Henry H. Wells
| Henry H. Wells | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Provisional Governor of Virginia | |
|
In office 1868–1869 |
|
| Lieutenant | Leopold Copeland Parker Cowper |
| Preceded by |
Francis Harrison Pierpont as Unionist Governor |
| Succeeded by |
Gilbert Carlton Walker as Governor |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Henry Horatio Wells September 17, 1823 Rochester, New York |
| Died | February 12, 1900 (aged 76) Palmyra, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army Military Police |
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Rank |
 Colonel (USV)
|
| Unit | 26th Michigan Infantry |
| Commands | 26th Michigan Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Henry Horatio Wells (September 17, 1823 – February 12, 1900), a Michigan lawyer and Union Army officer in the American Civil War, succeeded Francis Harrison Pierpont as the appointed provisional governor of Virginia from 1868 to 1869 during Reconstruction. A Radical Republican labelled a carpetbagger, Wells was defeated for election in 1869 by Gilbert C. Walker, who also became his appointed successor. Wells then served as U.S. Attorney for first Virginia and later for the District of Columbia.
Henry Wells was born in Rochester, New York and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Romeo Academy, then read law with Theodore Romeyn.
In 1848 Wells married Millicent Hunt of Detroit, with whom he had a son and a daughter before she died after giving birth to that short-lived daughter in 1852. In 1854, Wells remarried, to Phoebe Higby, and they had a daughter.
Wells was admitted to the Michigan bar circa 1846. In his private legal practice, Wells defended men accused of assisting runaway slaves.
Wells joined the new Republican Party and ran for office. Voters later elected Wells to the Michigan House of Representatives. He served one term (1854–1856) and advocated temperance, free public schools, abolition of slavery and extending civil and political rights to African Americans.
During the American Civil War, Wells received a commission as major in the 26th Michigan Infantry, and was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel. His unit was assigned to Alexandria, Virginia to occupy that city in the controlled part of the Union Army of Virginia. As provost marshal since February 1863 (and full colonel as of March 30, 1864), Wells led military police in Alexandria, and soon supervised law enforcement in all Union-controlled territory south of the Potomac River.
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