Milledge Luke Bonham (December 25, 1813August 27, 1890) was an American politician and

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

. He was later the 70th

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

from 1862 until 1864, and a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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 ...

Early life and career

Bonham was born near Redbank (now Saluda),

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 ...

, the son of Maryland native Capt. James Bonham and Sophie Smith Bonham, the niece of Capt. James Butler, who was the head of an illustrious South Carolina family. Milledge was a 1st cousin once removed to

Andrew Pickens Butler Andrew Pickens Butler (November 18, 1796May 25, 1857) was an American lawyer, slaveholder, and United States senator from South Carolina who authored the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois. Database at In 1856, abo ...

. He was a descendant of an Englishman named Thomas Butler, who arrived to the American colonies in the 1600s. He attended private schools in the

Edgefield District 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 ...

and at

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

. He graduated with honors from

South Carolina College The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Carolina System and th ...

at Columbia in 1834. He served as Captain and adjutant general of the South Carolina Brigade in the

Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

in Florida in 1836. That same year, his older brother

James Butler Bonham James Butler Bonham (February 20, 1807 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American soldier who died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. He was a second cousin of William B. Travis and was a messenger of the Battle of the Al ...

died at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

. Bonham studied law and was admitted to the bar, in 1837, and commenced practice in Edgefield. During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, he was lieutenant colonel (from March 1847) and

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 ...

(from August 1847) of the 12th US Infantry Regiment. Two other members of his regiment, Major

Maxcy Gregg Maxcy Gregg (August 1, 1814 – December 15, 1862) was an American lawyer, soldier in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War who was mortally wounded at the ...

and Captain

Abner Monroe Perrin Abner Monroe Perrin (February 2, 1827 – May 12, 1864) was an American lawyer who served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army. He commanded infantry in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War until killed in action at Spo ...

, would also become generals in the Civil War. After he returned home, Bonham was the major general of the South Carolina Militia. Entering politics, he served in the state house of representatives from 1840 to 1843. He married Ann Patience Griffin on November 13, 1845. Bonham was solicitor of the southern circuit of South Carolina from 1848 to 1857. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

Thirty-fifth United States Congress The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857, ...

(succeeding his cousin, Preston Smith Brooks) and the

Thirty-sixth United States Congress The 36th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859, ...

, and served from March 4, 1857, until his retirement on December 21, 1860. Milledge Luke Bonham

Civil War

In early 1861, the Southern states that had

seceded Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the c ...

from the Union appointed special commissioners to travel to those other slaveholding Southern states that had yet to secede. A slaveowner, Database at Bonham served as the Commissioner from South Carolina to the

Mississippi Secession Convention The Mississippi Secession Convention was held in Mississippi and established its withdrawal from the United States after the election of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln in order to become part of the Confederate States seeking to preserve slavery. ...

, and helped to persuade its members that they should also secede from the Union. Bonham was appointed major general and commander of the Army of South Carolina by Gov.

Francis W. Pickens Francis Wilkinson Pickens (1805/1807January 25, 1869) was a politician who served as governor of South Carolina when that state became the first to secede from the United States. A cousin of Senator John C. Calhoun, he was born into the Southern ...

in February 1861. He was appointed brigadier general in the Confederate Army on April 19, 1861, and commanded the First Brigade of the Confederate "Army of the Potomac" under

P.G.T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer known as being the Confederate general who started the American Civil War at the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is comm ...

. He fought in the

First Battle of Manassas The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

batteries and six companies of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

in the defense of Mitchell's Ford on Bull Run. He resigned his commission January 27, 1862, to enter 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, ...

. On December 17, 1862, the South Carolina General Assembly elected Bonham as governor by secret ballot. He served until December 1864. During his term, the General Assembly enacted a

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

against distilling in 1863 and also that year, it demanded that more land be used to grow food instead of cotton to increase the supply of food in the state. Bonham rejoined the Confederate Army as brigadier general of

in February 1865, and was actively engaged in recruiting when the war ended. Near

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

a group of troops positioned there, because of worry of federal invasion from North Carolina, named their emplacement, Camp Bonham, in his honor.

Dates of rank

* Major General (South Carolina Militia), February 10, 1861 * Brigadier General, April 23, 1861 * Brigadier General, February 20, 1865

Postbellum activities

Bonham owned an insurance business in Edgefield and in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, from 1865 to 1878. Returning to politics, Bonham was again a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1865 to 1866 and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868. He was a member of the South Carolina taxpayers' convention in 1871 and 1874. Retiring from public service, he resumed the practice of law in Edgefield and engaged in planting. He was appointed state railroad commissioner in 1878 and served until his death at White Sulphur Springs, North Carolina. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia. Two newspaper obituaries (''Fisherman and Farmer'',

Edenton, North Carolina The town of Edenton is located on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. It is the county seat of Chowan County. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton served as the second official capital of North Carol ...

12 September 1890 and ''Swain County Herald'',

Bryson City, North Carolina Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The population was 1,558 as of the 2020 census. Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded as Charleston to serv ...

from 11 Sep 1890) report General Milledge L. Bonham, railroad commissioner, was found dead in his bed in his room at Hawood, White Sulphur Springs, North Carolina from hemorrhage during the night. WSS, North Carolina was a late-nineteenth resort in Surry County near Mount Airy, N.C.

References

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War''. New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. .

External links