Editing Cadwallader C. Washburn (section)

==Politics and military career==
[[File:Cadwallader C. Washburn - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|upright]]
[[File:22-26-047-washburn.jpg|thumb|Statue of Washburn at [[Vicksburg National Military Park]] by [[George Brewster (sculptor)|George Brewster]]]]

In 1854, Washburn ran for Congress as a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]], later serving three terms as part of the [[34th Congress|34th]], [[35th Congress|35th]] and [[36th Congress|36th United States Congresses]] representing [[Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district]], from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1861. During the 34th Congress, he and his brothers voted for [[Nathaniel Banks]] during the protracted [[1855-56 House of Representatives Speaker election]].<ref>[https://voteview.com/source_images/house_journal/51/0#page/443/mode/2up Journal of the United States House of Representatives, Feb. 2, 1856, p. 443-444.]</ref> In his last term Washburn served as chairman of the [[United States House Committee on Private Land Claims|Committee on Private Land Claims]]. He declined to run again in 1860.

The Washburn family had always been strongly opposed to slavery. Washburn moved to [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]], in 1861 but returned to Washington, D.C., later that year as a delegate in the [[Peace conference of 1861|peace convention]] that was held in an attempt to prevent the [[American Civil War]].<ref name="Obit"/> He served in the Union Army during the Civil War, becoming colonel of the [[2nd Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry|2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry]], on February 6, 1862; brigadier general of Volunteers on July 16, 1862; and major general on November 29, 1862. Washburn had the honor of having his appointment document signed by President [[Abraham Lincoln]]. At one point [[Ulysses S. Grant]] called Washburn "one of the best administrative officers we have."{{sfn|Paynter|2002|p=10}} He commanded the cavalry of the XIII Corps in the opening stages of [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s [[Vicksburg campaign]].<ref>[[John D. Winters]], ''The Civil War in Louisiana'', [[Baton Rouge]]: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1963, {{ISBN|0-8071-0834-0}}, p. 294, 296</ref> Once siege operations had begun against the city of Vicksburg and Grant called for all available forces, Washburn led a detachment of the [[XVI Corps (ACW)|XVI Corps]] during the [[siege of Vicksburg]]. He commanded the 1st Division in the [[XIII Corps (ACW)|XIII Corps]] in Nathanial P. Banks' operations along the Texas Coast leading the expedition [[Battle of Fort Esperanza|against Fort Esperanza]] in November 1863.

For the rest of the war he served in administrative capacities in Mississippi and Tennessee. While commanding Union forces in Memphis, he was the target of an unsuccessful raid led by [[Nathan B. Forrest]] to kidnap him and other Union generals.<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/tn031.htm Battle Summary: Memphis, TN]</ref> He left the Union Army on May 25, 1865.

After the conclusion of the war, Washburn returned to his home in La Crosse, where he was elected again for two terms in the House of Representatives. This time he represented [[Wisconsin's 6th congressional district]] at the [[40th Congress|40th]] and [[41st Congress]]es from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1871, where he was chairman of the [[United States House Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings|Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings]] in the first term. He declined to run in 1870.<ref name="Obit"/>

In 1871, he was urged to run for [[Governor of Wisconsin]] against [[James R. Doolittle]]. Washburn won the election and was inaugurated governor of Wisconsin on the first Monday in January 1872 and served from 1872 to 1874. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1873.{{sfn|Paynter|2002|p=11}}

A year later, he purchased the Edgewood Villa estate from Samuel Marshall, where [[Edgewood College]] sits today.{{sfn|Paynter|2002|p=4}}