Charles J. Faulkner

Charles James Faulkner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877
Preceded by	John Hagans
Succeeded by	Benjamin F. Martin
United States Minister to France
In office March 4, 1860 – May 12, 1861
Appointed by	James Buchanan
Preceded by	John Y. Mason
Succeeded by	John Bigelow
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th district
In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1859
Preceded by	Alexander Holladay
Succeeded by	Alexander Boteler
Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs
In office March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Preceded by	John B. Weller
Succeeded by	Benjamin Stanton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 10th district
In office March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
Preceded by	Richard Parker
Succeeded by	Zedekiah Kidwell
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Berkeley County
In office 1848 Alongside William Boak
In office 1832–1833 Alongside William Good and Levi Henshaw
In office 1829 Alongside Elisha Boyd
Member of the Virginia Senate from Berkeley, Morgan and Hampshire Counties
In office 1837–1841
Preceded by	William Donaldson
Succeeded by	Thomas Sloan
Personal details
Born	July 6, 1806 Martinsburg, Virginia
Died	November 1, 1884 (aged 78) Martinsburg, West Virginia
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	Whig
Spouse(s)	Mary Wagner Boyde Faulkner
Profession	Politician, Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate Army
Rank	Assistant adjutant general
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Charles James Faulkner (July 6, 1806 – November 1, 1884) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia and West Virginia. He was the father of Charles James Faulkner.

Biography

Born in Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), Faulkner graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1822, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1829. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1829 to 1834 and was a commissioner from Virginia to handle the disputed boundaries between Virginia and Maryland. He was a member of the Virginia State Senate from 1838 to 1842, served in the House of Delegates again in 1848 and 1849 and was a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1850. In 1848 he introduced in the Virginia House of Delegates a law after which the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was modeled.^[1]

Faulkner was elected a Whig and Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1850, serving from 1851 to 1859. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs from 1857 to 1859. He was appointed by President James Buchanan Minister to France in 1860, serving until he was arrested in August 1861 on charges of negotiating sales of arms for the Confederacy while in Paris, France. He was imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston. Faulkner was released in December after negotiating his own exchange for Alfred Ely, a New York congressman who was captured at the First Battle of Bull Run. Afterward, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and was assistant adjutant general on the staff of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

Faulkner engaged in railroad enterprises after the war and was a member of the West Virginia Constitutional Convention again in 1872. He was elected back to the House of Representatives as a Democrat from West Virginia in 1874, serving again from 1875 to 1877. Afterward, he resumed practicing law until his death at the family estate called "Boydville" near Martinsburg, West Virginia on November 1, 1884. Faulkner was interred in the family cemetery on the estate.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals

References

1. New International Encyclopedia

External links

• Charles J. Faulkner at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-02-13
• "Charles J. Faulkner". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
•  "Faulkner, Charles James". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.