{{Short description|American politician, newspaper editor, and soldier (1824–1854)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Columbus Evans | office = 7th Mayor of Wilmington, Delaware | term_start = 1851 | term_end = 1852 | predecessor = Joshua Driver | successor = William Hemphill Jones | birth_name = Columbus Penn Evans | birth_date = {{birth date|1824|09|06}} | birth_place = Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1854|02|19|1824|09|06}} | death_place = West Chester, Pennsylvania | resting_place = Oaklands Cemetery | occupation = Journalist, soldier, politician | party = Whig | relatives = Henry S. Evans (brother) }}
'''Columbus Penn Evans''' (September 6, 1824 – February 19, 1854) was an American politician, newspaper editor, and soldier from Pennsylvania. He served as mayor of Wilmington, Delaware, in 1851–52.
== Life and career ==
Evans was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to Septimus and Catharine (Haupt) Evans. He was the younger brother of Henry S. Evans, a Pennsylvania state representative and the owner-publisher of ''The Village Record'' in West Chester. He attended West Chester Academy under superintendent Anthony Bolmar from May 1834 to May 1836.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1903-07-04 |title=More About Bolmar's School |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-local-news-more-about-bolmars-sch/145006558/ |access-date=2024-04-08 |work=Daily Local News |pages=3}}</ref> After serving an apprenticeship with his brother's newspaper, Evans moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1844 to work as editor of the ''Delaware Republican'' newspaper.<ref name=":0" />
During the Mexican–American War, Evans served as a first lieutenant with the 11th United States Infantry Regiment, which saw extensive combat in the Battle for Mexico City.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wilcox |first1=Cadmus M. |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000406953 |title=History of the Mexican War |last2=Wilcox |first2=Mary Rachel |publisher=Church News Publishing Company |year=1892 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=644 |language=en-US}}</ref> Evans commanded his company at the Battle of Chapultepec after Captain George W. Chaytor returned home on sick leave, and he distinguished himself in action at the Battle of Molino del Rey.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Lincoln |first=Anna T. |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001263151 |title=Wilmington, Delaware: Three Centuries Under Four Flags, 1609–1937 |publisher=Tuttle |year=1937 |location=Rutland, VT |pages=279–280 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=Charles K. |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000334742 |title=A dictionary of all officers, who have been commissioned, or have been appointed and served, in the army of the United States, since the inauguration of their first president in 1789, to the first January, 1853 |publisher=G. P. Putnam |year=1853 |location=New York |pages=167 |language=en-US}}</ref> On August 20, 1847, he received the brevet of captain "for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battles of Contreras and Cherubusco."<ref name=":0" />
After the war ended, Evans and his company returned home via New York in August 1848, whereupon he resumed his editorial duties in Wilmington. On February 20, 1849, the Delaware General Assembly appropriated one hundred dollars to present him with a suitably inscribed ceremonial sword along with a letter from Governor William Tharp.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomson |first=Wilmer W. |url=http://archive.org/details/cu31924005870112 |title=Chester County and Its People |publisher=Union History Company |year=1898 |location=Chicago |pages=274 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Elected mayor of Wilmington as a Whig in 1851, Evans did not seek reelection in 1852.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Futhey |first1=John Smith |url=http://archive.org/details/cu31924005813518 |title=History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches |last2=Cope |first2=Gilbert |publisher=L. H. Everts |year=1881 |location=Philadelphia |pages=328, 541 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Evans died of tuberculosis in West Chester on February 19, 1854, at the age of 29. He was interred with military honors at Oaklands Cemetery.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Columbus}} Category:1824 births Category:1854 deaths Category:19th-century American newspaper editors Category:19th-century Delaware politicians Category:American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Category:Burials at Oaklands Cemetery Category:Delaware Whigs Category:Editors of Delaware newspapers Category:Mayors of Wilmington, Delaware Category:People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Category:People from West Chester, Pennsylvania Category:People from Wilmington, Delaware Category:Politicians from West Chester, Pennsylvania