US Congressman. Elected as a Republican to represent Kentucky's 6th District in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses, he served from 1817 until his death in office. Walker was born in Brunswick County, Virginia. At the start of the Revolutionary War he joined the Virginia Militia as a private and was seriously wounded at the Battle of Savannah (1779); his regiment was later placed under the command of Lafayette and he was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown (1781). After the war he moved to Kentucky, living first in Danville and then in Fayette County, which he represented in the State Legislature from 1793 to 1796. Around 1800 he settled in Logan County as a clerk for the county and circuit courts. During the War of 1812 he served as a Major on Isaac Shelby's staff and participated in another decisive American victory, the Battle of the Thames (1813). While he did not hold public office for most of his professional life, he was long active in Kentucky political groups, through which he won nomination and election to the US House of Representatives in 1816. Walker died in Washington, DC following an illness of several weeks; at his request he was given a private funeral without the official ceremony usually accorded a Congressman. He was the brother of US Senator George Walker and grandfather of US Senator James David Walker.
US Congressman. Elected as a Republican to represent Kentucky's 6th District in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses, he served from 1817 until his death in office. Walker was born in Brunswick County, Virginia. At the start of the Revolutionary War he joined the Virginia Militia as a private and was seriously wounded at the Battle of Savannah (1779); his regiment was later placed under the command of Lafayette and he was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown (1781). After the war he moved to Kentucky, living first in Danville and then in Fayette County, which he represented in the State Legislature from 1793 to 1796. Around 1800 he settled in Logan County as a clerk for the county and circuit courts. During the War of 1812 he served as a Major on Isaac Shelby's staff and participated in another decisive American victory, the Battle of the Thames (1813). While he did not hold public office for most of his professional life, he was long active in Kentucky political groups, through which he won nomination and election to the US House of Representatives in 1816. Walker died in Washington, DC following an illness of several weeks; at his request he was given a private funeral without the official ceremony usually accorded a Congressman. He was the brother of US Senator George Walker and grandfather of US Senator James David Walker.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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