politician railway executive Soldier
James Scott Negley was born on December 22, 1826 in East Liberty, Pennsylvania, United States. He was the son of Jacob and Mary Ann (Scott) Negley. On his paternal side he was descended from Swiss-German ancestors who spelled the name Nägeli.
From the public schools Negley went to the Western University of Pennsylvania, the institution later known as the University of Pittsburgh.
On the outbreak of war with Mexico, as a member of the Duquesne Grays, Negley entered the 16t Pennsylvania Regiment. Mustered into service, December 16, 1846, he served throughout the remainder of the war, rose to the rank of sergeant, and was honorably discharged, July 25, 1848.
On his return to civilian life, he engaged for a time in business, but soon took up the pursuit of horticulture in which he became well known.
Meanwhile, maintaining his connection with the local militia, he was elected brigadier-general of the 18th Division, Pennsylvania Militia. At the beginning of the hostilities of the Civil War in April 1861 he was placed in command of military affairs in Pittsburgh, where the vigor with which he organized and equipped forces gave great satisfaction. In the summer of 1861 he served under Major General Robert Patterson in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and on the disbandment of his three months' volunteer troops, returned to Pittsburgh where he raised a new brigade which in October was sent to Kentucky. Under General Buell he played an important part in the movements in central Tennessee and northern Alabama in the summer of 1862, at one time threatening the capture of Chattanooga. But on the dramatic Confederate advance across Tennessee into Kentucky late in the summer, he was drawn back by Buell and left in command of Nashville, where he ably held his position until the return of the Union forces. In the midwinter battle of Stone River, he commanded the Union center and by conspicuous skill and gallantry won promotion to the rank of major-general. He again figured prominently in the advance of General Rosecrans against Chattanooga in the autumn of 1863, but in the battle of Chickamauga, along with other commanders on the right wing of the Union line, he was swept back from the battlefield. Criticized by Generals John M. Brannan and Thomas J. Wood, he was relieved from command by General Rosecrans. Appeals to the latter's successors were in vain and, though a court of inquiry cleared him of the charges of cowardice and desertion, he failed to secure reassignment to command.
He resigned from the army January 19, 1865. He always bore resentment for the way he had been treated and said it was due to jealousy between West Pointers and "civilian soldiers. "
Returning to Pittsburgh, Negley again entered business. He was elected to Congress in 1868 on the Republican ticket and was reelected in 1870, 1872, and 1884.
In the interval between the Forty-third and Forty-ninth congresses, Negley resided in Pittsburgh.
During his final term in Congress, while maintaining his earlier activities, he displayed particular interest in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, of which he later became one of the managers.
Defeated for the Republican nomination in 1886, by John Dalzell, he removed to New York. He died at his home in Plainfield, New Jersey on August 7, 1901.
In Congress he was an ardent Republican and a faithful representative of his constituency. He presented many petitions in favor of tariff protection and supported this policy in votes and speeches. His chief interest, however, was inland waterways, and he several times introduced bills for the improvement of navigation of the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny rivers. He also introduced a bill "to complete a water highway from tidewater on the James river to the Ohio river at the mouth of the Kanawha".
He was a man of large physique and fine appearance, affable and urbane, but of an independent spirit.
He was twice married. By his first wife, Kate de Losey, whom he married in 1848, he had three sons who predeceased him. By his second wife, Grace Ashton, he left three daughters.
