John Marshall Martin (March 18, 1832 – August 10, 1921) was a slaveowner, an officer in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

, and a member of the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...

Biography

Martin was born in

Edgefield County Edgefield County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,657. Its county seat and largest community is Edgefield. The county was established on March 12, 1785 ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and moved to

Marion County, Florida Marion County is a county located in the North Central region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 375,908. Its county seat is Ocala. Marion County comprises the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan S ...

in the 1850s. Marion County Tax Book records dated 1860 attribute to Martin the ownership of 3,000 acres of land and 53 enslaved people. Martin used the forced labor of enslaved people to work his

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

, on which cotton, sugar, and rice were grown. He served in the Confederate Army and represented the state in the

First Confederate Congress The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, convened between February 18, 1862, and February 17, 1864. This assembly took place during the first two years ...

, replacing James Baird Dawkins, who had resigned. Martin was Captain of the Marion Light Artillery until he was seriously wounded at the

Battle of Richmond The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, fought August 29–30, 1862, was one of the most complete Confederate victories in the American Civil War by Major General Edmund Kirby Smith against Union major general William "Bull" Nelson's forces, whic ...

. In September 1863, Martin was assigned as commander of the 6th Florida Infantry Battalion. He surrendered under General Robert E. Lee‘s command at Appomattox Court House in 1865. He was also the last survivor of the Confederate Congress. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

Notable relatives

Martin was the paternal grandfather of the 24th Governor of Florida, John W. Martin, by way of his son, John M. Martin Jr., whom he fathered with his first wife, Willie Wellborn (also spelled Welboren or Welborn). Martin's second wife was Sallie B. Waldo, daughter of Benjamin Waldo. Martin's daughter-in-law, Willie Owens Martin, was the daughter of James Byeram Owens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, John Marshall 1832 births 1921 deaths Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Florida Confederate States Army officers People from Edgefield County, South Carolina People from Marion County, Florida American slave owners