Name Philemon Herbert Role U.S. representative | Party Democratic Party | |
Died July 23, 1864, Kingston, Louisiana, United States | ||
Philemon Thomas Herbert (November 1, 1825 – July 23, 1864) was an American politician. He served as the Democratic U.S. Representative from California. He represented the California Second District in the 34th Congress (1855–1857).
Contents
Early life
Herbert was born on November 1, 1825 in Pine Apple, Alabama.
Career
Herbert joined the Democratic Party. He served two terms in the California State Assembly, representing Mariposa County, California. From 1855 to 1857, he represented California's Second District in the 34th Congress of the United States House of Representatives.
In 1856, when he was refused breakfast service at Willard's Hotel in Washington because it was too late in the morning, he got into a quarrel with the Irish headwaiter, and shot and killed him. He was acquitted of manslaughter by a sympathetic jury, but abandoned his Congressional career. In 1859, Herbert moved to El Paso, Texas, where he practiced law.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he joined the Confederate Army. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and commanded the Arizona Cavalry and the Seventh Texas Cavalry Regiment. He was wounded at the Battle of Mansfield on April 8, 1864.
Death
Herbert died of his wounds on July 23, 1864. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Kingston, Louisiana.