Stephen Augustus HURLBUT, Congress, IL (1815-1882)

HURLBUT, Stephen Augustus, a Representative from Illinois; born in Charleston, S.C., November 29, 1815, completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1837 and practiced; served as adjutant of a South Carolina regiment in the Florida War; moved to Belvidere, Ill., in 1845; Whig delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1847; presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1848 and on the Republican ticket in 1868; member of the State house of representatives in 1859, 1861, and 1867; served in the Union Army 1861-1865; appointed brigadier general of Volunteers May 17, 1861, and major general September 17, 1862; mustered out June 20, 1865; one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic and served as commander in chief 1866-1868; Minister Resident to the United States of Colombia 1869-1872; elected as a Republican to the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1873-March 3, 1877); unsuccessful candidate for reelection as an independent Republican to the Forty-fifth Congress in 1876; appointed Minister to Peru in 1881 and served until his death in Lima, Peru, March 27, 1882; interment in Belvidere Cemetery, Belvidere, Ill.

Bibliography

Lash, Jeffrey Norman. “Stephen Augustus Hurlbut: A Military and Diplomatic Politician, 1815-1882.” Ph.D. diss., Kent State University, 1980.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present