Jurist; born in
Pickens county, S. C., April 15, 1821; removed to
Georgia in 1836; admitted to the bar in 1845; elected to the State Senate in 1849; and was governor of
Georgia in 1857-65.
During the
Civil War he threw his influence on the side of the
Confederacy, but antagonized some of the war measures of
Jefferson Davis and refused to allow State troops to be sent out of the
State to check
Sherman's march.
When peace was concluded he favored the reconstruction policy of the federal government, though the Democratic party of
Georgia opposed it. In 1880-91 he held a seat in the United States Senate, and during his last term in that body was a member of the committees on civil service, retrenchment, foreign relations, and railroads.
He died in
Atlanta, Ga., Nov. 30, 1894.
