Lucius Benedict Peck

Lucius Benedict Peck (November 17, 1802 – December 28, 1866) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Vermont during a significant period in mid-nineteenth-century American history. He was born in Waterbury, Vermont, to General John Peck and Anna Benedict Peck, a family background that connected him early to public affairs and military service. Raised in central Vermont, he pursued classical studies as a young man and demonstrated sufficient promise to gain admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He attended the academy for one year but resigned due to poor health, a setback that redirected him from a potential military career to the study of law.

After leaving West Point, Peck read law under the tutelage of Samuel Prentiss, a prominent Vermont attorney who later served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and as a United States Senator. Under Prentiss’s guidance, Peck completed his legal training and was admitted to the bar in 1825. He began the practice of law in Barre, Vermont, where he quickly established himself as a capable attorney. On May 22, 1832, he married Martha Day; the couple had one daughter, Mary. As his legal reputation grew, Peck became increasingly involved in civic and political life, reflecting the close connection between the legal profession and public service in early nineteenth-century Vermont.

Peck’s formal political career began at the state level. He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives and served in that body in 1838 and 1839, representing his community in the state legislature. During this period he moved to Montpelier, the state capital, where he continued the practice of law. His relocation to Montpelier placed him at the center of Vermont’s political and legal activity and helped lay the groundwork for his later national service. As a member of the Democratic Party in a state increasingly dominated by Whig and later Republican sentiment, Peck’s political alignment would shape both the opportunities and challenges he faced in public life.

Peck was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congresses, serving as a U.S. Representative from Vermont from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1851. His two terms in the House of Representatives coincided with a transformative era in American history, encompassing the Mexican–American War and the mounting sectional tensions that would culminate in the Compromise of 1850. During the Thirty-first Congress he served as chairman of the Committee on Manufactures, a position that placed him at the center of debates over industrial policy and economic development at a time when manufacturing interests were becoming increasingly important in the northern states. As a Democratic representative, he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Vermont constituents within the broader national political context. Peck did not seek renomination in 1850, and instead became the Democratic candidate for Governor of Vermont; he was unsuccessful in that race, reflecting the strength of the opposing party in the state.

Following his gubernatorial defeat, Peck resumed the practice of law in Montpelier, continuing to be an influential figure in Vermont’s legal and political circles. In 1852 he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, further underscoring his standing within the party at both the state and national levels. His legal expertise and party loyalty were recognized by President Franklin Pierce, who appointed him United States Attorney for the District of Vermont in 1853. Peck held this federal prosecutorial post until 1857, overseeing the enforcement of federal law in Vermont during a period marked by growing national discord over slavery and states’ rights.

After leaving the office of U.S. Attorney, Peck expanded his activities into the realm of transportation and commerce. From 1859 until his death in 1866, he served as president of the Vermont and Canada Railroad, a key regional line that linked Vermont to broader North American rail networks and facilitated trade and economic growth in the region. His leadership of the railroad reflected the increasing involvement of prominent lawyers and politicians in the development of transportation infrastructure in the mid-nineteenth century. During the Civil War era, Peck also continued to practice law, and in 1864 he served as counsel for the banks that were robbed in the St. Albans Raid, a Confederate incursion from Canada into Vermont that became one of the northernmost incidents of the war. His role in that high-profile case underscored his continued prominence at the intersection of law, commerce, and public affairs.

Lucius Benedict Peck died on December 28, 1866, in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was interred in Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier, Vermont, reflecting his long association with the state’s capital and his enduring ties to Vermont public life. Through his service in the Vermont legislature, his two terms in the United States House of Representatives, his role as chairman of the Committee on Manufactures, his tenure as United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, and his leadership of the Vermont and Canada Railroad, Peck played a notable part in the legal, political, and economic development of Vermont during a critical period in the nation’s history.