Edward Dickinson Baker
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Senate investigation of Gen. Baker's death at the Battle of Balls
Bluff was one of the events that prompted Congress to create the
Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War.
1811-1861
A Representative from Illinois and a Senator from Oregon; born in
London, England, February 24, 1811; immigrated to the United States
in 1815 with his parents, who settled in Philadelphia, Pa.; moved to
Illinois in 1825; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1830 and
commenced practice in Springfield; member, State house of
representatives 1837; member, State senate 1840-1844; elected as a
Whig to the Twenty-ninth Congress and served from March 4, 1845,
until his resignation on December 24, 1846, to take effect on January
15, 1847; commissioned colonel of the Fourth Regiment, Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, on July 4, 1846, and served until he was
honorably mustered out on May 29, 1847; participated in the siege of
Vera Cruz and commanded a brigade at Cerro Gordo; after the Mexican
War moved to Galena, Ill.; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first
Congress (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1851); was not a candidate for
renomination in 1850; moved to San Francisco, Calif., in 1851 and
resumed the practice of law; moved to Oregon in 1860; elected as a
Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy in the
term beginning March 4, 1859, and served from October 2, 1860, until
his death; raised a regiment in New York City and Philadelphia during
the Civil War; commissioned brigadier general of Volunteers May 17,
1861, but declined; colonel of the Seventy-first Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and major general of Volunteers 1861;
killed in the Battle of Balls Bluff, Va., October 21, 1861; interment
in San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, Calif.
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JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR . . .
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was a United States
Congressional investigating committee created to handle issues
surrounding the American Civil War. It was established on December 9,
1861, following the embarrassing Union defeat at the Battle of Ball's
Bluff and the death of Senator Edward Baker, at the instigation of
Senator Zachariah T. Chandler of Michigan and continued until May
1865. Senator Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio served as chairman. Its
purpose was to investigate such matters as illicit trade with the
Confederate states, medical treatment of wounded soldiers, military
contracts, and the causes of Union battle losses. The Committee was
also involved in supporting the war effort through various means,
including endorsing emancipation, the use of black soldiers, and the
appointment of generals who were known to be aggressive fighters.
Union officers often found themselves in an uncomfortable position
before the Committee. Since this was a civil war, pitting neighbor
against neighbor (and sometimes brother against brother), the loyalty
of a soldier to the Union was simple to question. And since Union
forces had very poor luck against their Confederate counterparts
early in the war, particularly in the Eastern Theater battles that
held the attention of the newspapers and Washington politicians, it
was easy to accuse an officer of being a traitor after he lost a
battle or was slow to engage or pursue the enemy. This politically
charged atmosphere was very difficult and distracting for career
military officers. Officers who were not known Republicans felt the
most pressure before the Committee.
During the committee's existence, it held 272 meetings and received
testimony in Washington and at other locations, often from military
officers. Though the committee met and held hearings in secrecy, the
testimony and related exhibits were published at irregular intervals
in the numerous committee reports of its investigations. The records
include the original manuscripts of certain postwar reports that the
committee received from general officers. There are also transcripts
of testimony and accounting records regarding the military
administration of Alexandria, Virginia.
One of the most colorful series of committee hearings followed the
Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, where Union Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles, a
former congressman, accused Maj. Gen. George G. Meade of mismanaging
the battle, planning to retreat from Gettysburg prior to his victory
there, and failing to pursue and defeat Robert E. Lee's army as it
retreated. This was mostly a self-serving effort on Sickles's part
because he was trying to deflect criticism from his own disastrous
role in the battle.
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is considered to be the
toughest congressional investigating committee in history.
