William
Belknap was
born in Newburgh, New York in 1829. He worked as a lawyer in Iowa
and was a Democratic Party member
of Iowa's state legislature.
Belkapp joining the Union Army on the
outbreak of the American Civil War.
and after fighting at Shiloh he was
promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He fought under Ulysses
S. Grant at Vicksburg and was
a division commander under William T. Sherman
in his Atlanta Campaign. By 1865 he
had reached the rank of major general.
After the war Belknap worked as a revenue collector in Iowa until
being made Secretary of War by Ulysses S.
Grant in 1869. Belknap became the centre of a major scandal when
in 1876 he was accused of taking bribes. He was impeached and at his
trial Senators voted 35 to 25 that he was guilty of corruption. However,
this vote fell short of the two-thirds needed for a conviction.
Belknap practiced law in Washington
until his death in 1890.
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