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Nebraska Authors

Victor Vifquain

AKA: Jean-Baptiste Victor Devuyst

Born 1836-05-20 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (BELGIUM)

Died 1907-01-04
Lincoln, NE (USA)

Buried
Lincoln, NE (USA)
Calvary Cemetery

Born in Belgium, Vifquain attended the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, then served in the Belgian Army for one year before moving to the United States in 1857 and settling in Saline County, Nebraska. Vifquain fought in the Civil War and was appointed commander of the Ninety-Seventh Illinois which fought at the Battle of Fort Blakely; he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in that fight. When Vifquain returned to Nebraska, he ran for a seat in Congress but did not win. He attended the Nebraska Constitutional Convention and was appointed U.S. Consul to Columbia by President Grover Cleveland. Vifquain founded the Daily State Democrat in 1879. He became the adjutant general of Nebraska, then served in the Spanish-American War as commander of the 3rd Nebraska Infantry Regiment following the resignation of Colonel William Jennings Bryan. Vifquain wrote a book about his life called The 1862 Plot to Kidnap Jefferson Davis. Vifquain died at home in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1904.

Places Lived

BELGIUM
Saline County, NE
Lincoln, NE

Author Of

  • Biography
  • Nonfiction

Keywords

Memoir; United States Civil War; Jefferson Davis

Education

Royal Military Academy, Brussels, BELGIUM
United States Consulate

Occupation

Military Commander
Newspaper owner
U.S. Consul to Columbia
Adjutant General
Writer

Places Worked

Belgian Army, BELGIUM
United States Military
Daily State Democrat

Honors

Congressional Medal of Honor - United States Civil War
Inducted into the Order of the Double Dragon by the Emperor of China

Associations

3rd Nebraska Infantry Regiment

Bibliography

The 1862 Plot to Kidnap Jefferson Davis. 1998.

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Victor Vifquain
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(e.g. Author is buried in Fremont, not in David City / Also wrote for the Daily Nebraskan during her time as a student)