Edward Bates was a U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer and statesman. He served as United States Attorney General

United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...

 under Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 from 1861 to 1864. He was the younger brother of Frederick Bates

Frederick Bates

Frederick Bates , older brother of Edward Bates and James Woodson Bates, was an American attorney and politician. He was elected in 1824 as the second governor of Missouri and died in office in 1825...

, second governor of Missouri, and James Woodson Bates

James Woodson Bates

James Woodson Bates was an American lawyer and statesman from Sebastian County, Arkansas. He represented the Arkansas Territory as a delegate to the U.S. Congress. He served in 1828 as a judge of the superior court of the territory...

, who was an attorney and politician in Arkansas.
Born in Goochland County, Virginia

Goochland County, Virginia

Goochland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 21,717. Its county seat is Goochland. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area ....

 on his family's Belmont

Belmont

-Sport:* Belmont Stakes, a horse race* Belmont Bombers, a junior ice hockey team in Belmont, Ontario* Belmont Shore RFC, a rugby union team in Long Beach, California-Automobiles:* Belmont , an American electric car sold in 1916...

 plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

, Bates was tutored at home as a boy. When older, he attended Charlotte Hall Military Academy

Charlotte Hall Military Academy

Charlotte Hall Military Academy, located at Charlotte Hall, Maryland, was established as Charlotte Hall School in 1774 by Queen Charlotte to provide for the liberal and pious education of youth to better fit them for the discharge of their duties for the United States...

 in Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.
Edward Bates served in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 before moving to St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, Missouri Territory

Missouri Territory

The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812 until August 10, 1821, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri.-History:...

 in 1814 with his older brother James, who started working as an attorney.