lawyer, politician, Congressman, b. Bridgeport, Vt. He moved to New York with his family, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. In 1848 he moved to Wisconsin, settling in Fond du Lac where he established a law practice. A Democrat, he was state senator (1854-1855). In 1862 he was elected to Congress and was successively re-elected until 1874, when he was defeated for renomination partly because of his support of the "Salary Grab bill" of 1873. During his tenure in Congress (Mar. 1863-Mar. 1875), Eldredge was at first known as a "War" Democrat, but opposed the draft, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Thirteenth Amendment. After the assassination of President Lincoln and the defeat of the Confederacy, he advocated a moderate policy toward the South and vigorously opposed the Reconstruction policies of the Radical Republicans. As a member of the judiciary committee, Eldredge was one of the two members who reported against the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. After leaving Congress, he returned to private law practice in Fond du Lac. Biog. Dir. Amer. Cong. (1928); J. R. Berry-man, ed., Bench and Bar of Wis. (2 vols., Chicago, 1898); C. A. Eldredge Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Charles Augustus Eldredge Papers for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]