Chapter 91 Oregon Laws 2011

AN ACT

SB 809

Relating to Edward Dickinson Baker.

Whereas Edward Dickinson Baker was born on February 24, 1811, in London, England and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1816; and

Whereas Edward D. Baker, known to his friends as “Ned,” first resided with his parents in Philadelphia, then relocated with his family to Illinois where he practiced law and developed exceptional oratorical and presentation skills that served him well in his military and public life; and

Whereas Edward D. Baker became a lifelong friend and political ally of Abraham Lincoln, who named his son “Eddie” after Baker; and

Whereas Edward D. Baker, as a Representative from Illinois to the United States Congress (1845-1847), enthusiastically supported the acquisition of Oregon as a territory, and later as a state; and

Whereas Edward D. Baker served with distinction in the Black Hawk, Mexican and American Civil Wars as a leader of volunteers and a patriot in the cause of freedom and the Union; and

Whereas Edward D. Baker moved to the new state of California to build a law practice and a career of public service, and then accepted an invitation to move to the new state of Oregon to help establish government here; and

Whereas arriving in the winter of 1859, and working strategically across party lines, Edward D. Baker was elected one of the first United States Senators from Oregon in 1860, at the same time that his friend Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States; and

Whereas Edward D. Baker, a close personal friend and one-time political opponent, became an outspoken political supporter of Abraham Lincoln for more than 25 years, introducing Lincoln at his presidential inauguration in 1861; and

Whereas Edward D. Baker, a strong abolitionist and advocate for the Union while he was in the United States Senate, chose to take a commission as Colonel of Volunteers rather than the rank of General, which was due him for his service and valor in the military prior to becoming Senator, and joined the Army of the Potomac in the field to serve the cause of freedom and the Union; and

Whereas Colonel Edward D. Baker died in the Battle of Balls Bluff on October 21, 1861, while leading a charge to drive back Confederate skirmishers, and in so doing was the only sitting member of Congress to die in the cause of freedom during the Civil War; and

Whereas President Abraham Lincoln’s son Willie wrote a poem about Baker, published in the Washington, D.C. newspapers, with the first line that reads “There was no patriot like Baker” and Lincoln himself gave a “warm and glowing sketch of Baker’s eloquence, full of generous admiration, and showing how he loved his old friend”; and

Whereas Baker County, Oregon, and Baker City are named after this patriot who gave his full measure in the cause of freedom for all Americans and the preservation of our great Union; and

Whereas life-size statues of Edward D. Baker, commissioned in 1872, can be seen in the United States Capitol and the Capitol of the State of California; and

Whereas 2011 marks the bicentennial of Edward Dickinson Baker’s birth on February 24, 1811, and the sesquicentennial of his tragic death on October 21, 1861, in the Battle of Balls Bluff during the Civil War; now, therefore,

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. The Legislative Assembly designates February 24th of each year as Edward Dickinson Baker Day in Oregon to commemorate the life service and sacrifice of this hero of Oregon and the United States of America.

Approved by the Governor May 19, 2011

Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 19, 2011

Effective date January 1, 2012

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