Proctor, Redfield

Description

Autograph ID: 6862
Condition: Very good
Description: “(1831-1908) Vermont politician 37th Governor (1878-80), Benj. Harrison’s Secretary of War 1889-91, US Senator 1891-1908. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the 3rd Vt. Infantry, commissioned lieutenant and quartermaster. That July, he was appointed on General Wm. F. “Baldy” Smith’s staff then promoted and transferred to the 5th Vt. Infantry as a major. In Oct. 1862, Proctor was promoted to colonel of the 15th Vt. Inf. and served at Gettysburg in the rear. He returned to Vermont to law and business careers and state politics. In 1876 Proctor was elected 29th lieutenant governor and elected governor in 1878. In 1888, he was chairman of the Vermont GOP delegation, seconding the presidential nomination of Benjamin Harrison, and was chosen by Harrison to be Secretary of War. At the War Department, Proctor made a mark with his managerial skill and reforming zeal, with which he modernized the Army and improved living conditions of enlisted soldiers. He left the War Department Nov. 1891 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of US Senator George F. Edmunds. He was an effective advocate in the Senate for high tariffs and the gold standard, as well as an influence on the military policies of the McKinley & Roosevelt administrations. Two of his sons and a grandson became governors of Vermont.

2 x 3 ¼ card signed as Secretary of War.”

Type: Signed Card