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Higher Office(s) Served: Representative

Military Service: National Guard

War(s) Served:  Civil War

BENJAMIN F. FLANDERS was born in Bristol, New Hampshire on January 26, 1816. His education was attained at the New Hampton Academy and at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1842. The following year, he moved to New Orleans. He studied law, worked as a teacher and principal, and edited the New Orleans Tropic. Flanders entered politics in 1847, serving as alderman of New Orleans, a position to which he was reelected in 1852. He also served as the superintendent of public schools in 1850, was city treasurer in 1862, and served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1862 to 1863. During the Civil War, he served as captain of Company C, 5^th Regiment of Louisiana Volunteer Infantry. After his military service, he secured an appointment in 1863, as special agent of the Treasury Department of the Southern Region, a post to which he was reappointed in 1866. On June 3, 1867, General Sheridan, as commander of the district, removed Confederate Governor James M. Wells from office. Flanders was then named the new military governor. He served in this capacity until January 8, 1868, when he resigned. In 1870, he was appointed mayor of New Orleans, an office he held for two years. He also served as the New Orleans assistant U.S. Treasurer from 1873 to 1882, and was an unsuccessful candidate for state treasurer in 1888. Governor Benjamin F. Flanders died on March 13, 1896, and was buried at the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.

Sources:

Biography Directory of U.S. Congress

Dawson III, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: Lousiana State University Press, 1990.

Encyclopedia Louisiana

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Virtual American Biographies