Augustus Herman Pettibone

Augustus Herman Pettibone (January 21, 1835 – November 26, 1918) was an American politician, lawyer, and Union Army officer who represented Tennessee’s 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he served three consecutive terms in Congress during a significant period in American history, participating in the legislative process and representing the interests of his East Tennessee constituents.

Pettibone was born on January 21, 1835, in Bedford, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the son of Augustus N. Pettibone and Nancy L. (Hathaway) Pettibone. He pursued his early education in Ohio and attended Hiram College, an institution known for its rigorous classical curriculum and reformist influences. He later enrolled at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he completed his studies and graduated in 1859. Soon after, he turned to the study of law, moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he read law under the guidance of the Honorable Jonathan E. Arnold. In 1860 he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in La Crosse, Wisconsin, marking the beginning of a long legal career that would span several states and public offices.

With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Pettibone entered military service on the Union side. He enlisted as a private in the Union Army in 1861 and was assigned to the 20th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Over the course of his service he rose through the ranks, being promoted successively to second lieutenant, captain, and major. His wartime experience in a volunteer regiment from Wisconsin reflected his commitment to the Union cause and provided him with leadership experience that would later inform his public service in Tennessee and at the national level.

After the war, Pettibone relocated to East Tennessee, a region with strong Unionist sympathies. In 1865 he continued the practice of law in Greeneville, Tennessee, where he quickly became active in local affairs. From 1866 to 1868 he served as an alderman of Greeneville, participating in municipal governance during the early Reconstruction period. His legal and civic work led to higher responsibilities; in 1869 and 1870 he served as attorney general for the first judicial circuit of Tennessee, a position that placed him at the center of law enforcement and judicial administration in the region. On December 27, 1871, he was appointed assistant United States district attorney for the eastern district of Tennessee, a federal post he held until 1880. During these years he built a reputation as a capable Republican lawyer in a predominantly Democratic state.

Pettibone’s first bid for national office came in 1878, when he ran unsuccessfully for election to the Forty-sixth Congress. Remaining active in party politics, he served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1880, aligning himself with the national Republican organization at a time of internal party divisions. In the same year he was elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh Congress and subsequently reelected to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses, representing Tennessee’s 1st congressional district. His congressional service extended from March 4, 1881, to March 3, 1887. During these three terms in office, Pettibone contributed to the legislative process as part of the Republican minority and, at times, majority in the House, representing the interests of his East Tennessee constituents in matters of national policy, Reconstruction’s aftermath, and economic development. He chose not to be a candidate for renomination in 1886.

Following his departure from Congress, Pettibone resumed the practice of law and remained engaged in public life in Tennessee. He served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1897 to 1899, extending his legislative experience to the state level and continuing his long association with the Republican Party in a region where it maintained a strong foothold. On July 17, 1899, he was appointed a special agent of the United States General Land Office, a federal agency responsible for the administration and disposition of public lands. He served in that capacity until January 31, 1905, when he resigned, concluding his formal federal service after more than three decades in various public roles.

In his personal life, Pettibone was married three times. On July 16, 1868, he married Mary C. Speck of Rogersville, Tennessee, the daughter of George C. Speck, thereby strengthening his ties to East Tennessee. After her death, he later married Sara Bradford Young as his second wife, and subsequently Serafina Deery M. Trigg as his third wife. These marriages reflected his deepening social and familial connections within Tennessee, where he spent the greater part of his postwar life and career.

Augustus Herman Pettibone died in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 26, 1918. He was interred in Nashville National Cemetery in Madison, Davidson County, Tennessee, a burial place reserved for many Union veterans and federal officials. His career as a soldier, attorney, legislator, and federal officer spanned the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the political realignments of the late nineteenth century, and his three terms in the United States House of Representatives marked him as a leading Republican figure in East Tennessee during that era.