Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General, 17th Illinois Governor, US Congressman. A native of New York, he studied law, and was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association in 1851. When the Civil War began, he offered his services to preserve the Union, and was mustered in as Captain of Company F, 8th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry on September 17, 1861. He next day he was promoted to Major of the regiment, a commission he would hold over the next few years as he helped mold the unit into one of the most disciplined and hard fighting cavalry regiments in the entire Union Army. He would go on to lead his men during the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and many smaller clashes and skirmishes that marked the Army of the Potomac's cavalry combat. On November 3, 1863 he resigned as Major of the 8th Illinois, and returned to the state to recruit what would become the 17th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. When the organization of the unit was complete, he was commissioned as it's Colonel and commander on January 28, 1864. He led the new regiment through the end of the conflict, and was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers on March 7, 1865 for his services. He was not mustered out of service until February 6, 1866, spending a majority of his remaining service on Court Martial duty. When he returned to Illinois in 1866 he was elected as Sheriff of Cook County, and was elected to the state senate a few years later. He was elected as a Republican to represent Illinois as an At-Large delegate to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1871 until his resignation on January 4, 1873, which he did to assume the office of Lieutenant Governor. When newly elected Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby resigned on January 23, 1873, it was part of a deal designed to see John L. Beveridge assume the governorship, and then to see Oglesby be appointed as United States Senator. John Beverage would go on to serve as Governor of Illinois from 1873 to 1877. After his political career in Illinois ended, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he died in 1910. He was one of the founders of the Hollywood, California, Public Library and in his honor a live oak tree was planted on the grounds and named the Beveridge Oak.