Augustus Romaldus Wright (June 16, 1813 – March 31, 1891) was an American politician and lawyer, who briefly served against the United States as a colonel in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He resigned his commission to serve in the Confederate Congress.

Early life

Augustus Wright was born in Wrightsboro, Georgia and attended public school in Appling. Wright attended the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the founding college of the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society. Wright studied law at the Litchfield Law School in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1835—becoming a practicing attorney in Crawfordville, Georgia,Augustus Romaldus Wright
litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved July 22, 2013. the same year. From 1842 until 1849, Wright served as judge of the superior court of the Cherokee circuit and from 1855 to 1857 as a judge of the

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

of Georgia. Wright owned slaves.

Political career

In 1856, Augustus Wright was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served one term from 1857 to 1859. He ran as an anti-secession delegate for a seat at the Georgia Secession Convention but lost to his son in law, Francis Shropshire. He was one of ten Georgia delegates to the Confederate Constitution Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1861.WRIGHT, Augustus Romaldus, (1813 - 1891)
congress.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2013. Wright served in the First Confederate Congress. Augustus Wright organized "Wright’s Legion" of Georgia volunteers and served as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the Georgia 38th Infantry Regiment for the

in the Army of Northern Virginia.Georgia 38th Infantry Regiment
researchonline.net. Retrieved July 22, 2013. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln offered Wright the position of provisional governor of Georgia in 1864 if the state withdrew from the Confederacy, which did not happen. After the war, Wright served as a member of the Georgia constitutional convention in 1877. He died in 1891 at his home near Rome, Georgia, and was buried in Rome's Myrtle Hill Cemetery.

References

, causes of secession, "Died of states' rights" * List of signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Augustus Romaldus 1813 births 1891 deaths Confederate States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States Signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession University of Georgia people 19th-century Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges 19th-century American lawyers Litchfield Law School alumni Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Early life

Political career

References

See also