Full Name:
- John Alexander McClernand
Birth Date:
- May 30, 1812
Birth Location:
- Breckinridge County, Kentucky
Parents:
- Dr. John and Fatima (Seaton) McClernand
Education:
- Local primary schools
Occupation:
- Lawyer. politician, newspaper editor, military officer
Career Summary:
- U.S. Congressman
- Major General (USVA)
Spouses:
- Sarah Freeman Dunlap (1843)
- Minerva Dunlap (1862)
Place of Death:
- Springfield, Illinois
Date of Death:
- September 20, 1900
Place of Burial:
- Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois
Significance:
- John A. McClernand moved with his parents to Shawneetown, Illinois, in 1813.
- John A. McClernand studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1832.
- John A. McClernand served as a volunteer private in the Black Hawk War (1832).
- John A. McClernand founded the Shawneetown Democrat in 1835 and served as editor of the newspaper.
- John A. McClernand was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in from 1837 through 1843.
- John A. McClernand served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1843 through 1851, and again from 1859 to 1861.
- John A. McClernand married Sarah Freeman Dunlap in early November 1843.
- John A. McClernand resigned his seat in the United States House of Representatives on October 28, 1861 to accept a commission as brigadier general of volunteers for service in the Civil War.
- John A. McClernand commanded the right wing of the Union Army at the Battle of Fort Donelson (February 11-16, 1862).
- John A. McClernand was promoted to major general in 1862.
- On December 23, 1862, John A. McClernand married Minerva Dunlap, the younger sister of his first wife who died on May 8, 1861.
- In early in January 1863, John A. McClernand superseded William T. Sherman as the leader of the force that was to move down the Mississippi River against Vicksburg.
- John A. McClernand was the commanding general at the Battle of Arkansas Post (January 9-11, 1863).
- After the Battle of Champions Hill (May 16, 1863), Ulysses S. Grant relieved John A. McClernand from his position as a corps commander in the Army of the Tennessee, because McClernand violated Grant’s orders prohibiting unauthorized communication with the press.
- President Abraham Lincoln restored John A. McClernand to a field command in 1864, but McClernand resigned from the army in November of that year.
- John A. McClernand was elected circuit judge of the Sangamon District of Illinois in 1870 and served until 1873.
- John A. McClernand presided over the Democratic National Convention in 1876.
- John A. McClernand died in Springfield, Illinois on September 20, 1900.
- John A. McClernand was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois.