Lucius Fairchild by Stuart Stotts

Author:Stuart Stotts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Published: 2010-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Civil War was a very bloody war, and amputations were common. This amputating kit belonged to Dr. Erastus Buck, from Marquette, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Republican Party held its convention later that summer. The state’s Republicans had Lucius run for Wisconsin secretary of state. Though he had been a Democrat before the war, he now felt closer to the beliefs of the Republican Party. He accepted the nomination.

Lucius’s father had taught Lucius that the best politicians are those who don’t appear to want to be politicians. In his acceptance speech, he said, “I wish to tender you many thanks for the honor you have done me. … I have no political aspirations. I ask no office.” Lucius adopted this approach through most of his political career.

The Republicans used the loss of his arm to emphasize his leadership and sacrifice in the war. In their speeches and editorials, phrases such as “an empty sleeve,” “loss of the left arm,” “Colonel Fairchild’s wound,” and “the field of Gettysburg,” appeared over and over again. Lucius was a great hero, and his empty sleeve was a powerful reminder of his heroism and sacrifice.

Lucius spoke about patriotism in his speeches, and he worked for the support of soldiers. He wanted to be seen as “the soldiers’ choice” in this election.

Lucius was a colonel, and he was proud of his place in the army. However, a month before the election, the Democrats stunned him by revealing that Wisconsin’s state constitution said that a man could not hold office and be in the army at the same time. Lucius would have to choose which he wanted more. He wasn’t sure what he should do.

He went to Washington to talk with a family friend, who advised him to resign from the army. The friend understood that Lucius had been nominated for secretary of state, without seeking the office. He said, “You will be the next governor of our state,” and he gave Lucius some political advice. “Do well the work in hand and your success is assured.” Lucius must not “seem to look beyond the office of Secretary of State,” and “when the Office of Governor is suggested to you—Know Nothing.” The friend’s advice to him was similar to that of Jarius Fairchild. The best political strategy was to remain modest.

Many people at the time felt that public ambition would get in the way of success. Lucius would seem more popular if others wanted him for a job, rather than if he himself were pushing for it.

Lucius also met with Abraham Lincoln during this trip to Washington. Two days after the meeting, Lincoln wrote, “Let Colonel Lucius Fairchild of Wisconsin be appointed a Brigadier General of Volunteers.” Lucius’s political career received a great lift from this appointment. He was now a man who had entered the army as a captain and left as a top general. Between his rank and his wound, Lucius Fairchild made an ideal political candidate.

Lucius resigned his newly appointed role as general. However, he did keep the title, and from then on, he was often referred to as General Fairchild.

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