John F. Potter

John Fox "Bowie Knife" Potter was an American lawyer, Radical Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1857 to 1863. During the 37th U.S. Congress, he served as chair of the House Committee on Public Lands and helped shepherd the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. In that same term, he was also chair of the House Select Committee on Loyalty of Federal Employees, which attempted to root out Confederate sympathizers from government; his activities in that role led to significant acrimony with Secretary of War Simon Cameron.