James Lawrence Orr (May 12, 1822May 5, 1873) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 22nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1859. He also served as the 73rd governor of South Carolina from 1865 to 1868 after a term in the

Confederate States Senate The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

Biography

Orr was born at Craytonville,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

located in Anderson County, South Carolina. He graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in 1841 and became an attorney. In 1843 he married Mary Jane Marshall; they had seven children. He served as a Democratic Congressman from

from 1849 to 1859, serving as the Speaker of the House from 1857 to 1859. Orr was an advocate of

states' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

who used his position to assist those persons who promoted the continuation of slavery. He foresaw the consequences of the decision by

to attempt to secede from the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, but he remained loyal to his state, while protecting his own financial interests. Orr owned at least fourteen enslaved people in 1850 and purchased at least five more before 1860. He was one of the three commissioners sent to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to negotiate the transfer of federal property to South Carolina; the failure of these negotiations led directly to the bombardment of one of the highest-profile federal assets within South Carolina,

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...

. After Fort Sumter and the outbreak of the American Civil War, Orr organized and commanded Orr's Regiment of South Carolina Rifles, which saw little action before he resigned in 1862 and entered the

Confederate Senate The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

, where he served as chairman of the influential Foreign Affairs and Rules committees. The regiment continued to bear his name throughout the war and fought in some of the most prominent battles of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...

. In the Confederate Senate, he remained a strong proponent of states' rights. At the end of the war, Orr was elected governor and served from 1865 until the passage of a new state constitution in 1868. In 1872 President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

appointed Orr as Minister to Russia in a gesture of post-Civil War reconciliation. Orr died in

St. Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

shortly after arriving to begin his service as Minister. He was interred in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...

. A posthumous portrait of Orr by painter Esther Edmonds is currently part of the collection of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

. The portrait was removed from public display in the Speaker's Lobby outside the House Chamber after an order issued by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi on June 18, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, James Lawrence 1822 births 1873 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Confederate States of America senators Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Democratic Party governors of South Carolina People of South Carolina in the American Civil War Speakers of the United States House of Representatives University of South Carolina trustees 19th-century American diplomats Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina 19th-century American politicians People from Anderson County, South Carolina Ambassadors of the United States to the Soviet Union