J. Rodman West
| Joseph R. West | |
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United States Senator from Louisiana |
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In office March 4, 1871 – March 4, 1877 |
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| Preceded by | John S. Harris |
| Succeeded by | William P. Kellogg |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Joseph Rodman West September 19, 1822 New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Died | October 31, 1898 (aged 76) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jeanne J. West |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1847 - 1848, 1861 - 1866 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General Brevet Major General
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| Battles/wars |
Mexican-American War American Civil War |
Joseph Rodman West (September 19, 1822 – October 31, 1898) was a United States Senator from Louisiana, a union general in the United States Army during and after the American Civil War and the Chief Executive of the District of Columbia. As a commander of militia, he gave the order to torture and murder Apache chief Mangas Coloradas who had come to meet with him under a flag of truce to discuss terms of peace. He also allowed the decapitation and desecration of the body.
Born in New Orleans, he moved with his parents to Philadelphia in 1824 and was educated in private schools. He attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1836 to 1837 and moved to New Orleans in 1841; he was a captain attached to Maryland and District of Columbia Volunteers in the Mexican-American War, 1847–1848. He moved to California in 1849 where he engaged in newspaper work in San Francisco, and was proprietor of the San Francisco Price Current.
During the Civil War he entered the Union Army as lieutenant of the First Regiment, California Volunteer Infantry, in 1861; he was promoted to the rank of colonel and brigadier general. He spent much of his service in the New Mexico Territory as well as Arizona Territory.
In January 1863, Mangas Coloradas decided to personally meet with U.S. military leaders at Fort McLane, near present-day Hurley in southwestern New Mexico. Mangas arrived under a white flag of truce to meet with Brigadier General West. Armed soldiers took him into custody and West is reported to have given an execution order to the sentries. That night Mangas was tortured with heated bayonets, then shot and killed as he was "trying to escape."
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Wikipedia