Byron M. CUTCHEON, Congress, MI (1836-1908)

CUTCHEON Byron M. , a Representative from Michigan; born in Pembroke, Merrimack County, N.H., May 11, 1836; attended the common schools and Pembroke Academy; taught school in Pembroke for several years; moved to Ypsilanti, Mich., in 1855; principal of Birmingham Academy, Oakland County, in 1857; attended Ypsilanti Seminary, and was graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1861; professor of ancient languages in the Ypsilanti High School 1861 and 1862; enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and served in the Twentieth Regiment, Michigan Infantry, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel; commissioned colonel of the Twenty-seventh Regiment, Michigan Infantry November 12, 1864; commanded the Second Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Army Corps, from October 16, 1864, until his resignation on March 6, 1865; was graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1866; was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Ionia, Mich.; moved to Manistee, Mich., in 1867; member of the board of control of railroads of Michigan 1867-1883; city attorney of Manistee, Mich., 1870-1873; prosecuting attorney of Manistee County, Mich., in 1873 and 1874; regent of Michigan University 1875-1881; postmaster of Manistee, Mich., 1877-1883; elected as a Republican to the Forty-eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1891); chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Fifty-first Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress; awarded a Medal of Honor by Congress June 29, 1891, ``for distinguished gallantry at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Ky., May 10, 1863''; appointed civilian member of the Board of Ordnance and Fortifications by President Harrison in July 1891 and served until March 25, 1895; editorial writer for the Detroit Daily Tribune and Detroit Journal 1895-1897; resumed the practice of law in Grand Rapids, Mich.; died in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Mich., April 12, 1908; interment in Highland Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present