Joseph Warren Keifer

author

Joseph Warren Keifer

1836–1932

A Union officer who later became Speaker of the U.S. House, he built a long public career that stretched from the Civil War era into the early 20th century. His life joined military service, law, politics, and memoir-writing in one unusually wide-ranging American story.

1 Audiobook

Slavery and four years of war : a political history of slavery in the United States, together with a narrative of the campaigns and battles of the Civil War in which the author took part, 1861-1865. Vols. 1-2

Slavery and four years of war : a political history of slavery in the United States, together with a narrative of the campaigns and battles of the Civil War in which the author took part, 1861-1865. Vols. 1-2

by Joseph Warren Keifer

About the author

Born in Clark County, Ohio, in 1836, Joseph Warren Keifer studied at Antioch College, taught school, read law, and began practicing as an attorney before the Civil War. When war came, he entered the Union Army, where he rose through the ranks and earned a reputation for determined field service.

After the war, Keifer remained active in public life as a Republican from Ohio. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the late 1870s and early 1880s, became Speaker of the House from 1881 to 1883, and later returned to Congress for another stretch of service in the early 1900s. He also served again in uniform during the Spanish–American War, reaching the rank of major general.

Keifer wrote about the conflict that shaped his generation, including works on slavery, war, and his own campaigns. He died in 1932 at the age of 96, leaving behind a career that connected battlefield command, national politics, and historical reflection.