John H. Knight

John Henry Knight (February 3, 1836 – August 22, 1903) was an American military officer, lawyer, and politician. He was a Union Army officer through the American Civil War. After the war, he was the first Mayor of Ashland, Wisconsin, and was one of the leading developers of the area.

Early life Knight was born on February 3, 1836, in Kent County, Delaware. He attended Albany Law School, where he studied alongside several other prominent lawyers of his era, including Rufus W. Peckham, Redfield Proctor, and William Freeman Vilas. Knight graduated in 1859 and was admitted to the bar in 1860. He started a law partnership in Dover, Delaware, with George P. Fisher, who had just served as Attorney General of Delaware, but his career was interrupted by the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Military service At the start of the war, Knight was one of the first young men in Dover to respond to President Abraham Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers for three months service. He organized a company of volunteers in Dover and southeastern Pennsylvania, and became first lieutenant of the company. This company became Company H of the 1st Delaware Infantry Regiment. The regiment was assigned to guard duty in Baltimore, but Knight was part of a detachment which joined the federal forces participating in the First Battle of Bull Run. When his three month term expired, he was commissioned a captain and appointed assistant adjutant general of volunteers by President Lincoln.