Alexander Cummings

Who was Alexander Cummings?

Alexander Cummings was the third Governor of the Territory of Colorado from 1865–1867, serving as a member of the Republican Party.

Alexander Cummings was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on November 11, 1810. Cummings was a newspaperman, who founded the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and the New York World.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Cummings used his political influence to be appointed as a special purchasing agent for the War Department. Unfortunately, Cummings wasted much of his $2,000,000 budget, and was discharged for ineptitude and profiteering. After leaving the War Department, Cummings recruited the Nineteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. In February 1864, Cummings was made Superintendent of Colored Troops for the Department of Arkansas, and was brevetted the rank of Brigadier General by President Johnson. U.S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Cummings the new Governor of the Territory of Colorado on October 17, 1865 to replace John Evans who resigned following the Sand Creek Massacre. Cummings served as Territorial Governor until April 27, 1867. Cummings died in Ottawa, Canada, in June 1879.