He did not complete college, and instead engaged in several profitable mercantile pursuits, acting for a time as a forwarder of fresh produce on the lakes and canals of the region. He later engaged in the manufacturing of
flour in
Oswego, New York.
New York state political involvement He was
Mayor of Oswego, New York in 1849 and 1850. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly (Oswego Co., 1st D.) in
1853,
1854,
1855,
1857,
1859,
1860,
1861,
1866,
1867,
1870,
1871, and
1884. He was
speaker in 1855, 1857, 1859, 1860 and 1861; and was the chief lieutenant to
Thurlow Weed. In
1861, Littlejohn was influential in the backroom politics to select
Ira Harris over
Horace Greeley as the
Republican Party's nominee to run for the
U.S. Senate to succeed
William H. Seward, who had not run for re-election, expecting to join President
Abraham Lincoln's cabinet. In September, Littlejohn unsuccessfully sued Greeley and the
New-York Tribune for
libel.
Union Army support When the
Civil War began in 1861, Littlejohn worked actively to recruit troops in the Oswego area. Littlejohn used his political connections in July 1862 to secure a commission as
Colonel of the
110th New York Infantry Regiment, a regiment he helped raise through his personal efforts. He trained his troops at Camp Patterson near
Baltimore, where it was stationed until November, when it was ordered to be relocated to
federal-occupied
New Orleans.
U.S. Congress Returning to politics, he successfully campaigned for the
U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected as a
Republican to the
38th United States Congress. He resigned from the
Union Army on February 3, 1863, and served in
Congress from March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1865. During that term, he was Chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. Littlejohn was not a candidate for renomination in 1864. On February 26, 1867,
President Andrew Johnson nominated Littlejohn for appointment to the grade of
brevet brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on March 2, 1867. In
1870, the Republican state convention nominated Littlejohn for
Lieutenant Governor of New York on the ticket with
Stewart L. Woodford, but he declined to run. In 1872, fed up with what he perceived to be the corruption of the
Grant administration, Littlejohn joined the
Liberal Republican Party and supported the candidacy of
Horace Greeley for president in 1872, after resolving his previous legal issues with Greeley. He then became a
Democrat, and was a delegate to several Democratic state conventions and was a political ally of
New York governor and
1876 presidential candidate
Samuel J. Tilden.
New York and Oswego Midland Railroad He then moved to
Buffalo, New York, but returned to Oswego in 1867. Littlejohn wanted to afford Oswego the growth possible by a rail connection to a major port. In 1868, he organized and served as president of the
New York and Oswego Midland Railroad (NY&OM), a route traversing much of
New York state on its way to
New York City. He also established a steamboat service connecting
Long Island to his new railroad. ==Death==