Leonard Wright Colby

Leonard Wright Colby (August 5, 1846 – November 18, 1924) was an American politician and veteran of the American Indian Wars, who served as United States Assistant Attorney General under Benjamin Harrison. As a teenager, he fought in the American Civil War. During his career, he commanded both Nebraska and U.S. troops. He served as commander of the Nebraska National Guard.

Family, education, and early military activities Colby was born in Cherry Valley Township, Ohio in 1846. The fifth of seven children, his parents were Rowel and Abigail (Livingston) Colby. His parents were from Grafton County, New Hampshire. When he was about four years old his parents removed to a farm five miles from Freeport, Illinois.

As a teenager, he enlisted in the 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and served the Union Army in the American Civil War. Wounded at the Battle of Fort Blakeley in 1865, in almost the last battle of the Civil War, he was recommended for promotion and a commission for gallant and meritorious services in the charge at Fort Blakeley and the siege of Mobile, Alabama, where he captured a Confederate flag; he was discharged that year. After his discharge from the Union army, in 1865, he with about fifty others from his regiment enlisted with the forces of Maximilian, serving with the rank of captain for several months, until his resignation, in December, 1865. A third child, Ada Mary, documented in Bewick family papers, was also adopted; she died when she was less than a year old. Colby and Clara divorced March 30, 1906. There were reports by historians that Colby abused Marguerite. On June 4, 1906, he married Marie ("Maud") H. Moller, his longtime mistress, after she had inherited US$250,000; they had one son, Paul Livingston Colby.

Colby had been a member of the Society of Foreign Wars, Loyal Legion, Grand Army of the Republic, Spanish-American War Veterans, the Blue Lodge and Royal Arch Masons, the Red Men, Knights of Pythias, Nebraska State Historical Society, Nebraska Pioneers, the Nebraska and American Bar Associations, the Republican Club, and the Christian church at Beatrice. He died in 1924, at Leavenworth, Kansas.