John Franklin Miller

John Franklin Miller was born November 21, 1831, in South Bend, Indiana. He graduated from New York State Law School in 1852, and began his practice in South Bend. He then moved to Napa, California, and practiced there for a short time. He returned to Indiana and became a member of the Indiana State Senate in 1861. He resigned to become a part of the Civil War and was commissioned colonel of the 29th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was in Kirk’s brigade of Alexander McCook’s division of D. C. Buell’s Army of the Ohio, which participated at Shiloh on the second day. It is uncertain if Miller actually took part in the fighting as the 29th Indiana is listed as having been commanded by its lieutenant colonel that day. Miller commanded a brigade in Negley’s division under George Thomas at Murfreesboro and was wounded there. He commanded a brigade of the XX Corps under McCook in the Tullahoma campaign and was wounded June 24, 1863, at Liberty Gap, Tennessee. Perhaps due to his injury, he was not on duty for the next year. Miller was appointed a brigadier general on April 10, 1864, to rank from January 5. In May 1864, he was stationed at Nashville in command of the city and the post. He participated in the battle of Nashville in December 1864, where he commanded all or part of twelve regiments of infantry, five of which were brigaded, and fourteen batteries. He won the brevet of major general as a result of his actions at Nashville on March 13, 1865. John Franklin Miller resigned from the service September 25, 1865, and declined a colonelcy in the Regular Army. He returned to California where President Andrew Johnson appointed him collector of the port of San Francisco. He served in that position until 1869, then became engaged in the fur trade, serving as president of the Alaska Commercial Company for twelve years. In 1878 and 1879, Miller served as a member of the California State constitution convention and, in 1880, was elected by the California legislature to a seat in the U. S. Senate. While in Washington, Miller, who had fought against slavery, was a leading proponent of Anti-Chinese legislation and other exclusion laws. He spent the remainder of his life serving in the Senate and died March 8, 1886. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, but, in 1913, was reburied in Arlington National Cemetery.

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