Biographical Sidebar:
Adelbert Ames

A native of Maine, Adelbert Ames (1835-1933) graduated fifth in his class in 1861 from the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. His graduating class not only provided officers for the Civil War but also leaders in politics, business, and the military, including Henry Algernon du Pont of the chemical family, George Armstrong Custer and Yellowstone explorer John Whitney Barlow.

He served with distinction in the Union army, winning the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery at the battle of Bull Run.

He married Blanche Butler,the daughter of Benjamin Butler, the Governor of Massachusetts and unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1884 against Grover Cleveland.

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Appointed by President Grant to command the fourth military district (including Mississippi) under the Reconstruction Act of 1867, Ames became convinced that he "had a Mission with a large M" to assist the former slaves.

He appointed blacks to local offices and ordered that, for the first time in the state's history, they be eligible to serve on juries.