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Notable people · Congressman · Copperhead

Clement Vallandigham

Born in New Lisbon (now Lisbon), Ohio; Dayton lawyer and Copperhead leader. Sent through Union lines to the Confederacy in May 1863, ran for governor from Windsor, Ontario.

Clement Vallandigham
Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
1820-07-29
Died
1871-06-17
Education
Jefferson College, Canonsburg, PA, to 1841, none (honorably dismissed)
Known as
Congressman, Copperhead

Life story

Clement Vallandigham was born in New Lisbon (now Lisbon), Ohio, in 1820, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He studied at home and at Jefferson College in Pennsylvania but left in 1841 without a degree.

He practiced law, served in the Ohio House (1845-47), edited the Dayton Empire, and won a U.S. House seat in 1858.

A Democrat who opposed the Civil War and the draft, he was the best-known Copperhead. After an anti-war speech in May 1863 he was arrested under General Order No. 38, tried by a military court, and sent behind Confederate lines.

He ran for Ohio governor from Canada in 1863 and lost to John Brough. He returned in 1864 and attended the Democratic convention in Chicago.

He died in Lebanon, Ohio, in 1871 when he accidentally shot himself while demonstrating a defense in a murder case at the Lebanon House (later the Golden Lamb). He is buried at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.

Timeline

  • 1820-07-29: Born (New Lisbon, OH) source
  • 1841: Leaves Jefferson College without a degree (Canonsburg, PA) source
  • 1845: Begins service in Ohio House (Columbus, OH) source
  • 1847: Becomes editor of the Dayton Empire (Dayton, OH) source
  • 1858: Elected to U.S. House (Dayton, OH) source
  • 1863-05-05: Arrested for violating General Order No. 38 (Dayton, OH) source
  • 1863-05-19: Ordered into Confederate lines (Tennessee) source
  • 1863: Runs for governor from Canada, loses to John Brough (Ohio) source
  • 1864: Attends Democratic National Convention (Chicago, IL) source
  • 1871-06-17: Dies of accidental pistol wound (Lebanon, OH) source

What Clement is known for

  • Leader of the Copperheads
  • Exiled to Confederacy May 1863

Family

  • father: Clement Vallandigham (minister)
  • wife: Louisa Anna McMahon
  • son: Charles Vallandigham

Places in Ohio to see

Ohio places

Where Clement Vallandigham was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

In their words

To maintain the Constitution as it is, and to restore the Union as it was

Myths and corrections

  • The slogan is often credited to him personally; Wikipedia describes it as the Copperhead slogan, so authorship is not firm.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

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