Philemon Thomas (February 9, 1763 – November 18, 1847) was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

representing the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Louisiana. He served two terms 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 ...

(1831–1835). Philemon was born in Orange County,

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 ...

. He served in the American forces during Revolutionary War and later moved to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He was a member of Kentucky's Constitutional Convention and served in the state House and state Senate. He also ran for Congress four times while in Kentucky: in the 2nd ("Northern") congressional district in 1799 and 1801, and in the 6th congressional district in 1803 and 1804. In 1806 he moved to Louisiana. He commanded troops who on 1810 September 23 captured the Spanish fort in at Baton Rouge, commencing the West Florida Rebellion of 1810. A few days later the West Florida Assembly, meeting at Saint Francisville, commissioned General Philemon Thomas to march the West Florida Army across the newly proclaimed Republic. According to

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it beca ...

history professor Sam Hyde, ::Residents of the western Florida Parishes proved largely supportive of the revolt, . . . while the majority of the population in the eastern region of the Florida Parishes opposed the insurrection. Thomas’ army violently suppressed opponents of the revolt, leaving a bitter legacy in the

Tangipahoa The Tangipahoa were a Native American tribe that lived just north of Lake Pontchartrain and between the Pearl River and the Mississippi River. Etymology The name Tangipahoa is derived from the Muskogean words ''(tonche pahoha)'' which translat ...

and

Tchefuncte River The Tchefuncte River ( ) drains into Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana in the United States. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 20, 2011 Etymology T ...

regions. Philemon Thomas served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and later served two terms in Congress. In 1820, he was a member of the Electoral College, voting for

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

. He ran for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

twice, in

1824 Events January–March * January 1 – John Stuart Mill begins publication of The Westminster Review. The first article is by William Johnson Fox * January 8 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of th ...

and in

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...

. He died in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and is interred there in the Baton Rouge National Cemetery.

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Political Graveyard
* 1763 births 1847 deaths Louisiana Democrats Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Candidates in the 1799 United States elections Candidates in the 1801 United States elections Candidates in the 1803 United States elections Candidates in the 1804 United States elections Kentucky Democratic-Republicans {{NewOrleans-stub