promoted--he remained at the rank of brigadier general despite commanding a division, which was supposed to be led by a major general, nor did he get permanent command of a corps. Horses Throughout much of the war, Williams had two horses – Yorkshire and Plug Ugly. Because Yorkshire was more showy, Williams often preferred the larger Plug Ugly for more grueling duty. During the Battle of Chancellorsville, a Confederate shell landed in the thick mud underneath Plug Ugly. The subsequent explosion sent both horse and rider into the air. Remarkably, Williams was uninjured, and the horse escaped with a few minor injuries. Plug Ugly eventually became too worn for further use, and in 1864, Williams sold him for $50. Williams learned that the horse died not long after the sale. Postbellum After the war, Williams served as a military administrator in southern Arkansas until he left the service on January 15, 1866. He returned to Michigan, but faced financial difficulties that forced him to take a post as the U.S. Minister at San Salvador, a position in which he served until 1869. He ran for governor of Michigan in 1870, but was not elected. Williams was elected as a Democrat to the 45th United States Congress from Michigan's 1st congressional district, serving from March 4, 1875, to December 21, 1878. For part of his time in congress he served as chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia. Williams suffered a stroke on December 21, 1878, and died in the U.S. Capitol Building. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit. Legacy Williams was a general who never received much public recognition. Despite fighting in important commands, he remained a brigadier general throughout most of the war. There were three reasons likely for the situation: first, he was not a West Point graduate, and the "old boys network" was as effective in the 19th century as it is today; second, during the formative months of the Army of the Potomac, Williams was stationed in the Shenandoah Valley, which denied him familiarity to the high command when reputations were being established; third, Williams was never comfortable mastering the common practice of promoting himself to the public with the help of friendly newspaper correspondents. Williams did, however, communicate well with his family, and the letters he wrote throughout the war were saved and published posthumously in 1959 as the well-regarded book,