John Azor Kellogg

John Azor Kellogg
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 21st district
In office January 6, 1879 – January 3, 1881
Preceded by	Henry Mumbrue
Succeeded by	Charles F. Crosby
District Attorney of Juneau County, Wisconsin
In office January 1, 1861 – April 1861
Preceded by	Richard Smith
Succeeded by	Perry R. Briggs
Personal details
Born	(1828-03-16)March 16, 1828 Bethany, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	February 10, 1883(1883-02-10) (aged 54) Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Pine Grove Cemetery, Wausau (original) Maple Lawn Cemetery, Faribault, Minnesota (re-interred)
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Adelaide Worthington
Children	5
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Volunteers Union Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Colonel, USV Brevet Brig. General, USV
Unit	Army of the Potomac
Commands	6th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry Iron Brigade
Battles/wars	American Civil War Northern Virginia Campaign First Battle of Rappahannock Station Second Battle of Bull Run Maryland Campaign Battle of South Mountain Battle of Antietam Fredericksburg Campaign Battle of Fredericksburg Mud March Chancellorsville Campaign Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Mine Run Gettysburg Campaign Battle of Gettysburg Overland Campaign Battle of the Wilderness Richmond–Petersburg Campaign Battle of Boydton Plank Road Battle of Hatcher's Run Appomattox Campaign Battle of Five Forks Battle of High Bridge Battle of Appomattox Court House

John Azor Kellogg (March 16, 1828 – February 10, 1883) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as a Union Army officer through the entire American Civil War, serving with the famed Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac; he received an honorary brevet to brigadier general after the war. He was a prisoner of war for several months in 1864, and later wrote an account of his escape from captivity and his war service, called Capture and Escape: A Narrative of Army and Prison Life. He later served in the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 21st Senate district from 1879 to 1881.

Born in Bethany, Pennsylvania, Kellogg moved with his parents to Prairie du Sac, in the Wisconsin Territory, in 1840. At age 18, he began studying law at Madison, Wisconsin. In 1857, he was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin and moved to Mauston, Wisconsin, in Juneau County. He was elected District Attorney for Juneau County in 1860, but resigned in April 1861 to enter service with the Union Army in the American Civil War.^[1][2]

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Kellogg helped raise a company of volunteers from Mauston and surrounding areas with Rufus Dawes. The regiment was incorporated as Company K of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment on May 3, 1861; Dawes was made captain and with Kellogg as first lieutenant.^[3] Upon their arrival in Washington, D.C., the regiment was organized into a brigade along with three other regiments from Wisconsin and Indiana. Their brigade later became known as the Iron Brigade, and was attached to the Army of the Potomac for most of the war.^[1]

Kellogg was promoted to captain of Company I in December 1861,^[3] and was made an adjutant for the brigade in 1863. He returned to his role with the regiment in 1864.

Kellogg was wounded on May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness, and was believed dead.^[4][5][6][7] He had actually been taken prisoner. He was held in Virginia for a time, then transferred to Georgia. He escaped while en route to Charleston, South Carolina, but was pursued and recaptured. On October 15, while being transferred from Charleston to Columbia, South Carolina, Kellogg escaped again. This time he successfully reached Union forces near Calhoun, Georgia, having traveled 350 miles after his escape.^[1]

While a prisoner of war, Kellogg had been promoted to major and then lieutenant colonel. In December 1864 he was made colonel of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment, following the resignation of Rufus Dawes.^[3] On February 28, 1865, Kellogg was placed in command of the Iron Brigade. He commanded the brigade through the Appomattox Campaign at the close of the war and mustered out in August 1865. He was subsequently awarded a brevet to brigadier general in recognition for his service.^[1][3][8]

After the war, Kellogg moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and served as a U.S. Pension Agent in La Crosse from 1866 to 1875.^[1] In 1875, Kellogg moved with his family to Wausau, Wisconsin, and resumed practicing law. Kellogg remained active with the Republican Party throughout his life, and, in 1878, was elected to the Wisconsin Senate, defeating Democrat M. H. Wadleigh.^[1][9] Politically, Kellogg was described as a Radical Republican.^[2]

Kellogg died of a heart attack in February 1883, at age 54. He was buried in Wausau, but later his body was re-interred in Faribault, Minnesota, where his eldest daughter, Ida, was then residing.^[2]

In 1852, Kellogg married Adelaide Worthington of Prairie du Sac. They had five children, but at least one died in childhood.^[1]

Kellogg published articles about his involvement in the Civil War. In 1908, the articles were collected and published by the Wisconsin Historical Commission as Capture and Escape: A Narrative of Army and Prison Life.

• Quiner, Edwin B. (1866). The military history of Wisconsin. Chicago: Clarke & Co. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
• Dawes, Rufus R. (1890). Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers. Marietta, Ohio: E. R. Alderman & Sons. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
• Kellogg, John Azor (1908). Capture and Escape. Democrat Printing Co. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
• Herdegen, Lance J. (1997). The Men Stood Like Iron: How the Iron Brigade Won Its Name. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33221-4. Retrieved July 12, 2020.

• John Azor Kellogg at Find a Grave