Civil War Illustrations

Colonel Francis P. Blair

Caption: Colonel [Francis P.] Blair (photographed by Brady)

Source: Illustration and text from Harper's Weekly, August 17, 1861, page 516.

Col. Francis P. Blair, Jun.

 We publish herewith the portrait of Colonel Francis Preston Blair, Jun., of St. Louis, Missouri, Member of Congress, and Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs. Mr. Blair comes of one of the most distinguished families in the country. His father, Francis P. Blair, Sen., was the editor of the Globe under General Jackson, and the intimate personal friend and adviser of that President, and of his successor, Van Buren. He is still alive. Three of the sons of Mr. Blair, Sen., have distinguished themselves in politics. One has been Governor of Michigan; another, Montgomery, is Postmaster-General; a third, perhaps the most distinguished of all, is the one whose portrait we now publish. Born at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1821, Mr. Blair chose the Iaw for his profession and St. Louis for his residence. On the outbreak of the Mexican War he served as a private under Kearney for some months. He was elected for two consecutive terms to the Missouri Legislature, and in 1856 and 1860 to Congress. Mr. Blair is known as the leader of the emancipationists of St. Louis, and is a man of extraordinary courage, energy, and perseverance.