Joseph Bloomfield Leake | |
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Born |
Deerfield, New Jersey |
April 1, 1828
Died | June 1, 1918 Chicago, Illinois |
(aged 90)
Place of burial | Oakdale Memorial Gardens Davenport, Iowa |
Allegiance |
![]() Union |
Service/branch |
![]() Union Army |
Years of service | 1861–1865 |
Rank |
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Unit | 20th Iowa Infantry Regiment |
Battles/wars | |
Other work | U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois |
Joseph Bloomfield Leake (April 1, 1828 – June 1, 1918) was an attorney and an Iowa State Senator who entered the Union Army during the American Civil War. He became a Brevet Brigadier General before the war was over. After the war he became the U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.
Leake was born in Deerfield, New Jersey, and later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from Miami University in 1846 and then studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1850 and set up a practice in Davenport, Iowa. Leake was elected to the Iowa Senate and served during the war session of 1861.
Leake resigned his seat in the state senate and became a captain of Company G of the 20th Iowa Infantry. He was commissioned a Lieutenant Colonel when the regiment was organized at Camp Kirkwood in Clinton, Iowa. He led the regiment at Prairie Grove, Vicksburg, Yazoo City, and Port Hudson. On September 29, 1863 in an engagement called the Battle of Stirling's Plantation near Morganza, Louisiana Leake was injured and captured by the Confederates. He was held prisoner at Camp Ford near Tyler, Texas. He was the highest ranking Union officer in the camp and he looked after the needs of the other Union POW’s.