Walter Quintin Gresham

Walter Quintin Gresham was born March 17, 1832, near Lanesville, in Harrison County, Indiana. As a youth, he was educated in a log cabin schoolhouse. He spent time teaching and clerking in offices of county officials. He attended a seminary and Indiana University where he studied law. After passing the bar in 1854, he began to practice law in Corydon. He campaigned for many offices and was elected as a Republican to the Indiana legislature in 1860. While serving in that office, a dislike of Gresham by Governor Oliver P. Morton developed. Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Gresham recruited his own company. On March 10, 1862, he became colonel of the 53rd Indiana. As part of Lauman’s division of the XVI Corps, he saw action in the Vicksburg campaign. On August 11, 1863, he was appointed brigadier general and assigned to command a brigade of the XVII Corps at Natchez. In the Atlanta campaign, Gresham led the 4th Division of the Corps until being shot in the knee by a sharpshooter. The shooting incident of July 20, 1864, ended the military career of Walter Gresham. He was brevetted major general and returned to the practice of law in New Albany while still using crutches. He made two unsuccessful attempts at election to the House and one to the Senate. From 1869 to 1883, he served as U. S. District judge in Indiana, an appointment made by President Ulysses S. Grant. In 1883, President Chester A. Arthur appointed Gresham Postmaster General. After serving eighteen months in that position, he served briefly (Sept. and Oct. 1884) as Secretary of the Treasury until being appointed United States circuit judge. At the urging of friends and followers, he sought the candidacy of president in both 1884 and 1888 as a Republican. In 1892, he gave his support to Democrat Grover Cleveland. He then served as Cleveland’s Secretary of State and died during his term of office on May 28, 1895. Walter Quintin Gresham was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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