James Alexander Seddon (July 13, 1815 – August 19, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a Representative in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

, as a member of the Democratic Party. Seddon was appointed

Confederate States Secretary of War The Confederate States secretary of war was a member of President of the Confederate States of America, President Jefferson Davis's Cabinet of the Confederate States of America, cabinet during the American Civil War. The Secretary of War was head ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

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 ...

Life and career

Due to frail health, Seddon was educated primarily at home and became self-taught as a youth. At the age of twenty-one, he entered the law school of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. After graduation, Seddon settled in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, establishing a successful law practice. In 1845, the Democratic Party nominated Seddon for Congress, and he was easily elected. He was renominated two years later but declined due to platform differences with the party. In 1849, Seddon was reelected to Congress, serving from December 1849 until March 1851. Owing to poor health, he declined another nomination at the end of his term. He retired to "Sabot Hill," his plantation located along the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

above Richmond. Seddon attended the Peace Conference of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., which attempted to devise a means of preventing the impending civil war. Later in the same year, he attended the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. President Davis named him his fourth Secretary of War, succeeding George W. Randolph. He held this post until January 1, 1865, when he retired from public life to his plantation and was succeeded by John C. Breckinridge. His service of more than twenty-four months as Secretary made him the most durable of the five secretaries.

Electoral history

*1845; Seddon was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 52.28% of the vote, defeating Whig John Minor Botts. *1849; Seddon was reelected with 53.64% of the vote, defeating Whig challenger Botts.

External links

*
James Seddon biography at Spartacus Educational
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Seddon, James 1815 births 1880 deaths Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) Executive members of the Cabinet of the Confederate States of America Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States People of Virginia in the American Civil War University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia People from Falmouth, Virginia 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century Virginia politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives