Clinton B. Fisk
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| Clinton B. Fisk | |
|---|---|
| December 8, 1828 – July 9, 1890 (aged 61) | |
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| Place of birth | York, New York |
| Place of death | New York City, New York |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands held | District of Southeast Missouri / Department of North Missouri |
| Other work | Established Fisk University |
Clinton Bowen Fisk (December 8, 1828 – July 9, 1890), for whom Fisk University is named, was a senior officer in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.
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[edit] Early life
Fisk was born in York, Livingston County, New York but his family soon moved to Coldwater, Michigan. [1] Educated at the academy in Albion he became a merchant, miller, and banker in Coldwater, but suffered financial disaster in the Panic of 1857. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he was involved in the insurance business.
[edit] Civil War
An Abolitionist, Fisk was appointed colonel of the 33rd Missouri Infantry of the Union Army on September 5, 1862. He organized a brigade and was commissioned brigadier general November 24, 1862. [2] He served most of his American Civil War service in Missouri and Arkansas, commanding first the District of Southeast Missouri and later the the Department of North Missouri. The primary duty of these commands was opposing raids into Missouri by Confederate States of America cavalry and guerrillas.
[edit] Freedmen's Bureau and Fisk University
After the Civil War, Fisk was appointed assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau for Kentucky and Tennessee. [3] He worked through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands and the American Missionary Association to reestablish the first free schools in the Southern United States for both African American and white children. He made the abandoned barracks in Nashville, Tennessee available for the creation of Fisk University and supported it with large financial gifts. [4]
[edit] Prohibition Party
He returned to his native New York where he was successful in banking. In 1874 President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the board of Indian Commissioners. [5] Fisk was a leader in the temperance movement and became the presidential candidate for the Prohibition Party in the United States presidential election, 1888. He came in third with 249,506 votes. The election was won by Benjamin Harrison of the Republican Party. Fisk was also surpassed by the incumbent President of the United States Grover Cleveland of the Democratic Party. However Fisk did receive one of the highest results of any Prohibition Party candidate in history. The Party has run candidates in every presidential election since the United States presidential election, 1872.
Fisk died in New York City on July 9, 1890, and was buried in Coldwater. [6]
[edit] Awards
[edit] Veteran's Hall of Fame
Inducted into the Hillsdale County, Michigan Veteran's Hall of Fame in 2001 for his distinguished service in the American Civil War. Hall of Fame inductee 001, Civil War inductee 001.
Temperance Park, a planned community on Staten Island, New York, named one of its major streets Clinton B. Fisk Avenue. The name remains, although the community is now known as Westerleigh.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Warner, Ezra J, "Generals in Blue", LSU Press, 1964, p. 154
- ^ Warner, Ezra J, "Generals in Blue", LSU Press, 1964, p. 154
- ^ Warner, Ezra J, "Generals in Blue", LSU Press, 1964, p. 155
- ^ Warner, Ezra J, "Generals in Blue", LSU Press, 1964, p. 155
- ^ Warner, Ezra J, "Generals in Blue", LSU Press, 1964, p. 155
- ^ Warner, Ezra J, "Generals in Blue", LSU Press, 1964, p. 155
- Clinton B. Fisk Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
| Preceded by John St. John |
Prohibition Party presidential nominee 1888 (lost) |
Succeeded by John Bidwell |
