Robert Latané Montague (May 23, 1819 – March 2, 1880) was a prominent

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, politician and judge, before and after 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 ...

. He twice won election 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 ...

, and also served during 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 ...

, as

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of Virginia (1860 to 1864), and 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 ...

from (1864 to 1865). His son

Andrew Jackson Montague Andrew Jackson Montague (October 3, 1862January 24, 1937; nickname "Jack") was a Virginia lawyer and American politician. He served as the 44th governor of Virginia, from 1902 to 1906, and a Congressman from 1912 until his death in 1937. A De ...

became

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

and a U.S. Congressman, and grandson

Robert Latane Montague Robert Latané Montague (May 23, 1819 – March 2, 1880) was a prominent Virginia lawyer, politician and judge, before and after the American Civil War. He twice won election to the Virginia House of Delegates, and also served during the Virgini ...

rose to become a general in the U.S. Marine Corps after receiving the Distinguished Service Cross in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early and family life

Montague was born in Middlesex County at Ellaslee plantation in Jamaica, Virginia to Lewis Brooke Montague (1793-1868) and his wife the former Catherine Street Jesse (1803-1852). The family traced its descent from Peter Montague who emigrated from

Boveney Boveney is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Dorney, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated near Windsor, between the villages of Eton Wick in Berkshire, and Dorney and Dorney Reach in Buckinghamshire. Since bounda ...

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to the

Jamestown Colony The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Williamsburg. It was established by the L ...

in 1621. In 1830, his father owned 18 slaves in Middlesex County, and several relatives lived nearby as well as also owned slaves. Montague attended Fleetwood Academy, a private military school for boys in King and Queen County He then read law with Judge Lomax in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

, but later decided to continue studies under Nathaniel Beverly Tucker at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

in 1841. Montague subsequently graduated with William & Mary with a law degree in July 1842. Robert L. Montague married Cornelia Gay Eubank on December 14, 1852. Although at least four of their children died young, three sons survived into adulthood: Julieus Drew Montague,

, and Robert Lynch Montague.

Career

After admission to the Virginia bar, Montague established his legal practice in Middlesex County. When he earned enough money to buy a plantation, he began farming using enslaved labor, in addition to his legal practice. He became politically active 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 ...

campaigning for

James Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy an ...

in the Presidential Campaign of 1844. Voters in Mathews and Middlesex Counties elected him to represent them in the

in 1850, but two years later he instead ran for (and was elected) Commonwealth Attorney, which position he held until 1860, having won re-election several times. Voters from Mathews and Middlesex Counties elected him as a delegate to the

, and he became the Convention's President after

John Janney John Janney (November 8, 1798 – January 5, 1872) was a member of the Whig Party in Virginia prior to its demise, delegate to the Virginia General Assembly from Loudoun County and served as President of the Virginia Secession Convention in 1861 ...

resigned on November 16, 1861. He was an ardent defender of slavery and secessionist, and was physically in the president's chair when the ordinance of secession passed. Briefly during the

, Montague led both legislative bodies meeting in Richmond. Elected Virginia's Lieutenant Governor in 1861 (and polling 5000 more votes than John Lechter who led the ticket and was elected Governor of Virginia), Montague served ex officio as President of the Virginia Senate beginning in 1861 until December 21, 1863, when he became one of Virginia's delegates to the

Confederate States 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, ...

(1864-1865). His youngest (and favorite) brother, Andrew Jackson Montague, while a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, volunteered to defend Richmond, and died during the Battle of Gaines' Mill in 1862. After the war, in 1871, Middlesex County voters again elected him to represent them in the House of Delegates. He represented Middlesex County for one term, before fellow legislators elected him in 1875 to an eight-year term as a judge of the 8th Circuit Court, which he died before finishing.

Death and legacy

Judge Montague died at home of

erysipelas Erysipelas () is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin ( upper dermis), extending to the superficial lymphatic vessels within the skin, characterized by a raised, well-defined, tender, bright- red rash, ...

1880 U.S. Census death schedule for Middlesex County, Virginia; he is the only entry on the page with that cause of death on March 2, 1880, and was succeeded as judge of the 8th Circuit by

Benjamin W. Lacy Benjamin Watkins Lacy (January 27, 1839 – May 15, 1895) was an American politician and Virginia lawyer, Confederate officer and jurist. Early and family life Lacy was born on the family plantation, Ellsworth, in New Kent County, Virginia, the ...

. A prominent Baptist (and moderator of the state's Baptist General Association), he was initially buried at Inglewood. However, he was eventually reburied in the family plot at the historic cemetery of Christ Episcopal Church in Middlesex county.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montague, Robert Latane 1819 births 1880 deaths Lieutenant governors of Virginia Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Virginia People from Middlesex County, Virginia 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly