Richard Yates (politician)

Richard Yates
Yates c. 1860–75
United States Senator
from Illinois
In office
March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1871
Preceded byWilliam A. Richardson
Succeeded byJohn A. Logan
13th Governor of Illinois
In office
January 14, 1861 – January 16, 1865
LieutenantFrancis Hoffmann
Preceded byJohn Wood
Succeeded byRichard J. Oglesby
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois
In office
March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1855
Preceded byThomas L. Harris
Succeeded byThomas L. Harris
Constituency7th district (1851–53)
6th district (1853–55)
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office
1842–1845
1848–1849
Personal details
BornJanuary 18, 1815
Warsaw, Kentucky
DiedNovember 27, 1873(1873-11-27) (aged 58)
St. Louis, Missouri
Political partyWhig (until 1854)
Republican (after 1854)
Alma materIllinois College
Transylvania University
ProfessionPolitician
Signature

Richard Yates (January 18, 1815 – November 27, 1873) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 13th Governor of Illinois from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. He also represented the state in the United States House of Representatives from 1851 to 1855 and the United States Senate from 1865 to 1871.

Yates is considered[by whom?] one of the most effective war governors and was nicknamed the "Soldiers' Friend". He took energetic measures to secure Cairo, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri against rebel attack. He helped organize the Illinois contingent of Union soldiers and commissioned Ulysses S. Grant, among others, as a colonel for an Illinois regiment.[1] He supported the Emancipation Proclamation.[2][3] As a Senator, he supported the impeachment and removal of President Andrew Johnson from office.[4]

  1. ^ Bohn (2011), pp. 18, 21.
  2. ^ Bohn (2011), pp. 28–29.
  3. ^ Hicken (1991).
  4. ^ Reavis (1881), p. 29.