US Congressman, US Senator, Tennessee Governor. He was born in Franklin County, Tennessee, and educated in public schools and at Winchester Academy. He moved to Paris, Tennessee, in 1832, taking a position as clerk in a mercantile house. During this time, he studied law with a local attorney; passing the bar in 1841. He was elected to the state legislature in 1847, and serve as an elector the following year for presidential candidate Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan. He won seats in the United States House of Representatives in 1849 and 1851, but declined a third nomination to return to his law practice that he now had set up in Memphis. His retirement from politics lasted until 1856, when he served as an elector for James Buchanan. Running as a states-rights secesssionist Democrat, he received the gubernatorial nomination in 1857, defeating Whig opponents that year and again in 1859. After the election of Abraham Lincoln as President, he urged Tennesseans to pass a secession ordinance. When called upon by Washington for troops he replied, "Tennessee will not furnish a single man for the purpose of coercion, but 50,000 if necessary for the defense of our rights and those of our Southern brothers." By July 1861 he had equipped for state service or made available to the Confederacy 100,000 Tennessee troops, earning his reputation as the "War Governor of Tennessee." Reelected in August, he called for the legislature to convene in Memphis in February 1862. Less than a month later, Federal troops occupied large sections of the state and President Lincoln appointed Andrew Johnson as the Military Governor. Determined to play an active role in achieving Southern independence, he volunteered as an aide-de-camp on the staffs of, Generals Albert Sidney Johnston, P.G.T.Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, Joseph E. Johnston, and John B. Hood. He served in most of the major battles in the Western theater. Near the end of the war the Confederate Congress repaid his devotion by voting him a courtesy seat in the legislature. After the war, he faced Federal charges of teason, and, with a $5000 reward offered for his captured, fled to England. He returned to Memphis in 1867, reestablished his law practice, and was active in the Southern Historical Society. He reentered politics in 1883, as a United States Senator in the latter part of the Reconstruction years. He would be elected a total of three terms as Senator and would die in office in Washington D.C.
US Congressman, US Senator, Tennessee Governor. He was born in Franklin County, Tennessee, and educated in public schools and at Winchester Academy. He moved to Paris, Tennessee, in 1832, taking a position as clerk in a mercantile house. During this time, he studied law with a local attorney; passing the bar in 1841. He was elected to the state legislature in 1847, and serve as an elector the following year for presidential candidate Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan. He won seats in the United States House of Representatives in 1849 and 1851, but declined a third nomination to return to his law practice that he now had set up in Memphis. His retirement from politics lasted until 1856, when he served as an elector for James Buchanan. Running as a states-rights secesssionist Democrat, he received the gubernatorial nomination in 1857, defeating Whig opponents that year and again in 1859. After the election of Abraham Lincoln as President, he urged Tennesseans to pass a secession ordinance. When called upon by Washington for troops he replied, "Tennessee will not furnish a single man for the purpose of coercion, but 50,000 if necessary for the defense of our rights and those of our Southern brothers." By July 1861 he had equipped for state service or made available to the Confederacy 100,000 Tennessee troops, earning his reputation as the "War Governor of Tennessee." Reelected in August, he called for the legislature to convene in Memphis in February 1862. Less than a month later, Federal troops occupied large sections of the state and President Lincoln appointed Andrew Johnson as the Military Governor. Determined to play an active role in achieving Southern independence, he volunteered as an aide-de-camp on the staffs of, Generals Albert Sidney Johnston, P.G.T.Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, Joseph E. Johnston, and John B. Hood. He served in most of the major battles in the Western theater. Near the end of the war the Confederate Congress repaid his devotion by voting him a courtesy seat in the legislature. After the war, he faced Federal charges of teason, and, with a $5000 reward offered for his captured, fled to England. He returned to Memphis in 1867, reestablished his law practice, and was active in the Southern Historical Society. He reentered politics in 1883, as a United States Senator in the latter part of the Reconstruction years. He would be elected a total of three terms as Senator and would die in office in Washington D.C.
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