Robert Lowry (March 10, 1829January 19, 1910) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 32nd

governor of Mississippi The governor of Mississippi is the head of government of Mississippi and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Mississippi National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either appro ...

from 1882 to 1890. Before entering politics, he was a senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

who commanded infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Early life and military service

Robert Lowry was born in Chesterfield District, South Carolina on March 10, 1829, and was raised in Mississippi. During the American Civil War, he enlisted as a private in the Confederate States Army. He quickly received a commission in the 6th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. He commanded the regiment at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

, where it suffered very heavy casualties, and he was wounded. In early 1864, he led the troops that were sent to put down the local uprising of citizens near Jones County, Mississippi. Later, Lowry commanded a brigade of Mississippi regiments in the Third Corps, Army of Tennessee; in February 1865, he was finally promoted to brigadier-general. When the war was over, he returned to legal practice in Brandon. Lowry briefly served in the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

after the war (1865–1866). Massive fraud in the gubernatorial election of 1881 resulted in the election of the subject over the Independent People's Party candidate, Benjamin King.

Governor (1882–1890)

Between 1882 and 1890, he was the Democratic governor of Mississippi, serving two four-year terms. He could be called a

Bourbon Democrat Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century and early 20th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic Party who were ideologically aligned with fiscal conservatism or classical liberalism, es ...

. The

Farmers' Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance an ...

movement continued to show local action in Yazoo County and most areas of the state. In September 1889, Lowry ordered the state militia to Leflore County, where organizing by the Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union sparked false rumors of an impending Black "uprising." Militia troops killed an estimated 25 Black people. Political activity related to peonage and racial discrimination in the Mississippi delta and other areas of the state led to violence during his term of office. Rapid industrial development occurred during his administration as well as the founding of the first state-supported women's college at Columbus.

Personal life

Lowry was related to J.A.W. Lowry, a lawyer and politician in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana.

References

Sources

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''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

*
Robert Lowry
at

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