Henry L. Cake

Henry Lutz Cake was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Early life and education

Henry L. Cake was born near Northumberland, Pennsylvania. He attended the common and private schools. He learned the art of printing, and published the Pottsville Mining Record until the American Civil War in April 1861.

Cake entered the Union Army on April 17, 1861, as a second lieutenant, and was elected colonel of the 25th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 1861. He reorganized the regiment after three months’ service. He commanded the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment from September 23, 1861, to March 12, 1863, when he resigned and settled in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.
Following his resignation from the military, Cake engaged in the mining and shipping of anthracite coal.

Cake was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Accounts during the Forty-first Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1870.

Following his service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Cake resumed his involvement in the mining and shipping of coal.