Representative Joseph Wales Clift

Joseph Wales Clift (September 30, 1837 – May 2, 1908) was a U.S. Representative from Georgia representing Georgia’s 1st congressional district from 1868 to 1869 upon Georgia’s re-admittance to the United States after the American Civil War. Born in North Marshfield, Massachusetts, he was educated in the local common schools and later attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, receiving a classical preparatory education that preceded his professional training. He went on to study medicine at Harvard University and graduated from the medical school there in 1862, entering public life with both a strong academic background and a professional qualification in medicine.

Following his graduation from Harvard Medical School, Clift entered the Union Army during the Civil War. He was appointed an acting surgeon on July 13, 1862, and served in that capacity through the latter years of the conflict, providing medical care to Union soldiers. His service as an acting surgeon continued until August 7, 1865, and he remained in the Army until November 18, 1866. This extended period of military service spanned the end of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction, and it established his credentials both as a physician and as a public servant in a time of national crisis.

After leaving the Army, Clift moved to the South and established a medical practice in Savannah, Georgia. In the early Reconstruction period, he became involved in the administration of federal Reconstruction policy. He was appointed registrar of the city of Savannah by Major General John Pope under the Reconstruction Acts, a position that placed him at the center of efforts to reorganize civil government and oversee voter registration in the postwar South. His work in Savannah reflected the broader federal effort to reconstruct former Confederate states and extend civil and political rights to newly freed African Americans.

Clift’s prominence in Reconstruction-era Georgia led to his election to Congress. Upon the readmission of Georgia to the United States, he was elected as a Republican to represent Georgia’s 1st congressional district in the 40th United States Congress. He served from July 25, 1868, to March 3, 1869, participating in the legislative process during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Republican Party representing Georgia, Joseph Wales Clift contributed to the legislative process during 2 terms in office, with his service in Congress occurring at a time when the federal government was defining the terms of Reconstruction, the reintegration of the Southern states, and the protection of civil rights. He presented credentials as a Member-elect to the 41st United States Congress following his reelection, but he was not permitted to qualify, reflecting the ongoing political conflicts and instability surrounding Georgia’s status and representation during Reconstruction.

After being declined his seat following his reelection, Clift left Georgia and returned to New England. He moved back to Massachusetts, where he resumed the practice of medicine, continuing the professional work that had first brought him into public service during the Civil War. He spent his later years in medical practice, maintaining his identity primarily as a physician after his brief but notable tenure in national politics.

Joseph Wales Clift died in Rock City Falls, New York, on May 2, 1908. His life spanned the antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras, and his career reflected the intersection of medicine, military service, and politics during one of the most transformative periods in United States history.