Representative Lovell Harrison Rousseau

Lovell Harrison Rousseau (August 4, 1818 – January 7, 1869) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as a lawyer and politician in Kentucky and Indiana. He was born near Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky, and grew up in modest circumstances on the Kentucky frontier. Largely self-educated, he read law while supporting himself through various forms of manual labor. In the late 1830s he moved westward to Indiana, where he completed his legal studies, was admitted to the bar, and began practicing law. His early experiences on the frontier and in the courtroom helped shape his strong Unionist convictions and his interest in public affairs.

Rousseau entered politics as a member of the Whig Party and quickly became active in Indiana state government. He was elected to the Indiana State Senate, serving from 1847 to 1849, during which time he gained a reputation as a capable debater and advocate of internal improvements. After his Indiana service, he returned to Kentucky, where he resumed the practice of law and remained engaged in public life. By the late 1850s he had become a prominent Unionist voice in Kentucky, and he was elected to the Kentucky State Senate, serving from 1860 to 1861. As the secession crisis deepened, Rousseau emerged as one of the leading defenders of Kentucky’s continued loyalty to the Union.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Rousseau put aside his legislative career and entered military service on the Union side. He initially helped organize Unionist forces in Kentucky and then formally joined the Union Army, serving successively as a colonel, a brigadier general, and later a major general of volunteers. He served valiantly at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 and at the Battle of Stones River at the end of 1862 and beginning of 1863. He also took part in the Battle of Hoover’s Gap during the Tullahoma Campaign and in the movements around Chattanooga, Tennessee, that helped secure Union control of central Tennessee. His leadership in these engagements contributed to the broader Union strategy in the Western Theater.

From November 1863 until his resignation from volunteer service in November 1865, Rousseau held command of the important Union post at Nashville, Tennessee. In this capacity he oversaw the defense and administration of a key logistical and political center for Union operations in the region. During this period, on orders from Major General William T. Sherman, he carried out a highly successful cavalry raid in July 1864 against the Montgomery and West Point Railroad in Alabama and Georgia, disrupting Confederate supply lines and communications. Later in the war he was once again promoted to major general of volunteers, reflecting the confidence Union authorities placed in his command abilities.

After the war, Rousseau turned to national politics. A steadfast Unionist, he aligned himself with the Unconditional Union Party during the Reconstruction era. He was elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-ninth Congress and took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Kentucky. During this term he became embroiled in a bitter dispute with Representative Josiah B. Grinnell of Iowa over comments made on the House floor. The conflict culminated in Rousseau physically assaulting Grinnell in 1866 in a House corridor. For this act, Rousseau was formally censured by the House of Representatives in 1866, an action that placed him among the small number of members publicly disciplined by the chamber. He resigned his seat following the censure but was subsequently re-elected to Congress, underscoring his continued support among many of his constituents.

Rousseau’s post-congressional career returned him to military service at the national level. In 1867 he was appointed a brigadier general in the Regular U.S. Army and was given the brevet rank of major general in recognition of his wartime service. Thereafter, he was assigned to important frontier and reconstruction-related commands. He served in Alaska shortly after its purchase from Russia in 1867, playing a role in the initial transfer and establishment of American authority in the new territory. He later served in Louisiana, where federal military authorities were deeply involved in overseeing Reconstruction and maintaining order during a period of intense political and racial conflict.

Lovell Harrison Rousseau died in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 7, 1869, while still in active service with the U.S. Army. His remains were returned to Kentucky for burial, closing a career that had spanned frontier law practice, state legislatures in Indiana and Kentucky, high command in the Union Army, and service in the United States Congress. His life and career are frequently noted in discussions of Union generalship in the Western Theater, the political history of Kentucky and Indiana during the Civil War era, and the history of congressional discipline in the United States.