Edwards Pierrepont served as U.S. attorney general from 1875 to 1876 under President Ulysses S. Grant. During his long public career he also served as a judge, federal prosecutor and diplomat.

Pierrepont was born on March 4, 1817 in North Haven Connecticut. After earning his undergraduate and law degrees at Yale University, Pierrepont moved to Ohio in 1840 to practice law. However, he did find the region to his liking and joined a New York City law firm in 1845. He distinguished himself as an able trial attorney and in 1857 became a judge of the New York Supreme Court of the City of New York. Despite its prestigious title, this was a trial rather than an appellate court. Pierrepont only served three years on the bench before returning to his lucrative corporate law practice.

It was during the 1860s that Pierrepont became a powerful and trusted advisor to Abraham Lincoln and a leader...