James Henry Lane (Union General)

James Henry Lane
United States Senator
from Kansas
In office
April 4, 1861 – July 11, 1866
Preceded byseat established
Succeeded byEdmund G. Ross
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Indiana's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855
Preceded bySamuel W. Parker
Succeeded byWilliam Cumback
11th Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
In office
December 5, 1849 – January 10, 1853
GovernorJoseph A. Wright
Preceded byParis C. Dunning
Succeeded byAshbel P. Willard
Personal details
Born(1814-06-22)June 22, 1814
Lawrenceburg, Indiana Territory
DiedJuly 11, 1866(1866-07-11) (aged 52)
Leavenworth, Kansas
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (before 1856)
Spouse(s)Mary E. Lane
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1846–1848, 1861–1862
Rank Brigadier General
Battles/warsMexican–American War
American Civil War

James Henry Lane, also known as Jim Lane, (June 22, 1814 – July 11, 1866) was a partisan during the Bleeding Kansas period. It was right before the American Civil War. During the war itself, Lane was a United States Senator, and he was a general for the Union. Although reelected as a Senator during 1865, Lane committed suicide the next year.

Biography

Lane was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.[1] He was the son of Amos Lane.

He was a U.S. congressman from Indiana (1853–1855) where he voted for the Kansas–Nebraska Act.

On June 3, 1858, Lane shot and killed Gaius Jenkins in a land dispute in Lawrence. Reports say Jenkins was coming to get water from a well on the disputed land.[2] Jenkins was reported to have been showing a revolver. Lane had a shotgun. One of the men with Jenkins shot Lane in the leg, and Lane shot back killing Jenkins.[3]

Death and legacy

On July 1, 1866 Lane shot himself in the head as he jumped from his carriage in Leavenworth, Kansas.[4]

The following places were named in honor of him:

References

  1. ↑ "James Henry Lane". NNDB. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Shooting of Gaius Jenkins". Kansas Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Jim Lane Shoots Gaius Jenkins". Kansas City Public Library. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ "OBITUARY.; James H. Lane, United States Senator from Kansas". The New York Times. July 4, 1866. p. 5. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  5. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Government Printing Office. pp. 180.

Other websites

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