counter to Imperial Mexican forces along the Rio Grande. West was mustered out of volunteer service as a brevetted major general in San Antonio on January 4, 1866. Following the Civil War, West returned to New Orleans and was deputy United States marshal and auditor for customs from 1867 to 1871. West was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1877; he was not a candidate for reelection. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Railroads (Forty-fourth Congress). He was a member of the board of commissioners of the District of Columbia from 1882 to 1885, serving as president of the board – the equivalent of mayor – from 1882 to 1883. He retired from public life in 1885 and died in Washington, D.C., in 1898; interment was in Arlington National Cemetery. West Education Campus in Washington, D.C., is currently named in his honor. The school is currently (2021) undergoing modernization, which may include a name change. See also List of American Civil War generals (Union) References The California State Military Museum; Californians and the Military; Major General Joseph Rodman West, photo of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph R. West, circa 1861. Retrieved on 2008-02-10 External links Joseph Rodman West photo as Brigadier General West Education Campus 1822 births 1898 deaths Politicians from New Orleans Republican Party United States senators from Louisiana Washington, D.C., Republicans Mayors of Washington, D.C. Members of the Board of Commissioners for the District of Columbia United States Marshals 19th-century American politicians University of Pennsylvania alumni American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Union Army generals People of California in the American Civil War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery