John Aaron Rawlins was born on February 13, 1831, in Galena, Illinois, to James and Lovisa Rawlins. His father was a farmer and charcoal maker who owned $7,000 of real estate and $1,100 of personal property by 1860. In 1849, his father travelled to California to take part in the Gold Rush, and Rawlins became the family’s primary breadwinner. He was admitted to the bar in 1854, and he worked as a lawyer in Galena. He married Emily Smith on June 4, 1856. They had at least three children: James, born around 1857; Jennie, born around 1859; and Emily, born around 1860. His wife died in August 1861, and he married Mary Emma Hurlburt on December 23, 1863.

 

He supported the Democratic Party. He was elected city attorney in 1857, and he supported Democrat Stephen Douglas in the election of 1860. When the Civil War began, he declared, “I have been a Democrat all my life; but this is no longer a question of politics. It is simply country or no country. I have favored every honorable compromise; but the day for compromise is passed. Only one course is left us. We will stand by the flag of our country, and appeal to the god of battles.”

 

In August 1861, he received an appointment as a captain in the Regular Army. He served as Ulysses S. Grant’s aide-de-camp, and he followed Grant throughout the war. He was promoted to major in May 1862, to lieutenant colonel in November 1862, and finally to brigadier general in August 1863. When Grant became general-in-chief, Rawlins served as his chief of staff.

 

In March 1869, President Grant appointed him secretary of war. He died of consumption in Washington, D.C., on September 6, 1869.

 

Image: John A. Rawlins (courtesy Wikicommons)

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