Archibald Johnson Sampson (June 21, 1839 – December 24, 1921) was an American diplomat, lawyer and politician.

Sampson played an important role in the early legal development of the State of Colorado and served as a U.S.

[3] He graduated from Mount Union College on his 22nd birthday in 1861, just two months after the American Civil War had broken out.

He was relieved from the service due to an injury in 1862 and served one year as superintendent of schools in Uhrichsville, Ohio.

Sampson, a white officer, served with the 27th United States Colored Infantry Regiment, whose enlisted man were African American volunteers.

Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who was in command of all Union forces, called the battle "the saddest affair I have witnessed in this war.

He defended the reputation of the African-American men serving under his command, which he called "heroes", while also describing the carnage that was caused by the battle.

Our dead number about 300, wounded and prisoner I know not how many but both are heavy.During the war, Sampson studied law while he served at the front lines.

Sampson wanted to continue his service for the Union Army and asked Mayor General Silas Casey in a letter for an appointment to his staff in Washington, DC.

A. J. Sampson was a fixture of the social life in Sedalia and hosted parties that found mention in the local newspaper.

[10] On March 23, 1873, President Ulysses S. Grant nominated Archibald J. Sampson of Missouri to be United States Consul to Palestine in Jerusalem.

In Canon City, Sampson continued to practice law and was involved in local Republican politics.

[4][14]Serving as Colorado's first Attorney General, Sampson discovered many inconsistencies in the young state's new laws.

In his biennial report of 1878, he wrote: "I have found the laws inadequate for the purposes intended, in many instances, or sections of one act in conflict with those of another."

[15] A. J. Sampson was nominated to the office of United States Consul in Paso del Norte (now Ciudad Juarez) by President Benjamin Harrison on July 22, 1889, during a recess of the U.S. Senate.

[18] During a visit to Fort Worth, Texas in September 1890, Sampson describing his relationship with his Mexican hosts as very positive.

[22] On September 20, 1897, President William McKinley appointed A. J. Sampson as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Ecuador.

[24] In the fall of 1921, A. J. Sampson contracted pneumonia on a journey from his summer home near Austinburg, Ohio to Phoenix.