Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. Polk appointed Lane as the first Governor of Oregon Territory. When Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859, Lane was elected one of Oregon's first two U.S. Senators. In the 1860 United States presidential election, Lane was nominated for vice president of the pro-slavery Southern wing of the Democratic Party, as John C. Breckinridge's running mate. Lane's pro-slavery views and sympathy for the Confederate States of America in the Civil War effectively ended his political career in Oregon. One of his sons was later elected U.S. Representative, and a grandson U.S. Senator, making Lane the patriarch of one of the state's most prominent political families. Early life Joseph Lane was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on December 14, 1801, to a family of English extraction with roots in colonial Virginia. His father, John Lane, was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. The Lane family moved to Kentucky from North Carolina when Joseph was a young child. Lane left home at the age of 15, and was married four years later. He moved to Evansville, Indiana, in 1820. Lane and his wife, Polly Hart Lane, had 10 children. Lane was largely self-educated, learning about the world from books he read at night. During the daytime, he worked and saved his money, investing it shortly in the purchase of a flatboat, with which he transported freight up and down the Ohio River. Financial success followed. Lane was an eloquent public speaker, a talent that helped him to win election to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1822 at the age of just 21. He served in that body from 1822 to 1823, from 1830 to 1833, and from 1838 to 1839. He then moved to the Indiana State Senate, where he served from 1839 to 1840, and from 1844 to 1846. Widely esteemed by his peers, Lane was likewise elected as a captain of his local militia while still a young man. Mexican-American War The Mexican–American War broke out in 1846. Lane resigned his State Senate seat, and enlisted in a company of Indiana volunteers. His company was assigned to the 2nd Indiana Volunteer Regiment, and Lane was elected colonel in June