Preceded by James S. Boynton Rank Major Succeeded by John Brown Gordon Citizenship United States Name Henry McDaniel | Political party Democratic Education Mercer University Profession Attorney Party Democratic Party | |
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Born September 4, 1836
Monroe, Georgia ( 1836-09-04 ) Allegiance Confederate States of America Died July 25, 1926, Monroe, Georgia, United States | ||
Service/branch Confederate States Army Battles and wars American Civil War | ||
Henry Dickerson McDaniel (September 4, 1836 – July 25, 1926) was the 52nd Governor of Georgia from 1883 to 1886.
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Early life
Born in Monroe, Georgia, to Ira McDaniel, one of the first professors of Mercer University, McDaniel graduated at the head of his class in law at Mercer and established a practice in his home town. He was the youngest delegate to Georgia's secession convention in 1861, and later served in the Confederate Army.
Civil War
McDaniel first attracted attention during the American Civil War for taking command of the 11th Georgia Infantry after the death of his officers at the Battle of Gettysburg. Eight days after the battle, he was shot by a Union soldier at Funkstown, Maryland, and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp.
Political career
McDaniel was a member of the Democratic Party and after the war entered Georgia state politics, serving in its House and Senate, ultimately becoming governor at the death of Alexander Stephens in 1883. He served out Stephens' term and won a two-year term of his own in 1884. During his administration, the Georgia School of Technology was established, and construction began on the new State Capitol. He signed the General Local Option Liquor Law into effect on September 18, 1885 as part of the Temperance Movement in Georgia.
Postbellum Life
After the war, McDaniel returned to Monroe, where he married Hester Felker. Felker's father did not approve of the marriage, but Henry and Hester McDaniel were married for sixty years. The couple had two children, Sanders and Gipsy. His home, the McDaniel-Tichenor House, was listed with the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.