]

House of Representatives

[edit]

During his time inCongress,Ferry was known forextemporaneousspeaking. He gave numerous speeches against slavery. Ferry was chosen as Connecticut's representative to theCommittee of Thirty-Three.[5]This Committee was created in the hopes that peace could be settled between theNorthernandSouthern states.However, Southern states continued to secede from the Union, and the committee was disbanded.[5]Ferry also served on theCommittee of Revolutionary Claims.[3]In 1861, he was renominated for his seat, but lost the election.[2]

Battle of Winchester, 1862Ferry served in McDowell's Division
Confederate
Union

American Civil War

[edit]

At the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War,and before regiments of Northern troops had arrived to defendWashington,there was a report of a plot to burn the capital. On April 18, 1861, this report mobilized loyal citizens, including Ferry, and state senatorA. Homer Byington,also of Norwalk, to form a militia. This militia was led byCassius Marcellus Clay,and came to be known as the Cassius Clay Guard.[2][6]

On July 23, 1861, he was put in command of the5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry,and given the rank ofcolonel.[7]The original regiment was the1st Regiment Colts Revolving Rifles of Connecticutand was supposed to be led bySamuel Colt,but the unit never took the field.[8]Its organization failing, the regiment was reorganized in May 1861.[8]In early March 1862, Ferry led his troops across thePotomac River,and attacked the Confederates atWinchester, Virginia.[3]This action would later lead to what became theFirst Battle of Winchester.Ferry was well praised for his ability as a leader and as a military strategist. Ferry was promoted to brigadier general on March 17, 1862.[7]He was then put under the command ofGeneral James Shields,whose division joined that of Gen.Irvin McDowell.It was under McDowell that Ferry fought at the First Battle of Winchester.[3]Ferry continued to serve under Shields, during theValley Campaign.[9]

Battle of Cedar Mountain

[edit]
Orris Ferry during the American Civil War

Shortly after the First Battle of Winchester, Ferry and the 5th Connecticut Infantry were put under the command of Maj. Gen.Nathaniel Banks.[10]On August 9, Ferry, under Banks, encounteredStonewall Jacksonat theBattle of Cedar Mountain.[10]The Union troops attacked to gain early advantage, but a Confederate counterattack repulsed Banks's corps and won the day.[11]Later that day, Union reinforcements under Maj. Gen.John Popearrived. This led to a two-day stand-off between the two armies. The battle ended in a Confederate victory.[12]

Services and resignation

[edit]

During the war, Ferry served in theVII Corps,X Corps,andXVIII Corps.He was also the head of theDistrict of Lehigh,from August 20, 1863, until May 1864,[13]and served as the head of theDistrict of Philadelphiafrom December 16, 1864, until July 15, 1865.[14]Ferry wasbrevettedamajor generalof volunteers in recognition of his services during thePeninsula Campaign.[7]He resigned from the military on July 15, 1865.[7]His resignation followed the Confederate surrender.[3]

Senate career

[edit]

After the Civil War, Ferry returned to both his political career and law practice. In 1866, he ran againstLafayette S. Foster,the current incumbent of theClass III Connecticut Senate seat.[2]Ferry won the election, and took his place in theU.S. Senateon March 4, 1867. He became very active in committees,[1][2]and favored amnesty for members of the Confederacy.[3]Ferry participated in theImpeachment of President Andrew Johnson,voting to convict.[9]In 1869, Ferry was attacked by a rare disease of his spine.[2]This disease led to a slow deterioration of his spine.[3]This slowed his workings in the Senate, but he continued to play an active role. From 1870 to 1871, he served as the chairman of theCommittee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses.From 1871 to 1875, he was chairman of theCommittee on Patents.Ferry also served on theUnited States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.[1]Ferry was considered aLiberal Republican,but he declined to officially associate with the breakaway party.[15]In 1872, Ferry was reelected for a second term. His main supporters wereDemocratsand Liberal Republicans.[9]

Alexander Caldwell scandal

[edit]

In 1871,Alexander Caldwellwas elected to theSenatefrom Kansas. From the start, allegations of corruption and pay-offs emerged.[16] In 1873,Congressman Sidney Clarke,who assisted in Caldwell's election, testified that Caldwell's campaign had claimed that it would pay $250,000 to secure the election.[16]Kansas Governor Thomas Carneytestified that he was paid $15,000 to drop out of the race. An investigation followed; its final report asked the Senate to expel Caldwell for not being "duly and legally elected". On March 21, 1873, Ferry took to the floor of the Senate and gave a speech asking the Senate to expel Caldwell: "The crime of bribery goes down to the very foundations of the institutions under which we live. We all know it and... we shall stifle our consciences if we do not vote to expel." After a survey of the Senate, Caldwell saw his inevitability of being expelled, and resigned, on March 23.[16]

I see around me the life-long friends and neighbors of Senator Ferry, now no more; a man whom I cherished as a dear companion and associate, and to whom I looked up as one of the foremost men of the republic, in talent, integrity and patriotic spirit. More than almost any one I knew did he possess those qualities of mind and character which just at this period of our history are so greatly needed for the guidance of public affairs... Had his body been as strong as his mind and heart, he would beyond doubt have compelled universal recognition as one of the very first of statesmen in American history.

—SenatorCarl Schurz,from his speech during Ferry's funeral, 1875[2]

Later Senate career

[edit]

In 1874, Ferry gave a speech against the futureCivil Rights Act of 1875.After speaking,Senator Charles Sumner,both a friend of Ferry's and the proposer of the bill, stood up and said, "Mr. Ferry, your speech is far the most damaging blow my measure has yet received".[3]TheCivil Rights Actwould eventually pass, but was deemed unconstitutional by theSupreme Court,on the basis that Congress did not have the power to regulate the conduct of individuals. His last speech in Congress was considered an uncommonly eloquent dissertation on his former friend,William Alfred Buckingham.[3]

Death

[edit]

After his final speech, Ferry left the capital for a new medical treatment. The treatment was to help heal his decaying spine, but the procedure failed.[3]On November 20, 1875, Ferry's friends and doctors helped take him home. He died of his spine disease the next day.[3]His funeral was attended by dignitaries such as Schurz. Ferry was interred at Union Cemetery in Norwalk.[2][7]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^abcdeBiographical Directory of the United States Congress, Orris S. Ferry
  2. ^abcdefghijklObituary of Orris S. Ferry
  3. ^abcdefghijklmWilliams pp. 277–281
  4. ^Fraternity, Psi Upsilon (1917).The twelfth general catalogue of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity.RetrievedMarch 24,2011.
  5. ^abCroffut p. 32
  6. ^Norwalk Patch
  7. ^abcdeEicher pp. 233–234
  8. ^abHistory of Battle-Flag Day p. 139
  9. ^abcWarner pp. 151-152
  10. ^abSixties p. 83
  11. ^Salmon pp. 134-135
  12. ^McDonald p. 81
  13. ^Eicher p. 831
  14. ^Eicher p. 842
  15. ^New York Times Obituary of Orris S. Ferry, 1875
  16. ^abcGrossman p. 44

References

[edit]
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromConnecticut's 4th congressional district
March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from Connecticut
March 4, 1867 – November 21, 1875 		Succeeded by
Connecticut State Senate
Preceded by Member of theConnecticut Senate
from Connecticut's12thSenate district
1855–1856 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orris_S._Ferry&oldid=1210694284"