John Letcher (March 29, 1813January 26, 1884) was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served 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, ...

, was the 34th Governor of Virginia 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 ...

, and later served 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, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

. He was also active on the Board of Visitors of

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

Biography

Early life

John Letcher was born in the town of Lexington in

Rockbridge County, Virginia Rockbridge County is a County (United States), county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its count ...

. He attended private rural schools and Randolph-Macon College in Boydton, Virginia (later relocated to Ashland, Virginia). In 1833, he graduated from Washington Academy in Lexington. He studied law, was admitted to the Virginia State Bar, and opened a practice in Lexington in 1839.

Career

Letcher was editor of the (Shenandoah) ''Valley Star'' newspaper from 1840 to 1850. He was active in the presidential campaigns of 1840, 1844, and 1848, serving as a Democratic elector in 1848. Although never a true

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, he signed the Ruffner Pamphlet of 1847, which proposed the abolition of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in that part of Virginia west of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

; however, he soon repudiated this antislavery stand. He was a delegate to the

Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 was an assembly of elected delegates chosen by the voters to write the fundamental law of Virginia. It is known as the Reform Convention because it liberalized Virginia political institutions. Backgro ...

. He was elected as a Democratic candidate and served as a Representative in the

from 1851 to 1859. In Congress, he was known as "Honest John" because of his opposition to government extravagance.

American Civil War

John Letcher was elected as Governor of Virginia in 1859, defeating Whig candidate William L. Goggin, and served from 1860 to 1864: Letcher was prominent in the organization of the Peace Conference of 1861 that met in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 1861, to devise means to prevent the impending

. He discouraged secession but actively sustained the ordinance passed by Virginia on April 17, 1861. Despite scheduling a popular vote to determine whether Virginia would declare secession from the United States, ultimately, the actions of 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 ...

and the state government, especially Letcher, effectively led Virginia to declare secession from the United States.Long, 1971, p. 60. The referendum occurred on May 23, 1861, and Virginia voters overwhelmingly approved the Articles of Secession. Letcher appointed

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

, who had just resigned 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 U.S. Army, as commander in chief of Virginia's army and navy forces on April 22, 1861, at the grade of major general.Scharf, John Thomas
''History of the Confederate States Navy From Its Organization to the Surrender of Its Last Vessel''
New York: Rogers & Sherwood, 1887, p. 39. . Retrieved February 1, 2011 On April 24, 1861, Virginia and the Confederate States agreed that the Virginia forces would be under the overall direction 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 ...

, pending completion of the process of Virginia joining the Confederate States. Colonel John Brown Baldwin defeated Letcher in May 1863 for a seat in 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 ...

. In 1864, his home in Lexington was burned by Union troops during General

David Hunter David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...

's raid.

Postwar

After the Civil War, Letcher resumed the practice of law in Lexington. He was elected as a member of the House of Delegates in the

1875–1877. He was a member of the Board of Visitors of the

(VMI) 1866–1880 and served as president of the Board for ten years. He died on January 26, 1884, at the age of 70, and was interred in the Presbyterian Cemetery (now Oak Grove Cemetery) at Lexington, Virginia.

Electoral history

1859 – Letcher was elected Governor of Virginia, defeating American William Leftwich Goggin.

Family

Letcher's son, John Davidson Letcher, was a professor at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, serving as acting president from January 1892 to June 1892. His son Greenlee D. Letcher served two terms in 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 ...

. Governor Letcher had a daughter, Lizzie, who married James Harrison, a language professor at Washington and Lee and later head of the Romance and Teutonic Language Department at the University of Virginia after 1895.

References

Books

*Boney, F.N. (1966) ''John Letcher of Virginia; The Story of Virginia’s Civil War Governor''. University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1966. *Long, E. B. ''The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865.'' Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971.

Websites

John Letcher in Union or Secession: Virginians Decide
at the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

John Letcher in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''

US Congressional Biographies Online website

External links

A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor John Letcher, 1859–1863
a
The Library of Virginia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letcher, John 1813 births 1884 deaths People from Lexington, Virginia Democratic Party governors of Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia lawyers Randolph–Macon College alumni Washington and Lee University alumni Journalists from Virginia Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Confederate States of America state governors Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American newspaper editors American male journalists 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly Southern Historical Society members