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Joseph Bloomfield Leake

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Joseph Bloomfield Leake
Born(1828-04-01)April 1, 1828
Deerfield, New Jersey
DiedJune 8, 1913(1913-06-08) (aged 85)
Chicago, Illinois
Place of burial
Oakdale Memorial Gardens
Davenport, Iowa
AllegianceUnited States United States of America
Union
Service / branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Brevet Brigadier General
Unit20th Iowa Infantry Regiment
Battles / warsAmerican Civil War
Other workU.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois

Joseph Bloomfield Leake (April 1, 1828 – June 8, 1913) was an attorney and an Iowa State Senator who entered the Union Army during the American Civil War. He became a Brevet Brigadier General before the war was over. After the war he became the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

Biography

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Early life and career

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Leake was born in Deerfield, New Jersey, and later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio.[1][2] He graduated from Miami University in 1846 and then studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1850 and set up a practice in Davenport, Iowa. Leake was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives on the Republican ticket and served during the war session of 1861. The following year, he was elected to the Iowa Senate.[3]

Military service

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Leake resigned his seat in the state senate and became a captain of Company G of the 20th Iowa Infantry.[4] He was commissioned a Lieutenant Colonel when the regiment was organized at Camp Kirkwood in Clinton, Iowa. He led the regiment at Prairie Grove, Vicksburg, Yazoo City, and Port Hudson.[1] On September 29, 1863, in an engagement called the Battle of Stirling's Plantation near Morganza, Louisiana Leake was injured and captured by the Confederates. He was held prisoner at Camp Ford near Tyler, Texas. He was the highest ranking Union officer in the camp and he looked after the needs of the other Union POWs.[1]

He was released from Camp Ford in a prisoner exchange in July 1864. Some of the soldiers from the 19th Iowa Infantry presented Leake with a new sword to replace the one he lost when he was taken prisoner.[1] He returned to his regiment and participated in the capture of Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan near Mobile, Alabama. On March 13, 1865, he was awarded the rank of brevet brigadier general. The following month Leake led his regiment during the Battle of Fort Blakely in Alabama.

Later life and death

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After the war Leake returned to Davenport and was re-elected to the Iowa Senate.[3] He moved to Chicago in 1871 and was appointed the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.[1] On September 21, 1887, he was elected the attorney for the Chicago Board of Education. He was a member of the Ulysses S. Grant Post #28 of the Grand Army of the Republic and served as State Commander of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States from 1894 to 1895.

Leake was married twice. His first wife was Cordellia Scott and he married his second wife, Mary P. Hill, on December 9, 1865. He had no children.[1] Leake died in Chicago on June 8, 1913, and was buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport.[2][4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Russell, Steven Russell. "Gen. Joseph B. Leake". The Bivouac. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Deceased Companions of the Commandery of the State of Illinois. 1923. pp. 125–128. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b "Senator Joseph B. Leake". Iowa General Assembly. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Doxsie, Don (April 9, 2011). "Civil War soldiers at Oakdale Cemetery". Quad-City Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
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