Everything about William W Belknap totally explained
William Worth Belknap (
September 22,
1829 –
October 13,
1890) was a
United States Army general, government administrator, and
United States Secretary of War. He is the only
Cabinet secretary ever to have been
impeached by the
United States House of Representatives.
Born in
Newburgh, New York, Belknap graduated from
Princeton University in 1848 and studied law at
Georgetown University. In
1851, he was admitted to the bar, moved to
Keokuk, Iowa and entered the practice of law. He served in the
Iowa House of Representatives for a single term from
1857 to
1858.
In 1861, he was commissioned major in the 15th Iowa Infantry and participated in the
Civil War battles of
Shiloh,
Corinth, and
Vicksburg. In 1864, Belknap was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the 4th Division, XVII Corps and participated in
General Sherman's operations in Georgia and the Carolinas. He was mustered out of service as a major general in 1865.
He married and lost his first two wives, Cora LeRoy and Carrie Tomlinson, and married Mrs. John Bower, his second wife's sister. From 1865 to 1869, Belknap was collector of internal revenue in
Iowa. From
October 25 1869 to
March 2 1876, he served as
Secretary of War under
President Ulysses S. Grant.
Belknap recommended that Congress act to fix
May 1 as the start of the
fiscal year, inaugurated the preparation of historical reports by post commanders and proposed actions to preserve
Yellowstone National Park.
He was
impeached by a unanimous vote of the House of Representatives shortly after he'd resigned for allegedly having received money in return for post tradership appointments. Speaker of the House
Michael C. Kerr wrote to the
Senate that Belknap resigned "with intent to evade the proceedings of impeachment against him." Belknap was tried by the Senate, which ruled by a vote of 37-29 that it had jurisdiction despite the resignation. The vote on conviction fell short of the two-thirds required, with 35 to 37 votes for each article and 25 votes against each. Two of those voting for conviction, 22 of those voting for acquital, and one who declined to vote said they felt that the Senate didn't have jurisdiction due to Belknap's resignation.
Belknap moved to Philadelphia, then returned to Washington to resume the practice of law. He died from a
heart attack in
Washington, D.C., on
October 13,
1890.
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