Baker returned to Louisiana to practice law at the Opelousas, Louisiana, office of John Brownson during 1822–1829 and 1832–1838.
From 1826 to 1829, Baker was a Colonel in the Louisiana State Militia. He also worked on Engineering projects in Plaquemines Parish until 1829, when he was appointed Judge in St. Mary Parish; a position he held until 1839.
In 1833, he was Assistant State Engineer for the State of Louisiana until 1838. He was appointed Director of Public Works for the State of Louisiana 1840–1845.
He was made Captain of Cavalry, Louisiana State Militia 1846 until 1851 and in 1853, he was appointed to the Board of Visitors United States Military Academy, serving until 1861. Throughout this time, Baker owned three plantations: Black Bayou in Terrebonne Parish, Grand River in St. Martin Parish, and Fairfax Plantation in St. Mary Parish. He also was enthusiastic investor in steamboat properties.[3]
Civil War and Governorship
With secession and the Civil War, Colonel Baker retired to Franklin, Louisiana, in 1861. As a Conservative Democrat who opposed secession, he chose to cooperate with the Union Army of Occupation.[4] On January 8, 1868, Baker took the Oath of Loyalty to the Union. He was Appointed Military Governor by General Winfield Scott Hancock upon the resignation of Benjamin Flanders. As Governor, Baker supported the lenient reconstruction plan of President Andrew Johnson. His administration had little influence on the course of the Louisiana government, as its orders were liable to be countermanded by the military due to the reconstruction acts. Baker removed 9 New Orleans City Councilmen which resulted in President Ulysses S. Grant's reversal of this order. For this, Governor Baker resigned and in a special election Republican Henry C. Warmoth was elected Governor.[5]
Personal life
In 1825, Baker married Fanny Assheton Stelle in Opelousas. Before her death on August 17, 1831, they were the parents of three children, including:
He married a second time to Catherine Patton from Fairfax, Virginia in 1832. They had two children.
Baker died in Lyme, Connecticut, on April 16, 1885, at "Cricket Lawn" the home of his daughter Margaret Van Bergen.[1] He was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
^Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.
