As minister — head of the U.S. diplomatic mission — to France, Washburne was the only diplomat from a major power to stay in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and played a major role in providing both diplomatic and humanitarian support during the siege of Paris and, after the war, the Paris Commune.
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Washburne and his brothers had hidden the whereabouts of President-elect Lincoln by personally cutting telegraph wires in key locations.
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Washburne was known for diplomatic integrity and for his humanitarian support of Americans and Germans in France during the Franco-Prussian War.
Elihu Yale | Elihu Vedder | Elihu Root | Elihu Thomson | Elihu Burritt | Elihu Harris | Richard Elihu Sloan | Ralph Elihu Becker | Hempstead Washburne | Elihu Lauterpacht | Elihu Katz | Elihu B. Washburne |
Burchard was elected as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Elihu B. Washburne.