Green Clay Smith: Soldier and Statesman

Abstract

In the year 18614., after Abraham Lincoln was nominated for the presidency at a Republican convention in Baltimore, a hotly contested battle was waged for the Vice Presidency. The first choice of many of the delegates was Green Clay Smith of Kentucky. His adMesary was Andrew Johnson, a staunch Democrat from Tennessee. The man to be elected would eventually become president, as a result of an assassin’s bullet. In the battle that ensued, Green Clay Smith lost by half a vote. Who was this man who nearly became President of the United States; who later became territorial governor of the Nascent territory of Montana; who again became a candidate for president on the Prohibitionist ticket, and who was a brilliant soldier?In the year 18614., after Abraham Lincoln was nominated for the presidency at a Republican convention in Baltimore, a hotly contested battle was waged for the Vice Presidency. The first choice of many of the delegates was Green Clay Smith of Kentucky. His adMesary was Andrew Johnson, a staunch Democrat from Tennessee. The man to be elected would eventually become president, as a result of an assassin’s bullet. In the battle that ensued, Green Clay Smith lost by half a vote. Who was this man who nearly became President of the United States; who later became territorial governor of the Nascent territory of Montana; who again became a candidate for president on the Prohibitionist ticket, and who was a brilliant soldier?In the year 18614., after Abraham Lincoln was nominated for the presidency at a Republican convention in Baltimore, a hotly contested battle was waged for the Vice Presidency. The first choice of many of the delegates was Green Clay Smith of Kentucky. His adMesary was Andrew Johnson, a staunch Democrat from Tennessee. The man to be elected would eventually become president, as a result of an assassin’s bullet. In the battle that ensued, Green Clay Smith lost by half a vote. Who was this man who nearly became President of the United States; who later became territorial governor of the Nascent territory of Montana; who again became a candidate for president on the Prohibitionist ticket, and who was a brilliant soldier?