John Pegram

John Pegram (November 16, 1773 – April 8, 1831) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia and a major general during the War of 1812.

Biography

John Pegram was the son of Edward Pegram and Ann Lyle. Born at the "Bonneville" plantation in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, Pegram attended the common schools. As a young adult, he held various local offices and then served as member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1797 to 1801 and 1813–15. He was a member of the Virginia Senate from 1804 until 1808.

Pegram was the major general of the Virginia militia in the War of 1812 and held field command of all state forces. Following the war, he was appointed United States marshal for the eastern district of Virginia, April 23, 1821.

Pegram was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Fifteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Peterson Goodwyn. He served from April 21, 1818 – March 3, 1819. He was not a candidate for reelection.

He married Martha Ward Gregory. Three of his grandsons became prominent officers in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War—John Pegram, William Ransom Johnson Pegram and Richard Gregory Pegram, Jr.

He died at his home in Dinwiddie County and was buried on the family plantation.^[1]

References

• John Pegram at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Brown, John Howard, The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Boston: The Biographical Society, 1904.

Notes

1. The official Congressional biography incorrectly states that Pegram was killed in a boat fire on the Ohio River and his body never recovered. That victim, however, was his son, James West Pegram (see Brown). J. W. Pegram's memorial stone in Hollywood Cemetery also refers to the boat fire as the cause of his death.