John Brown Baldwin (January 11, 1820 – September 30, 1873) was a
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
lawyer and
Democratic politician, who served one term in
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses 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-numbe ...
before the
Virginia Secession Convention of 1861
The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in the state capital of Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, govern the state during a state of emergency, and write a new Constitution for Virginia, whi ...
, during which he was a Unionist. 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 ...
, Baldwin believed his primary loyalty was to his state, and served as one of Virginia's representatives to the First and Second
Confederate Congresses. He became one of the leading critics of President
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 ...
, who was seen by many as usurping the Confederacy's states' rights principles. During
Congressional Reconstruction, Baldwin became Speaker of the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses 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-numbe ...
.
Early and family life
Baldwin was born on January 11, 1820, at Spring Farm near
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...
, to Virginia delegate and future
Court of Appeals
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...
judge
Briscoe Gerald Baldwin and his wife Martha Steele Brown Baldwin. He had three sisters—Frances Cornelia Baldwin Stuart (1815-1885), Mary Eleanor Baldwin Ranson (1817-1880) and Margaret E. Baldwin Stuart (1823-1844), as well as a brother, Briscoe Gerard Baldwin Jr. (1828-1898). J.B. Baldwin graduated from Staunton Academy and then 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 ...
in 1838. He was a member of the college's Board of Visitors from 1856–64.
He married Susan Madison Peyton, daughter of lawyer John Howe Peyton, on July 4, 1852, and after her death married Ann Lewis.
Career
Baldwin read law under his father (who was elected to the
Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
in 1842), then joined the law practice of his brother-in-law
Alexander H. H. Stuart, although Baldwin ultimately established his own solo practice after becoming politically active.
Prewar politics
At age 24, he substituted for his Whig law partner Alexander H.H. Stuart during a debate before the 1844 election. During the next election, local Augusta County voters elected Baldwin to the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses 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-numbe ...
(a part time position), and he served from 1845-1846, but was defeated by Whig
Hugh W. Sheffey after one term, and resumed his law practice full time (although remaining politically active).
In 1859, Baldwin narrowly missed election to the
Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
,
William J. Robertson of Charlottesville being elected instead by the legislators. During the Presidential Election of 1860, Baldwin canvassed for John Bell, the
Constitutional Unionist candidate, who won in Virginia but drew far fewer electoral college votes than either Republican
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
or Democrat
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...
.
Augusta County voters elected Baldwin, his brother in law, law partner and fellow Unionist Alexander H.H. Stuart and Unionist Democrat George Baylor to the
Virginia Secession Convention
The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in the state capital of Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, govern the state during a state of emergency, and write a new Constitution for Virginia, whi ...
, which began on February 13, 1861. On March 21, Baldwin began a pro-Union speech which lasted three days. On April 4, 1861, Baldwin represented the Convention's Unionist leadership at a secret one-hour interview with President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
at the White House. He went to Washington hopeful that an agreement might be reached that would preserve the peace and hold Virginia in the Union. However, he returned to Richmond empty-handed, after finding that he and Lincoln had talked past each other. President Lincoln also separately met with another Unionist,
John Minor Botts, who later blamed Baldwin for failing to publicize Lincoln's peace offer. The Unionists had temporarily managed to avoid secession while Baldwin met with Lincoln, but their majority collapsed shortly after his return to Richmond.
Confederate service
When the Convention decided upon secession, Baldwin's loyalty remained with his home state. He initially served as a militia colonel and inspector general of Virginia State Troops, accepting a commission on April 23, 1861. Initially a colonel of the
52nd Virginia Infantry, Baldwin resigned on May 1, 1862, because of ill health, becoming instead colonel of the Augusta Reserves regiment.
By year's end, Baldwin was elected as a representative from
Augusta County, to the
First Confederate Congress. He was later elected to the
Second Confederate Congress
The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia ...
(defeating incumbent Governor
John Letcher
John Letcher (March 29, 1813January 26, 1884) was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Representative in the United States Congress, was the 34th Governor of Virginia during the American Civil War, and later served in ...
) and served until the conclusion of the Civil War. He became one of Confederate President
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 ...
's most vocal critics.
Postwar
Following the war, Baldwin returned home and resumed his legal practice. After giving his loyalty oath to the federal government, he was elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses 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-numbe ...
under the post-war military provost in 1865-1867. On February 10, 1866, Baldwin testified before the Joint Committee on Reconstruction that Virginians would limit political rights granted to African Americans, which helped prompt
Congressional Reconstruction. After Virginia's readmission to the Union, Baldwin continued representing Augusta County in the General Assembly. Fellow delegates chose him as their
Speaker, and he served as such from 1865-1869. In this capacity, he drafted the procedural rules still in use in Virginia, known as "Baldwin's Rules."
When the
Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868 proposed to restrict former Confederates from holding further offices, which went beyond the terms of surrender at Appomattox Court House and caused considerable controversy within the Commonwealth, Baldwin joined with his brother-in-law
Alexander H. H. Stuart and 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 ...
and met with General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
. Newly elected President Grant also met with provisional governor
Henry H. Wells and businessmen
Gilbert C. Walker and
Franklin Stearns, then gave General (Secretary of War)
John M. Schofield (and his successor General Canby) orders to allow separate votes on those two controversial provisions (each of which lost) and the new state Constitution without them (that passed overwhelmingly).
Death and legacy
Baldwin died on September 30, 1873, after a brief illness, survived by wife Susan, his sisters Frances Cornelia Baldwin Stuart and Mary Eleanor Baldwin Ranson, and brother Briscoe Gerald Baldwin. Staunton's businesses closed on the day of his funeral and all the city's church bells tolled (although not a member of any church, Baldwin considered himself Christian). He was buried in Staunton's historic Thornrose Cemetery (within the
Newtown Historic District).
References
External links
*
John Brown Baldwinin ''
Encyclopedia Virginia''
The Valley of the Shadow biography for John Brown Baldwin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, John Brown
1820 births
1873 deaths
Politicians from Staunton, Virginia
Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Virginia
Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates
People of Virginia in the American Civil War
People from the Shenandoah Valley
Virginia Secession Delegates of 1861
19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly