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People of the Civil War · United States

John A. McClernand

1812–1900

Portrait of Major General John A. McClernand in United States Army uniform · Image source and credits

John A. McClernand

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Portrait of Major General John A. McClernand in United States Army uniform

Background

Illinois politician and volunteer United States Army general who commanded a division at Fort Donelson and Shiloh and later led XIII Corps.

Law and elected office

Born in Kentucky and raised in Illinois, McClernand became a lawyer, newspaper founder, and Democratic politician. He served in the Illinois legislature and represented the state in Congress during the 1840s and again from 1859.

Military service

McClernand resigned from Congress in October 1861 to accept a commission as a brigadier general of volunteers. He recruited soldiers for the United States Army and was promoted to major general in 1862.

Later public career

After the war he served as an Illinois circuit judge from 1870 to 1873, resumed legal practice, and presided over the Democratic National Convention in 1876. He died in Springfield in 1900 and was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Biography sources

Allan Pinkerton, Abraham Lincoln, and John A. McClernand at Antietam, October 3, 1862.Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. No known restrictions on publication. · Image source and credits

John A. McClernand

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Allan Pinkerton, Abraham Lincoln, and John A. McClernand at Antietam, October 3, 1862.