Rutherford B. Hayes in Civil War Uniform Photograph

When the Civil War began, Cincinnati lawyer Rutherford B. Hayes offered his services to the state of Ohio. Governor William Dennison appointed him to the rank of major in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He saw much active service, rising to the rank of major general. He was severely wounded on September 14, 1862 at the Battle of South Mountain. In 1864, while still in the army, he was elected to Congress, despite his refusal to campaign. Hayes, who did not take his seat until the Union had won the war, was reelected in 1866. He also served two terms as Ohio governor, and was elected a third time just before launching a successful, although contested, presidential campaign in 1876. This 3.7" x 7" (9.4 x 17.8 cm) photograph, taken in 1861, shows Major Hayes in his uniform. It is part of the Rutherford B. Hayes Collection at the Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont. The extensive collection consists of photographs, documents, books, and ephemera. Rutherford B. Hayes was the fifth child of Rutherford and Sophia Birchard Hayes, who came to Ohio in 1817 from Vermont. He was born October 4, 1822, at Delaware, Ohio, two months after the death of his father. Young Rutherford and sister Fanny Arabella were raised by their mother and her younger bachelor brother Sardis Birchard. Hayes graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in 1842 and from Harvard Law School in 1845. He began his law practice in Lower Sandusky, but moved in 1849 to Cincinnati, where he became a successful lawyer, a Republican, and an opponent of slavery. After his war service and terms in Congress, Hayes served two terms as Ohio governor, and was elected a third time just before launching a successful, although contested, presidential campaign in 1876. Honoring his commitment not to accept a second term, Hayes retired to his beautiful home, Spiegel Grove, in Fremont, Ohio. He died at Spiegel Grove January 17, 1893.