Representative Moses Fowler Odell

Moses Fowler Odell (February 24, 1818 – June 13, 1866) was a Democratic politician and two-term U.S. Representative from New York who served in Congress during the American Civil War. Born in Tarrytown, New York, he completed preparatory studies in his youth. Little is recorded about his family background or early occupations, but his education and early training prepared him for a career in public service and federal administration in New York City.

Odell entered federal service in the mid-1840s. In 1845 he was appointed an entry clerk in the New York customhouse, an important post in one of the nation’s busiest ports and principal revenue-collecting centers. Demonstrating competence in customs administration, he advanced to the position of public appraiser, a role that involved valuing imported goods for tariff purposes. His experience in the customhouse and familiarity with federal finance and trade regulations helped establish his reputation and laid the groundwork for his later legislative work on fiscal and wartime matters.

Odell’s political career reached its peak with his election to the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses, serving two terms from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1865, as a Representative from New York. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the entirety of the Civil War years. As a member of the House of Representatives, Moses Fowler Odell participated in the democratic process, contributed to the legislative response to the national crisis, and represented the interests of his New York constituents at a time of profound political and military upheaval.

During his first term, Odell held a key fiscal oversight position as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury in the Thirty-seventh Congress. In that capacity he was involved in scrutinizing federal spending and administration in the Treasury Department, a responsibility of heightened importance as the Union government expanded its financial operations to fund the war effort. He also served on the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, a powerful and often controversial body that investigated military operations and leadership during the Civil War. Through this service he played a role in shaping congressional oversight of the Union war strategy and the performance of military commanders.

After leaving Congress at the conclusion of his second term in March 1865, Odell continued his involvement in federal service. In 1865 he was appointed Navy agent at the city of New York, a position that placed him at the center of naval procurement and logistics in one of the Union’s principal maritime hubs. He served in this capacity until his death, overseeing aspects of naval supply and administration in the immediate postwar period.

Moses Fowler Odell died in Brooklyn, New York, on June 13, 1866, while still serving as Navy agent. He was interred in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. His career, spanning customs administration, wartime legislative service, and naval procurement, reflected the expanding scope of federal responsibilities in mid-nineteenth-century America and the central role played by New York in the nation’s political and economic life during the Civil War era.