William Alexander Harris (Kansas)
| William Alexander Harris | |
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United States Senator from Kansas |
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In office March 4, 1897 – March 4, 1903 |
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| Preceded by | William A. Peffer |
| Succeeded by | Chester I. Long |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas's At-large district |
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In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 |
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| Preceded by | Lewis Hanback |
| Succeeded by | Richard W. Blue |
| Member of the Kansas Senate | |
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In office 1895–1896 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 29, 1841 Luray, Virginia |
| Died | December 20, 1909 (aged 68) Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Populist |
William Alexander Harris (October 29, 1841 – December 20, 1909) was a United States Representative and Senator from Kansas.
A son of U.S. Congressman William Alexander Harris (1805–1864), William Alexander Harris, Jr. was born either in Loudoun County, Virginia or Luray, Virginia, while his father was serving in Congress. Harris attended the common schools and later attended and graduated from Columbian College (later George Washington University), Washington, D.C., in 1859. A year later, he matriculated as part of the third or sophomore class at the Virginia Military Institute on 16 January 1860. Official records reveal that he matriculated from Page County, though he actually had done so from Pike County, Missouri. In a class composed of future notables such as future commanding officer of the Stuart Horse Artillery, Roger Preston Chew, Harris fared well in class standing, graduating early in December, 1861 as 7 of 35.
After a brief stint as drillmaster with an artillery company formed in Page County, Harris was assigned to duty with Col. William N. Pendleton and, in the same month (November 1861) transferred as assistant adjutant general on the staff of General Cadmus Wilcox. Promoted to captain in January 1862, Harris resigned from Wilcox’s staff in July 1862 and was assigned as a lieutenant and acting ordnance officer in Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill’s division. Promoted to the temporary rank of captain in the spring of 1863, Harris was yet reassigned and named Chief of Ordnance of Gen. Robert E. Rodes’ division. Following the loss at Gettysburg, Harris deserted from the army feeling that further effort was futile. However, some records reveal that he may have had other reasons for leaving the army in that he was denied a transfer to Major Harry W. Gilmor’s cavalry battalion.
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