Samuel Bell Maxey (March 30, 1825August 16, 1895) was an American soldier, lawyer, and politician from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He was a brigadier general in 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 ...

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 ...

and later represented

in the

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

Early life and education

Maxey was born in

Tompkinsville, Kentucky Tompkinsville is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky, Monroe County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was nam ...

, on March 30, 1825. Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . p. 216.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. . p. 368. His parents were Rice and Lucy (Bell) Maxey. His father was a lawyer, and in 1834 he moved the family to

Albany, Kentucky Albany is a home rule-class city in Clinton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 1,760 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Clinton County. It is located on U.S. Route 127, about north of the Tennessee borde ...

, to take a position as the

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

for

Clinton County, Kentucky Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky in the Pennyrile Region along the southern border with Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 9,253. Its county seat is Albany. The county was for ...

. In 1842 young Maxey got an appointment to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. Although he consistently ranked near the bottom of his class, Maxey did graduate in 1846 and was commissioned a Brevet second lieutenant.

Career

Maxey was assigned to the 7th Infantry Regiment, which was engaged in 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, ...

. Maxey joined the regiment in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Mexico. Maxey was cited for gallantry and brevetted

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

for his actions in the battles of Cerro Gordo and Contreras in the summer of 1847. He also participated in the battles of

Churubusco Churubusco is a neighbourhood of Mexico City. Under the current territorial division of the Mexican Federal District, it is a part of the borough () of Coyoacán. It is centred on the former Franciscan monastery ''(ex convento de Churubusco)'' a ...

and

Molino del Rey Los Pinos (English: ''The Pines'') was the official residence and office of the President of Mexico from 1934 to 2018. Located in the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest) in central Mexico City, it became the presidential seat in 1934, wh ...

. He received a brevet promotion and was placed in command of a police company in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. In June 1848 Maxey was transferred to

Jefferson Barracks The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and the following year he resigned from the army.Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War''. New York: Facts On File, 1988. . p. 438. He returned to Albany,

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

with his father Rice Maxey and they began a joint practice when Maxey was admitted to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1851. He married Marilda Cass Denton on June 19, 1853. In October 1857, father and son moved their families to a small farm they purchased just south of

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...

. They resumed a joint law practice here as well.

American Civil War

Maxey was elected the district attorney for

Lamar County, Texas Lamar County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, in the Northeast Texas region. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,088. Its county seat is Paris. The county was formed by the Congress of the Republic of Texas on Dece ...

, in 1858 and was a delegate to the state's Secession Convention in 1861. That same year he was elected to the state Senate, but never served, preferring military duty. His father, Rice Maxey, was elected to replace him. Maxey had been given authority by the Confederate government in September to raise a regiment as its colonel. In December, Maxey led his 1,120-man Ninth Texas Regiment from

Bonham, Texas Bonham is a city and is the county seat of Fannin County, Texas, United States. Its population was 10,408 at the 2020 census. James Bonham (the city's namesake) sought the aid of James Fannin (the county's namesake) at the Battle of the Alamo. B ...

, to join

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Johnston at

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. However he was soon separated from his regiment and set to building bridges near

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. On March 7, 1862, Maxey was promoted to brigadier general to rank from May 4. The regiment was badly mauled 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 ...

, but he was not present. In fact he saw very little action during this period. He did see action at the

Siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union (American Civil War), Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses S. Grant, Ulysses Grant was S ...

in 1863. In December 1863, Maxey was assigned as commander of the

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

. His early success in conducting raids and capturing supplies prevented a Union Army invasion of Texas. He was assigned to duty as a major general by General

Edmund Kirby Smith Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate States Army Four-star rank, general, who oversaw the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western L ...

, but this appointment was never approved for this rank by

Confederate President The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the unrecognized breakaway Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and commander-in-chief of the Confederate Ar ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

nor confirmed by the

Confederate Senate 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, ...

. In 1865 he was ordered to

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, to take command of a Division. He turned over command of the Indian Territory to Brigadier General

Stand Watie Brigadier-General Stand Watie (; December 12, 1806September 9, 1871), also known as Standhope Uwatie and Isaac S. Watie, was a Cherokee politician who served as the second principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1862 to 1866. The Cherokee ...

, a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, on February 21, 1865, and proceeded to

. Maxey's new command was plagued by desertions and his inability to get supplies and equipment. Frustrated and discouraged, he was allowed to resign on May 22, 1865. He returned home to Paris, and formally surrendered in July to Union Major General

Edward Canby Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. He served as a military governor after the war. In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Depart ...

(E.R.S. Canby). Although nominally a prisoner of war, he remained at home on parole.

Later political career

Sam Bell Maxey House in Paris Texas DSC 0612 ad

As a senior officer of the Confederacy, Maxey was not eligible to hold political office or even practice law. In October 1865 he began his appeal for a presidential pardon. He was finally successful when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

pardoned him on July 20, 1867, after a personal appeal from Maxey's former West Point classmate

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

. He resumed the practice of law in Paris. In 1872 he ran for the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

, but lost in the Democratic Party Primary to William P. McLean. In 1873,

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 ...

Edmund J. Davis offered Maxey an appointment to the Texas District Court, but he declined due to prior involvement as a lawyer with cases before the court. In January 1875, the Texas Legislature elected him to the

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

where he served two terms, from March 4, 1875, until March 3, 1887. He improved postal and rail service in Texas and argued against increased tariffs. He took little interest in larger national or party affairs. The legislature named the more dynamic

John H. Reagan John Henninger Reagan (October 8, 1818March 6, 1905) was an American politician from Texas. A Democrat, Reagan resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives when Texas declared secession from the United States and joined the Confederate St ...

to replace him. Maxey returned to the practice of law in Paris, this time with his wife's nephew Benjamin Denton and Henry William Lightfoot. The latter of the two later married Maxey's adopted daughter Dora Maxey. When his nephew, Sam Bell Maxey Long, joined the firm in 1892 he finally retired. He died on August 16, 1895, at

Eureka Springs, Arkansas Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States, and one of two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, near the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city popula ...

, where he had gone for treatment of an intestinal problem. Maxey and Marilda are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Paris. The townhouse that he built there in 1867 is now a state historical site on South Church Street and is open to visitors.

Legacy

Camp Maxey Camp Maxey is a Texas Military Department training facility that was originally built as a U.S. Army infantry-training camp during World War II. It was occupied from July 1942 to early 1946, and located near the community of Powderly, Texas, in ...

was a World War II infantry-training camp and associated facilities, named in honor of Maxey. It was occupied from July 1942 to early 1946 in Lamar County, Texas, near Paris, Texas. It now serves as a National Guard training center.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

, ''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. .

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxey, Samuel Bell 1825 births 1895 deaths Confederate States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Democratic Party Texas state senators People of Texas in the American Civil War People from Paris, Texas Democratic Party United States senators from Texas People from Tompkinsville, Kentucky American military personnel of the Mexican–American War County district attorneys in Texas People from Albany, Kentucky American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Military personnel from Texas 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature 19th-century United States senators