Who is this?

[AussieMick]

Good first guess, Roger. There are similarities and not just in appearance.

This person was a Republican and literally fought in Civil War but not for the North.

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The manner of his death is disputed. I had never heard of him until today. ... of course other members may know of him.

If I say where he died .... giving it away, perhaps. Lets say the location has literary links to John Donne and "Winston Smith".

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He set a precedent. .... but nobody repeated it until decades later.