48 



BAKER, EDWARD D. 



presidents of the Chambers, was refused recog- continued, and on the 30th of September, the 



nition by the emperor, because it addressed Assembly of the Comitat or district of Pesth 



him merely as monarch, and did not confer on were prevented from meeting on their author- 



him his legitimate title of " King of Hungary." ized day of assembling ; a body of Austrian sol- 



The condition of excitement in Hungary still diers having taken possession of their hall. 



B 



BAKER, EDWAKD D., an American Senator 

 and soldier, born in England about the be- 

 ginning of the present century, and killed at 

 the head of his column, at the battle of Ball's 

 Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, 1861. He came to this 

 country when five years of age, and found a 

 home in Philadelphia, to which place his father, 

 who was a member of the Society of Friends, 

 was attracted by the large number of Friends in 

 that vicinity. Before he reached the age of 

 early manhood his father died, and left Edward 

 and a younger brother with no near relatives 

 in this country and portionless. Stout-hearted 

 and self-reliant, the boy found work by which 

 he could support his brother and himself, as 

 a weaver, in a small establishment in South 

 street, Philadelphia. His leisure moments were 

 earnestly occupied with reading, and most of 

 his reading was of an instructive character. 

 The "West was then a region of romance, and its 

 broad prairies and fertile soil presented attrac- 

 tions to those who looked forward to fortune 

 in the future. Young Baker resolved to go 

 thither, and taking his brother with him, the 

 two youthful emigrants started westward with 

 their packs upon their shoulders, with light 

 hearts and purses as light. Crossing the then 

 new States of Ohio and Indiana, they finally 

 reached Springfield, Illinois, which Edward 

 deemed the place for their future home. Here 

 he soon commenced the study and the practice 

 of law, and having a natural gift of oratory, to 

 which his extensive reading had added a large 

 vocabulary, he soon became one of the most 

 popular advocates in the State. Uniting his 

 fortunes with those of the Whig party, he soon 

 won his way to political honors, and in 1846-'7 

 was elected to Congress from his district, and 

 was fast becoming recognized as one of the 

 leaders of his party, when the commencement 

 of the Mexican war attracted his ardent spirit, 

 and returning to Illinois, he raised a regiment, 

 and took it to the Rio Grande. Availing him- 

 self of a brief furlough, he resumed his place in 

 Congress long enough to press his views and 

 give his vote in behalf of the war, and hastened 

 back to his regiment, which he overtook on the 

 march from Vera Cruz. He distinguished him- 

 self at every action on the route to Mexico, 

 and when Gen. Shields was wounded at Cerro 

 Gordo, he succeeded to the command of the 

 brigade, and led it through all the subsequent 

 conflicts of the war. Returning to Illinois, he 

 was again elected to Congress, and served his 

 district there till 1850, when he visited Panama 

 on business, and though attacked by the Chag- 

 res fever and compelled to return, he had 



learned too much of the new Eldorado of the 

 West, California, to be contented to remain 

 east of the Rocky Mountains, and in 1851 he 

 removed to San Francisco, where he soon took 

 rank as the leader of the California bar, and the 

 most eloquent speaker in the golden State. 



His impressive and touching oration over the 

 body of his friend Broderick, will never be for- 

 gotten by those who heard it. He soon after 

 removed to Oregon, where in 1860 he was 

 elected to the U. S. Senate. He there distin- 

 guished himself as one of the firmest and lof- 

 tiest patriots of the Senate, and in debate proved 

 himself the most effective orator of that body. 

 The taking of Fort Surnter fired his soul anew 

 with military ardor, and on the 20th of April, 

 at the mass meeting in Union Park, New York 

 City, he delivered an address which thrilled 

 the souls of all who heard it. He there pledged 

 his personal services to the country as a soldier, 

 and closed his speech with these impressive and 

 eloquent words, which were greeted with a 

 thunder of applause : 



" And if, from the far Pacific, a voice feebler 

 than the feeblest murmur upon its shore may 

 be heard to give you courage and hope in the 

 contest, that voice is yours to-day ; and if a 

 man whose hair is gray, who is well-nigh worn 

 out in the battle and toil of life, may pledge 

 himself on such an occasion and in such an 

 audience, let me say, as my last word, that 

 when, amid sheeted fire and flame, I saw and 

 led the hosts of New York as they charged in 

 contest upon a foreign soil for the honor of your 

 flag ; so again, if Providence shall will it, this 

 feeble hand shall draw a sword, never yet dis- 

 honored not to fight for distant honor in a 

 foreign land, but to fight for country, for home, 

 for law, for government, for constitution, for 

 right, for freedom, for humanity, and in the hope 

 that the banner of my country may advance, 

 and wheresoever that banner waves, there glory 

 may pursue and freedom be established." 



The pledge thus made was speedily fulfilled. 

 Though having a strong presentiment that he 

 should fall in battle, he raised a fine regiment, 

 called the California Regiment, which he led 

 into the war, and had been nominated Brig- 

 adier-General, when the disastrous battle of 

 Ball's Bluff occurred. He commanded a brigade 

 in that battle, and after exhibiting the most 

 heroic bravery and daring, exposing himself for 

 some hours in the hottest of the fight, he fell 

 pierced with six wounds. His colleague in the 

 Senate, and Senators Latham and MacDougal 

 of California, and Sumner of Mass., pronounced 

 touching and eloquent eulogitims on his memory. 



