Sen. Henry Smith Lane

Photograph of Henry S. Lane by Matthew Brady Studio, c. 1860-1870. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Frederick Hill Meserve Collection

Henry Smith Lane played a pivotal role in advancing freedom and civic leadership through a period of profound transformation. Born near Sharpsburg, Kentucky in 1811 to James Hardage and Mary Higgins Lane, Henry Smith Lane emerged as a significant figure in American public life, contributing to the nation’s civic development during a time of profound change. In 1834, Lane left the State of Kentucky, and relocated to Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he established a reputation as an attorney and prominent civic leader. There, he began his political career in the Indiana State House of Representatives (1837-1838), later serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (1840-1843) and briefly as Governor of Indiana (1861). Lane’s most significant contributions, however, came during his tenure in the United States Senate (1861 to 1867), where he championed the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the Union during the Civil War. During the post-war Reconstruction Era (1865-1877), Lane briefly endured the fight to realign the United States with its founding values, before retiring to the Historic Lane Place in 1867, where he lived until his death in 1881. Lane left a legacy of public service and upholding national unity and democratic principles during one of the most turbulent periods of American History.

Primary Sources:
- Lane, Henry S. “Reconstruction and Amendments of the Constitution. Speech of Hon. Henry S. Lane, of Indiana, in the Senate of the United States, Thursday, February 8, 1866.” Washington, D.C.: H. Polkinhorn & Son, Printers, 1866 (Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society)

“Speech of Hon. H.S. Lane.” Grand Lincoln and Johnson Ratification Meeting, At Washington City, D.C., June 15, 1864. The National Union League of America, in the Fields! Speeches of Hon. J.M. Edmunds, Hon. Wm. D. Kelley, Hon. Henry S. Lane, Hon. J.W. Patterson, Hon. Jacob M. Howard, Hon. C.B. Denio, Hon. A.W. Randall, and Hon. G. Adams. Washington, D.C.: Union League of America, June 15, 1864. (Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society).

Secondary Sources:
- Gugin, Linda C., and James E. St. Clair. “Henry S. Lane.” The Governors of Indiana. Indianapolis, IN.: The Indiana Historical Society Press, 2006. (Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society Reference Library)

Hall, Michael. The Road to Washington: Henry S. Lane, the Rise of an Indiana Politician, 1842-1860. Crawfordsville, IN.: Montgomery County Historical Society Press, 1990. (Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society Reference Library)

Thornbrough, Emma Lou. The History of Indiana: Indiana in the Civil War Era, 1850-1880, Vol. III. Indianapolis, IN.: Indiana Historical Society, 1992. (Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society Reference Library)

Simins, Jill Weiss. “Henry S. Lane: Architect of Indiana’s Republican Party.” Untold Indiana: Indiana Historical Bureau. June 17, 2017. https://blog.history.in.gov/henry-s-lane-architect-of-indianas-republican-party/.