William Thomas Sutherlin (April 7, 1822 – July 22, 1893) was a tobacco planter, distributor, industrialist, Confederate quartermaster and politician. He served as mayor of

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

(1855-1861), as its delegate to the

Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, to govern the state during a state of emergency, and to write a new Constitution for Virginia, which was subsequent ...

and later for one term in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

(1871-1873) Sutherlin's plantation home became the temporary residence for

President of the Confederate States of America The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army and the Conf ...

Jefferson Davis and his Cabinet from April 3 – April 10, 1865, the week before Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered 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 ...

at Appomattox Courthouse.

Early and family life

Born in 1822 to George Sanders Sutherlin (1796-1856) and his wife, the former Polly Starlings Norman (1794-1860). His grandfather bought a large tract north of Danville in 1798. The Sutherlin family included at least three additional boys and two girls: John M. Sutherlin, George Haskins Sutherlin (1826-1861), Paulina Lane Sutherlin (b.1824) and Narcissa Adeline Sutherlin Hodnett (1820-1888). His youngest brother, Nathaniel Green Sutherlin (1836-1843), never reached adulthood. William T. Sutherlin married Jeanie Erwin Patrick (1827-1911) in October 1849 in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

. She would survive him by more than a decade, as would their daughter Janine

Career

A planter and industrialist, William T. Sutherlin used enslaved black labor, owning nine boys 10–16 years old and 25 adult males between 18 and 50 years old in 1850. An entrepreneur and industrialist, Sutherlin developed ways to improve the process of preparing the region's bright leaf tobacco for market, as there was great demand for this commodity. Before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Sutherlin was the first Virginian to apply steam power to hydraulic tobacco presses; he owned and operated the second-largest tobacco factory in the state. Sutherlin also founded and served as the first president of the Bank of Danville. In 1855, Sutherlin was elected as Danville's mayor and served for 6 years. He resigned the office after being as one of its two delegates to the Virginia Convention of 1861. Sutherlin opposed

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

on the initial vote, but changed his vote after

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 ...

was fired upon on April 12, 1861.

American Civil War

In his 40s and with worse health than his brother George H. Sutherland (who volunteered, became a lieutenant in the

38th Virginia Infantry The 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the War Between the States. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The 38th Virginia was organized ...

and died in Richmond in December 1861), William Sutherlin could not serve in the active military. Appointed instead as Quartermaster of Danville, a primary Confederate supply depot and arsenal. Sutherlin rose to the rank of major, and his duties included oversight of food, medicine, and arms supply. Major Sutherlin also allowed his tobacco factory to be used as a prison for captured Union soldiers. William T Sutherlin Mansion Danville Virginia

William T Sutherlin Mansion Danville Virginia

As Union troops were on the verge of capturing the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia, on April 3, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet fled south on the

Richmond and Danville Railroad The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states. Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...

for Danville. Sutherlin opened his home to the beleaguered executive and his cabinet as a temporary residence until April 10. Here Davis wrote and signed his last official proclamation as President of the Confederacy, dissolving the government, before continuing south to

Postwar

After the war, Sutherlin continued to cultivate his plantation and pursue business ventures. He became a member of the

Committee of Nine The Committee of Nine was a group of conservative political leaders in Virginia, led by Alexander H. H. Stuart, following the American Civil War, when Virginia was required to adopt a new Constitution acknowledging the abolition of slavery before i ...

which opposed provisions in the new proposed state constitution from the

Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868 The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, was an assembly of delegates elected by the voters to establish the fundamental law of Virginia following the American Civil War and the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Convention, wh ...

. In 1871 Danville and Pittsylvania County voters elected him as one of their two (part time) representatives in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

, where he served a single two-year term.

Death and legacy

Sutherlin died in 1893, survived by his widow and daughter. He is buried in the family plot in what became Green Hill Cemetery. His papers are held by the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Special Collections library. The William T Sutherlin Mansion has been adapted for use as the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

References

*http://www.danvillemuseum.org/index.php?page_id=19 "William T. Sutherlin"], Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History

External links

Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherlin 1822 births 1893 deaths Confederate States Army officers American Civil War industrialists People of Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia Secession Delegates of 1861 American planters Mayors of places in Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Danville, Virginia Businesspeople from Virginia 19th-century American politicians American slave owners