Representative Stewart Lyndon Woodford

Stewart Lyndon Woodford (September 3, 1835 – February 14, 1913) was an American attorney, Civil War officer, diplomat, and Republican politician who served as lieutenant governor of New York, a member of the United States House of Representatives, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and United States Minister to Spain. He was born in New York City, New York, where he spent his early years before entering Columbia College (now Columbia University). He graduated from Columbia in 1854, read law, and was admitted to the bar, beginning a legal career in New York City that soon intersected with the emerging Republican Party in the years leading up to the Civil War.

As a young lawyer, Woodford became active in Republican politics and public affairs. In 1861 he was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, a post he held at the outset of the Civil War. His work in that office placed him at the center of federal legal business in the nation’s principal commercial city during a period of intense political and sectional conflict. In 1862, motivated by the Union cause, he resigned his federal prosecutorial position and volunteered for military service.

During the American Civil War, Woodford served in the Union Army and advanced rapidly in responsibility. He became chief of staff to Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, commander of the Department of the South, where he was involved in planning and coordinating operations in the coastal and Southern theater. He later commanded the 103rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment, reflecting the Union’s increasing reliance on African American troops in the later stages of the war. Over the course of his service he attained the rank of colonel in the volunteer forces and received the brevet rank of brigadier general for meritorious service.

Returning to civilian life after the war, Woodford resumed his legal practice and quickly reentered politics. In 1866 he ran successfully for lieutenant governor of New York on the Republican ticket and served from January 1, 1867, to December 31, 1868. In that role he presided over the New York State Senate and was a prominent figure in Reconstruction-era state politics. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor of New York in 1870, a contest that nonetheless solidified his standing as a leading party figure in the state.

Woodford’s national legislative career began with his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1872. He represented New York in the Forty-third Congress, serving a partial term from March 4, 1873, until his resignation on July 1, 1874. During his time in Congress he aligned with Republican policies on Reconstruction and economic issues of the postwar period, though his relatively brief tenure limited his legislative record. After leaving the House, he again returned to legal practice in New York City while remaining an influential voice in party affairs.

In 1877 Woodford was appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, returning to the office in which he had begun his federal career. He served in this capacity from 1877 to 1883, a period marked by the federal government’s efforts to combat corruption, regulate burgeoning interstate commerce, and address financial controversies in the aftermath of the Panic of 1873. As U.S. Attorney in the nation’s leading financial center, he oversaw important prosecutions and civil actions involving federal revenue, customs, and maritime law, further enhancing his reputation as a capable and experienced federal lawyer.

Woodford’s diplomatic career came in the late 1890s, when President William McKinley appointed him United States Minister to Spain. He served in Madrid from 1897 until the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898. In this post he was charged with representing American interests during a period of acute tension over Cuba and attempting to negotiate reforms and avert war. His mission ended when diplomatic relations were severed at the start of hostilities, and he left Spain as the two nations moved into open conflict.

In his later years, Woodford continued to practice law and remained a respected elder statesman within Republican circles and the New York bar. He lived in New York City until his death there on February 14, 1913. He was buried in Stamford, Connecticut, closing a public career that had spanned the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and the dawn of the United States’ emergence as a global power.