Preceded by Middleton P. Barrow Name Alfred Colquitt Succeeded by Patrick Walsh Political party Democratic Party Democratic Party | Preceded by James Johnson Education Princeton University Preceded by James M. Smith Role U.S. senator | |
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Full Name Alfred Holt Colquitt Born April 20, 1824
Monroe, Georgia ( 1824-04-20 ) Allegiance Confederate States of America
United States Service/branch Confederate States Army Died March 26, 1894, Washington, D.C., United States Similar People John Brown Gordon, Braxton Bragg, Benjamin Butler, John Schofield, Alfred Terry | ||
Alfred Holt Colquitt (April 20, 1824 – March 26, 1894) was an American lawyer, preacher, soldier, 49th Governor of Georgia (1877-1882) and two-term U.S. Senator from Georgia (1883-1894), dying in office. He also served as an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, reaching the rank of brigadier general.
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Early life
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 as a paymaster 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.
Civil War
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.
Political Life
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 of cardiac arrest. He is buried in Rose Hill cemetery in Macon.