Grant's first Cabinet was a conglomerate which stupefied the politicians. For Secretary of State he named Elihu B. Washburne, of Illinois. Washburne had represented the Galena District in Congress continuously and creditably for twelve years, and was just entering upon a new term. He was a fellow townsman of Grant when the war broke out and had recommended him to Governor Yates as a military helper, and from that time onward had been his stanch and unwavering supporter. When Grant fell into disfavor after the battle of Shiloh, and almost everybody in Washington was clamoring against him, Washburne fairly roared on the other side, and contended not only that he ought to be retained in his place, but that he ought to be promoted to Halleck's place in command of all the Western armies--and here he was right. His personal relations with the General had been so close and his services so conspicuous that there was a general expectation that he would have a place in the Cabinet; but nobody supposed that it would be the Department of State, for which he was wholly unfitted. Although a man of ability, tenacity, and long experience in public affairs, he was impulsive, headstrong, combative, and unbalanced. The Department of State was regarded then as the premier position, where equipoise was the chief requisite, and this quality Washburne lacked. Grant had chosen James F. Wilson, of Iowa, as Secretary of State and Wilson had accepted the appointment. He had been a leading member of the House and chairman of its Judiciary Committee, and had been consulted by Grant on the most important matters connected with his duties as Secretary of War _ad interim_, including his correspondence with Andrew Johnson after he had resigned that office. Wilson had declined a reëlection to Congress because he wished to retire from public life, and he accepted the appointment offered by Grant with reluctance and only at the urgent solicitation of the latter.