author
Hilary A. (Hilary Abner) Herbert
1834–1919
A lawyer, soldier, congressman, and cabinet official, he played a visible role in American public life from the Civil War era into the 1890s. He is best remembered for serving as Secretary of the Navy under President Grover Cleveland after many years representing Alabama in Congress.
1 Audiobook
The Abolition Crusade and Its Consequences: Four Periods of American History
by Hilary A. (Hilary Abner) Herbert
About the author
Born in South Carolina in 1834 and raised from boyhood in Alabama, he studied at the University of Alabama and the University of Virginia, read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1857. During the Civil War he served in the Confederate Army, rising from captain to colonel before returning to legal practice after being wounded.
Herbert went on to become a major Democratic figure in Alabama politics. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1877 to 1893, where he was known for his interest in military and naval affairs, and then joined Grover Cleveland's cabinet as Secretary of the Navy from 1893 to 1897.
His career stretched across some of the most turbulent decades in 19th-century American history, linking the worlds of law, war, and national politics. For listeners exploring older public figures, his life offers a window into the South's political leadership after the Civil War and into the expansion of the modern U.S. Navy.