Alfred H. Colquitt

Alfred H. Colquitt
United States Senator from Georgia
In office March 4, 1883 – March 26, 1894
Preceded by	Middleton P. Barrow
Succeeded by	Patrick Walsh
49th Governor of Georgia
In office January 12, 1877 – November 4, 1882
Preceded by	James M. Smith
Succeeded by	Alexander H. Stephens
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855
Preceded by	James Johnson
Succeeded by	Martin J. Crawford
Member of the Georgia State Legislature
Personal details
Born	Alfred Holt Colquitt April 20, 1824 Monroe, Georgia
Died	March 26, 1894 (aged 69) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America  United States
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Major general

Alfred Holt Colquitt (April 20, 1824 – March 26, 1894) was a lawyer, preacher, soldier, 49th Governor of Georgia (1877-1882) and two-term U.S. Senator from Georgia (1883-1894), dying in office. He served as an officer in the Confederate army, reaching the rank of major general.

Life and career

Portrait of Colquitt as a brigadier general, from a newspaper published in Richmond in 1863

Alfred Colquitt was born in Monroe, Georgia. His father, Walter T. Colquitt was a United States Representative and Senator from Georgia. The younger Colquitt graduated from Princeton College in 1844, studied law and passed his bar examination in 1846.

He began practicing law in Monroe. During the Mexican-American War, he served in the United States Army at the rank of major. After the war, Colquitt was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1855. He next was elected to and served in the Georgia state legislature. Colquitt was a delegate to The Georgia Secession Convention of 1861—voting in favor of secession and signing Georgia's Ordinance of Secession on January 19, 1861.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Colquitt was appointed captain in the 6th Georgia Infantry. He saw action in the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days' Battles. He rose through the ranks to become a brigadier general in 1862. He led his brigade under Stonewall Jackson in the Battle of South Mountain, Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and the Battle of Chancellorsville. After Chancellorsville, some questions arose about Colquitt's performance during that battle, and his brigade was transferred to North Carolina in exchange for another. His brigade was transferred again in the summer of 1863 to protect Charleston, South Carolina. In February 1864, Colquitt marched his brigade south to help defend against the Union invasion of Florida, and was victorious in the Battle of Olustee. After this battle, Colquitt's brigade rejoined Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Late in the war, the brigade returned to defend North Carolina, where Colquitt surrendered in 1865.

After returning to political life, Colquitt in 1876 defeated Republican candidate Jonathan Norcross for Governor of Georgia, part of the regaining of power of white Democrats in the state. He was opposed to Reconstruction. Around that time, several thousand friends asked for about thirty open government jobs. Those who did not get one of the jobs tried to turn voters against Colquitt. There also were rumors that Colquitt had been involved in illegal dealings with the Northeastern Railroad. A legislative committee found the governor innocent.

He was reelected in 1880 to serve two years under the new state constitution, which reduced the term of governor. Under his term, debt was reduced. In 1883, Colquitt was elected by the state legislature as a Democrat to the US Senate from Georgia. He was re-elected in 1888 and served until his death in Washington, D.C. in 1894.

See also

• List of signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession
• Confederate States of America, causes of secession, "Died of states' rights"
• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

References

• United States Congress. "Alfred H. Colquitt (id: C000647)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-13
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

External links

• General Alfred Colquitt at the Battle of Olustee