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Cassius Clay (1810–1903)

Cassius Marcellus Clay
Cassius Marcellus Clay.jpg
United States Ambassador to Russia
In office
May 7, 1863 – October 1, 1869
President Abraham Lincoln (1863–1865)
Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)
Ulysses S. Grant (1869)
Preceded by Simon Cameron
Succeeded by Andrew G. Curtin
In office
July 14, 1861 – June 25, 1862
President Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by John Appleton
Succeeded by Simon Cameron
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
1835–1841
Personal details
Born (1810-10-19)October 19, 1810
Madison County, Kentucky, U.S.
Died July 22, 1903(1903-07-22) (aged 92)
Madison County, Kentucky, U.S.
Political party Republican (1854–70; 84–1903)
Liberal Republican (1870–72)
Democratic (1872–84)
Spouse(s) Mary Jane Warfield (1833–1878, divorced)
Dora Richardson (1894–1897, divorced)
Children Elisha Warfield Clay
Green Clay
Mary Barr Clay
Sally Clay
Laura Clay
Brutus J. Clay II
Anne Clay
Henry Launey Clay (adopted)
Alma mater Transylvania University
Yale College
Occupation Lawyer, politician, newspaper publisher, soldier, farmer
Known for Southern abolitionist and U.S. ambassador to Russia
Military service
Service/branch 1st Kentucky Cavalry
Years of service 1846–1847
1861–1863
Rank Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg Captain
Union Army major general rank insignia.svg Major general
Battles/wars Mexican-American War
American Civil War

Cassius Marcellus Clay /ˈkæʃəs ˌmɑːrˈsɛləs/ (October 19, 1810 – July 22, 1903), nicknamed the "Lion of White Hall", was a Kentucky planter and politician who worked for the abolition of slavery. He was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as the United States minister to Russia during the American Civil War, and is credited with gaining Russian support for the Union.

Cassius Marcellus Clay was born to Green Clay, one of the wealthiest planters and slaveholders in Kentucky, who became a prominent politician, and his wife Sally Lewis. He was one of six children who survived to adulthood, of seven born.

Clay was a member of a large and influential political family. His older brother Brutus J. Clay became a politician at the state and federal levels. They were cousins of both Kentucky politician Henry Clay and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay. Cassius' sister Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887) married John Speed Smith, who also became a state and US politician. Their son, Green Clay Smith, became a state politician and was elected to Congress.


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