Bronze Portrait of Edwin M. Stanton

Edwin McMasters Stanton (Dec. 19, 1814 – Dec. 24, 1869) was born in Steubenville, Ohio. In 1837, Stanton was elected prosecuting attorney of Harrison County and from 1842 to 1845 he served as reporter of decisions for the Supreme Court of Ohio in Columbus. In 1860, President James Buchanan appointed Stanton to serve as U.S. attorney general. During the Civil War, Stanton served as secretary of war. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Stanton to the U.S. Supreme Court, but he died of chronic asthma before taking office.