Representative William Henry Harries

William Henry Harries (January 15, 1843 – July 23, 1921) was an American lawyer, Civil War veteran, and Democratic politician who served one term as a United States Representative from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Minnesota in the Fifty-second Congress from 1891 to 1893 and contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history.

Harries was born on January 15, 1843. Details of his early childhood and family background are sparse in the historical record, but his formative years coincided with the growing sectional tensions that preceded the American Civil War. As a young man, he came of age in an era marked by national conflict and political realignment, circumstances that would shape both his military service and his later political career.

During the American Civil War, Harries served in the Union Army in the famed Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. The Iron Brigade, composed largely of Western regiments, earned a reputation for discipline and heavy combat engagement in major Eastern Theater battles. Harries served through most of the war with this unit, participating in some of the most intense fighting of the conflict. His service in the Iron Brigade placed him among those soldiers whose wartime experience forged a generation of postwar civic and political leaders.

After the Civil War, Harries pursued the study of law and entered the legal profession, becoming an American lawyer. His legal training and practice provided the foundation for his later public service. As an attorney, he developed the skills in advocacy, statutory interpretation, and public affairs that would support his transition into Democratic Party politics. His professional standing in the law and his Civil War record together enhanced his stature within his community and his party.

Harries’s political career reached the national level when he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota. He served in the Fifty-second Congress, holding office from 1891 to 1893. During his single term in Congress, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Minnesota constituents at a time when the nation was grappling with issues of economic policy, veterans’ affairs, and the ongoing adjustment to the post–Civil War order. As a member of the House of Representatives, he contributed to the legislative deliberations of this period, aligning with the Democratic Party’s positions while addressing the concerns of a rapidly developing Upper Midwest state.

Following the conclusion of his congressional service in 1893, Harries returned to private life. He resumed his legal and civic activities, remaining part of the generation of former soldiers and public officials who continued to influence local and regional affairs in the decades after Reconstruction. Although he did not return to Congress, his earlier military and legislative service secured his place in Minnesota’s political history.

William Henry Harries died on July 23, 1921. His life spanned from the antebellum era through the Civil War and into the early twentieth century, reflecting a career that combined military service, legal practice, and a term in the United States House of Representatives representing Minnesota as a Democrat during the Fifty-second Congress.