The Oxford Companion to American Military History | Wade, Benjamin Franklin
Wade, Benjamin Franklin(1800–1878), radical Republican senator in the Civil War. Born in Massachusetts, Wade settled in Jefferson, Ohio, to practice law, was elected to the legislature as a Whig, and rose to become a presiding judge of the third Ohio district. In 1850, he was sent to the U.S. Senate by a combination of Whigs and Free Soilers.
An outspoken opponent of slavery, when the Civil War broke out, Wade, now chairman of the Committee on Territories, attempted to arrest the rout at the First Battle of Bull Run by putting his carriage across the road and turning back the retreating troops with his rifle, an experience that caused him to develop a great mistrust of West Point leadership. Also serving as chairman of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, he sought to further the antislavery cause by badgering President Abraham...
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