Robert Byington Mitchell

Infobox Governor
name= Robert Byington Mitchell

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imagesize=250px
caption=
order=7^th
office= Territorial Governor of New Mexico
term_start= 1866
term_end= 1869
nominator=
predecessor= Henry Connelly
successor= William A. Pile
birth_date= April 4, 1823
birth_place= Mansfield, Ohio
death_date= death date and age |1882|01|26|1823|04|04
death_place= Washington, D. C.
spouse=
alma_mater=
profession= Lawyer, Politician
party= Democratic
religion=

Robert Byington Mitchell (April 4, 1823ndash January 26, 1882) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and the Governor of the New Mexico Territory from 1866 to 1869. [cite web |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/mitchell7.html |title=Index to Politicians: Mitchell, O to R |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=The Political Graveyard]

Early life and career

Mitchell was born in April 4, 1823, in Mansfield, Ohio.cite web |url=http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/Biographies/BiosRobertByingtonMitchell.htm |title=A Civil War Biography: Robert Byington Mitchell |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=Civil War Interactive] For some odd reason, it was recorded that he graduated from both Kenyon College and Washington & Jefferson College, although neither school has a record of his attendance.cite web |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/rbmitchell.htm |title=Robert Byington Mitchell |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=Arlington Cemetery Website Another Ohio-born Civil War general with the same surname, John G. Mitchell, did graduate from Kenyon, so he may have been confused in some early reference works with Robert B. Mitchell.]

He studied law in Mount Vernon, Ohio. After completing his studies, he practiced law in Mansfield. He served in the Mexican War as a second lieutenant in the 2nd Ohio Volunteers. He was elected mayor of Mount Gilead, Ohio, in 1855. Next year, he moved to Linn County, Kansas Territory. He served in the territorial legislature, as a delegate to the Leavenworth Convention, from 1857 to 1858. He served as treasurer of the Kansas Territory from 1859 to 1861. He was a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina.

Civil War service

After the start of the Civil War, Mitchell was commissioned as the colonel of the 2nd Kansas Volunteer Infantry. He was badly wounded at the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861. He was shot from his horse while leading his regiment.

After recovery, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed him as a brigadier general to rank from April 8, 1862, and he was given command of a mixed brigade at Fort Riley. He commanded the 9th division in Charles C. Gilbert's III Corps at Perryville, Kentucky. He was then sent to Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained for several months.

During the Chickamauga campaign, Mitchell served as George H. Thomas's Chief of Cavalry for the Army of the Cumberland. Just before the Third Battle of Chattanooga, he was ordered to Washington, D.C., for court-martial duty. According to some sources, this was due to severe wounds which incapacitated him from field duty but this is contradicted in the "Official Records" by Mitchell's own correspondence. Whether incapacitated or not, he would not see active campaigning again, and for the remainder of the Civil War, he commanded the District of Nebraska, then the District of North Kansas, and finally the District of Kansas.

Governor of New Mexico Territory

Mitchell was honorably mustered out of the army on January 15, 1866. On the same day, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination as the Governor of the New Mexico Territory. He took the oath of office on June 6, 1866. He never appeared to take his duties as governor seriously. He often was absent from the territorial capital Sante Fe, without explanation, forcing the legislature to forward bills it had passed to Washington, D. C., for approval of the United States Congress. He resigned as governor in 1869.

Later life

After leaving the office, Mitchell returned to Kansas. He was unsuccessful in his bid to represent Kansas in the U. S. Congress in 1872. He then moved to Washington, D. C., where he died on January 26, 1882.He was buried with full military honors in Section 2, Grave 1023, of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

References

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6520 Robert Byington Mitchell] at Find A Grave

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NAME= Mitchell, Robert Byington
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