Editing Cadwallader C. Washburn

{{short description|American lawyer, politician, and businessman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name            = Cadwallader C. Washburn
| image           = Cadwallader Colden Washburn.jpg
|order        = 11th
|office       = Governor of Wisconsin
| term_start      = January 1, 1872
| term_end        = January 5, 1874
| lieutenant      = [[Milton Pettit]]
| predecessor     = [[Lucius Fairchild]]
| successor       = [[William Robert Taylor]]
|state1       = [[Wisconsin]]
|district1    = {{ushr|Wisconsin|6|6th}}
| term_start1     = March 4, 1867
| term_end1       = March 3, 1871
| predecessor1    = [[Walter D. McIndoe]]
| successor1      = [[Jeremiah McLain Rusk]]
|state2       = [[Wisconsin]]
|district2    = {{ushr|Wisconsin|2|2nd}}
| term_start2     = March 4, 1855
| term_end2       = March 3, 1861
| predecessor2    = [[Ben C. Eastman]]
| successor2      = [[Luther Hanchett]]
| birth_name      = {{nowrap|Cadwallader Colden Washburn}}
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1818|4|22}}
| birth_place     = [[Livermore, Maine|Livermore, Massachusetts]]<br/>''(now Livermore, Maine)''
| death_date      = {{death date and age|1882|5|14|1818|4|22}}
| death_place     = [[Eureka Springs, Arkansas]]
| restingplace    = Oak Grove Cemetery, [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]]
| party           = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| profession      = lawyer, politician
|spouse           = {{unbulleted list
 | Jeannette Garr
 | (died 1909)
}}
|children         = {{unbulleted list
 | Jeanette Garr (Kelsey)
 | (b. 1850; died 1931) 
}}
|father           = [[Israel Washburn Sr.|Israel Washburn, Sr.]]
|mother           = Martha Benjamin Washburn
|relatives        = {{unbulleted list
 | [[Israel Washburn Jr.|Israel Washburn, Jr.]] (brother)
 | [[Elihu B. Washburne]] (brother)
 | [[William D. Washburn]] (brother)
 | [[Charles Ames Washburn]] (brother)
 | [[Albert Kelsey]] (grandson)
 | [[Dorilus Morrison]] (cousin)
 | [[Ganem W. Washburn]] (cousin)
}}
<!-- deprecated | religion        = [[Presbyterian]] -->
<!-- military section -->
|allegiance         = {{flag|United States|1862}}
|branch             = {{flag|United States Army}}<br/>[[Union Army]]
|serviceyears       = 1862–1865
|rank               = [[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]]
|commands           = {{unbulleted list
 | [[2nd Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry|2nd Reg. Wis. Vol. Cavalry]]
 | 1st Div, [[XIII Corps (ACW)|XIII Corps]]
}}
|unit               =
|battles            = [[American Civil War]]
* [[Battle of Cotton Plant]]
* [[Vicksburg Campaign]]
** [[Siege of Vicksburg]]
** [[Jackson Expedition]]
* [[Nathaniel P. Banks|Banks' Texas Coast Operations]]
** [[Battle of Brownsville]]
** [[Battle of Mustang Island]]
** [[Battle of Fort Esperanza]]
* [[Second Battle of Memphis]]
|mawards=
}}

'''Cadwallader Colden Washburn''' (April 22, 1818{{spnd}}May 14, 1882) was an American businessman, politician, and soldier who founded a [[Gristmill|mill]] that later became [[General Mills]]. A member of the [[Washburn family]] of [[Maine]], he was a U.S. representative and governor of [[Wisconsin]], and served as a general in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]].

==Education and early career==
Washburn was born in [[Livermore, Maine|Livermore]] (in modern-day [[Maine]], then a part of [[Massachusetts]]),<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|title=Cadwallader C. Washburn|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19765329/cadwallader_c_washburn_18181882/|newspaper=The Burlington Free Press|date=May 16, 1882|page=2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = May 3, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> the son of Martha (née Benjamin) and [[Israel Washburn Sr.]] He was one of seven brothers, who included [[Israel Washburn Jr.]], [[Elihu B. Washburne]], [[William D. Washburn]], and [[Charles Ames Washburn]]. Washburn attended school in [[Wiscasset, Maine]], and later taught there in 1838–1839.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2635 |title=Dictionary of Wisconsin History |publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=September 23, 2013 |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928113258/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2635 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1839 he moved to [[Davenport, Iowa|Davenport]], [[Iowa Territory]], where he taught school, worked in a store, and worked as a surveyor.  Inspired by his brother Elihu who set up a legal practice in nearby [[Galena, Illinois]], he studied law. In 1842 he was admitted to the [[State Bar of Wisconsin|Wisconsin bar]] and moved to [[Mineral Point, Wisconsin|Mineral Point]], [[Iowa County, Wisconsin|Iowa County]], [[Wisconsin Territory]], where he began a legal practice.<ref name="Obit"/>{{sfn|Kelsey|2005}}

==Business==

===Land speculation and banking===
In 1844, Washburn formed a partnership with land agent [[Cyrus Woodman]].  Together the two men developed a number of companies, such as the Wisconsin Mining Company. The most successful business venture undertaken by the men was land acquisition. In May 1855 they established Washburn's and Woodman's Mineral Point Bank. Washburn and Woodman dissolved their partnership amicably in 1855.

===Minneapolis Mill Company===
In 1856, the [[Minneapolis Mill Company]] was chartered by the Minnesota territorial legislature.  Among the incorporators were Washburn's cousin [[Dorilus Morrison]], and [[Robert Smith (Illinois politician)|Robert Smith]], an Illinois congressman who had acquired the rights to the water power at the west side of [[St. Anthony Falls]] in [[Minneapolis]].  The company struggled initially, and several of the early investors sold out.  Washburn bought in and eventually became president.  His brother William moved to Minneapolis about that time, and actively managed the company.  The company built a dam, a canal and a complex set of water transfer tunnels which were then leased, along with land that the company owned at the foot of the falls, to a variety of mills – cotton mills, woolen mills, sawmills and grist/flour mills.  Eventually the work and investment of the two brothers paid off well, and they used their new-found capital to invest in mills themselves.{{sfn|Atwater|1893}}

===Lumber===
In 1853, Washburn built a mill at Waubeck on the [[Chippewa River (Wisconsin)|Chippewa River]].{{sfn|Kelsey|2005|p=45}} In 1859 Washburn moved to [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]], and after his war time service, he engaged in a project to clear the [[Black River (Wisconsin)|Black River]] to make it easier to drive logs.  In 1871 he formed the La Crosse Lumber Company, which eventually sawed 20,000,000 [[board feet]] of lumber annually.  He also had the largest shingle mill in the upper Mississippi valley.{{sfn|Kelsey|2005|p=48}}

===Flour===
In 1866, he built his own Washburn "B" Mill, which was thought at the time to be too large to ever turn a profit. However, he succeeded and in 1874 built an even larger [[Washburn "A" Mill]]. The original "A" mill complex was destroyed, along with several nearby buildings, in a flour explosion in 1878, but was later rebuilt.<ref>[http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1868&ResourceType=Building National Historic Landmarks Program (NHL)<!--Bot-generated title-->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606073131/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1868&ResourceType=Building|date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> In 1877, Washburn teamed with [[John Crosby (General Mills)|John Crosby]] to form the Washburn-Crosby Company. At the same time, Washburn sent William Hood Dunwoody to England to open that market for spring wheat.<ref name=Gray>{{cite book|author=Gray, James|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|year=1954|lccn=54-10286|pages=33–34, 141|title=Business without Boundary: The Story of General Mills}}</ref> Successful, Dunwoody became a silent partner and went on to become one of the wealthiest millers in the world. Dunwoody became a philanthropist endowing hospitals, educational facilities which became [[Dunwoody College of Technology]], and a charitable home which ultimately became [[Dunwoody Village]].{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} The corporation eventually became known as [[General Mills]].<ref name=Gray />

==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}}

==Family life==
Shortly after his birth in 1818, Washburn was diagnosed with [[epilepsy]].

On January 1, 1849, New Years Day, he married Jeanette Garr, daughter of Andrew Sheffield Garr and Elizabeth Sinclair Garr.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/thisday/index.asp?day=9&month=6 |title=On This Day in Wisconsin History<!--Bot-generated title--> |access-date=December 28, 2007 |archive-date=June 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611064938/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/thisday/index.asp?day=9&month=6 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Both were 30-years-old at the time. The following year, the couple brought their first daughter, Jeanette (Nettie) Garr Washburn, into the world in 1850. After giving birth to Nettie her mother, Jeanette, started showing signs of mental illness. After Frances (Fanny) was born two years later, in 1852, Washburn made arrangements for his wife's care at the Bloomingdale Asylum. Later she was transferred to an institution in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]], where she remained until her death at the age of 90 in 1909.{{sfn|Paynter|2002|p=16}}

==Later life==
Washburn donated the Edgewood Villa estate to the [[Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters]] of [[Madison, Wisconsin]], in 1881.{{sfn|Paynter|2002|p=7}} The Edgewood Villa later became [[Edgewood College]]<ref>[http://www.edgewood.edu/aboutec/profile/history.htm History of the College – Edgewood College<!--Bot-generated title-->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204210519/http://www.edgewood.edu/aboutec/profile/history.htm|date=December 4, 2007}}</ref> and [[Edgewood High School (Wisconsin)|Edgewood High School]].<ref>[http://www.edgewood.k12.wi.us/about/history Edgewood High School<!--Bot-generated title-->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102191457/http://www.edgewood.k12.wi.us/about/history|date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> Nearly a year later, on May 14, 1882,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=rEVFAQAAMAAJ&dq=Cadwallader+C.+Washburn+may+14%2C+1882&pg=PA338 Minnesota Reports: Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Minnesota]</ref> he died in [[Eureka Springs, Arkansas]], while on a visit to the springs for his health.<ref name="Obit"/><ref>{{cite news|title=The Death of Ex-Gov. Cadwallader C. Washburn|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19738548/cadwallader_c_washburn_18181882/|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=May 15, 1882|page=4|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = May 2, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> His body was interred in Oak Grove Cemetery<ref>[http://www.oakgrovecemetery.com/about/walkingtour.asp C.C. Washburn Monument, Oak Grove Cemetery, La Crosse, Wisconsin, walking tour of Oak Grove Cemetery]</ref> in [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]].

After his death, his estate was valued at an estimated two to three million dollars.<ref name="Obit"/>{{sfn|Paynter|2002|p=8}} In his will, Cadwallader left money to his daughter and other members of his family. A large bequest was made to the city of La Crosse; land was bought and a building for the [[La Crosse Public Library (La Crosse, Wisconsin)|La Crosse Public Library]] erected.<ref>[http://www.lacrosselibrary.org/about/history.htm Library History<!--Bot-generated title-->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013123637/http://lacrosselibrary.org/about/history.htm|date=October 13, 2007}}</ref> However, the largest portion was set aside to pay for the care of his wife, Jeanette.{{sfn|Paynter|2002|p=16}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Washburn Monument.jpg|alt=|thumb|right|upright|Cadwallader C. Washburn Monument and grave site at Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse, Wisconsin.]]

The city of [[Washburn, Wisconsin|Washburn]] in [[Bayfield County, Wisconsin]], was named after Cadwallader Washburn,<ref>[http://www.cityofwashburn.org/history.htm Washburn Wisconsin – History<!--Bot-generated title-->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123090416/http://www.cityofwashburn.org/history.htm|date=November 23, 2007}}</ref> as were [[Washburn County, Wisconsin|Washburn County]] in northern Wisconsin<ref>[http://www.co.washburn.wi.us Washburn County Government, Wisconsin<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref> and the city of [[Washburn, North Dakota]],<ref>[http://www.washburnnd.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={2546358E-E8E7-414E-9B78-8F1DCD22CC46 Our Rich History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019104353/https://www.washburnnd.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B2546358E-E8E7-414E-9B78-8F1DCD22CC46 |date=October 19, 2021 }}. City of Washburn, North Dakota.</ref> As well as, Washburn Center for Children, and [[Washburn High School]] in Minneapolis.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} [[Washburn Observatory]], at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], was also named for Washburn, who as governor, allocated the money for its construction.<ref>Bob Bless. [http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~varda/Long_Wash_Obs_Text.html Washburn Observatory, 1878: A History].</ref> [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]], where Washburn is laid to rest at his memorial in the Oak Grove Cemetery, has a downtown neighborhood and park named for the former governor and long time resident of the city.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
*[[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]
*[[List of U.S. political families#The Washburns|List of U.S. political families]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
;Attributions
*{{cite journal |last=Kelsey |first=Kerck |year=2005 |title=C.C. Washburn: The Evolution of a Flour Baron |journal=Wisconsin Magazine of History |volume=88 |issue=4 |pages=38–51 |publisher=State Historical Society of Wisconsin |url=http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/wmh/id/42750 |access-date=September 23, 2013 }}
*{{cite book |last=Paynter |first=Mary O. P. |title=Phoenix from the Fire: A History of Edgewood College |publisher=Edgewood College |year=2002 |location=Madison, WI |isbn=978-0971810600 }}
*{{cite book |last=Atwater |first=Isaac |title=History of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota – Vol. II |publisher=Munsell & Company |year=1893 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofcityofm02atwa }}

==Other references==
{{CongBio|W000170}} Retrieved on 2008-10-30
*[http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/company/hist_roots.pdf Our milling roots and beyond] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211123628/http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/company/hist_roots.pdf |date=December 11, 2006 }}, General Mills
*[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/searchResults.asp?adv=yes&Ln=washburn&fn=cadwallader&q=Gen%2E%2FGov%2E Cadwallader C. Washburn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042306/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/searchResults.asp?adv=yes&Ln=washburn&fn=cadwallader&q=Gen./Gov. |date=March 4, 2016 }}, Wisconsin State Historical Society

==External links==
*[http://www.norlands.org Washburn/Norland Living History Center, Livermore, Maine]
*[http://www.washburn.org/ Washburn Center for Children]

{{S-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Lucius Fairchild]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Wisconsin]]|years=[[1871 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1871]], [[1873 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1873]]}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Harrison Ludington]]}}
{{S-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
| before=[[Ben C. Eastman]]
| state=Wisconsin
| district=2
| years=March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1861
| after=[[Luther Hanchett]]}}
{{US House succession box
| before=[[Walter D. McIndoe]]
| state=Wisconsin
| district=6
| years=March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1871
| after=[[Jeremiah McLain Rusk]]}}
{{S-off}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Lucius Fairchild]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Governor of Wisconsin]]|years=1872{{spaced ndash}}1874}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[William Robert Taylor]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Governors of Wisconsin}}
{{General Mills}}
{{United States representatives from Wisconsin}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasburn, Cadawallder C.}}
[[Category:1818 births]]
[[Category:1882 deaths]]
[[Category:County officials in Illinois]]
[[Category:General Mills people]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Wisconsin]]
[[Category:People from Livermore, Maine]]
[[Category:Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Politicians from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Politicians from Rock Island, Illinois]]
[[Category:People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Union army generals]]
[[Category:American food company founders]]
[[Category:Washburn family]]
[[Category:People from Mineral Point, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Politicians from Iowa County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]