William Belknap | |
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| 30th United States Secretary of War | |
| In office October 25, 1869 – March 2, 1876 | |
| President | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Preceded by | William Tecumseh Sherman (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Alphonso Taft |
| Member of the Iowa House of Representatives from the 54th district | |
| In office January 11, 1858 – January 8, 1860 Serving with Cyrenus C. Bauder and John Allen Casey | |
| Preceded by | District Established |
| Succeeded by | George William Ruddick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Worth Belknap September 22, 1829 Newburgh, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 1890 (aged 61) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
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| Spouses | Cora LeRoy
(m. 1854; died 1862)Carrie Tomlinson
(m. 1869; died 1870)Amanda Tomlinson Bower
(m. 1873) |
| Education | College of New Jersey (BA) Georgetown University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | U.S. Army (Union Army) |
| Years of service |
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| Rank |
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| Unit | Keokuk City Rifles 15th Iowa Infantry Regiment XVII Corps |
| Commands |
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| Battles/wars | |
William Worth Belknap (September 22, 1829 – October 12, 1890) was a lawyer, Union Army officer, government administrator in Iowa, and the 30th United States Secretary of War, serving under President Ulysses S. Grant. Belknap was impeached on March 2, 1876, for his role in the trader post scandal but was acquitted by the Senate. Belknap was the first cabinet secretary in U.S. history to be impeached.
A native of New York, Belknap graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, in 1848, studied law with a Georgetown attorney, and passed the bar in 1851. He moved to Iowa, where he practiced law in partnership with Ralph P. Lowe. Belknap entered politics as a Democrat and served one term in the Iowa House of Representatives. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Belknap joined the Union Army. A tall burly man, Belknap was a natural Union Army leader and recruiter. A veteran of the Iowa Home Guard who had attained the rank of captain, he was commissioned as a major in the 15th Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He took part in numerous engagements, including Shiloh, where he was wounded, and Corinth. He served as a regimental, brigade, division, and corps commander, and served in high-level staff positions. By the end of the war, Belknap had been promoted to brigadier general and received a brevet promotion to major general of volunteers.
After declining a regular Army commission, Belknap was appointed Iowa's Collector of Internal Revenue by President Andrew Johnson; he served with distinction for four years. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Belknap as Secretary of War. During his tenure, Belknap ordered portraits of all the previous Secretaries, intending to create a complete collection in honor of the United States Centennial. In 1871, Belknap was investigated by Congress, after he was directly involved in the sale of arms and munitions to France, while the United States was ostensibly neutral during the Franco-Prussian War. The same year, Belknap had arranged aid for victims of the catastrophic Chicago Fire.
During the Reconstruction Era, Belknap's War Department and the U.S. military worked under the supervision of President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States Attorney General's office to occupy the former Confederacy and attempt to implement changes in government and the economy, while protecting freedmen from an increasingly violent insurgency. Belknap supported Grant's Reconstruction policy, which most Democrats opposed.
In 1875, Grant, Belknap, and other members of Grant's administration secretly agreed to remove troops from the Black Hills after gold was discovered. The US had protected the area from white settlers as part of a US treaty with the Lakota. The withdrawal of troops allowed a gold rush of white settlers to take place, and the US took de facto possession after the Lakota refused to sell their sacred lands. In 1876, the trader post scandal at Fort Sill led to Belknap's sudden resignation, impeachment by the Democratic-controlled House, and trial by the Senate. While a majority of senators voted to convict, they lacked the two-thirds required, and Belknap was acquitted. Judge Arthur MacArthur Sr. dismissed Belknap's Washington D. C. federal trial. Belknap resumed practicing law in Washington; he continued to be popular among Iowa Civil War veterans and was active until he died of a heart attack in 1890. One historian described Belknap as a man of both virtues and flaws, a talented lawyer, administrator, and military officer, but whose personal corruption overshadowed his positive qualities. Historians have largely forgotten Belknap's heroic Union Civil War service.